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Back to Spain from the European Posse Ride

July 24th, 2010 lucas

Sooner or later, everything gets to its end, and the European Posse Ride is no exception to that rule. It’s been a great tour around Europe with great people, but each and everyone of them has to get back to its “normal” life, go back home, to their country, back to work and back to all the things “normal” people do. Which is a pity, because I’d love to spend more time with them on the road, travelling around Europe on our Harleys, having fun on the road, and also on the “after-rides”. I truly wish I could do it someday. Just keep riding my Harley day after day, going places and meeting people. I’m ready for that, but my bank account is not, so it was time to head back home.

To get back to Spain I took a ferry at Rome, that in 20 hours took me to Barcelona, On the ferry boat with Ulrich and Kristenjust 350 kms from home. I was lucky that I was not going to be on my own on it, because Ulrich and Kristen, a German couple I really enjoy being with, was also on the same boat. Actually, it was a real luck to have them on board, because thanks to them I could sleep on a real bed (their cabin had an extra bed), instead of on the seat I had reserved. We also met Tex and Anibal, two Spanish With Tex and Anibal, two rat-bikers from Spainrat-bikers also on their way back home after a nice ride around Europe, so the night got a little longer than expected, sharing stories of our respective tours.

We got to Barcelona late in the afternoon, at 18:50, and I hit the road again, this time on the highway, to get home as fast as I could. Everything was going fine, the bike running smooth, and the temperature was much nicer than the steaming temperatures we had in Italy, but Spain has a surprise welcome party organized for me, and at just 100 kms from home suddenly the rain started to fall in massive quantities, lightnings iluminating the road and thunders being the only music I could hear. Quick stop at the first gas station, let the storm pass for 10 mins, rain gear on, and on the road again. I’m stronger than the rain !!

Finally, close to 23:00 I arrived home after 6.103 kms of pure joy. The EPR is officially over for me. Untill 2012. I’ll be there again. Wherever it is.

The European Posse Ride is over for meToday is Saturday. Only 5 days later, and I already miss my partners in crime. I’m feeling the EPR down, missing all the good moments we had on the open road, the great countries we visited, and the fun we had. At least I can see the pictures and smile again remembering our adventures.

Take care out there my friends

See you on the road !!

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EPR Day 13: Perugia – Rome

July 21st, 2010 lucas

There are days that differentiate the tourists from the riders, and today has been one of those. The past two days the heat has been really a problem for some people on the road, and today some of them just quitted. They are no longer interested in nice secondary roads, in spending the day on the road, or on riding with friends all day. They only care about getting early to the hotel, dive into the swimming pool and chill-out. The earliest, the better. And that usually means highway, a type of road I try to avoid as much as I can. Fortunately, within the Posse Riders there are some that are into riding, come rain or shine, so we created a small group of 16 bikes, and follow the original plan, getting the highway just to get out of Perugia, and then riding into the mountains, around a beautiful lake, and getting into the L’Aquila area, still showing the damage from the last earthquake.

None of the riders in that group wish he had gone with the other group, because this area is really beautiful, and worth riding in it, even if it’s with temperatures over 40ºC. We couldn’t avoid all the highways, though, but we had a really great day on the road. Another great day on the road.

And here we are now, at Rome, under a historical heat wave, with temperatures well beyond the 40ºC barrier, the country being under alert and making it the first story in the news, since people is dying because of the heat, and the city is having problems to keep its rhythm with this unbearable heat. But we rode to here.

Now I’ll have three days off here. I’ll attend the closing ceremony on Saturday, try to visit one or two dealers to buy some T-shirts for my girlfriend (I wish she could have been with me in this fantastic touring ride…), and go sightseeing the beautiful city of Rome when the heat gets a little down in the evening. On monday night I’ll take a ferry boat that will take me and my Fatty straight to Barcelona in 20 hours, and from there is just a 350kms ride to be back home.

