GRAND TOUR CRAZY RIDERS
Matteo shares with us some moments from the GRAND TOUR de FRANCECORTA last 23rd June, 1,900 m, 5 degrees and a lot of rain! Perfect ingredients for an even more adrenalin-fuelled FULLGAS driving EXPERIENCE!!!!
A super-equipped Vanda with a bgm engine that pushes like a train, plus bgm suspension and brakes to keep us glued to the ground.
FRIDAY 22 TH JUNE
Ready to go! “Vanda” (my Vespa PX) is even more beautiful when it is loaded with luggage! Destination? Grand Tour of “Franciacorta”!
I admit, there is a bit of excitement before the departure, many kilometers await me, I’m leaving alone (maybe am i getting old, as a white hair on my beard makes me notice?); However, as always, as soon as I turn on the engine and hear that regular burble of the 2-stroke, accompanied by a wisp of smoke… the adrenaline rises as the desire to grind out the Kms!
Franciacorta is a hilly area in Northern Italy which gives its name to a typical sparkling white wine… This is exactly what awaits us in Franciacorta, hills, wine tasting and the beautiful scenery that frames the area, i.e. lakes and mountains!
Late in the afternoon I reached my destination, a beautiful Bed and Breakfast surrounded by greenery, a huge renovated farmhouse that welcomes me, “Vanda” and my first friends arrived for tomorrow’s tour! The evening passes quickly in the small town, led by Nicola (aka Gino, the local) who takes us to a beautiful pub with good cold beer and lots of nightlife! A storm is coming our way, but sunshine is forecast for tomorrow!
SATURDAY 22TH
9am, scheduled meeting at the café for breakfast, distribute the gadgets and leave! How nice to meet so many friends again, to see Valter again, a Vespa rider who had “saved” me when I was stuck during a winter road trip, and to FINALLY meet some followers of my Youtube channel (Vespa Crazy Riders) like the great Massimo and Stefano!
Coffee and croissants to fuel us up, full tanks, roaring Vespas and off we go! Thanks to Giuseppe and Deborah who delighted us by participating with their 1964 Vespa GL (Gran Lusso)… In addition to turning 60 years, their Vespa is a very special one because, as Giuseppe testifies with many black and white old photos, it had participated in many competitions over the years, saddleded by Giuseppe’s fathers and uncle! Tour of Sicily, gymkhanas, regularity races, a very respectable pedigree which today they honor us with this lovely surprise!
We start immediately with some dream views, I close the group and seeing these beautiful Vespas dancing lightly between the curves, immersed in the greenery of the vineyards and sometimes in the narrow passages of the ancient walls of farmhouses and castles, excites me deeply!
However, the greatest joy is given to me by a child, from the balcony of his house he watches us all pass by, he is 7/8 years old, he raises his hands to the sky and spontaneously shouts “YEEEEEEH!!!”
This is Vespa, you just love it! It’s beautiful, it’s nice, it simply enter in the heart of a child who doesn’t know what it is, but just looking at it is enough to make its cute shape convey joy and the emotions that Vespa enthusiasts feel when they ride them together!
It’s hot, the sun is high and we’re even a little thirsty! Just in time to arrive at the “Mirabella Franciacorta” cellar where, after a visit that starts from the vineyards to reach the historic cellars, we taste various types of this fresh sparkling wine, led by our expert and friendly guide, Chiara.
We’re back in the saddle! Now it gets serious! We brush some beautiful curves, wide and round, on a smooth road surface that climbs up the mountain and then descends again and opens up a view of the blue Lake Iseo!
A picnic break with a lake view is just what we needed, including sandwiches, cheeses, the traditional Ukrainian spiced meat brought by Yaro and Oksana, Stefano’s cake and the coffee that I prepare strictly with the coffee maker! Now the big crossing! Over 100 Kms of curves will take us across the hills that separate Lake Iseo from Lake Idro, we enter right into the mountains, into the woods, a somewhat wild territory with a road that starts out very tortuous. I follow Riccardo’s beautiful white PX “without indicators” which is even more pleasing to the eye. Halfway we find a couple of Dutch Vespa riders, on tour with their Rally 200 (version dedicated to the Northern European market, with some differences, such as the closed air intakes).
