9th August 2008

We got to bed quite late as we were saying goodbye to people and packing the bikes under a dark sky full of stars with the help of a torch and the small, green light of a lone glow worm.  I think it was 12am by the time I set my alarm clock for 3.15 am.  I woke at 3am and got up.  I tried to be careful by tiptoeing through the house where various members of Tris’s family lay sleeping.  If the swishing sound of my motorbike trousers didn’t wake them, then me searching for light switches and hitting all the wrong ones, must have.

We had a cup of tea and then set off into the night.  Now, I don’t like night riding at the best of times but I was confident that it wouldn’t be for long and therefore it would be fine.  I think we’d forgotten just how pitch black it can be in the French countryside at that time in the morning where there is very little light pollution.  It was really tough and quite scary.  I lost Tris at one point and, whilst hesitating between too roads, I did a stupid woman thing with the clutch and the bike stalled, jerking me sideways across the road.  I very nearly came off and I could feel my heart hammering inside my chest.  We managed to follow the lights of a couple of cars for some of the distance but it was slow going.  We had done some night riding during our trip but the roads were never that dark because they were lit by the orange glow of street lamps.

Eventually we stopped for some coffee and we could see a dim light in the sky; dawn was breaking.  It was a massive relief and it meant we’d be able to gain some time by travelling faster again.  We’d been watching the clock anxiously and worrying that low speeds might mean us missing the ferry.  By the time we set off again, daybreak was definitely on its way and my hunched up shoulders had relaxed themselves a little.  We were then treated to a spectacular sky full of pinks and purples and mist swirling around us in the dips in the road.  We made the ferry in good time and took some photos from our bikes to record our last moments on French soil.  The customs officers/police looking types people looked a little serious.  Two men stood with hands ready on guns and stared at us.  I grinned back, Tris roared off past them and I stepped smartly on the gear lever thingy to follow suit and impress them with my biking skills.  I managed to lurch forward, wobble wildly and nearly fell off at their feet which I thought was quite funny.  They were clearly not amused.  In fact they didn’t move, now I think about it maybe they weren’t real…

We got ourselves our cabin on the ship, had a last team photo, drank hot chocolate and ate the rest of the pains au chocolat, croissants and pains aux raisins we’d got for breakfast before going to sleep for 3 hours.  I woke up at 09.30, got confused by the time difference and lay staring at the ceiling waiting for the alarm to go off before I realised, (half an hour later), that I still had an hour left to sleep.  When we went down to free our bikes from their harnesses, we met the owners of the 2 bikes parked infront of ours.  They were a young couple who had just come back from touring around the Pyrenees.  We had a good chat, handed them a breast quest leaflet and followed them off the ship.  I felt quite jealous as the woman was tall, blonde and  looked quite elegant in her motorbike gear.  She could even touch the ground with her feet sat on her Yamaha.  I think I look like some kid who’s stolen a big motorbike off someone on mine.  Ah well…

England was cold, grey and rainy.  We got a little lost in Poole and whilst trying to turn round, Tris dropped his bike, well, he sort of lowered it to the ground as gently as possible.  He struggled to pick the bike back up with the weight of all his equipment.  Thankfully there was no damage and eventually we found the right motorway.  There then followed the second most horrendous ride we’ve had of our trip, (the other being the drive to Wroclaw and my accident).  The motorways were packed full of lazy drivers, sitting in the wrong lane and forcing people to undertake in contrast to the Italian and German drivers who move aside and let faster vehicles pass.  Sometimes we rode at snail’s pace through 2 hours of road works and we were cut up by lots of non bike-friendly drivers.  We decided the English won the worst drivers award in the whole of Europe.  The rain was hard going and when we stopped for a hot drink we received the worst service we’d experienced all trip by a miserable, unhelpful man called Steve, (smile Steve).  Because we’d taken the linings out of our gloves in Milan when it was blisteringly hot, the wet leather dyed our hands black so we looked like we had some strange reverse Michael Jackson disease going on.  I shivered at the service station despite my fleece and inspected my black hands.  Later, in my tired state, I had to make up a ‘please stop the rain’ song which I sang into my helmet for a few miles.  It felt like we were being pushed to the limits on the last leg of the whole trip and I focused all my energy on careful riding.