Today is a day of mixed feelings. Happiness for having finished it with no major problems, but also a bit of sadness because we’ll not be riding tomorrow, and because most of the people will leave soon, and it’ll be at least two years to get back on the road together, if they come to the next EPR. And I’ll sure miss most of them. I wish I had the time (and the money) to spend the next months visiting them in their countries to ride again some days with them. I’d love to be able to go to the USA, to Canada, to New Zealand, to Libanon, to Saudi Arabia, Holland, or Germany, to name just a few of the countries where I now I have friends. Harley riding friends. Good friends.

The European Posse Ride is over. It’s been a fantastic two week touring ride in the heart of Europe: Spain – Prague – Viena – Budapest – Lake Balaton – Zagreb – Zadar – Opatija – Lienz – Bolzano – Firenze – Perugia – Roma. Our Harleys can rest for a while now. But not for too long. There are still lots of great roads in the world waiting to be discovered and ridden on our bikes. And we’ll do it, because we live to ride, ride to live.

Take care out there, my friends,

See you on the road !!

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EPR Day 12: Florence – Perugia

July 15th, 2010 lucas

We knew it was going to be hot, but you don’t realize how hot it can be until you are there, my friend… Over 40ºC on the road today, plus the heat coming from the Harley’s engine when you stop. Not an easy run…

Anyhow, we’ve had fun on the road, as we always do. Today three of us felt a little more adventurous, and decide to ride on our own, not in the groups. We wanted to have the chance to ride in Italy at our own pace, stopping whenever we felt like doing it, and we also wanted to navigate our route on the GPS and the road-book. The run from Florence to Sienna is really beautiful, nice curves, mostly nice pavement, and amazing landscape. Once we got to Sienna, we parked our bikes and went to visit the city. It’s really amazing. I went there 20 years ago, but I promise that I didn’t remember Sienna that beautiful.

We had lunch there, and hit the road again afterwards. From Sienna, most of the groups took the highway, to be early at the hotel, but we wanted to do the original plan, so we went again on our own onto secondary roads. The countryside and the roads  were really nice, although the land changed, and there were no more vineyards, but mainly cereal fields. The heat was the main problem, because riding at 40º or more, the risk of dehydration is really high, so I ended up putting a bottle of water into my vest, so I could take sips of water every now and then.

So, it’s been a hot day, a little more tiring than a normal day, but riding our Harley-Davidson in a country like Italy, among friends, is always a good day on the road.

Tomorrow we’ll do the final stage of this II European Posse Ride, from Perugia to Rome, and we’ll stay at Rome for the weekend, so it’ll sure going to be a fun.

I’ll keep you posted on our adventures.

Take care out there, my friend.

See you on the road !!

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EPR Day 11: Firenze

July 14th, 2010 lucas

Today is suposed to be a day off…… but we can’t stay away of our Harleys. ;)

The local chapters have organized for us a special tour around the area of Chianti, a beautiful and scenic route. Some people stayed on the hotel, but most of us went for a ride. The problem is that is so hot now in here, that is almost unbearable. The thermometers are around 40ºC, and that’s way more than what you would consider reasonable.

So myself and a small group of riders decided to quit the tour at the lunch stop, and headed back to the hotel, because we were hearing the call of the pool…

In an hour or so, when the sun is a little lower, we’ll go for a walk into the city, and hopefully have some pasta or some pizza for dinner.

Tomorrow we’ll start our way down Italy, direction Rome, our final destination.

Take care out there, my friends.

See you on the road !!

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Day 10: Bolzano – Firenze

July 14th, 2010 lucas

Oh, boy, how good it feels to be back on the road, specially on roads like the ones we are riding here. I’m writing this post one day after everything happened, but yesterday was such a complete day, I didn’t have time to do it.

Let’s start from the beginning. Yesterday was an early rise, because we were doing what we call here a Monster Ride. A long, long day on the road. So the alarm sounded at 05:45, got everything ready, had a shower, put the luggage on the truck, had breakfast, and back on the bike, ready to leave at 07:00.

