July 17th - Marseille, France to Carcassonne, France - 346 km

I checked in with the front desk to see if my key has arrived yet and sadly no it hasn’t.  However I left all my information at the front desk and asked them to forward it on to Bilbao, Spain.  I hope it gets there when I arrive in a few days.

Today I ride with the minions, otherwise known as Mich and Eddy!  The ride was very scenic and lots of great roads.  A lot of the roads were through flat areas that were rice fields but then we road through areas that are famous for their oysters.

Our first break was at a very quaint cafe in a square where we were able to ride our bikes right into the square and ordered something to drink on a very hot day.  Along the way there was some issues with a bike that needed some attention but then everyone caught up and we continued on.

There were many vineyards that we passed along the way as well as beautiful beach areas.  Upon arrival at the hotel in Carcassonne we were treated with a spectacular view of the fortified city of Carcassonne.  It looks like something out of a storybook and I was lucky enough to have the view of the castle as I called it.  WOW.

Our dinner was served out on the terrace which overlooked this beautiful site.  The fortified city was lit up at night and just became more beautiful with each minute as we were eating our delicious meal.

The city of Carcassonne is one of the oldest cities in France dating back to 600BC.

Geert informed me that he had received a phone call from the hotel in Marseille to let me know the key had arrived the day we left around 10:00 am and that they were going to forward it on to Bilbao, Spain the following day.  Let us see when we arrive if it has arrived too!!  I hope so.

July 16th - Marseille, France - Leisure Day

Today I decided to tour around Marseille to see all the beautiful sights.  Some of the other Posse Riders took a boat tour but the weather doesn’t look promising.

Fellow Posse Rider Mike and I toured the city by walking along the shore until the weather started to get bad and then hopped on a bus and went into the city of Marseille.  Very busy downtown even though it was raining pretty hard.  We got off the bus when we spotted a nice cafe for lunch and enjoyed our lunch overlooking the yacht club.  Thankfully Mike had his cell phone with him and he was able to look up the directions to the Harley Davidson dealer and which bus to get on to get there.

We headed out up hill to catch the next bus and then once we got to our stop it was up hill again to the Harley Dealer.  At first we thought it was closed as there was no lights on.  I stood in front of the doors to peak in and they automatically opened. Yeah!!  Looking around the store there wasn’t a lot of ladies wear clothes and no dealer shirts for ladies but Mike was able to get one for himself.

Our next mode of transportation was a taxi drive directly back to the hotel which was a lot less confusing than trying to figure out the transportation system.  Getting back to the hotel the weather had cleared and checked in with all the other Posse Riders to see what was happening for supper.

The boat ride was beautiful to start and then on the way back the weather was quite bad and a few of them were sick on the boat.  Apparently there was even a marriage proposal on the boat but all in good fun and was not serious - or was it!!!

Tonight supper was on our own and we all headed down to the beach area again to go to some of the restaurants.  As we were trying to see what was on the menu I came across a restaurant that was serving lobster.  I was sold and that is what I had for supper - delicious!!

The sunset at the beach was nice but not as nice as the ones we get at home!   Tomorrow is another day riding so off to bed early and up early on the road again.  

July 15th - Nice, France to Marseille, France - 260 km

This morning my cousin Rod met me at the parking garage to wish all the Posse Riders a continued success in our riding adventure.  I hate parking garages and usually ask for assistance to have the bike moved in or out.  Well this morning I handed over the keys to Rod and he graciously moved the bike. It turns out the ride out was not that difficult but I had no way of knowing that.  As we said our good byes and I headed out to the gas station only to realize he still had my keys!! Damn!!

Thankfully by fluke, Joe from California, was in my group today and was able to help - not only with opening my gas cap with his key - but to come up with a solution to the key code in order to continue to start the bike.  I don’t know what I would have done without his help and his very calm nature to my problem.  I was able to contact Rod who said he would forward the keys on to Marseille as we were going to be two nights there.

The ride was very nice and we were able to arrive in Marseille early in order for anyone that wanted to watch the World Cup Final between France and Croatia.  While the game was on a number of Posse Riders enjoyed the pool and bar services.  The floating toys served as entertainment for us.

And as most of you know France won!!  Well everyone was out in full force celebrating on the streets.  Cars honking, bikes revving (not ours) and people screaming and hanging out of cars.  Our supper and party was down near the beach and we were on a balcony with full viewing access of a roundabout that turned into a speeding circle of small cars racing around and dodging other cars and bikes.  I have never seen such insanity.