We were just nearing Nottingham when Tris pulled off the motorway, jumped off his bike grinning and had a pee behind a road sign.  At that point it felt like we’d never arrive because I too decided to find a toilet so that I wasn’t desperate for the loo on arrival in the Market Square.  We would have arrived bang on time but for the loo stop!  Soon after we were making our way across the Square and I was just wondering if I’d know where to go when I saw a crowd of people with a banner and a Central News camerman.  I was so exhausted. I hugged my family and friends and there were a fair amount of tears.  I think it was relief to be safe home at last and the realisation that we had completed our challenge.  It was a good feeling.  I spoke to Helen at Central News and I think I was buzzing a bit from all the caffeine.  Thanks to everyone who turned up in such miserable weather to welcome us back including members of the Nottingham Advanced Motorcyclists. 

I remembered our departure so well from the Market Square on July 19th when the handsome policeman had peered into my helmet and gently explained what was about to happen as all the bikers left the square with us.  When he’d finished patiently explaining the plan to me, he asked if I’d understood and I said, “Sorry, no, could you repeat it please?” because I’d been so overwhelmed by all the support, the people and his lovely eyes.  He then patiently re explained the plan to the mad woman who looked like a small kid on the big motorbike and I was sure everyone was wondering if I’d make it round Europe in one piece.  I heard someone asked the question, “Does Lou realise just what she’s taking on?”  I can honestly say I did and it caused me a lot of sleepless nights but I conquered my fears and with a lot of people’s help, (especially from my team mate), I achieved a dream.  We did it!  I’m so happy and also a little sad that it’s over.  It was strange watching my team mate ride off without me for good.

8th August 2008

Trimer

I slept well and woke up early but lay for a while listening to the sound of a cock crowing and the church bell chiming.  Then I cycled to the nearest Boulangerie with some of the family to get some baguettes for breakfast.  We spent a relaxing day preparing the photos, blogging, eating and visiting people.  Very nice except that I was stung on the leg by a wasp who decided to fly up my trouser leg during lunch in the garden.  We tried to get a photo of Tris’s grannies riding our bikes too.

I can’t believe we arrive home tomorrow.  We will get up at 4am in the morning to ride to Cherbourg for a crossing to Poole and should arrive back in Nottingham about 5pm.  I think our friends may be planning something for our return.  Breast Quest 2008 is nearly over.  We have been to 11 countries in 21 days and seen some amazing sights.  I seem to have mastered riding a motorbike and lost my fear, (although I don’t like saying this yet as we have a few more miles to cover).  Today I felt jealous that Tris was riding a bike and I was in a car!  I might have become a biker chick after all!  The challenge is almost over and I’ll be back at work on Monday. 

Sooooooooo…. To help us cope with ‘back to work’ blues, please give to our charities and ask your friends and family too!  We’ve sweated buckets and not just because of the sun.  We’ve worked hard for this with the help of some great people and I‘m made up that we’ve succeeded, (and survived), right from finding funding through to finding our way around Europe in 21 days.  We’ve coped with having the shits, a dodgy Sat Nav, dodgy head sets, riding in extreme heat and storms, pins and needles, bikes falling over, bike repairs, 1 accident, a 70 mile an hour tyre blow out on the A52 (during training), getting lost in foreign lands after a hot days riding at 10 o’ clock at night, tiredness, sweaty bits, nappy rash and stinking clothes.  Oh and there was a small cancer too.  

I’d just like to say thank you for your support as this will be one of the last blogs.  Thank you to everyone who has helped us in some way – we couldn’t have done it without you.  It’s been a fantastic experience and hopefully we will have raised lots of money for some very worthwhile charities!   We’ll hopefully be inviting you to a party to celebrate Breast Quest 2008.

And finally, a big thank you to Tris – for your support, fantastic photos, your positive approach to each day and your drive and determination.  I owe you one ‘Dude‘.

