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CURRENT LOCATION: Upper right corner is my SPOT Satellite track provided by SPOTwalla. When activated, it provides a real time track of my travels. The tracks are archived back to my arrival in Heidelberg, April 25. Tue-May 15, 2012Location: Garmisch-P Lodging: Tent Camping Euro: $1 USD = €0.75 or €1 = $1.33 USD Gas/Fuel in Garmisch-P: €1.68/l or $2.24 USD/l or $8.28/gal! We are out of here! The forecast for Bavaria is afternoon thunderstorms, sub-zero freezing nights, and snow tomorrow! We are packing up our tents and scootin’ back to Bamberg.  It was a chilly, crisp, beautiful morning as we broke camp. |
We are moving by 10AM. After a 2-hours of country roads heading to Bad Tolz. We just finish climbing a series of moderate switchbacks and at the summit my riding partner’s HD slows down and moves over to the right edge of the road. On come the emergency blinkers. He’s looking for a safe place to pull over but ends up coasting downhill ~2 kilometers to the edge of Bad Tolz.
 The HD pulled over at the first safe spot after coasting ~2 km. A right turn at the signal light is the town of Bad Talz. |
| It was 12 noon. The RoadGlide’s engine sounded normal but the bike had no forward movement in any gear! This is typically not a good symptom . Out come the HD International dealer book and after two short phone calls … Harley Harley-Davidson Galerie Vertragshändler in Wolfratshausen, Germany calls. They can send their transport van and be at our location in 40 minutes. The van with Tim and Manfred load the HD and within 1-1/2 hours of our breakdown, the bike was on the lift and the problem found. The clutch housing had no splines.
The good luck gods smiled on us when the dealer had a clutch in stock, special ordered for another project (on hold). After 4-hours and a wad of €-notes life is good again. We have more All-Stars to add to the list: - Wolfram Rummel, Geschaftsfuhrer (Boss) We depart the Wolfratshausen H-D dealer at 6PM. It’s 265km (165 miles) north through Munich, Ingolstadt, Nuremberg to Bamberg. It’s start’s to sprinkle and within 20 minutes we are in the storm! It rains for the next 3 hours back to Bamberg. |
| Staying dry in the rain is a combination of several things.
What you ride: A Goldwing has a lot more protection from the elements than a basic naked bike. I’m riding a ’04 Suzuki V-Strom DL1000 with stock windshield. This moto doesn’t have much frontal protection. The hands, head and feet are exposed to the elements. Outer Gear: My Kilm Latitude Gore-Tex jacket and pants take direct impact and exposure to rain and standing road water. The only time the jacket has leaked was when I forgot to zip close a pocket or left a vent open. |
| Electric Heat: Heated clothing is essential to touring. I use Gerbing’s heated shirt and gloves. |
| Boots: The Sidi Gore-Tex Adventure Boots have kept my feet safe from moto naps and several slow-speed early departures. Some might say overkill but it seems I need more protection than most. This includes SoCal to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay down to Ushuaia, Argentina and back to Santiago, Chile. After the IBA-Germany RTE my boots started leaking. A coating of Sno-Seal fixed the leak and my 3+hour ride back from Garmisch-P (constant rain) ended with dry feet! |
| Gloves & Hand Protection
1. I normally wear armored summer gloves. 2. When the temps drop and or in rain I put “Hippo Hands” over the hand controls. These keep wind/cold off the hands! With heated grips, it’s like sticking my hand inside a warm oven. I love my Hippo Hands! 3. In extreme cold, I wear Gerbing electric gloves with the Hippo Hands and heated grips. Yes, my gloved hands still get damp after several hours of rain but the hands are warm and comfortable. |
| Helmet: Shuberth C2 may be one of the safest helmets available. It does an good job with rain and venting. My big complaint is the rotating chin bar no longer stays locked up and come down at the worst times. |
| Thu-April17, 2012
This morning’s Weather Report indicates it’s +/-0℃ and occasionally snowing in Garmisch-P. Some riders might think that I’m whining about the weather. Other’s realize it is what it is. I’m just describing our unique experiences in Europe. Sun, rain, wind, fog, snow, gravel, potholes etc are all part of the moto road experience. Some days we get more of one than another but it seems to balance out. |
It get’s more fascinating all the time !
Dean, the bad weather is so far the main thing I’m learning from your trip. Puts a severe damper on motorcycle fun. It makes me appreciate so much the great weather we enjoy in LA year-round.
Tom,
The rain is not so bad that we stop riding. We might head in a different direction but the riding is still good. I’m optimistic about St Petersburg and Nordkapp. St Petersburg is in the 70′s and Nordkapp is in the high 40′s! Much better than Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
Hi Dean,
Glad tyo hear youa re nejoying the trip! The “Beer and Desserts” theme has real merit!!
Don’t let H forget his passport on the next leg
You should try out “real” roads next time and come to sunny Ireland…….
Richard,
Some time in the next couple years, I plan to do sunny Ireland and England and Scotland too. My wife Sue’s family is from the Lake District Area.