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My Tour To Rimini & Bologna April/may 2018

Discussion in 'Touring' started by Red Steve/Yellow Dave, Aug 22, 2018.

  1. I've been intending to do a brief write up of a tour we did back at the end of April / beginning of May this year. Time restraints and a fading memory meant I've just got around to it.

    Anyway my wife riding pillion on my ST3 and a mate on his Monster left Dover at the end of April in glorious sunshine to ride via France to Rimini on the Adriatic coast where we had booked a beachside hotel for 6 nights.

    We had then planned several rides and a trip to the factory & museum in Bologna as well as some sightseeing too. Got the early morning ferry to France and then took the most direct and quickest route to Bourg en Bresse which is on the Western edge of the Jura mountains.

    We'd booked a nice central hotel so we could walk into town for dinner and a few beers. We'd never been to this part of France before and was surprised at what a great place it was. Definitely one to re-visit in the future.

    Early breakfast the next day and on the road by about 9 for the 2nd leg of the trip, which took us through the Mont Blanc tunnel and then A roads, dual carriageway and motorway all the way to Rimini where we arrived just after dark about 10pm.

    Now, I know there are more interesting routes over the Alps but the plan was to get there as quickly as possible, as all of our interesting riding was planned in Italy. That said the route was still scenic in places (bar the mways around Milan/Turin) and the being we left in April we were a little concerned some of the high passes may still have had snow on them or at worse, closed.

    The hotel was superb. Right on the beach but quiet as we were just outside of the main tourist season which starts around mid May. This allowed us to get a cracking deal including breakfast and parking too.

    The next 6 days included trips to San Marino, San Leo (a stunning hillside town), Misano, and the Ducati Factory & Museum. We also had a "no bike" day on the middle Sunday when we took the train to Bologna for some sightseeing and lunch. We also visited Tavullia and had a beer in the bar where it's believed the Rossi Fan club cooked up his more famous post GP winning celebrations...not sure if this is true but it did resemble a scene from Goodfellas :)

    Rimini itself was fabulous. Some of the bars / restaurants hadn't yet opened but there were more than enough to cater for our evening dining and drinking requirements :) The old town, which is about 30 minutes walk away from the "strip" was well worth a visit too, and the marina area was nice too.

    The time flew by and all too soon we found ourselves heading back. We took the same route home, with an overnight stay in the same hotel in Bourg en Bresse. Calais was reached by late afternoon and we were in the Premier Inn in Dover by around 7pm, just in time for something to eat and a couple of glasses of red to toast the end of a brilliant tour, which I describe as a holiday by bike more than say a biking holiday if that makes sense.

    I've toured quite extensively around Europe, but hadn't been to this part of Italy before. I'd definitely go back. The people are friendly, the food was awesome and surprisingly inexpensive...the pizza I had in a nice restaurant cost 4 euro, and a side salad just 3. The roads are quite poor in some places and downright dangerous in others :) so care is needed, but the scenery is stunning and there's always a nice little town to take a break for a coffee or a little beer.

    In total we were away for 10 nights and in all that time we had NO rain. The weather was superb every day which really helped as there's nothing worse than riding all day in the rain. That said on the journey back home from Dover to Bristol it chucked it down for the last 2 hours on the M4 which was a reminder of how lucky we'd been.

    This are just a few photos. I've got loads more including 100's from the museum but most of you know what a Ducati looks like so I've posted up just a few of these. Hope you like them and if anyone wants to know anymore just let me know.

    The evening before the "off" beers at the Premier Inn, Dover:
    [​IMG]IMG-20180417-WA0010 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr



    Food & Drink :)
    [​IMG]media_upload1_1524903286377 (1) by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    4 euro can't be bad...
    [​IMG]media_upload1_1524903283786 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]IMG-20180424-WA0004 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]media_upload1_1524903282959 (1) by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    A few Museum shots:

    [​IMG]20180423_131423 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]20180423_132626 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]20180423_131826 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    Crossing into Italy via Mont Blanc:
    [​IMG]20180419_125702 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    En route:
    [​IMG]20180419_113810 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]20180419_090314 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr



    [​IMG]20180419_125227 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]20180419_125216 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    The hotel, Rimini, Bologna, San Marino and sightseeing:

    [​IMG]31166931_1860423743976988_4028576918025565707_n by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]31131006_1860426057310090_8562826123009700057_n by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]30420709_1860425913976771_7282161332996481171_o by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]30171135_1860425083976854_7650597546253194076_o by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]media_upload1_1524901462179 (1) by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]media_upload1_1524901461665 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]IMG-20180424-WA0001 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    Loads more but you're probably bored by now :)

    We've started planning for next years tour, with the favourite being Croatia in September. Can't wait!
     
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  2. I've stayed in Rimini twice now and love the area, first time was many years ago, drove over in the car taking the scenic route, second time we flew into Rimini airport. Can't wait to go again.
    Steve
     
  3. Going in about 3 weeks I am. Whetting my appetite, those pics are. :yum

    Why have I went all Yoda? o_O
     
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  4. We'd definitely go back again. It was a perfect base for us and allowed my wife to have a little more of a relaxing time around the hotel & shops etc whilst me and my mate explored the local roads. The hotel being right on the strip was perfectly located for walking to a restaurant or bar in the evening and being we were out of season meant we got great service too. The view of the Adriatic each morning was a great way to start the day and the secure parking was an unexpected bonus.

    [​IMG]20180420_170628 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    [​IMG]20180420_081319 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr
     
  5. Trouble was we ate and drank so well that I could hardly fit into my leather trousers for the ride back. When we booked the hotel it said we'd have to pay for breakfast. Turned out that was wrong, so we could eat as much as we wanted for free..that included the fabulous omlettes and the bottles of chilled Prosecco :)
     
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  6. Good write up and pics Dave :upyeah:
     
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  7. Thanks for putting the time aside and posting this.
    Good write ups give us all the inspiration to travel.
     
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  8. Thanks. I bought the bike specifically to ride in Europe, and have done numerous trips and have enjoyed each of them. The bike has always behaved well and only a faulty Power Commander spoilt a trip to Vienna a couple of years ago meaning it had to be shipped back on a low loader :-(
     
  9. A better read than the local newspaper:upyeah:
     
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  10. Always good to see pics with a write up, cheers chap
     
  11. The view when I was last there, June a few years ago, just a bit busier than your trip.
    Rimini.jpg
    We would sit on the balcony first thing in the morning watching the world go by, ladies on scooters taking the dog for a walk trotting behind, scooters and cars swerving around people on the pedestrian crossing, all very entertaining.
    Steve
     
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  12. Yes, Steve, looks similar to our place. They were just getting everything ready for the new season...painting the benches along the promenade as well as the wooden huts and loungers etc. We loved the place and will definitely go back again in the future as 6 days wasn't enough to explore everything we'd planned.
     
  13. With exception to the blue ones I like the way the deck chairs have been arranged to represent the Italian tricolour, makes more sense if you were in a light aircraft, obviously.
     
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  14. We did a trip from Bologna to Riminiat the end of April/early May. We did cheat and take the bikes in a van and start at the Ducati factory. Mind you they were 60 year old 175cc bikes......

    Start small.jpg
     
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  15. :thinkingface: Ahhhhhhh. good spot. :bucktooth: :upyeah:
     
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