Our DJ Spanky had great music to dance to and the drinks were all included - needless to say there were a lot of people that over indulged.  A few of us went up on the huge Ferris wheel where we could see the whole boulevard and saw the cars backed-up both ways along the beach.  I was so surprised that no one was badly injured as the drivers were more than a little out of control with people hanging out windows and sunroofs.

Tomorrow is a leisure day and hopefully all will be cleaned up in the morning.  I am having a problem uploading the pictures from my GoPro so hopefully tomorrow I will be able to attach more pictures.

July 14th - Leisure Day - Nice, France

This morning I slept in.  After two days of long rides it was well needed.  I could not decide what to do this morning as I knew Rod would also be sleeping in.  So I went for a walk with Mike McCormick down the board walk all the way to the #I love Nice sign.

We then decided to head up to the lookout to see what kind of a view we would have.  WOW is all that can be said - it was worth the number of stairs up to see that view of the famous Nice beach.

On the way back we stopped for a well deserved drink and enjoyed people watching and trying to figure out how long the para-sail ride was.  It took us several times to time it as we were distracted easily.  LOL. The ride was about 7 minutes and Mike found out later that it was 50 euros for one person!!  He decided not to go after all.

My cousin Rod joined us at the hotel and we had a beer there before heading down to the beach for a quick swim in the Mediterranean Sea.  Okay so the beach really isn’t a beach like we are used to - no sand!!!  All round stones!!  I had to use my running shoes to go the water as it was very difficult to walk on as Dickey found out.  Water was very warm but was well appreciated.

After taking a quick shower Rod and I joined some of the Posse Riders for the Football (Soccer) game between Belgium and England with Belgium winning 2 - 0.  I tried for the first time a very delicious dish of cantaloupe and ham.  Sweet and salty.  After the game Rod took me to his favourite pizza place for supper.  Thin crust pepperoni pizza - another WOW.

We continued our walk through the restaurant and shopping area and came back to the hotel where we said good bye until tomorrow.  Rod plans on meeting us at the bikes to wish us off.

July 13th - Ride Out from Nice, France

Well I didn’t think I was going to ride today but the ride was going to be beautiful so I couldn’t resist.  And after talking to Rod last night he was going to be busy until the afternoon anyway so - I ride!!

After getting through traffic we pulled into a gas station where everyone was filling up with much needed gas.  After I filled up and paid I was coming out to my bike and I could hear someone yelling my name.  I was trying to figure out who it was and then when I heard “Char”, I knew exactly who it was - my cousin Rod.  I was so excited I screamed and gave him a big hug!  Well you can imagine everyone turned to look as they thought I dropped the bike and Mich came right over wondering if I was okay.  I know he thinks I am crazy!  But all was good when I introduced my cousin.  LOL

Everyone headed out to an absolutely stunning ride overlooking the gorge and the bright blue water below.  The roads were amazing and the scenery exceptional.  The ride was extremely long but so worth it and we didn’t arrive to the Harley Davidson dealer until after 7:00 at night.  So a quick shop and then back on the bike and a few of us led by Stoyan headed back to the parking garage.  Thankfully Stoyan helped me out by bringing the bike into the parking garage as it is very tricky and I am to much of a chicken to do that.  Thank goodness for very kind biker guys that don’t mind helping a damsel in distress.

After a long walk back to the hotel I immediately contacted Rod to let him know that he was more than welcome to come for supper with our group.  He met us at the restaurant on the beach - and we were treated to an even more amazing meal with fish as the main attraction.  Delicious!  Rod got to meet some of the Posse Team and all the bikers from California.  Thank you everyone that made him feel right at home.

After supper we sat outside on the boardwalk and people watched while we got all caught up.  I am looking forward to tomorrow for another great day of visiting.

July 12th - Sankt Moritz, Switzerland to Nice, France - MONSTER RIDE

This morning was an early rise for all us bikers.  Crazy really when you think about it.  Meet at 5:45 am and then ride for about an hour or so and then breakfast on the road at a beautiful waterfall picnic area.  It was very near a built up area and I am sure people in their homes wondered what the hell was going on with all these bikes pulling up and then stopping to eat breakfast.  We had a few people out walking and I am pretty sure they did not know what to do when they saw all the bikers!!

After breakfast we all split into our groups to ride the rest of the monster ride!  I was still with Fast and Funny (Benny and Davey - in no particular order).  Davey spent some of the day regrouping the lost sheep (bikers) turning the wrong way!!  He was a great sweeper finding all the strays.  The last couple of strays were left at the side of the road somehow as some people obviously went a different way and they never got picked up by the sweeper.  Thankfully one of the girls husbands was able to get her on the cell phone and they were able to make their way to the group waiting on the side of the highway in the crazy heat we were having.  We were all trying to get shade from the one tree at the side of the road - thankfully.  Upon arriving the service truck also arrived and quickly shared with us all some cold water and fruit left over from breakfast.  It was much appreciated by everyone.

