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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Tour ended...SPECTACULAR !

What a spectacular tour !

    I am back home and now resume my blogging for you motorcycle enthusiasts and friends.

    In short, the trip was so exciting, I never came down enough to do my blogging. If you had been there, you would relate to what I am saying really well.

    Now, here are just a few topics which I will be writing about in the next few weeks:

• France, the French, their foods, their sanitation and cleanliness, their love of pets;
• Italy, the Italians, their foods, their love of life, their affability (sympatico)
• The summary of my motorcycle riding;
• The wines I tasted and the vineyards in which I stood before tasting the particular wine;
• My recipes or what I learned in my cooking classes...making your own pasta is the only way to go;
• Comparisons: French vs Italian...in cooking, in wines, in house wines, in friendliness, in foods, in tourist sites and more;
• Some comments about motorcycle touring in groups, in Canada, in Europe, budget awareness
• And more....

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New CONTEST for a bottle of my wine...shipped in the fall !

Submit a caption for the MAXINE foto taken at the beach in San Bartolomeo, Italian Riviera north. I will post a selection of what we think are best and see which one readers like most. Sounds like a big undertaking, but then I have nothing to do while my "valet" reorganizes her luggage.

Here is the photo for which you are to create a caption. Submit as many captions as you like to szpin@sympatico.ca

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Next leather comment gets it between the eyes !

I found MAXINE !

I can't believe it. All of you know Maxine, of the cartoons. The old spinster who has so many good humorous observations about life. We have laughed at her comments, and often nodded our heads in agreement with what she has said or observed about life and its wonders.
Well, today I met her here in San Bartolomeo which is in the Italian Riviera. She is almost 80 years old. She rides her bike daily carrying her little pooch in the front basket. I will get some shots of it maybe today. She drives a stick shift, goes like hell. When my wife said it could be dangerous riding a bike at that age, especially here in Italy, 'Maxine' laughed and replied, "Hell, I have been hit even, landed in hospital for 3 days, stitches too. But such is life, full of tumbles and falls. Life wouldn't be life without them!" And on she goes!
She knows France and Paris like the back of her hand as her job when she was working was to turn clothing design sketches into reality, into real clothing. For this, I am certain she was well paid and lived a very good life. Now, she stays in a condo her in San Bartolomeo and suns in a bikini no less, every day when there is sun. Incredible.
Watch for more comments from Maxine as I talk with her.

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MY FIRST CONTEST:Find my guide...then find the photo that she is NOT in !

Below are twelve photos, all but one has my wife, my European guide in the photo. My wife wears a very distinct hat as seen in Foto 1 but she is not quite as easy to find in the subsequent photos. See if you can find her in all but one of the fotos. The first emailer to identify all 11 fotos correctly gets dinner on me at one of two places: Your local Mcdonalds with a $5 cheque from me or dinner at my house but you are responsible for getting there. No accommodation provided...guide's orders !

FOTO 1

FOTO 2

FOTO 3

FOTO 4

                                                        

FOTO 5

FOTO 6

FOTO 7

FOTO 8

FOTO 9

FOTO  10

FOTO 11

FOTO 12

You must identify where me wife's hat appears in each photo and which photo does not have her in it at all. Only one entry per person please...it's my first contest...Europe broke the budget!
Send your answers to szpin@sympatico.ca
    GOOD LUCK !

Motorcycling the Alps, riding at its peak !

The motorcycle tour turned out to be a scenic adventure, besides a motorcycling one.
    I have toured the Rockies a few times by motorcycle, alone and with a motorcycle group touring company. I prefer alone for some reasons: you do not hold back anyone as you stop for photographing or scenery admiration. As a friend with whom I rode in the Calgary area told me often, "Richard, slow down and admire the scenery." She was right but she likely has not ridden with the biker types that I am with. They are technology obsessed: digital cameras, video cameras, cameras attached to the bike, to helmets, gps systems, location identifying devices, blackberries and ITouch phones. That was a partial list. But perhaps because riding in Europe is so absolutely amazing, technologically recording the adventure is a must.

    The Dolomiti, the mountains in northern Italy, make the Rockies look like upstarts. Or perhaps it would be better to describe the Rockies as being majestic while the Dolomiti are magnificent. There is a major difference. Plus, the valleys which verigate the Dolomiti, are dotted with towns, villages, farms, and winter or summer homes. Maybe the same is true in the Rockies, but it is not as picturesque. The Dolomite scenery is like viewing a diorama of picture postcards. Every direction you turn, you see another pastoral view which knocks your socks off.
    Before I left for this motorcycle tour, I described the mountain roads in the Alps to my friends as being roads which had been chiseled from the cliffsides as opposed to the Rockies where the roads have been blasted right through the mountains. My #1 navigator said after we had driven through the Rockies, "Is that all there is ?" We turned around and did it again. She still was not as impressed as I was here in the Alps, every scene is impressive, is awesome, is breathtaking.
    As for the riding, well, there is no comparison in my limited experience. I have ridden the Cabot Trail, very nice, very scenic with expansive views of the ocean. I have ridden the Rockies and much of southern British Columbia, again, very scenic, very panoramic. Of those two rides, BC offers much more in terms of ride entertainment and skill testing. But if you are looking for those two characteristics for your riding, save yourself some time, some searching, and some energy and simply book a tour or plan a tour in the Alps. There is no place better. There is no place which will test your riding skills as much, challenge you as a rider as much, or give you the same opportunity of having biking fun. No place that I know of.

