pdvsecondblog

Friday, 20 September 2013

Born again Rider

Back on a Bike.

Most ppl have notice by now that I have resigned from CGI as per 31July and I am now operating as PDVBV s.p.r.l. (a belgium limited company). Life is much better without the employer!

Because I had to hand in the company-car, I am currently running around on a borrowed Suzuki Bandit N600 (Thx to Iwan @ BrightDBA). Hence this blog, with piccies.

After riding a small but nimble scooter on Penang for a few months (link to old picture), I just had to take up Riding two wheels at home again. In the last months, I have rented several bikes to get my routine back (and to get rid of my tropical-traffic-jam-dodging habits from Penang).

Here are some pictures of my rides this year.
(with a bit of luck, I get to cross the Stelvio next year, possibly visit SIOUG and HROUG by Motorbike sometime?)

First weekend on a rental: a Suzuki Savage. 1-Cylinder Thumper. Great.

2nd weekend on a rental: Suzuki Desperado. Still looking very cool:

Then 3 weekends on a Transalp: Practical and Fun. Weather got better and I got my Bike-riding routines back, I did a sevearl 1000+ KM weekends with this bike.

Then Iwan-BrightDBA (who had succeeded me in Penang, and had also ridden a bike there) lend me his Bandit. I have now done 8000 km on the Bandit (including 1 large routine maintenance), and every km on the bike is still pure joy.

Rode this bike through a Thunderstorm on Moerdijkbrug, through gusting winds on A58, N59 (stormvloedkering, dammenweg) and over Zeelandbrug, had lots of wind and rain.
Being from that area, I actually like a good wind!

Mr AK will not leave Apeldoorn-area, so I had to ride 120km out and back through rain to have a meal with him - not a problem for a Bandit and a rider in good outfit.

And I still think the bike is better then a cage.

I Also regularly go fetch (cheaper)fuel in Luxembourg, which is only an hr ride from were I live (over some classic winding roads!).

Winter, snow and salt, will stop me though, and I'll have to put her in a garage when family + weather force me back in a cage.

But I'm looking forward to next spring.

Friday, 1 October 2010

Stelvio Pass in a Prius

HaHaaaa!

We drove the Stelvio pass(and de Passo del Tonale, and a few other really nice roads)

In a Prius.

I was lucky. I had Beautiful, Clear weather on the drive up from Piran, via Venice and Trento, over Passo del Tonale, and because of a closed road all the way via Aprico, and then up to Bormio.

The scenic route through Parco Nazionale, was already closed due to snow. I have to come back for that one some time.

More details to follow if I get time and inspiration to draw up a complete post.

Here are some pictures (click pictures for full-size).

Lumbering up...
(spot the Prius)

Halfway up:

Another view (spot the Prius)

Top:

At the Top, the GPS on my phone reported 2747 meters above sealevel. But how to take a picture of the GPS reading if the camera is the gps and the phone...

On the way down, northern slope

Snow at the top was more then knee deep, I even spotted some skiers.

As it was 16:00 in the afternoon, and thawing, you could hear snow rumbling down a few time. At one point, a cubic metre of snow came sliding down just in front of me.

Unfortunately, opportunities to stop are less on the way down in the Austrian direction. Here was an occasion to park (anxiously looking upward tho):

The last part on the way down, me and another car (a Honday Civic Hybrid!) gently followed a snowplow on patrol. I imagine they have a permanent job keeping that road clean.