The way we ride

[kimangao]

Hi everybody,
I posted this on ADV, but as Twinners I thought you migth be interested as well.

With a couple of friends I went to our annual bike week which takes us to here and there. This time it was Slovenia and Croatia.

To save tires and time, we took the train to Villach/Austria, close to the border of Slovenia.




Unloading the bikes after 1100k's in Villach







Crossing the border to Slovenia.




First problems: The bearings of Guidos LC4 went mad after the first 300m in Slovenia. What to do? Guido and me went back to Villach to see if we can buy spares (Saturday afternoon is the worst time besides sunday).




The spring-welcome-party of the Honda-dealer in Villach helped us in both, bearings and food




Cought up with the others on the road next to Triglav Nationalpark.












Entering Croatia experts took over the navigation. "I know there's track somewhere ..." (We still don't use GPS. Think we're getting old refusing the advatages of modern technique. Only one freak carries a GPS V)




"Hey, what's this on your bike?"




"The engine. No?"




First kilos in Croatia follow a hill racetrack. (Note the orange guard rails)




Off the road, in the woods.








The storms in spring gave the trees a hard time.




Winter survived in some spots. We made our own way through it.













End of part 1

Hope you enjoyed up to here.

Cheers

Dirk

[kimangao]

Now part 2:

In the woods we didn't really loose our way, but this f'n GPS told us we're riding in circles.





Following your mate too close ...




We left the forests behind and followed the coastline southwards to Senj.





The little town of Senj needs some colour to compete with the italian cities on the other side of the Adria. But that's all.







Riding till the end on Senj's pier.




Croatian mainland to the right, island krk (that's the name) to the left.




We camped in the hills above Senj.




Leaving "our" campsite in the morning.




From the campsite this track took us back to the coast.




Tire puncture before breakfast




Down to the coast to get some coffee and have a swim in the clear water.




Yep, futher down!




This is the place Guido already knew. A blind end track, coming from the left took us here. The track was so narrow, that we had to lift all bikes by hand to turn them for the way back.




Riding back to the coast road...




... and wait for the idiot who parked his bike right in the middle of the track to take a pic.




Navigators at work on the way into the Velebit mountains.




Heading towards Stirovaca in the Velebit Mountains National Park.



End of part two.

Part three to come.

Cheers

Dirk

[kimangao]

Part three:

Not far from the sea we're again above 1000m altitude. And seeking for a place to spend the night.




Little diesaster: One of the beercans didn't stand the off-road sections and ejaculated into thee pannier.




Warming up coffee and feet in the morning.




Muesli for all. Doesn't look nice but tastes a bit better.




The snowy patches got larger and larger ...





Bit of work to get the Twins through. They're made for Africa, aren't they?







Heading towards Zadar on the coast through the Velebit mountains.











The Adriatic sea with its many islands often looks like a lake .




Minor electrical problems on one of the Twins: Battery wouldn't charge any more. So we swapped the batteries of the two twins every day to keep them both charged.




Reminder of the younger history: Mine fields in the Velebits.




To the right everything is mined.







A famous place for german moviemakers in the sixties of last century: A lot of spaghetti western have been filmed here.



No more Apaches around, only KTMriders in BMWgear.



More to come

Dirk

[kimangao]

No muesli but cheese fondue.




Italian moments in Zadar/Croatia.




Nothern tip of the island Pag.




"What? No more beer?"




Bit stormy next morning. Even the Hilleberg tent got its problems.




Mainland seen from Pag.








The east coast of all the island look deserted. We had to catch a ferry to get back to mainland, but ...




... missed it.




So what to do till it comes back?? A bit off-roading ...









... cooling down in the harbour ...




... testing the braveness of the bikes.




Will he come back dry?

That'll be in part four.

Cheers

Dirk

[Recycler]

Excellent photos!

[Simon]

those pics are brill! Why do we live on such as small crappy island? And mine is even smaller than most of the site members

[Sideways]

That last pic sent chills down my spine. Exellent pictures!!!

[Splash]

Awwww!! Pictures to die for!! That last shot shows a BRAVE man!!!!

[chronyx]

Those picture are absolutely fabulous.

[Breeze]

Absolutely stunning pics!!