Stop press!!…  Our plans to return to Nottingham and slip quietly home for a cup of tea are scuppered.  Just heard we have been invited down to Birmingham on Monday evening for a ‘live’ sofa chat on Central News to talk about Breast Quest and show some of Tris’s photos!  Central news will also be in the Market Square at 5pm when we return tomorrow.  Please come along to welcome us home!

Anyone got any hair straighteners please??!!

Saumur to Trimer, Brittany

We roasted under the eaves last night even though we directed the fan at the beds. We got up early and I was irritable again after a bad night’s sleep. We went to a bar on the corner as the hotel’s breakfast was a bit pricey. There was a large, welcoming French woman just opening up and I spied a basket of fresh croissants and pain au chocolat. The bar was typically French which was nice and we sat dunking our pain au chocolat into our cafes. I thought how much I love France and planned a return one day.

Every morning, I polish our helmets and today I found a wasp inside mine. He was trapped by the hinge of the visor so somehow he must have found his way in whilst I was riding and I’d adjusted the visor and crushed him. That was lucky. We set off from the hotel just after 8am. It was about 11am when we stopped for coffee, water and a pastry and realised we had passed the 3,000 miles mark and had in theory completed our challenge. Extra miles have been clocked up by our visit to the Croatian Island of Krk and getting lost on occasion. Finally, we made Trimer, a small village close to Dinan, at midday. Tris’s brother, Eliot, came out to greet us in his Breast Quest 2008 t-shirt.and Tris’s mum treated us to galettes filled with ham, eggs and cheese and local sausage. Delicious! For 3 weeks I have been off my immune system boosting diet and filling my face with a full fat, ‘pro cancer’ diet. I’ve brought one pair of comfortable jeans with me but they are now a little tight fitting. Tris calls me ‘Fatty’ now instead of Lou. I’m happy. When I get home I’ll go back on my anti cancer diet again.

After a walk round the village, we strung up hammocks in the orchard and I fell asleep in mine until the rain arrived. Then I went up to my room for some more kip and woke up to the church bell chiming a little later. In the evening we had another lovely meal of moules frites with friends of our hosts who are bikers and talked biker talk and stories. They told us about a guy who decided to go round the world on a Triumph Tiger in the 70’s and had counted on doing it in 2 years but ended up taking 4 years to complete the trip. I think I’ll read his book when I get home – it makes Breast Quest 2008 seem a bit tame! I was interested that he’d not long passed his bike test too when he set off.

6th August 2008

Nontron to Saumur

We got up at 6.15am to make an early start but didn’t manage to leave until 10am by the time we’d finished all we had to do computerwise.  There was already a blazing hot sun in a cloudless sky.  I kissed mum and dad goodbye.  I was so relieved to have made it as far as their house, (I’ve been convinced all the way that I’d have a serious accident before getting there or even worse, that Tris would!). 

The heat made it heavy going as it made us feel drowsy.  We made more frequent stops to take on water and tried having our helmets open but a warm gush of air in your face does little to revive you.  The journey from the Dordogne to our destination in the Loire took us over 5 hours although it was only 230 miles away.  My eyes closed at one point and I wobbled on the bike so I made up a ‘Stay awake’ song which I sang until the next service station.  Tris was lucky the headsets weren’t working and he couldn’t hear me. 

The scenery was fantastic – it’s hay making time in France so there were fields full of golden wheat and hay bales under blue skies.  We saw seas of sunflowers too and stone houses with hanging baskets and window boxes overflowing with geraniums.  Occasionally pieces of straw flew past our helmets.  Tris seemed happy.  Our headsets had failed again so instead of our usual “slow down!” – “speed up!” war, he was listening to the radio.  Occasionally his head would sway from side to side and he’d stick his feet out from the foot pegs and waggle them up and down in time to the music lost in a world of his own which I named ‘Poyser Land‘.  Sometimes we’d push down on our foot pegs and stand up on the bikes to allow blood flow again and shift position.

