Escaped

Well, Tom tried to get us, even managed to get his mates to put one of
us in hospital[1], but we're now both got back home safe and sound.

Joking aside (the hospital bit is true, sort of), huge thanks to him for
a great time in San Diego, I'm glad we took him up on his kind offer -
ukrm wins again.

We pratted about in Vegas for a couple of days and drove to the west rim
of the Grand Canyon and back in a day, with a quick shufty at the Hoover
dam on the way back.

Then on to San Diego, deciding at the last minute to take some back
roads instead of the main interstates, calling in at the Joshua Tree
park on the way. It was a long way but really, really worth it. Highway
62 was a revelation. I checked it out afterwards and according to
Wikipedia it's one of the most isolated roads in California, which is
easy to believe. One stretch was over 100 miles with no services, towns,
nada. We came across a huge shoe collection in the middle of nowhere,
turns out it's the remains of a ghost town. Surreal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice,_California

Then a few days Chez Thomas, good food, good company and a nice (guided)
tour of some of the sites of San Diego/La Jolla. Thanks again Tom.

Long drive back to Vegas, some twisties to rival the Stelvio[2][3] at
the beginning followed by boredom on the interstates the rest of the
way. 4 hour departure delay to our flight home was a bit of a pain but
tolerable.

A few pics here:
url:http://www.flickr.com/photos/58125090@N00/sets/72157626242811994/

[1] another story, maybe
[2]
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=33.65378,-116.398516&spn=0.037223,0.077162&z=14
[3] Never done the Stelvio, so I don't really know how it compares

 

I just noticed yesterday that a planned trip via the Brenner pass would
be made more interesting if I took an enormous detour and went via the
Stelvio instead.

I'll let you know if it's any good. Ratings will be based on how many
times V throws up in the car during the journey.

 

@mid.individual.net:

It doesn't. 2 lanes & not at all steep in comparison. Looks quite fun
whereas the Stelvio got a bit tedious on a bike.

 

Is the Stelvio single track/one way then?

 

single track yes, one way no. Coaches aren't allowed so they shuttle people
up in minibuses as it is an all year ski resort. Meeting one on a hairpin
near the top is no fun. Meeting another bike on the steepest ones can be
tricky too as once you've committed to a line it is difficult to alter it.
Fortunately you can get a view of oncoming traffic on most of them by
looking over your shoulder.

 

@news.eternal-september.org:

If she's anything like my sister who got very queasy on the steep part of
the Pass of the Cattle near Applecross in Scotland then it will be messy.

For sheer "oh **** that's a big hole" comedy, the Susten pass near
Andermatt in CH is the one. I was dawdling whilst gawping at the scenery
when 2 Italian registered KTM twins came past with very loud pipes. Felt
like an earthquake and I nearly fucked up getting around the hairpin.

 

Ha.

On further consideration the Timmelsjoch looks a better bet than the
Stelvio, and requires significantly less of a detour.

She'll still vomit everywhere though. Game on!

 

yes, that's easy to get to from Lake Garda.

It's a nicer road than the Stelvio - I've done it twice both from north to
south. Col & Pat did it the other way on the way to Landeck. I like it all,
they thought the Italian side gave the best views.

The northern end is just down the road from Klaus' so you could rent one of
his bikes. Did he have a C1 in the fleet that V could ride? Take her up the
Kaunertal, like Andy did with Adie, so to speak.

 

I did it in err, um, 92 IIRC in my 1.5Tdi SX Nova. Don't remember any
minibuse but I do remember the commitment to line of some of the bikes.
First time I ever saw a Nordwest (parked at the top).

--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Aprilia Shiver Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

heh

We were in Mallorca a few years back, and I drove a LHD Polo to Cap
Formentor[1]. Not having had much time to get used to LHD, my road
positioning was still a little "off". P was on the side of the big
drop, with no shoulder or barriers.

The number of shouted "****!"s from her along that stretch was quite
impressive.

[1]
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...39.952385,3.202214&spn=0.022798,0.042658&z=15

 

My pleasure.

You'll have to come back and we'll ride some of the fun roads in the
area. Here are a couple of samples:
http://tinyurl.com/4h75wpz
http://tinyurl.com/4cfwv3b

 

Well, whilst you were away, I managed to get my arse into gear and
post that ammeter you wanted.

Should be with you any day ..

Paul.