We left Bolzano in one big group and soon started to climb to first highlight of the journey: “Passo Rolle”, at 1.984 mts. An amazing starter. It’s a beautiful road that climbs to the top of the mountains, so you are riding among pines and big trees, smelling the wood, and feeling the morning breeze. Really nice. On top of the mountain is a ski resort, a cafeteria and a hotel. So we had a real italian coffee on top of the mountain, overlooking the valley. An amazing experience, believe me. After the coffee break, we split the big group in the usual three groups, and off we went. What a difference 5 cms can make (and I’m talking about my bike !!). The FatBoy feels completely different with the new suspension. Is much higher, and now I can go way faster in the turns, with no fear of any part of the bike touching the ground. So we went down the mountain pass on the other side, enjoying turn after turn, and kept going direction Bassana del Grappa and San Giorgio in Bosco,where we stopped for lunch. Pasta, obviously.

After lunch we had a boring stage of 100 kms on the motorway, but it was well worth it because that way we had have time to enjoy a road that is now directly on my top 25 roads. I’m sure that the person who draw the road between Bologna and Firenze is a biker who lives nearby, and decided to create his own playground. Is either this or he is Valentino Rossi’s grandfather. It’s the P65, and is a road that you have to ride before you die. It takes you into Tuscany, a really nice area, and the road goes zigzaging all the way to Firenze. Nice smooth curves that you can normally take without touching the brakes, just playing with the gears and moving your bike one side to the other in a joyful dance….What a road !! And you get 100 kms of that dance…

But even the best things have to finish eventually, so we went into Firenze. Have you ever imagined how could be driving at hell? Don’t have to. Just come to an italian city and you’ll experience it. Damn !! Cars and “motorinos” everywhere, going on every direction with no aparent order. It took us a while to get to the hotel (we missed one turn of the route on the GPS, and that forced us to go downtown…hell in earth !!). By the time we got to the hotel it was almost 19:00….and a bus was coming to the hotel to pick us up at 19:30 to take us to Firenze’s HD dealer, because they have organized us a party. Tough life a biker’s life….

So, we had a quick shower, and off we went again !! Italians might not be the best drivers of the world, but they do know how to party !! The Chianti Chapter, and the Firenze Chapter were there for us. The dealer was open, so people can buy T-shirts (something handy after 3 weeks on the road…), and they had a big BBQ going on. Tons of food, and even more liquids….. We had a never ending supply of wine and beer, and a bit later they started with shoots of rum and peach….man, that thing can kill anyone !! And they were drinking it as if there were no tomorrow….Obviously that deadly combination (chapters, food, alcohol, Harleys…) led to the typical burnouts, pipes breaking the silence of the night and all that standard late night stunts you can think of. It was a crazy party, and we had REAL fun !!!!!

Fortunatly, the day after was a day off, so people can rest and recovered from the excesses…

Take care out there, my friends

See you on the road !!

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EPR Day 9: Lienz – Bolzano

July 12th, 2010 lucas

There’s a solution for every problem. The key is to find it. And I’ve found the solution for my problem today. I have not ridden with A group of Harleys getting ready to hit the roadthe group, because I couldn’t take any corners with my bike and the plan for today was….Cortina D’Ampezzo !! An amazing twisting road in the Italian Alps…

I took a diferente route, taking bigger roads, and entering the highway for the last 40 kms, the same route that the luggage’s truck were doing today. The total of the day has been 150 kms, and even though the suspension is broken and now feels like a hardtail, it’s been a nice and safe ride. So when I arrived to Bolzano, I went directly to the dealer and showed him the bike. “No problem” – he said – “this Letf my Harley at the Garagecan be fixed today“. Magic words !! So I left the bike there, and went to the hotel to wait, because there were nothing else I could do but hope for the best.

