Wed 01 Oct 2025
The boat was nothing to shout about. All cabins were full, saving me some € 250, so it was camping on the floor again; I had a quiet spot in a corner, so got some reasonable sleep. Food on board was the usual unappetising canteen stuff, but the staff serving, both food and drink, were the most surly bunch I’ve come across in a while.
The seat I’d paid for was reasonably comfortable, so I whiled away the hours trying to plot a satisfactory, i.e. quick, route home. I had some 1,200 kms to do, which I could easily do in 3 days on the highways, or 4-5 by avoiding them.
The weather, as I approach Italy didn’t look very inviting; I thought it was going to be cold. Luckily my stop for the night was only 35 kms from the port.
It was a chilly, but dry ride. The problem came when I arrived and tried to locate the place I was staying. I contacted the owner, who couldn’t speak much English. She gave me an address, and I spent the next half-an-hour driving around trying to find it, with the ”assistance” of GM! Finally I arrived back where I had first called her, and she was standing at the kerb waving at me. 🙄
A bit fussy-seeming, she insisted I should take all my stuff off the bike, which meant a bit of a chore in the morning. Given her worry, and something I had read about theft in Italy, for the first time, I even used the chain I had been carrying since Dubai.
Thur 02 Oct 2025
Bike repacked, and having breakfasted on last night’s leftovers, I set off on a chilly morning for what was going to be my longest day yet. I had decided on the highway because otherwise I’d never make the distance I had planned.
What I didn’t count on was the wind; it was gusting up to 70 kph making riding a little more hazardous than normal and certainly less comfortable. It’s not necessarily the distance or time that is tiring, it is the buffeting by a strong wind, made worse by truck slipstreams and noise.
I broke up the day by taking some time off the highway, lengthening the time, but relieving the stress. Italian drivers are not bad really; their lane discipline is good and they will give way if you ask, but they speed and worst of all tailgate frighteningly. Trucks also drive fast, making overtaking a more unpleasant experience than it should be.
By mid-afternoon I was away from the coast, the wind had dropped somewhat, and I was on main roads. I reached the town I had targeted and set about finding somewhere to stay. This ended up being another ½ hour away. It was called VillaArt in the village of Villaromagnano, and turned out to be a very pleasant rural setting.
Fri 03 Oct 2025
Today was very much a repeat of yesterday; 400+ kilometres of highway, not as windy mind. I was heading for the St Tropez area, where a friend had offered me a bed for a night or two, so the last 50-odd kilometres were down the twisty road to the coast. I then was faced by a stream of traffic about 10km long; I should have anticipated this when GM indicated that the last 15kms were going to take 40 minutes.
I arrived about 1600, and Francine gave me a beer and then let me get settled in. We spent a very pleasant evening, with a delicious dinner and a bottle of wine, and I retired early with the promise of a tour of the area in the morning.
Sat 04 Oct 2025
Previously, I had joked with Francine about electric bikes being for old folk, but this morning we were to conduct our tour on electric bikes. I very quickly came to see why people (old or otherwise) might chose one of these over a HP one. (human-powered).
My visit coincided with the final weekend of Les Voiles de St Tropez, a big sailing event involving racing and posing. The place was chocca, full of the bold and the beautiful. As you might imagine, the boats were the main attraction; expensive yachts (motorised types) and magnificent sailing boats, both old and new.
We walked along the harbour, then around the old village itself. If Francine ever needs a job, she could apply as a tourist guide for the town. The main areas were busy, but there remained some that retained the feel of old St Tropez.
While Francine setoff for a pre-arranged activity in the afternoon, I just chilled, and made a few adjustments to the brakes on the bikes. There followed another relaxing evening, with two bottles this time. 😊 The, given my plans for the morrow, it was all too soon time for bed.
Sun 05 Oct 2025
So this was it; the last day and the last leg of my Odyssey. I had planned an early start as todays trip was 470 kms, but this didn’t quite work out. I set off at 0900 with the wind blowing hard, and gusts of up to 90kph forecast.
The first stretch was out the back way, to avoid any traffic congestion, and involved a twisty mountain road, that was a bit disconcerting as I never knew when a gust of wind was going to blow me off line. Still I made it safely to the autoroute, where the fun really began.
My trusty mount purred along, demonstrating the reliability I had come to rely on during my trip. The wind was terrible; at time it got up under my helmet and almost lifted it off. Fortunately traffic was light, and there were no trucks on the road.
I made good speed, passed through the first and second pit stops and after what seemed an interminable time, found myself approaching Beziers. Even though it added another 45 minutes to my journey, I decided to leave the highway and take a route I knew well. “I might as well enjoy the last stretch,” I said to myself.
As I approached Carcassonne and then Limoux, the Fates thought they would have one last laugh and welcome me home with a downpour. Thankfully, the strong winds, pushed the storm southwards, so all I get was a few spots on my visor.
Finally, I reached and passed through a, typically, deserted centre of St Ferriol, rode down the hill and up the driveway. It was over, I was home!
Belfast-2-Belfast-By-Bike 