Saumur was well worth the hot and sticky ride.  It’s a beautiful white stoned town along the banks of a wide river and it’s full of historic monuments and buildings.  The town itself is dominated by a fairy tale chateau which is all visible as you ride across a huge stone bridge into the centre.  We’d arrived during a week of festivals too so we were pleased we’d booked accommodation in the old town where we could leave our bikes and freely wander the streets.  We  have so little time at some of our destinations that we’ve found if we’re based out of town it’s a real effort to drag ourselves into the city centre and sight see especially in oppressive heat.  In fact we’d not even attempted a trip into town in Clermont Ferrand after we arrived late at our accommodation in the industrial outskirts.

We dumped our stuff at our old hotel in Saumur which was a beautiful listed building with a courtyard close to the river.  Our room was under the eaves and without air con although there was a fan.  We climbed out of the velux windows onto the roof to inspect the view and Tris locked me out.  Once I got back in I had a cool shower and immediately began sweating again.  We left the hotel and walked through the old stone streets to do some more people watching.  We sat in a square, had a beer and watched lots of older men in Tour de France type lycra gear riding by.  They must have gathered for the 70th Saumur cycle festival. 

Then we found a restaurant and I decided to treat us to a good meal.  We had Coquille de St Jacques and big pots of moules frites followed by crème brulee aux pommes.  Then we waddled back through the streets to find the source of the live music we could hear.  In front of the Mairie there were stalls and people gathering for an evening of music, wine tasting, freshly cooked bread, goats cheese and blueberry tart.  We exchanged some Euros for special vouchers which we then handed over in exchange for a couple of wine glasses and some bottled water for later.  We sampled some wine in our glasses whilst watching local characters meeting and greeting friends and Tris took some photos.  Later, he left to catch the last of the evening light with his camera from the hotel roof whilst I stayed on, sitting on some steps and watching the world pass by.  I walked up to the chateau to see panoramic views over the town below and beyond.  I am now sat in the courtyard of our hotel at the foot of the chateau where there is a huge cyprus tree and colourful flower beds.  The sun is sinking and there are delicious smells wafting across from a nearby restaurant.  It is cool down here but I am about to return to the sauna that our room has become.  Tomorrow we ride up to Brittany to stay with Tris’s mum for a couple of days before sailing home on Saturday from Cherbourg to Poole.

4th August 2008

From Clermont Ferrand to Nontron, Dordogne

We’ve not had internet access for a while so photos of Croatia, Italy and France should appear later today.

We got up earlier than ever today, ate our breakfast buffet and headed off for the Puy de Dôme to get a view of the volcanic landscape.  We were passed by 3 cool looking gendarmes on motorbikes.  They came up quietly beside us whilst we were waiting at traffic lights and overtook us which made us jump.  Later on we waved at some bikers approaching us and it was only when they’d passed by that we realised we’d waved at a couple of policemen.   They waved back as if it was entirely normal.  In the UK other bikers will nod at you as they pass but in Europe they prefer to wave. 

As we got to the foot of the ancient volcano, there were hardly any cars around so we had fun racing each other up the mountain and I practiced cornering and Tris gave me tips, (criticised my crap driving).  As we neared the top we were driving through rolling clouds until visibility had diminished to only metres.  We realised we’d paid to see a view of cloud at the top and had a laugh about it, (see photos!).  We persevered in taking misty looking photos and on our way down the clouds began to part, treating us to stunning views across the Auvergne.  We left a shell as part of the Global Feasts Project, (see news page for details), in a small cave half way down the Puy de Dôme then we headed off towards my parents in the south west near Périgueux.  The roads were quiet and I realised how much more confidence I’ve gained at driving since beginning the trip.  I grew increasingly excited as I began to recognise place names and memories popped into my head of the 7 years I spent living in France.  

We arrived about 2pmish and rode up to the house beeping our horns.  It was good to arrive at my second home, France.  Tris and I left the bikes and I drove us in an old Peugeot 204 sports car to a nearby village, Savignac de Nontron, where my parents used to live.  I mastered 1st, 2nd and 4th gears with the gear stick located on the dash board but third gear escaped me which made for a jerky trip around the hair pin bends.  We had a beer at the local bar where one of the villagers, Aileen, remembered me and we had a chat about village life. 