A few hours after, I went back to the dealer….and the bike was fixed !! They replace the links, that were broken, and now my bike can hit the road again. I’m sooooo happy !! The broken links were aftermarket, designed to lower the rear suspension, and the ones that I have now are – obviously – Broken link on the suspension of my Harley softailOEM, so now my bike is higher. I have to get used to the new riding position, but I think that it’ll be a safer ride now, since it’s more difficult to drag the pipes now even if I lean the bike further than I usually do. The only drawback is that now the saddlegabs sit on the pipe, so I may get things my clothes “a l’ast”….

Take care out there, my friends

See you on the road !!

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EPR Day 8: Opatija – Lienz

July 12th, 2010 lucas

The fun (a.k.a. the mountains) has begun, and with fun….comes the problems…and problems never come alone.

Today has been a day full of experiences. Good experiences, and bad experiences. The day started very nice, sunny and warm, and EPRDay8 01looked like another perfect day on the road. We started riding on a very nice road, with good tarmac and nice and smooth curves, with plenty of green areas all around us. Everything were going smooth and that “stupid” smile were again starting to appear on our faces. Then we got to the Croatian border, and the whole group pass through quite fast and with no problems. At Slovakia we had Riding Harleys on small roadswonderful roads, specially one little small road that wasn’t on the roadbook, but that we took to connect with the road we were looking for. It was great. So small that I doubt that we could have shared the road with a car. It climbed up to a mountain, crossing small villages of 3 or 4 houses. Really beautiful. And then we arrived to what must be something similar to biker’s paradise. Beautiful roads, plenty of nice curves, and very nice tarmac. So far, so good. We’ve seen thousand of bikes today on this roads (today is Sunday…) and I can really understand why. If I’d lived there, I’d be on the road everyday too !! But then, just before lunch, I suddenly noticed that something was wrong. I was sitting a bit too low on my bike. Lower than normal. On the first roundabout, came the confirmation. At the very moment I started to lean the bike, I was dragging the pipes. And this is not normal. Not that early. Fortunately, right after the roundabout, we stopped for lunch, and I could check my bike. And yes, something was wrong: the suspension was broken. One of the shock absorbers were loose, and the bike was without suspension, and at the lowest possible Broken suspension on my Harleyposition. So now my softail is a hardtail, and my pipes are now so low that they touch the floor at every corner, even at the slowest possible speed. So no more mountains for me. I can ride it (carefully) on bigger roads, but not on tight corners.

I tried to find a garage that could weld the piece back, but it was Sunday, so the only thing that I could do was to try to get to Lienz (Austria), our destination for today. So I separate myself from the group (together with Don, a.k.a The Kiwi King, a guy from New Zealand), and kept riding at a safe rhythm. Once off the mountains, I could ride faster, and I thought that everything was going to be fine. But then we changed from one valley to the other, and a familiar smell Harleys under the raingot to my nose. Oh, shit, that smells like….rain !! And you bet it was !! 10 minutes after it was raining cats&dogs !! We looked for shelter at a café, met with all the other riders of the group, put on the rain gear….and hit the road again !! We never said it was going to be easy…

So, tomorrow I’ll try to get to Bolzano (Italy), using only main roads, and bring the bike to the local dealer to have my suspension fixed. I hope the bike can be ready by the end of the day, so I can finish the tour. I’ll keep you posted !!

Take care out there, my friends

See you on the road !!

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EPR Day 7: Zadar – Opatija

July 10th, 2010 lucas

AMAZING day today. If you’ve never been to Croatia with your Harley, come. Don’t look for any excuse. You HAVE to come. It’s Fun on the road with the Harleysuch a beutiful country to ride, you wouldn’t beleive it unless you were here.

