Well I am a little behind on my blogs, but September is always a busy time.

End of August beginning of September saw us on what has become almost a yearly event as we set off on our tour to Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. To be fair this tour has pretty much everything from fantastic mountain roads to lazy days by the poolside, which is probably why it is so popular with our customers.

As is the way, we had to get to get the slog of getting across Germany out of the way first, like most bikers I am not a lover of motorways, but I am realistic and motorways are mile munchers allowing you more time to enjoy the roads you want to ride.

Having seen the roadworks on a previous tour we made an early start and were hit straight away by a diversion (if you see previous blogs, you will know Germany specialises in these!)  The diversion was rather scenic and if anything a little shorter but ate up time. I must admit to being lazy and following a British tour bus as we switched back and forth, thanks mate you did a great job.

We were soon back on track and made good time, but despite a good forecast we got drowned before making it to the hotel for a welcome pint.

The next day dawned not much better and we set off in torrential rain for the Grossglockner, I was prepared for a diversion but having come out of the ‘Golden Arches’  after coffee, the clouds rolled back and sun came out – giving us a great ride over the pass. At the Austrian/Slovenian border the sky turned dark again and we had the mother of a thunderstorm - complete with lightening & torrential rain – all the way to Lake Bled.

The next day dawned in a manner as if to say rain, what rain? Our first stop was the Postojna Caves. To be honest we always have difficulty getting people to visit them – but everyone who does - admits they are well worth the effort. Having visited them myself several times,  I stay and look after the bikes and luggage, whilst Uncle John plies us with coffee and buns. Whilst waiting a group of bikers who I recognised as Global Motorcycle Tours came in, they were covering much of the same tour area as us. Never met Tom and Susan before so it was good to chat and compare notes and find they have all the same ups and downs associated with running tours as we do. Only thing is that they came a different way and had not seen a drop of rain Grrrrrrrr.

The rest of the day was one of them idyllic times when you ride across country with a perfect temperature, enjoying the view and thinking how lucky you are to be riding your bike instead of working. This nearly came to an end when a tight bend nearly caught some riders out, but aye all was well with the world.

Some of us visited the Plitvice Lakes whilst others pushed on along the coastal road to our overnight stop and a welcoming swimming pool.

As usual many of the bikes did not move for our time by the sea, on the second day a few went to visit the Roman amphitheatre and got drenched as a cold front from the UK (thanks for nothing) rolled across Europe and collided with our nice 30C temperatures.

We had a lovely ride as we returned to Slovenia for a further overnight stop before heading off to the Dolomites. The temperature dropped dramatically, but the skies were clear and the previous night’s rain had turned to snow over the mountain tops making the Triglav NP and Dolomites absolutely stunning.

The blue skies and sunshine continued for our stay in Italy and followed us over the Timmelsjoch into Austria and beyond, rain only returning just before Rotterdam as if to remind us that we were about to return to the rubbish UK summer. 

We shall be running this tour again in 2018 on the same dates.