All-Stars and Circles

All-Stars

A point of clarification.  The All-Star’s are not the clowns doing the ride.  The All-Stars are the people we meet who help make our experience unique.  Here’s who have qualified as All-Stars:

Stefan Knopf of KnopfTours for getting my moto to Germany and offering facilities/tools to switch my dog bones.  This kind of service is available to all who are his client.

Gerhard M. Krüger and Frank Schubert for organizing the 2012 IBA-Germany R2E in Koblenz and the following dinner at Maximilian Brauwiesen in Lahnstein.  Gerhard is also one of the early Europeans to ride the IBR!  IBA# 194!

Norbert Wienck, who earned the title “Germany’s IBA Toughest Rider 2011″

Bertl Paukner, Bertl’s Harley-Davidson, Bamberg for being the German “Grosspappa”!

And the drivers of 3 cars that offered help when the VStrompapotomus took a nap in Italy.

Gonna go round in circles …

Over the last two weeks I’ve been going around in circle at an alarming rate!  Sometimes because I’m lost, other times because I’m confused, but mostly because of millions of European roundabouts.  Virtually every village main road intersection results in a traffic roundabout.  I’ve seen roundabouts as small as 1-meter diameter and as large as 100+ meters diameters.

Apparently the French invented the one-way circular roundabout in 1877.  I’ve been around a couple of traffic circles in the US.  There is a large one in Long Beach, CA on the Pacific Coast Highway.  Basically you enter at your own risk, race around counter-clockwise until centrifugal force spits you out – hopefully at your turn.

After 2 weeks in Germany, Austria, Italy, I’ve learned to appreciate traffic circles.  I’m at one with traffic circles!

Traffic circles:
1) are inexpensive and low maintenance – no electronic gadgetry.
2) eliminates high speeds at intersections.
3) if large enough, can handle many intersecting streets
4) are forgiving if you miss your turn you just keep going around until your turn comes by again.

If the traffic is very heavy, roundabouts suck for cages!  Fortunately, moto’s can ease up the left lane to the front and cut back into the lineup.

GPS’s can handle traffic circles until you miss your turn and go all the way around and it says “recalculating” and it can’t keep up and the screen starts twitching and GPS Jane’s voice start sounding like a Munchkin.

Mon-May 7, 2012

We are in Plan C mode — Local rides in light rain.  Serious rain in the Garmisch-Partenkchn area and the Normandy, France area.  Did a 160 km (100 mile) loop to Kaiser Werksverkauf where they make porcelain stuff.

This is an exquisite porcelain statue of an eagle 20" high.

The rolling country side is blanketed with rapeseed fields of yellow. Above the horizon are the dark on and off sprinkles we rode throughout the day.

Tue-May 8, 2012

Rain, rain, everywhere rain.  We gave up and drove a cage 60 km (38 miles) to play tourist at Kunst Sammlungen derVeste Coburg (Fortress of Coburg).  This castle has one of the finest collection and ancient armor and guns.

Fully armored horse and rider for sport jousting.

Huge collection of armor, swords, and guns.

Racks of ancient guns of all kinds.

Sword racks

Early attempts of wheel mounted racks of single-shot rifles.