What a wonderful day we’ve had today on the road. We rode on a beautiful road on one of the peninsulas, from Zadar to Pag, untill we get to the sea. Once we got there, we took a ferry to cross to the other side, and kept on riding on really amazing roads, with the sea by our side. We stopped for lunch at Senj, a nice small tourist village by the sea, and had a nice time there too. After that, it was just a matter of riding another 80 kms  on more beautiful roads by the sea. A really nice ride today, beleive me.

And to top it off, we got to an amazing hotel by the sea, with a beutiful view over a little harbour. I better get going to cool down a little bit by the sea.

Great roads for Harley at Croatia

Take care out there, my friends

See you on the road !!

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EPR Day 6: Zagreb – Zadar

July 9th, 2010 lucas

We’ve just arrived to Zaldar, Croatia, at our hotel…..by the beach !! Not a bad way to finish a GREAT day on the road, don’t you think??

EPRDay6 02Because that’s what today’s been. A great day of riding on some beautiful roads around Croatia. Right after we left Zagreb, we started riding on smooth roads, with easy twists that allow the group to speed up a little bit, increasing the fun. I know I’m repeating myself everyday, but I have to say it once again, the whole group is riding quite well this year, and that make the riding even more playful, because you can trust you are not going to be hit by the rider beside you.

Before leaving the hotel we had a negotiation between the group leaders and the riders. We had to decide wether to have a coffee stop after one hour or so, or to go ahed without stopping and get to a natural park (I think it was called something like “Plitvizka”) and spend two hours there enjoying the beautiful scenery. Fortunately, we decided the later, and we kept going with no stops until we get to the park. We got there, parked our bikes (and become part of the show, as always…), and went for a walk. It is a BEAUTIFUL place!! It’s an area of big lakes, with clear water and amazing waterfalls. We took a small train to the top of the park, and walked our way back to the parking. Fortunately I was not wearing today my leather pants (I was wearing my kevlar jeans) because it took us almost an hour walk to get to the last lake, where we took a little boat and walked up again to the parking. A nice break, indeed.

After that….you bet, more riding !! Really nice roads, with nice smooth twists, beautiful green fields on both sides, and more kilometers of great group riding. Nice, I tell you !!

And now I’m sitting at a nice terrace, by the sea, sipping a big cold beer. A perfect ending for a great day, isn’t it?

Take care out there, my friends

See you on the road !!

Harley-Davidson at Croatia

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EPR Day 5: Lake Balaton – Zagreb

July 8th, 2010 lucas

We are at Croatia. And what a nice country it is, my friends.

The day started at Lake Balaton, riding along the lake, on a beautiful easy road. The group, that was riding together for the first time in this tour since we’ve changed the groups today, was getting along well, getting to know each other, and finding the EPRDay5 01distances at which everyone feel comfortable and safe. The speed was not high, and we were really enjoying the road, and the beautiful fields of sunflowers that where along it. Kilometers where passing by, and without even noticing it, it was time for our first stop. We stopped and sat at a nice place to enjoy a coke.  I was riding in the second group, so we could enjoy the sound of the Harley-Davidson engines roaring as the third group passed by our place.

After a while, we hit the road again, and kept riding at a comfortable speed on some very nice roads. We stopped at Letenye, still in Hungary, to have lunch, and it took us more than expected, because the little restaurant was not prepared to take our order (we are 20 people), but, damn, we are not in a hurry, so it was not a problem.

Right after lunch we hit the Croatian border, and said our prayers, so the people there will let us in fast. But there must be more EPRDay5 02than one god, because the two honeymooning couples (they are from Lebanon), were stopped for more than 20 minutes, while the officers checked their hotels, papers, licenses…everything !! But we got passed through the border, and the fun begun right away. We started riding on some amazing secondary roads, surrounded by fields, and with nice and smooth curves. A really pleasant ride !!

So here we are now, at Zagreb, at a really nice hotel, waiting to go have dinner, and…..have a party afterwards !! The hotel manager is a Harley rider himself, and has organized an “Official” Harley Party for us. Really cool.

Take care out there, my friends.

See you on the road !!

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