The road then opens up, becoming fast, smooth, more relaxing, as it should be towards the evening, when tiredness increases and we are now skirting Lake Idro at sunset. A nice hotel awaits us along the green and quiet shore…
A walk to chat and relax a bit, then dinner with an excellent lake trout and the Vespathemed quiz to win the several liters of BGM Pro Race Oil offered by ScooterCenter for the occasion!
SUNDAY 23TH
Today there is the icing on the cake of the tour, the Crocedomini Pass, with its 1,892m altitude, but it is raining. It’s raining a lot.
I see some slightly worried looks, rightly so… but you know, when I see difficult weather conditions I get even more excited and I know that skipping the most beautiful part of the tour would leave us dissatisfied.
We evaluate the weather carefully and carefully look at the mountains in the direction we need to go… “It can be done” I say to myself, we will get rain, but it is doable. Given the altitude, the only problem can be the cold hands, so “let’s ask the hotel for some latex gloves” for extra protection!
The climb to the Crocedomini pass begins! It’s raining, the landscape is really engaging, the road is very beautiful but also very steep, it’s raining a lot, but we’re happy!
It’s our challenge towards the climb, we don’t give up at all! Every kilometer that passes I know that we are all a little colder, that the water is starting to get into some corner of our clothes, that visibility from behind the visor drops, but the Crazy Riders don’t give up a meter, on the contrary, they push hard and even the Vespas push vigorously!
I stop to take some photos and then I can “take advantage” of the accumulated delay to give FULLGAS to Vanda who, with the bgm PRO thermal unit, climbs furiously in all the gears, what a pleasure! I see that even the other riders are surprised to hear him sing!
The thing that amazes me about this pass is that as you climb in altitude the vegetation continues to remain thick and green; woods, pines, scents of evergreen and wet soil, when suddenly it opens, flattens and here is our refuge! The charge of Massimiliano who rejoices in the saddle with his arm in the air gives me the measure of what we have just done! It’s summer but it’s 5 degrees, we’re very wet and cold, but everyone is happy and smiling! Also because we are finally at the refuge, where we take advantage of the stove, various hot teas and super sandwiches!! It was needed!!!
It’s not over yet! We set off recharged, but the descent is perhaps even more challenging to keep the Vespas under control in the bends and when braking downhill, my PX travels as if on a track, we arrive on the plain and… two punctures for Massimiliano and Gino, almost at the same time! The first gradual one gives Massimiliano the opportunity to stop safely, the second instead is violent, dangerous, complete with a skid, fortunately controlled by lightning-fast reflexes and a pinch of luck. The cause? Curls of metal on the asphalt. Tubeless is the way! Yes, we all need to get Tubeless, we can’t risk it like this anymore (I’m telling myself this).
The last suggestive Kms are once again on Lake of Iseo, on the other shore. A cliff overlooking the lake, a constant serpentine between gray rocks and blue water, almost no traffic and the sound of Roberto’s engine (PX 125, not at all original) echoing on the walls… wow!
We are at the end of the tour, a last hot tea with a huge stuffed brioche accompanies us in saying goodbye and prepares us for the return! It was nice, together, on a Vespa! A real boost of “VESPISMO” that rejuvenates you (and that white beard hair is no longer there).
With the “Spilungons” (Dani and Barbara) and Romeo we return via the motorway, where Vanda does the last 200 Kms at a blast. P.s. If motorway tickets get wet they get stuck in the reader causing queues at the toll booth, sorry motorists in transit that day, now I know!!
I leave you like this, with this romantic photo of Barbara admiring the chimneys of Brescia and with the most beautiful phrase you said to me “when will the next one be?”