At that point was when we realized that it was going to take too long to continue the back roads to Nice so we headed to the toll roads!!  Thankfully most of the way was in tunnels so we were out of the sun a good portion of the time as it was extremely hot.  I think the humidity is higher here in Italy and France than it is back home in Canada.

We arrived at the parking garage around 7:30 - 8:00 which was to be the supper.  There were vans ready to take us all to the hotel which was about 1.5 km away.  There was no parking near the hotel due to the terrorist attack two years ago here in Nice.

Arrived at the hotel and texted my cousin Rod to tell him that I had arrived and I hoped he was going to be here for work.  Then I took a very quick shower, changed and headed to the beach restaurant.  Supper was very good.





After supper I received a text back to say that in fact he was here in Nice and that we could get together tomorrow.  I was very happy to hear that and went to sleep with a smile on my face.  Always so nice to see family!!

July 11th, 2018 - Sankt Moritz - Leisure Day

This morning I had no clue what I was going to do today but knew I would ride somewhere and explore even if it had of been on my own.  I met Stoyan downstairs who invited me to go with him and his wife along with Dicky and Gordon.  Vessela also met me and said the same so I decided I would definitely go with them.  So glad I did what an amazing day we had.

The ride started at 10:30 this morning with Stoyan leading the way and we went down the mountain and headed into Italy.  The plan was to stop at the bottom of the mountain at a village and have something to eat but it was very busy so we headed back up the mountain where we stopped for lunch at one of the lakes.  Beautiful setting - food was delicious and we had a leisurely lunch very much enjoying each other’s company and the setting.

We then headed back to the hotel and I took a video which is posted on Facebook of us riding up through the mountains around several sharp turns.  Loved it.  Once at the hotel we figured out where to go to catch the trams to the top of the mountains.

Arriving downtown Sankt Moritz we headed to the tram which turned out to be two and then a gondola ride to the very top of the mountain.  On the way up we met up with Fred and Betty along with Gordon and Mary!  Amazing views!!  We sat and had drinks thanks to Gordon and snacks thanks to Stoyan and Vessela.  Upon going down the mountain at the second tram we met up with many Posse Riders.

We took a little tour of the downtown on the hunt for the beautiful hotel Badrutts Palace Hotel.  Beautiful setting overlooking the lake.  We decided to have another drink and again the waiter was very nice and soon realized that there must have been something going on with Harley Davidson as other Posse Members had ate their lunch there today.  We must have taken over Sankt Moritz.  LOL

Maloja Pass 

Tonight I had a very small supper - pastry covered hotdog. LOL.  There were several people gathered in the hotel lobby to watch the Football game - England vs. Croatia.  Croatia won in overtime 2 - 1.

Tomorrow the Monster Ride - over 500 km ride through some mountains and flat areas arriving in Nice, France to enjoy a beautiful supper on the beach.  Can’t wait but the 5:45 am departure will come fast.

July 10th, 2018 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany to Sankt-Moritz, Switzerland - 261 km

Today was supposed to rain but thanks to the wonderful people that put their rain gear on it did not.  The ride today was led by Benny and the sweeper was Davey also known as Fast and Funny!  Unfortunately right out the gate a bike broke down and they had to wait most of the day to have it up and ready to go.  They got to the hotel just after we finished supper.

Other than a break down there was no major incidents today.  Lots of beautiful mountain passes right up to the snow on the peaks of the mountains.  The roads in the morning followed lush forests of pine trees and lovely rivers.  The colour of the water was like none other I have seen.  Almost like the Caribbean Sea but a cooler colour of blue.

It is amazing that the big trucks, buses, campers and numerous bikes and cars all travel the same roads.  It is pretty terrifying as you head into a corner and realize there is a truck starring down at you (not quite but man it felt like it at times).  Today we did not experience so many bikes that tried to get in between and pass but there was a car that pulled right beside me and behind our leader.  Scared the crap out of me as I did not hear it coming.  He had to tuck in beside me as there was a truck coming around the corner.  Thankfully I did see him at the very last minute and was able to back off to let him in.  But it didn’t stop him from getting right up close and personal to Benny.  

Thankfully Geert spoke to the border authorities about all the groups coming through into Switzerland because when we pulled up to the border Benny was able to speak with them and then they simply let the whole group pass through.  Otherwise it might have been a long stop to get the bikes stopped and passports, drivers licenses and bike documents out of the bike for inspection.

