Italian Adventure: Day 0

I learned a lot about myself during this trip as adventures tend to do to a person. I do not function well in intense heat. I don’t like being pressured to do things and prefer to go at my own pace. I’m grown—I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but we were going to be moving from area to area and staying in multiple places (hotels/apartments) throughout Italy and Switzerland. We got to our first location in Lake Como and got ready to pick up our bikes. The rental agencies will store your luggage for you during your trip. So, we all dumped out our stuff on our beds and headed out to the shops with empty suitcases to get our respective bikes.

We get to the shop, and our bikes were lined up and ready for us. He gave me the quick tour on using the cases, features of the bike, and then handed me the keys. I swung my leg over, planted my feet and lifted the bike off the stand and thought, “oooooffffa…” I need to work on my poker face because the guy came over and said, “want me to take the cases off? Maybe that will help?” I smiled; the gear wasn’t for show. I needed to cart my stuff with me.

The bike was definitely heavier than I anticipated. I kinda hate heavy bikes. This was going to be my ride for ten days; I knew I’d get used to it eventually.

Wait a second. I never told you what bike I got! Where are my manners? I wanted the Honda I had mentioned but there were none available that also allowed for unlimited miles and the ability to go in and out of multiple countries. So, I went with the Benelli TRK 502. Don’t worry; I never heard of them before either.

Here’s my honest review of the bike: a resounding ‘meh.’

The specs: inline twin cylinder, 500, with 48 horsepower (basically none). It has a seat height of about 32 inches and wet weight is just under 500lbs. Add a set of fully packed hard cases and that bike was pushing 550+ lbs.

Comfort: it’s a more upright, almost adventure style, position without the bike height. The seat and overall ride are very comfortable, the windscreen does its job, displays are easy to read, buttons are easy to find. Foot pegs are larger and more comfortable for your feet.

Ride: It turns nicely in tight spots and there were a LOT of them. I’m sure my Ninja couldn’t make those tight turns without locking up the handlebars.

I came across a section of roadway that was tore down to the dirt and rocks. My Ninja would have fishtailed all the way through it but this bike seemed to take it pretty nicely. It barely moved around on the loose road surface.

Givi cases: They were great, roomy, weather‑proof… and apparently made of cast iron. My god they were heavy.

It pitches a good deal of heat. The most of any bike I’ve ridden. The thing that annoyed me the most was the short friction zone on the clutch. Not being able to play with the friction zone while meandering in tight spots is difficult. The gearing is low, too. I needed to use first and second gear far more than I ever would on my Ninja 650.

It took a good couple days to learn how to ride this sleepy bike so that I had power when I needed it.

It’s quicker to say what they do wrong: Air Conditioning and cold drinks. I just do NOT understand the aversion to not melting in the heat or drinking cold drinks. If there was one tell that we were Americans it was our constant asking, “can you bring me a large cup of ice on the side please?”

Now, I don’t mean to trash on my country because I do love it. But, why can’t we have nice roads? C’mon, this is a real question. I live in the Northeast, and our roads are the WORST. Potholes everywhere, buckling from pressure cracks, tar snakes, you name it. There’s no way that the Northeast experiences harsher winter conditions than the Alps or the Dolomites mountain range. How are they able to have these tiny mountain passes be in such pristine condition? New York State, I’m looking at you!

On my first day here, I watched the drivers in the town of Como. I rode with an uber driver that was clearly practicing for his upcoming Rallye race. After picking up my bike and driving back to our hotel I thought, “these people are nuts.” Turns out, I was the problem. Once I learned the system, I realized that I absolutely LOVE how they drive here.

There is a general understanding among all drivers—cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and cyclists. It’s kind of incredible. I’ve only heard a horn a few times and they’re used to alert you around blind spots. I saw a cyclist enter a parking lot and a car came in from other direction. They both hit their brakes hard and then they calmly went around each other. No horn, no arms thrown with dramatic flair, not even an eye roll.

On the roads, you can pass whenever you want. Bikes pass all the time and seem to generally have a different and more lax set of rules. At home drivers get very annoyed with motorcycles who pass them in a long line of traffic and I think it’s a two-part issue. One is that they don’t understand what a motorcycle can or will do; which is fair. The other part is they just hate us for being able to skip traffic jams. (I think they’re jealous because we’re so cool but I can’t be positive.)

In towns, there are very narrow roads that sometimes go between buildings. Not one traffic light is there to control the flow of traffic. We all just figure out a way to get along and it works. There are very few traffic lights actually, they have roundabouts. I had no idea how awesome these things were until I came here. Traffic keeps moving because there are no lights. Miss your turn? No problem, do another lap! It’s coming up again if you hang in the circle.

Finally, if you’re on the highway and come up on someone in the left lane they will immediately shift to the right. I mean immediately. I don’t have to be on their bumper or flash headlights.

Why can’t we do this in the US? I think it’s all the rage. These people are pretty happy here in spite of not having air conditioning. Which is weird because I get meaner without AC. I have been texting my son while on vacation and he replied, “I think you’re gonna miss that kind of driving when you get home.” He’s so right. Also, the pasta but that’s a post for another day.

My next post is the day we leave Como and head to Switzerland. I have to be really honest here. I don’t tend to get scared. Like, I’ll get butterflies, but I just do whatever the thing is and enjoy it. I’ve done some crazy shit in my life but this? My god, this was a whole other level. I was absolutely terrified.