Later people arrived at my parents for food and drinks and we sat up late under a warm, star filled sky swatting mosquitoes and talking Breast Quest talk and having a few laughs about it.  We talked about the joys of having to live in close proximity 24/7 with someone you barely know.  Two friends handed me a cheque for 150 pounds for the charities, (there is no pound sign on this French keyboard!), which I was really touched by.  It reminded me of why we are doing this mad trip and makes it so worthwhile.  I caught up with some French friends and felt a bit sad that I wouldn’t have time to visit others.  We made plans to go swimming in a lake, horse riding, visit the local town of Brantôme, share an apéritif with Régine and Régis, (the local campsite owners), and a meal with other friends at a local restaurant, knowing we would only have time for half of all that.

3rd August 2008

Vevey to Geneva to Clermont Ferrand

Up at 6.15am again to avoid the heat of the day.  Heinz served us a cracking buffet breakfast.  Buffetlicious!  Then we bade him and his lovely dog, Grégor farewell and we were on the road by 8amish.  Someone turned the heat up again and we visited Geneva in our sweaty motorbike gear.  We parked by a pretty church and heard a lone female voice singing inside.  It’s a beautiful town but full of banks it seems.  We paid to enter the private bathing area on the lake where, surrounded by brown bodies and topless women, we walked around in full gear with some of our luggage taking photos.  It felt slightly wrong!  I have begun my own study of the photographer at work using the point and shoot camera loaned to us by Canon and today was my best work I feel!  The photographer stripped down to his pants to clamber precariously over rocks, camera in hand, in search of the picture perfect.  Most entertaining.  I am thinking of sending some of my work into a gay men’s magazine although I have a feeling some of my photos will mysteriously disappear.  The photographer left his pants by accident drying in the hot sun like a flag flying from the lighthouse in the middle of the lake.  Unfortunately, whilst climbing over the rocks, algae had left a brown smear on the back so I pity the person that finds them.

Later we stopped for coffee before leaving the bathers in peace.  I decided to pop to the loo before leaving so I entered the women only area of the bathing park.  A picture of this would have been most entertaining as, fully clothed in biker gear, I picked my way through bronzing, semi-naked bodies laying outstretched in any available floor space.  There were women of all ages, shapes and sizes and it was difficult not to stare at the older ones with their shrunken breasts and elephant skin.  Breast Quest took on a whole different meaning.  Oh the irony!  I happened across a rather large woman in her 70’s wearing nothing but a thong and a thousand leathery wrinkles.  I didn’t know women of that age still went in for Brazilians!  Amazing.  Girl power in Switzerland!

As we left Switzerland in the midday heat, we swapped its many tunnels and mountains for the viaducs and rolling countryside of the Rhône Alpes and Auvergne regions of France.  According to our schedule we should have clocked up some 2539 miles by the end of the day but in reality with the planned changes to our itinerary, it will be nearer the 2800 mile mark.  Can we give up after 3000 miles?!!  Of course, I’m only joking.  I am torn between wanting to go home and wanting to travel forever, (hope my boss, Di, is not reading this!).

We made Clermont Ferrand in good time again as we were ready to admit defeat we realised we were actually infront of our hotel.  It was a disappointment after the Hilton with not enough room to swing a motorbike helmet.  Each time I went to the loo, I would bash my head on the door knob getting up.  We wandered around and ate a takeaway next to a bin.  We were too tired to catch the tramway into the centre and settled on a beer back at the hotel next door before bed.  Beer is our friend, we will have one each night as it takes the mind of the next day of travel and helps us sleep.  Thank you to Kev at Le Roc for this biker’s travel tip.

We set the alarm for 6am so we could escape early and visit the Puy de Dôme, the highest vantage point over the volcanic mounds of the Auvergne and swapped equipment around to charge it as best as possible with only 2 available sockets in the room.