One of the last passes over the mountains I was directly behind Benny and my smile could not have been wider.  His speed was perfect, my cornering was just to my liking but my gears certainly got a work out from 1st to 3rd gears.  The switchbacks were numerous and I had fun doing them.  I hardly touched my brakes at all!!

Arrived at the hotel around 5:00 which gave me enough time to download the GoPro pictures from yesterday and today.  While I waited I took a little nap.  Then off to the shower and dinner for 8:00.  The World Cup for Football was also on with Belgium playing France.  France won 1 to 0.  Almost every table had an iPad or tablet set up so they could watch the game while eating supper.

Tomorrow I am not sure what I will do with my leisure day but I hope to ride a little and maybe do some tourist things.

July 9th - Salzburg, Austria to Garmish Partenkirchen, Germany - 244 km

Today the roads again were amazing.  The views from the mountain roads and the valley’s were spectacular.  We travelled back and forth through Austria and Germany several times during the day.

I was in the same group today and everyone had a fantastic ride today.  Speed was good through the mountains but traffic in the villages was very busy and the weather was perfect but hot when we are in traffic.

One of our stops for a coffee stop was the place where everyone stopped for a quick break.  It was very busy and koodoos to the one guy who looked after all of us.  So our short break turned into a much longer break in the morning.

Lunch was at a nice restaurant where we were able to get some free wifi and I was able to iMessage the boys which turned out to be about the time that they were getting ready to start work in the morning.  There is six hours difference between Europe and Ontario, Canada which makes it difficult to communicate with family.

This afternoon we took a short cut through a park which happened to be a toll road.  My understanding is that it took about 90 km off our ride.  There was also a lake that we road past and the water was crystal clear you could actually see the fish in the water from the road!!  One of the roads according to the ride book - “the Alpenstrasse (Alpine Road)” is the oldest touring road in Germany mentioned first in 1879.  As it is a German road - the lanes were wider and the speed limit was more generous.

Before supper a few of us went for a walk to downtown Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  Absolutely beautiful - the quaint village was full of restaurants and gift shops.  The buildings have paintings on them and of course in the European style the window boxes are full of beautiful flowers.  Supper was at the hotel and it was a sit down meal which was delicious.

July 8th, 2018 - Vienna to Salzburg - 375 km

Everyone was excited to start the Posse Ride today.  Outside the hotel is where we all gather to get the relevant information for the day and sing our Posse Song.  Then off to the garage where all the bikes are located.   No one is to start unless you are in the group that is staging to get out of the garage. Otherwise we would be affixaiated in the garage.  LOL.

I was in the third group out so plenty of time to make sure that I was set up with my GoPro and my music.

The roads were amazing today - so many curves and beautiful views.  Mountains were incredible and the riding is truly out of this world.  We don’t have those kinds of hairpin turns at home and they are always challenging and fun at the same time.  The fact that I had done a slow ride training earlier this year with the Ladies of Harley in Ottawa has helped my riding without a doubt.  My tight corners are much better and I feel so much more comfortable on the bike.  Plus this bike corners like a dream.

There were so many bikes on the road today and they of course were the crotch rocket type bikes and they were not in favour of waiting for a group so they were dodging in and out of our group passing around corners - which really makes it that much harder to concentrate on the road and the bikes coming up on you and still make the turn as you are supposed to without knocking anyone off their bikes.  All was good - no bikes were injured today.  Hopefully tomorrow we will have less traffic on these fabulous roads as it will be Monday.

I was in the group called Miss and Impossible which is led by Themis and the sweeper is Dave.  Well the sweeper is to stay at the back of the group and make sure that all the bikes that have been left as markers on the road get back into the group.  As there was so much confusion with bikes coming and going in our group - there were some bikes that passed slower riders - Dave actually passed two of our group members and took off like a bullet.  But thankfully Geert was there to pick up the pieces.  Tomorrow is always another day Dave - so we shall see who he tries to lose tomorrow.  Hopefully not me.  LOL.

July 7th - Vienna - EPR 2018 Begins

 Today was a busy day!  Registration and we received all our goodies.  Another nice jean shirt, a foldable cooler, postcards, pins, patches, stickers and a beautiful gift for the ladies of facial cream - SILXPERT.  The theme this year is all about beaches and mountains.




I received the keys to my bike and she is very nice - flat white Street
Glide that has about 2,000 km

on it.  A few of us went to the Harley Davidson dealer here in Vienna and of course I bought a shot glass to go along with my collection.

The Harley Davidson dealer had a number of interesting motorcycles and the one below caught my eye and it looks very 70’s inspired.

