READERS’ TRAVEL
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N OUR WAY from the
nearly unpronounceable
town of Znojmo to the
nearly pronounceable city of Brno
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Republic, Nicki and I came across a
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A truck pulled up alongside, the
driver wound down his window,
and mimed that we should proceed
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rode. After a couple of kilometres,
both sides of the road had been
excavated. We carried on cautiously,
thinking that perhaps it wasn’t
quite right to be there, but the
sight of an oncoming car made it
seem legitimate.
Legitimate, that is until the car’s
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police siren sounded. Oops!
We stopped, and after some
discussion we were sent on our
way, no harm done.
A couple from New Zealand riding
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Republic? Here’s the background.
We both love motorbike riding and it
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trip that could bring us new scenery
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century after the burials, to pay our
respects in northern France at the
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where both Nicki and I have relatives
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along the way – a special trip for a
special celebration.
It’s nearly impossible to
comprehend the scale of death
that took place until you spend
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that thousands of young men were
never going to return home, and
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congratulated on its efforts to keep
their graves immaculate. The saddest
part for me was the realisation that
there are so many of them.
There are 42,000 names on the
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and 72,000 names on the British and
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Ridge. The folly of war is never
clearer and the two phrases most
used ‘Lest We Forget’ and ‘Their
Name Liveth For Evermore’ are
never more apt.
A sombre couple of days, for sure,
but although feeling a bit emotionally
worn out we both were very glad that
we went there.
The next couple of days were
spent heading across France as we
approached the Alps. On the way, we
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Well, when I say outskirts, I really
mean the outskirts of the outskirts,
during rush hour. With temperatures
in the low thirties, I couldn’t see
a way to keep cool in the slowly
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watched the local bikers whom
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splitters of the highest order. Their
technique is to treat the lanes as a
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creeping cars was a joy to behold
and although restricted by the width
of our panniers and the need to
bear in mind my pillion’s comfort,
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at ease with carving through the
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motorists are highly aware of what’s
happening around them, and hold
no resentment to bikes passing by at
triple their speed. They moved over
to allow us through.
There’s an obvious loop to
ride taking in three of the most
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enjoyed the last of the day’s sunshine
although thunderstorms had been
forecast and seemed imminent. In
the distance saw the hairpins of
Grimsel where we’d begun our day.
We were especially looking forward
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we’d planned to get at 2778m and
one of the classic rites of passage.
It is in northern Italy so we spent
another day heading in that direction
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We chose to stay in Bormio, which
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The hairpins were tighter than the
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gear. We reached the top and laid out
before us was the classic view that
has been photographed thousands
of times. Nicki offered to remain at
the summit, if I wanted a solo blast
up that most famous section and I
accepted without hesitation.
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I think that on a weekend day all the
stories about the hideousness of the
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and time and you’ll have the ultimate
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what we had. We spent two and a
half hours from leaving Bormio to
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was an absolute highlight of the trip.
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under some shady trees bordering the
banks of the Danube, although to my
disappointment it was neither blue
nor was there any waltzing evident.
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encounter with the local law.
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scorcher. The beer tents were doing
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morning they had constant queues.
As he had during Friday’s practice,
Marc Marquez topped all sessions
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least half the spectators supported
Valentino Rossi, who was roundly
cheered whenever he appeared
on the big screen TV or rode past
our viewing spot. The sense of
community among the spectators is
palpable and no matter whom you
backed, there was no resentment
from those supporting another rider.
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was forecast to be intermittent all
day. Worst hit was Moto2 as their
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race were both affected. In the late
morning, with all the race teams
assembled on the circuit’s start
line, a touching tribute and minute’s
silence was held in memory of