Where in the world is Bob? . . . . . . . . . . . . Time is our only truly Finite Resource.
There are two new posts over at my web site plus lots of photos on my smug mug site.
http://www.whereisbobl.com/2018/2018-08-16-boat-shack/2018-08-16-boat-shack.html
http://www.whereisbobl.com/2018/2018-08-07-soviet-park/2018-08-07-soviet-park.html
And probably a bunch of others I forgot to put here.
I have been moving fast, so unable to write much. I have plenty of stories, and some photos. Have not really been taking a lot of photos since the scenery is so fantastic that the photos just do not capture enough. So, I am just taking photos with my eyes.
For those that have not been keeping track:
July 2nd I ran away from home and up to Montreal, where I put my Triumph on a plane to Frankfurt. For the month of July I rode through the black forest of Germany, then into the Swiss Alps. Then just a bit of the French Alps, then some of the Italian Alps (Dolomites), Austrian Alps, and, well, more Alps. Every time I went to lower elevations it got too hot and crowded and I headed back to the hills.
2018-08-18
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
ADVRider.com is a great resource for finding great people to ride with, to stay with and to make lifelong friendships with. Facebook not so much. S.A. Nancy is extremely good at communicating using various on-line media. Me, not so much. For this trip, S.A. Nancy was in communication with some people on ADVRider.com and lots of people on a Facebook page of the same name. From facebook, she had a long list of people who offered help and homestays. From ADVRider, she had a much smaller number of contacts. All but one of the Faceplant contacts that we were trying to meet fell through. One of these fell through at the last minute, after we had changed our plans specifically so we could work the homestay into our schedule.
The ones from ADVRider were far more reliable, all doing their best to accomodate us. Because of our changing schedule and the unreliability of FB people, up to this point we have only had two homestays, one from a facebook contact, and another from an ADVRider inmate.
2018-08-07 – Lithuania
Grutas Park, near Vilnius Lithuania, is one of the first of the off the wall locations Special Agent Nancy found. It is a park with tons of statues from the Soviet era and other Soviet ideological relics. This was the first indication that this trip was not going to be to the usual touristy and girlie type destinations. We were not going to the Spa!
You can read more details in the Wiki link above, but basically a Mushroom Magnate realized that a part of history was being destroyed along with the Soviet Union. He went around and saved statues that would have otherwise been lost to history.
This park shows statues of heroes and villians. Many were heroes of the Soviet Union, until they were “Arrested, Jailed and Shot!” I guess it doesn’t pay to be a hero.
History was treated fairly, showing the good with the bad (not a lot of good). I will let the photos speak for themselves. Go to the Photo Album link above to see lots more photos.
For those following my SPOT Tracker:
http://www.whereisbobl.com/whereisboblnow.html
whereisbobl.com/blog/where-is-bob-l/
Yes, I did change my direction. You know, Plans…..
I met up with another rider who likes to ride as much as I do. I headed to Sweden for the ferry over to Lithuania. Will likely go through Latvia and Estonia as well. Then touch on Finland and a Ferry over to Sweden and a ride to the Lofoten Islands in Norway, then down the coast.
Well, that is the current plan.
I will not have much time to post over the next few days, or more likely weeks, so follow the spot and I will update if something interesting happens.
Bob L
2018-08-05
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
The last post requires an update.
The Radiator. As said, all went well. When it was first “fixed” and I left the dealer, the high temp light came on and the temp gauge flashed, basically showing an error.
I have replaced my coolant in this bike many times. I have never had to add coolant. When I had the new issue with the light, the mechanic claimed that it is hard to get all the bubbles out. I guess for him. It has never been a problem for me. When the issue happened, he added about a pint of fluid. Today I added a pint of fluid. So, it was about a quart low. It takes 3 Liters. So it was almost a third low when he was supposedly finished with the job. Impressive. THIS is why I do all my own work. Then, when the mechanic screws up, I don’t have far to go to kick him in the butt.
2018-08-03
Radiators, Flats, Tires, Traffic … Murphy has been busy this week
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
So I asked myself, what would I do if I was home AND was planning a big trip. I answered “Shut you idiot, I’m trying to sleep. And stop being so cheap, replace the damned radiator and get on with your travels!!!!!”
That inner voice was too loud (and violent sounding) to ignore.
First flat on the road in many years. And with a tube not so easy to fix. It’s OK. Tow truck only an hour or an hour and a half away.
I am just outside Kassel Germany.
2018-07-31
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
If you have seen one Beetle, you have seen them all.
Except, the thing missing from this museum was the Volkswagon Beetle. I don’t understand it. They all look pretty much the same to me. Well, there was ONE Beetle, so I guess all is OK.
Check the photo album for a bunch more photos.