2nd August 2008

Milan to Vevey, Lac Léman, near Lausanne

I am sat on a café terrace in Vevey by Lac Léman with an amazing view over the lake under a blue sky with a panorama of mountains before me.  I should be very happy and awe struck by what’s infront of me but I have just burst into tears over nothing and people are looking at me.  Infact I seem to have started something as first one kid and now another has begun wailing which has made me laugh again.  Tris has just gone to a cash point in search of Swiss Francs.  We have not long arrived and the owner of the café was overly rude to us in public after we realised all we had to pay with was a large 100 Euro note.  I feel like a hostage until Tris returns and out of indignation I am refusing to drink my drink.  I apologised to Tris for my melt down.  He knows it’s tiredness.  We feel tired every day and we’ve been thinking about going home recently and not having to pack and unpack the bikes each day and charge all our equipment.  We don’t complain, we knew it would be tiring.  “It’s all part of the challenge” is our motto!

We’ve had a fantastic day of riding.  We made Switzerland in good time after an early start.  We managed to leave Milan by 9am after packing the bikes and having photos with the lovely Petra who looked after us so well during our stay and was so enthusiastic about our challenge.  She got up early especially on her day off work to be there for our departure.  By 2pm we had arrived in Vevey.  We’re not used to arriving at our destination so early.  The roads from Italy to Switzerland were not very busy and the views were awesome.  We passed through the Col St Bernard on the way here which is some 30 kilometres long at a height of 1752 metres.  The tunnel is only partially enclosed at times which allows spectacular mountain views.  We love tunnels with all the tunnel lights and car headlights, they always seem exciting on the bikes.  The weather today has been perfect and the air is cooler in the mountains.  I actually had goose pimples in the tunnel which makes a change from sweating like a beast all the time.  We saw snow capped mountains too today. 

Just after the col the road winds its way down through valleys with plenty of tourist stop offs for refreshments.  We chanced across a beautiful rustic chalet with a terrace full of flowery shade where an eccentric local character called Yann invited us to join him at his reserved table.  He entertained us whilst we had our drinks and introduced us to Madame Catogne, the owner, who he claims is his 7th wife and his dog, Nelly, (the only woman to stay with him longer than 6 months).  We talked about mushrooming and asked if Nelly was any good at finding much sort after cèpes.  “On no!!”, he replied loudly, raising his bushy eyebrows, ”She is only good at peeesing on them!”.  I told him my grandmother was born in Chamoson, which was part of France before the second world war and he said it wasn’t far away.  I thought about visiting it for a while but we don’t have time – that’s another trip.

The bed and breakfast where we are staying is lovely, very clean, roomy and well priced.  The owner, Heinz, is German and very welcoming.  Unfortunately, our short visit to Switzerland was otherwise not memorable for entente cordiale.  We decided to have a pizza in the evening and found a cheap restaurant where again the staff were po faced and rude.  As we sat on the terrace, large spots of rain fell so we decided to go inside as did other people.  The owner began to flap, “You can’t just sit anywhere you know!!” he said rudely to the group of people gathered in the doorway.  I am fluent in French so I understood.  The meal was good but the service was poor with a great deal of flapping and there were no smiles until money exchanged hands once again.  We did meet some friendly people on our way back to the B and B when we got lost but we decided whilst Switzerland scored 10 out of 10 for it’s scenery, it’s welcome scored low compared to the other countries we have visited.

We got to bed at a reasonable time but we only have one adaptor that fits Italian and Swiss sockets so I was up twice in the night changing round various appliances like our blue tooth headsets to make sure everything was ready for an early departure the next morning.  We thought they all had the same plug system in Europe but no!  Tomorrow we head for Clermont Ferrand after visiting Geneva.  All our plugs should work there but we are staying in a cheap Etap Hotel so I expect there will be just the one socket!