     Deals Gap supposedly is our ideal ride in North America. 318 curves in 11 miles. Try Passo Stelvio in northern Italy, very near the the Austrian border, more than 68 switchbacks in less than 30 kilometres. You simply climb a mountain, reversing direction 180 degrees every 150 metres. So it is ride for about 10 seconds, gear down, make a ridiculously sharp turn to the right and repeat the process to the left, repeat to the right, and on and on it goes until you begin to think it will never end. It nearly doesn't. But eventually you come to the top, and there are probably 200 bikes parked in front of all the souvenir shops located at the crest of the hill.
     Talk about ambiance, culture, flair, pizzazz. The Europeans do it with fun. The souvenir shops hawk their wares, pins, stick on crests, sew on badges, knives, key holders, sweatshirts, tshirts and an endless gamut of trinkets. Then there are the food vendors, never mind the restaurants for the moment. Wursts, pizza, French fries, fast food with a flair…they do it differently in the Alps, with gusto, with flavor, with colour.

I will miss riding the Alps and I now can confirm my bike touring has peaked !

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Girth…European vs. North American !

The battle of the bulge has been nearly a lifelong engagement for me. I can remember being what people would call thin only a couple of times in my life: as a child of about 7 years of age, and maybe again, as a teen until I was about 15. Other than those times, I would say I have fought the battle with varying degrees of intensity.

    About 5 years back, I went at the exercise, calorie counting, Jenny Craig attending routine with a passion. I had a personal trainer, Nicki, a very challenging and steadfast exercise taskmaster. The process worked with some significant and noticeable success for after months of effort, Nicki said to me, “I see you now have a neck!” which actually boosted my ego and boosted my motivation. However, as I looked at my lifestyle, gym/exercise 6 days a week, 1.5 hours of sweat producing exercise each time, very restricted calorie intake, extreme limitation on kinds of food, and one scotch a week with no wine. I reviewed my life, my daily routine and I thought, this was not the kind of life I found satisfying or gratifying at all. Not to be morbid, but, life without the joys and pleasures of fine dining, fine quaffing is not very satisfying. At least, I didn’t like it.

    Many will say, “Moderation is the key,” and I agree but I have been cursed with genes which hold on to fat cells like they were dedicated contractual partners. There is no parting of the ways, no separation.

My father, a retired professional chef, in his pensioned years, dropped noticeable weight as he was no longer in his kitchen working environment. But he was a man of dedication and willed himself to eat with care. Add to that, as he often said, “Because of his job, he was tired of food, any food, all food.” That’s what he saw every working day, food, lots of food, all day long. And it was what I label as good stuff, ‘lobster, crab, shrimp, roast beef, strip loin steaks, barbecued side ribs (indescribably delicious, done in my dad’s special way…you could eat 2 lbs in a flash and still want more because of the sweet, tomato taste and succulent tenderness from his way of baking the ribs). I was not a dessert eater in my younger days, and given the selection of great main courses, I avoided sides like potatoes and veggies.

    My mother was not a picky eater, as they say. She just liked sweet things, cakes, pies, pastries and she could eat them almost any time of the day and they were her preferred foods. Yet, she too was not badly overweight, a bit pudgy but not so she would be called obese. Peasant Polish stock means genes which result in heavier set body types, I claim. My father, recognizing that my mother did not always eat properly, tried to regulate her diet so there were better, more nutritious foods in it.

    In my case, I have struggled with this weight issue for so long, Nicki says, “My body cells have ‘memorized’ this fatter state and tenaciously hold on to the fat within themselves.” Hence, for me, it is a major struggle to lose any significant weight.

    I eat salads. I eat fruit. I eat calorie reduced foods. But most often, all these are ingested as an accompaniment to more calorie laden foods such as pasta with my world famous tomato sauce, my chicken dishes braised in some quality wine, or my crushed pecan encrusted racks of lamb al la Chef Mario Folco. Of course, my meals are usually accompanied by good wine, often the Californian grape based home-made quaff which I make with the hands of my close Italian friend, Paolo.

    My European bike tour has been another caloric campaign. Schnitzels in Switzerland and Germany, goulash in Austria and Slovenia, and pasta and pizza in Italy. Exercise? Does getting up out of bed count? Does vigorous showering count? Does mounting my motorbike count?

    I fear stepping back on the scales when I return home in a month…after vacationing and taking cooking classes in Italy and then driving through southern France to my departure from Paris at the end of the month.

    One last thought, many of the Europeans are amazingly slim given what they seem to eat and drink. I am very envious. Maybe they bike a lot more than I do. Mind you, it is pedal power, not gasoline combustion..

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