BT XII - Day 8 dinner

BT XII - Day 8

I spoke too soon.
Ah, you crazy Czechs and your closed roads,  how you make me yearn for the cuddly little German umleitungs.  We had 6 closed roads and numerous temporary traffic lights before the half way point of today's ride.  Some of the closed roads had diversions,  some did not and all were completely incomprehensible to any non Czech speakers. The might and wonder of our GPS again came to put aid.
Fortunately with a long ride today we set off sharply this morning.  The early departure was wasted when John and I parted ways during the first diversion and took nearly half an hour to meet up again,  precisely where we started. (if only my Bluetooth had been working.)
The day promised rain which we were lucky to mostly avoid. However the waterproofs were invaluable in the damp,  spray and for insulation purposes, particularly during our frequent ascents into the cloud. These were both distinctly damp and cold enough for the heated grips to come into play.
Quote of the day from John - These Czech  drivers are  f.....g lunatics,  I'm looking forward to getting some sensible drivers in Poland.  (my near head on into an oncoming overtaking car would beg to differ).
Sights of the day,  a white goose farm,  an upside-down house,  playing  cranes and eventually our hotel.
Dinner was to defeat us however.

BT XII - Day 8 pics

BT XII - Day 7 -pics

BT XII - Day 7

The day of the divertion.
OK the first was of our own making.   With a day of "normal" mileage Tomtom advised us of an early arrival. Rrather than face the straight-ish Austrian valley roads we set the  GPS to find us some wiggly roads.   The resulting trip through small rural hamlets was charming and very enjoyable.
Not so the next three diversions. one in  Germany and the final two in the Czech Republic.   There the roads are just closed with no obvious detour,   Even with the mighty Tomtom to aid us, navigation was a struggle at times and we seemed to be the object of much amusement to several road workers.
Again we arrived within our target window and set off for a drink and fine and cheap dinner in the centre of town, with free karaoke too. (half litre of beer approximately £1)
The scenery on the Czech roads was wonderful and you don't need mud flaps when a nice man in a white van (or car) is willing to provide the service free of charge by driving six inches behind you.
Final note :- Soda rapides and  Suzuki swifts aren't !

BT XII - Day 6

This is our only 2 night stop which means laundry and a day riding without luggage.  The down side of leaving your luggage is that you have to remember to take all your documents etc with you.....   oops!
OK a days riding trying to remain below plod's radar.   This was made more complicated when my Bluetooth headset completely packed up....... bugger.
On the up side, the weather was great, dry and not too hot.   The planned route was based on lakes and valleys and turned out to be an easy days ride with occasional fast sweeping curves (if a bit unchallenging).  There were a couple of fabulous passes later on in the day.   Although some of the roads may not have been top notch,  the scenery was outstanding.   As were the ice creams at the ski resort.
We briefly joined a gang of Harley riders descending a pass but eventually managed to work or way through the group before taking off on the open road again.
Incidents of the day include the oil spill (Whch fellow bikers warned us of and police waved us round) and the double car manoeuvre that almost resulted in a graeme shaped smear on the road.  (But obviously didn't)

BT XII - Day 5

Today was a baby bear day,  thankfully neither wet nor hot, which makes a change.
As the entire day seemed to flit from Austria to Germany and back,  we were thankful that there were no border controls otherwise we could have taken twice the time to cover the miles.

The initial blast over the mountain via  Kuhtai was very enjoyable. It settled down into a very pretty jaunt down the Innsbruck valley through the outskirts and industrial estates. The mist weaving is way through the mountains, escarpments and trees provided a wonderful backdrop.
The roads leading to and from Berchesgarten were their usual fantastic selves and blissfully light in traffic. 
Stand out points of the day include the kilted man on the bicycle and the Australian,  living in Poland that we meet in a lay-by.
After what seemed like a long day we arrived at the Hotel Retro {although I'm not sure that the decor lives up to its name } just before our target of 6pm.  Our Chinese supper would have been much improved without the smokers at the adjoining tables.