After returning from the Harley store I went to the room and had a shower as it was so hot riding through downtown Vienna - traffic was insane!  There were more red lights than I want to think about and the heat was getting to us all.  Gunther was great to tour us around a bit through the traffic so we could see the Opera and a few government buildings.  Very much appreciated as I would have been lost without someone taking control of where to go.

After a little rest and cool down I decided to go for a walk around the area where our hotel is located. Beautiful area for sure.  Not far from the hotel there was the Schonbrunn Palace surrounded by a beautiful park and zoo.  It is hard to imagine that at some point in its history people actually lived in that palace.  Check out the description of the Palace. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schönbrunn_Palace

Tonight was the opening ceremonies where everyone was given instructions and directions from Geert and Dave.  A review of the second man drop system is always a good thing.  Dinner was here at the hotel.  It was a buffet with fish and rice along with curry chicken and rice.  Very delicious.  However the best part is always the company that you spend your time with.  Looking forward to riding through mountains.

Home to Vienna, Austria

Route for 2018 EPR

Thursday I took the day off work to do some running around.  Hair appointments, nail appointments, say goodbye to my mom and dad and finishing packing.

Paul drove me to the airport but not before we stopped at The Prior for supper.  I arrived in lots of time at the airport and was quite relaxed before boarding the plane for the flight at 9:40 pm.

Somehow it seems easy to fly through the night as we get fed a small meal and then watch a movie and then it is lights out and you try to go to sleep.  Interesting though lights were out around midnight  home time and I looked out and there was a beautiful sky and realized it was getting close to sunrise!!  Damn that was fast.



I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany around 11:00 am their time which would be 5:00 am our time!!  Then what a rat race to get to the next flight.  What I thought was long enough being an hour and a half to have a break between flights turned out to be a quick walk through the airport.  So you get off your plane outside and board a bus then you walk through a maze to board a little train to walk some more and end up going through customs which was a long line with only 2 people working then your walk some more through a maze of corridors only to arrive at the gate (almost last call) and you go down stairs to board another bus!!  Yes then wait on the bus for 10 minutes and then they take you back outside on the tarmac to the plane where you board only to wait 30 minutes there before finally taking off.  Wow!!!

Arriving at the airport in Vienna, Austria was very smooth - my suitcase was close to being the first one off and then walking through the gates looking at I don’t know what I hear Cindy Siegel call my name.  What a great sight to see!!!  Cindy and John had just arrived and met JD who had come from the airport to make sure they got to the hotel okay so I was able to share a taxi with them to the hotel.

Of course arriving at the hotel was like arriving at old home week.  All the friendly faces from previous EPR rides.  Love them all.  Up to the room to meet my new roomie Colleen and then shower and head to the bar for a beer and something to eat.  Great visits with all previous riders and then I just had to give up as I was exhausted.  It was 8:00 and I headed to bed.  Had a quick nap and now blogging before I am out for the night.

Tomorrow is registration and we get our bikes.  Woohoo!!!

Itinerary

Well there is 3 more sleeps left before I cross the pond again for another amazing adventure for the 2018 European Posse Ride.  What was a trip of a lifetime back in 2014 has now turned into the third trip of a lifetime.  Such an amazing experience riding through Europe on a Harley Davidson is worth every penny I have saved.  There is nothing like the freedom a trip on a Harley brings you.

I fly out Thursday night arriving in Vienna, Austria Friday afternoon.  Just in time for the meet and greet Friday night and then registration on Saturday.  It is going to be a fun-filled adventure again.

Hotel in Vienna,  Austria

Places we are staying along the way:

July 5th - Ottawa, ON to Vienna, Austria (overnight)

July 6th - Arrive - Meet and Greet

July 7th - Vienna, Austria - Registration and Opening Ceremony

July 8th - Vienna, Austria to Salzburg, Austria

July 9th - Salzburg, Austria to Garmish Partenkirchen, Germany

July 10th - Garmish Partenkirchen, Germany to Sankt Moritz, Switzerland

July 11th - Leisure Day or Ride Out

July 12th - Sankt Moritz, Switzerland to Nice, France

July 13th - Leisure Day or Ride Outs

July 14th - Leisure Day

July 15th - Nice, France to Marseille, France

July 16th - Leisure Day

July 17th - Marseille, France to Carcassone, France

July 18th - Carcassonne, France to Boltana, Spain

July 19th - Leisure Day or Ride Out

July 20th - Leisure Day

July 21st - Boltana, Spain to Bilbao, Spain

July 22nd - Leisure Day - Closing Dinner

July 23rd - Leisure Day

I look forward to taking you all on another Harley Davidson adventure.