1st August 2008

Milan

We had another warm welcome at breakfast from the Hilton staff and a lovely buffet again.  I am in full ‘bloater’ mode now and have taken to having a 3 course breakfast like Tris.  There is just too much amazing food  around.  Later we said goodbye to Tris’s brother and Imi by waving them off in their red and white transit van near the Hilton.  Tris’s brother drove off like an Italian – he told us he’d soon realised the only way to survive is to do as they do in Rome.  We took to crossing the roads like the Italians – don’t look, just walk out into the traffic.  It seems to work.  I’m not sure I could drive the bike with the same road ownership ethos although on arrival we did drive down the pavement to avoid re entering busy traffic for 100 metres which was fun.

We had our photos taken and were introduced to the new General Manager, Ilio Rodonio, who told me our cause was close to his own heart as his mother had had breast cancer too.  Then we took Tris’s lap top and our maps and belongings to the executive lounge where we skype called a bed and breakfast near Geneva to book accommodation and did some planning for the next leg of our journey.  We had been enjoying the free refreshments in the executive lounge for a couple of days as Tris’s room card gave us access.  However, when I discovered my card did not give access, we then realised we weren’t supposed to be there at all so we humbly gathered our belongings and went back to our rooms to upload some photos and blog.

It was late afternoon by the time we left the hotel to visit Milan but it was still stifingly hot.  We took the metro and made our way to the cathedral, Il duomo.  We decided to do some very quick sightseeing and then some more people watching.  Italians definitely invented ‘cool’.  Where else in Europe could a man wear pink trousers, white loafers and a blue shirt and still look suave?  The strong facial features and colouring of the Italians make for some very attractive people.  I loved watching the business men, brown from the sun, zipping past us on their mopeds in Armani suits.  We noticed there weren’t any obese people except for Americans too which must be to do with their way of life. 

We ate in a typically Italian restaurant later after walking around for a long time in the heat and then made our way back to the hotel and the cool of our air conditioned executive suites.  As we were uploading more photos, we heard noise outside and stepping out onto the balcony, we were treated to a spectacular storm with strong winds and driving rain.  The lightning flashed so constantly, it almost looked like daylight outside and there was a strange orange hue to the city.  It did little to cool the air.  I hoped it would be over by the time we left Milan for Geneva.  I have rain phobia since my accident.  We set our alarms for 6.45am as early starts mean we miss some of the heat of the day.  I felt sad that this was the last of our Hilton nights.

31st July

Treviso to Milan

We were up too early – breakfast wasn’t even ready.  The hotel seemed full of men, I was the only woman.  We packed some pastries into our bags from the buffet and settled the bill.  Tris had spoken to the proprietor about Breast Quest and he was very interested.  He said in his broken English that it was a good thing we were doing and I must be very strong.  I shook my head and told him I was just a nutter.  He kindly let us off paying some of the drinks and gave us a lovely book full of images of Treviso which he stamped with the hotel details for us.  We decided not to visit Treviso, (we had the book anyway), and head straight for Milan.

More hairy driving followed along the Autostrades.  The heat made us drip with sweat again.  We’d had to apply some topical cream to bad cases of nappy rash that developed since wearing our shorts wet from the sea under our motorbike clothing.  We thought it might keep us cool but it turned out to be quite painful!  We made Milan by 1pm in good time and found the hotel after being cut up by crazy drivers.  We received the best welcome yet at the Hilton Milano.  Petra welcomed us with big smiles and thanked us for coming!  She took some photos of us looking sweaty and knackered in the marble floored reception and told us they had upgraded us to executive suites.  Needless to say, we were grinning from ear to ear when we inspected our suites – we have large beautifully decorated rooms with double wardrobes and balconies.  I have my own dressing room space whilst the same area has been sacrificed in Tris’s suite to create a 2 sided balcony on the corner of the building.

We finally peeled off our sweaty, smelly motorbike gear and used our Crabtree and Evelyn freebies to scrub up.  Later, Tris’s brother, Alex, arrived with his travelling companion, Imi.  They are travelling around Europe in style in a red and white transit van.  It was good to have female company and even better – she brought hair straighteners!!  Nor did she fart, belch, smell or stick my head in her laundry bag and laugh about it.  We discovered we had access to the executive lounge so we all enjoyed a lovely cup of Italian coffee and mini cakes on the terrace.  It was wonderful.  Later we visited Milan a little, took the metro, swapped sweaty travelling stories, ate a lovely buffet meal beside a canal and drank Mojitos whilst people watching.  We are in buffet heaven and our pockets are always full!

