After a pretty miserable 2023 having undergone both open heart surgery and spinal surgery, I was in no fit state to even contemplate riding the V4. Having missed out on WDW2022 due to a bereavement in the family and not having attended since 2018, I've decided to head down to this year's event and just as did in 2016, I will be throwing the bikes in a van and driving down over three days. No point busting a gut to get there, and I've been granted 11 days leave from work, to cover the trip there and back, the three days of the event itself and a day either end (to pick up and load the van and return it the day after I get back). I've ridden down to Italy countless times and I frankly can't be arsed to try and stuff over a weeks worth of clothes and tools into a rucksack, so I would much rather get there and back in comfort and spend the time there riding the bike. Not sure as yet if the missus will be joining me again, as she did before with her Monster, but either way I am going regardless. Just as before, I have split the journey up each way into 3 roughly equal segments, so the first overnight stop is in Reims, then the second night is in Lucerne, then a final bash to Misano. It also means I'm not spending the entire day behind the wheel and leaves the evenings free to chill out and find somewhere for a few beers/wine and a bite to eat. I'm at an age where these things matter! Here's the route I'm taking (a well trodden path by many I am sure). 1075 miles each way. I'll have to remember to tread carefully through Switzerland, due to the heavy-handed speed restrictions and the eye-watering fines if you don't play the game.
Stunning scenery though in Switzerland, I wouldn’t be concerned by their speed limits given you’re in a van and not in a rush. Enjoy your well deserved holiday.
Ha! I've been flashed by a speed camera in my van while driving through Switzerland! It was just as I was exiting one of their many impressive tunnels. Switzerland is loaded with cameras and they are not well marked like they are here. Luckily the Swiss speeding ticket never made its way home to me. Our routine for travelling to Italy (in a van)... get a late Eurotunnel crossing (11pm) when its not busy, it's so much more pleasant. Drive on the empty French motorways for about 3 hours then kip at and Aires until sunrise. Coffee & French pastries for breakfast then back on the motorway and drive to the Alsace Wine region (lovely towns on the 'Wine Route' and spend a day or so walking in the hills & enjoying the wonderful towns & villages). Then head through Switzerland to your favourite Italian Lake for another stay, before Misano. Have a great trip!
Sounds great. We rode down in 2022, it was bloody roasting on the bike when we got there, so I’m tempted to fly down and stay in a hotel this time.
Accommodation: Instead of staying in town, have you considered staying in the quiet Italian Countryside? The hills inland away from the coast are loaded with great motorcycle roads. We stay near Monteciccardo, about a 30 minute ride to Misano, which takes you through Tavullia, Valentino Rossi's home town. I can highly recommend this place... it's run by celebrity chefs from Holland so the food is amazing! They have cabins, posh canvas tents with proper beds / proper furniture / wooden deck / gas BBQ... it's not roughing it! https://www.podereseipoorte.it/nl/camping-le-marche-italie/home.html
So van booked, tunnel crossing and hotels. European bike insurance cover sorted too. Just have to collect my WDW tickets when I get there. Still not sure if the missus wants to come along but hopefully she will. If not I'll still be heading off on the 23rd July, aiming to get to Dover for around 6am. This will be my fifth visit to WDW. Haven't been since 2018, where we flew to Bologna to pick up a Supersport then rode down to the event. We won't have the company of a long time good friend of ours and his wife, who was the former president of UKMOC, which is a great shame but it should hopefully be an enjoyable trip nonetheless.
Well I got back home yesterday unloaded the van and returned it this morning to the rental company having driven 2100 miles in total. Have to say it was a lot easier than I last remembered, albeit for unloading and loading the bike on my own at each end. The new VW Transporter is a seriously good bit of kit, comfy, economical and plenty of grunt. The only spanner in the works was the heat. So goddam hot, especially on the Saturday when it hit 36C at one point. Felt more like 40C. I got the free bus into the circuit from Riccione, where I was staying. So only rode the bike in on the Friday and Sunday (a total of 44 miles). The parata on Friday was the usual mayhem, but has to be done if you are there on your own bike. All in all a disproportionate use of the bike for the time and distance travelled to get there and back, but that's not what attending is all about.
. Not surprised. It was probably similar at the circuit to be honest as it was certainly heading that way by late morning/early afternoon
