The Alpine Motorcycling group members!

A great group of riders,,,every one !

   We started out as a group of 14, all but one rode and and all but one rider had some sort of mishap. I will point out who the perfect rider was in a later blog. But, good fortune was on our side so not one single physical injury occurred in any of our mishaps.

    I would like to list and describe everyone of the group members, but at the request of those who are not detailed, I have omitted some but they have not been forgotten. One in particular, was likely the best dressed of the whole bunch of us, a quiet, subdued person who, at first glance, seemed aloof or standoffish but who as trust and social affability grew, warmed to the group and became an integral part of the group.

   Every person in this group contributed so much to the molding, melding and dynamic integrity of the whole team. Some were more centers of attention, others were quieter wall flowers, but every one made this biker brigade a marvelous group.

   Our two guides, personalities that led us well, blended us well, mixed the sociability of the group really well. They knew when to assist, when to back away, when to advise, and when to be quiet. A dynamic duo!

In my next blogs, I will write about the group individuals who have permitted me to write about them. And though, there may be an omission, this is no way a slant or slur against anyone. This group was a great bunch of people, with no reservations, each one. If anyone might be slurred a bit, it could be me as I didn't loosen up enough. I kept up my guard up too much. I think I set up defensive guards. Why? Maybe apprehensions about my self-image? Maybe my apprehensions that I might have not been able to match the riding skills of the other members. But in my quick defense, I never had a moving accident. My incident was at a standsitll in a parking lot.

   In Italy, in Rapallo, at a coffee stop, I wanted a photo as I was incredibly excited about being back in Italy and having the opportunity of practicing my Italian. All our bikes were parked in a sloping parking area, the slope of which was not noticeable while walking. I asked for a group member to take my photo as I leaned against my bike. The "lean" was just enough to 'tip' the bike over. Worse still, the bike was parked next to another member's and knocked it over too. Embarrassment does not come close to how I felt. As we were each responsible for any damage to our bikes, my bad feelings as to what happened grew even more.

     The bikes had lots of room and were parked well, or at least we all thought so. There was no jamming or cramming, yet, when I leaned against my ride, as I have done so many, many times before, the falling away of my bike wasn't even noticeable as the bike began to go down away from me. In a second, I realized the bike was falling, but a BMW R1200RT weighs just a little less than a Harley. Catching and holding such a bike as it is dropping is not something one can do much about. I knew it. I remembered it. There is nothing one person can do. I cried. I apologized. I felt like hell.
     Minimal rubs, scratches resulted. Thanks to clever use of pen and ink, scratches were 'eliminated' and to my relief at the end of the trip, no damage charges were incurred. Whew !
    Here is the photo which I wanted at the very outset...simple, innocent, but man, was there a lot of to getting this shot.

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