Evening all Recently purchased a 2005 Repsol Blade, and other than the ride home, the first 'proper' ride out on it was a week's ride round Europe of around 2,400 miles through 10 different countries. Fortunately, the bike performed really well, and I'm really pleased with it after owning a '97 RRV for the last 10 years. Heading out through Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany on day 1. If anyone's looking for a nice coffee (or even overnight) stop, the town of Vianden (just before crossing into Germany) is worthy of investigation, and it's not far from the 50, which is a cracking road that goes to, and beyond the town of Bittburg. The following day, we took the B500, heading south from Baden Baden (a town so nice they named it twice) through parts of the Black Forest; this is one of the roads bike-journos feature on a regular basis. Great road, but we did it on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and although there were opportunities to 'express' oneself, the traffic was pretty heavy. Still recommended. Italy (via some great Swiss passes, and riding through a massive thunderstorm - gulp!), was pretty chaotic - but I'm told that's the north for you, so didn't do that much of note there, other than stop off at the Pinocchio town of Vernante for coffee (not fibbing, honest), before heading back into France for a quick stop-off at Monaco before heading on our way back up via Route Napoleon. Monaco was unbelievably busy - roadworks seemed to be everywhere, and in black leathers, in 30 degrees, with the Blade's fans kicking in at around 105, we couldn't get away from it quickly enough! Fortunately, we did manage to ride part of the circuit and I'm hoping to head back there when - or if - it's not so busy to see a bit more of the place. And of course, to make lots of noise in the tunnel. The rest of the trip was typically French; great roads, great food and I can't complain about the wine either. Found a great place to stay in Sumene - La Source aux Mimosas. If anyone's in the area, I'd recommend staying there. It's a family-run B&B on the edge of town (only drawback is that it's up a steep, fairly unmade road), and we (only) paid about Eur 65 for the night, which included beer / wine and a three course meal cooked by Mme, who certainly knows her way around the kitchen. If you're looking for lively night-life, this won't meet requirements, but if you've had a decent day's ride and are about to face another one, then you could do a lot worse. It's also near the Milau viaduct, which is worth a small detour to stop and crack off a few photos. Have tried to upload a couple of the trip, but broadband seems to be intermittently playing up... Is there a file size limit in place? Currently planning on a trip out to Hungary in September - I've pretty much got the route nailed there, but would welcome suggestions on a route back; should I head north and return via Slovakia, Czech Republic / Poland / Germany, or head south/west and come back via Croatia, Slovenia, Italy (if there are bits of northern Italy that aren't a ball-ache)? Oooh, one final question - the Blade has developed an issue with the speedo under-reading - anyone got any ideas? I'll create a post under a different thread with a bit more detail and would welcome help, advice, etc. Hope you're all still awake after reading this... Cheers - Guy
