Today (Sunday), the day started off with bright sunshine, an ideal Autumn morning for a ride down to Quatt Truck Stop (local bikers cafe) to meet up with Ron, my ex-Harley mate I hadn't seen for a while. Great to catch up, and the first time I'd seen his shiny white Ducati Multistrada 1200. It seems he and Pip were finding the Fat Boy (Harley Softail 😉) a bit uncomfortable while touring around Spain last year, and fell for the Ducati after a few test rides. Great colour and a bit different than the obvious Ducati red I think, the build quality is really quite something on the Multistrada, with plenty of suspension settings and ride modes, and fantastic looking multi function display too, I'm well impressed.
It was great hearing all about his excellent trip riding the Alpenstrasse in Bavaria earlier this year too, a route I did in the opposite direction a few years ago so we were able to share our experiences, and he also got to ride the full route, though unlike me, West to East instead. I love that Alpenstrasse and wouldn't mind going back, full of interesting Bavarian villages, lakes and forests with plenty of places to stay en-route. Ron took an interesting approach to touring, without a predefined route they (Ron and Roy) set an 'intended' end destination for the day instead, and simply made up the detail along the way, relying on their GPS's to keep them heading in a basic general direction. I like the sound of that type of freedom giving you the chance to really explore and discover without following someone's pre-defined idea of how the day should turn out. I have done something similar myself on odd days while on my own in Austria, and while alone riding in the U.K, but not for the entire trip away. He explained they had no definite hotels booked either, relying on a daily 5 pm hunt for accommodation wherever they were at that time. Sounds like a lot of fun, but might not suit everyone's idea of touring without the comfort of knowing where you are heading and having a hotel pre booked to aim for. I can think of one person I toured with in the past who no longer rides bikes who would have simply 'gone mad' not knowing where he may end up, but 'horses for courses' as they say. I would like to try this type of trip in the future, but I'm usually on a timescale - a holiday from work, and often have a 'sight-seeing' or 'roads I must ride' agenda in my mind before I set off. It seems Ron managed to do this by choosing the Alpenstrasse, yet satisfying the wander-lust aspect of an adventure ride too. How refreshing, I really think I might have to give it a try.
After a brew and chat we both headed off for a ride around parts of Shropshire taking a back road Ron knew down to Much Wenlock, one I hadn't ridden before. Following behind he did look comfortable on the Multistrada, it really is a nice bike. Later, we stopped off in Craven Arms, and got chatting to a couple out on their 16 plate BMW RT, having ridden it twice down to Italy and the lakes (hmm, now there's a place I must go back to, maybe I could make it up n the way?). Later, we set off on a pleasant ride towards home saying our 'byes' in Bridgnorth.
Ride outs are shorter now as Autumn sets in, with time to get back and clean bikes etc.
Cheers for the meet Ron, a good afternoon with a balmy 17 degrees sunshine too. A real bonus for October. 👍
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