This is a GREAT commercial on youtube that you might like – Porsche 111 Diesel Cabriolet – a very special car needs a very special service.
You should watch it before you look at anything else. Every time I see I crack up. Cause I know guys just like this one.
YouTube Video
2018-07-31
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
This is from a few days ago, just catching up.
I will put a few pics here, but I took a ton, which you can see in my album above.
The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany is pretty good. As usual, most of the signs have English as well, there are Audio-Tours that are in English as well. A better bet is to plan ahead and schedule an English Guided Tour first thing in the morning. Although they only hit the highlights, you learn a ton of things you would not have learned wandering around by yourself.
2018-07-29
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
If this is being sent to you from my BLOG or Facebook, note this is from a few days ago, just catching up
Like everyday I started with a plan, that quickly fell apart. What killed it this time was curvy roads, heat and traffic. My plan was to take a few roads past Lake Constance, but I saw some curvier roads and took those. When I finally got to near Lake Constance, it was hot and there was a lot of traffic, with the Germans and Italians starting their vacations now. I eventually found some nice roads through farms and other nice areas, before finally hitting the Highway for a High Speed Convection Oven Experience.
First though, as I neared I saw a Blimp or something flying over the lake. Then I saw something about a Zeppelin Museum. It was a sign from the heavens, I had to stop now.
It was a museum mostly about Zeppelins, and with some memorabelia about the Hindenburg amongst other historic pieces. It included an art display which talked about trying to find the provenance of art that was possibly stolen during world war II. All in all a pretty good museum. They had a replica of the sleeping births, bathrooms and lounge area. The only unfortunate thing is that Germany and most of Europe does not believe in turning their air conditioning (if they have it) to a very low temp. It did not cool me off a lot, but it was still good and better than baking in traffic.
This has nothing to do with the Zeppelin Museum, but I liked the pics so here they are.
2018-07-30
Link to PHOTO ALBUM: – A LOT of photos here.
Nothing like seeing a man take a brass hammer to one of rarest Bugattis on the planet. A car that I would not be surprised if it were worth millions.
This is the part he was banging on.
2018-07-31
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
It is not often that a Hotel deserves a post.
You know you are in an interesting hotel when: When you are walking around your hotel lobby, see some cars and try to get a closer look, and the guy says you cannot because it is their service area, for McLaren Automobiles……
2018-07-31
or, How to spend $10,000 on a $2,000 bike
What’s that smell?
All the plans I made in the last few days just went on hold.
So plans change. Originally I was going leave early June to go directly to Norway and loop clockwise through Loffeton islands and back down through Latvia etc. Then decide on a direction. Another rider from ADVRider.com was doing the same thing but counterclockwise and at an earlier time.
This was from a week or so ago, but I am trying to get caught up.
2018-07-22
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
The Stelvio Pass is one of the more famous in the Dolomites which are the Italian Alps. This pass is not necessarily the best, but it is probably the best known. And photographed. And video recorded. SO, I recorded some video and took some pictures.
The road up from the south side.
2018-07-26
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
Some Mountain Crystals
Yesterday I was a bit directionless. I looked at my “Riding the Alps” book, saw a route into Austria and a town and put that in the GPS. I did not really follow the GPS but that is not really anything new. I got to Lienz, and then chose Heiligenblut as my next destination just because there were some curvy roads and I had remembered seeing it in my book.
As I approached the town, riding great roads and seeing lots of other bikers (always a good sign) I saw a sign for TOLL, 28 EU or something like that. WHAT ! ! ! ! ! So I pulled into town to consult the book and see what my other options were.
Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
If the Grand Canyon were in Europe, there would be roads going up and down it, and tunnels, and people living at all elevations on it. Such is the way of the world.
Passo de San Baldo is referred to as the “High Water Mark” of the Austrian Advance into Italy during World War I. The Austrians got down over the ridge, but there were no roads for re-supply, so they built one. They carved the road back and forth down the side of the cliff, but there was no room at the ends for the hairpin turns, so they built tunnels. The tunnels go into the mountain, turn around and come back out. They are stacked five or six deep. There is nothing quite like leaving the bright sunshine and going into a dark wet narrow tunnel on a bike, then having to do a hairpin turn inside.
http://www.whereisbobl.com/2018/2018-07-25-rest-stop/2018-07-25-rest-stop.html
I am trying different ways to post, as I don’t always have the internet, and some people don’t have facebook, and some people have low bandwidth, and some people don’t read their e-mails. So ……. I will try to accommodate everyone by posting in different ways until I find the best compromise for everyone
Some Places just Feal Like Home
I like to stop for coffee and whatever sometime late morning when possible. Today I decided to get some fruit and find a good place to have it later. I almost moved into the fruit place.
So 5 LITERS for about $10 US – Nice Price