(Tris is now having a hissy fit – he says he wants it known that I belch too – I am sure he will redress the balance when he tells his own story for the book.)

We have covered some 2,000 miles on our travels and I already feel a little sad thinking we have only 1,000 miles to go until we arrive home.

30th July

Island of KRK, Croatia to Treviso, Italy

I woke up with a small headache about 9.30am – late for the first time.  This was because we spent a lovely evening at cable KRK bar talking with Varna, the lady who had kindly organised free accommodation, wake boarding and breakfast for us. She’s a lovely lady and is fully supportive of our challenge, (having had cancer in her own family).  It was one of those evenings where you just don’t notice the time and when you finally think to do a time check, you’re surprised to see it’s 3.30am.   Great company and good memories.  I shall definitely return to Croatia – it’s beautiful, relaxed and the people are just great.

Tris had got up early to take photos of Lovro Klepac wake boarding in the bay with his friend Daniel.  Lovro is ranked 4th in junior mens.  I had a swim later and tried to get a sun tan, (I think the sun is actually bleaching me), before we left for the next leg of our journey.  We’d prebooked a room in Treviso instead of Vicenza on our way to Milan and we set off late afternoon in the baking sun.  We had to stop more often than usual to take fluids on board. 

Riding conditions were good, (apart from the heat), the landscape was a lush green again but the roads were very busy.  Basically, the Italian drivers like to use bully tactics in order to advance – there may be 3 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic but they will sit on your tail in the fast lane until you squeeze yourself into the middle lane and let them pass.  If you refuse to budge, they will flash you until you get the message.  It’s a bit hairy but entertaining too.  We crossed a border and thinking we were in Italy, Tris said ‘Grazie’ to the border guards who looked a little amused and try to tell us something.  Later we realised we’d actually crossed the border into Slovenia and still had the Italian border to cross.  There were no guards at the Italian border, I think they’d gone for lunch.

Tris got annoyed with me; having headsets with voice activation is ideal for effortless communication between bikes but it can be distracting too.  I admit to being a bit of a stress head and my natural reaction to mad drivers involves one or a combination of the following expressions: “OOOoooooh you b###gger!! (and worse)/  ooooooerrrr!/ Arggggggggghhhh!  Each of these is accompanied by a sharp intake of breath and it activates blue tooth communication every time which makes Tris jumpy and drives him crazy.  He’s taken to switching me off to get some peace.  I’ve tried biting my lip instead of speaking but this tactic only works for so long before I forget and let go with the next expletive. 

We were driving until 10pm and the number of expletives increased the later it got because I could see drivers nearly nudging Tris’s bike and trying to overtake in inappropriate places.  Naturally, I couldn’t not warn him about the dangerous drivers on his back.  We lost it a bit with each other after Sat Nav failed to find our destination for us and we had to stop at an ice cream parlour for directions.  I very nearly asked a butch looking prostitute at a closed petrol station for directions but Tris wasn’t keen.  Finally, we drew up outside a dodgy looking bar and were just trying to sum up the energy to get off the bikes and take off some gear before asking the way when Tris looked across the road and said “There it is!! – we’re looking at it!”. 

We were very relieved to arrive.  The decor was very ‘interesting‘.  “If you have many desires, your life will be very interesting.” was written in big lettering on a wall inside.  The halls smelt of cheap aftershave and perfume because there were giant perfume dispensers outside the rooms.  It was clean, spacious and there was air con which was most welcome because the temperature had been rising since Ljubljana.  The proprietor was a very helpful Italian man and the mini bar was full of reasonably priced cold drinks.  We tucked in and I ate some peanuts for tea.  We decided to head off early the next morning before the heat of the day set in and fell asleep just before 1am.