TRAVERSE 87
TRAVEL - EUROPE
JIM TAYLOR ( W ) / ALESSIO CORRADINI-RALLYCOOL ( P )
AND THE RAIN CAME DOWN , AGAIN !
The ride to Illyria started well , although it wasn ’ t a sunny morning and rainstorms had been forecast across central Europe .
Taking the Eurostar train under the English Channel was quick and simple , and then there I was , riding out from Calais , motorway toll-roads all the way to Strasbourg .
There had been plenty of cloud and a very slight drizzle , here and there across France , but after I crossed the Rhine , into Germany , the skyline over the Black Forrest hills looked very black indeed . I had no choice but to steer the KTM790 adventure bike right at the heart of the huge cloud that had , almost suddenly , taken up the horizon point and was sweeping towards me .
The whole point of the ride was to get myself and the dual-sport motorcycle to the starting-point for the famed spring 2023 Illyria Raid , which was more of an enduro than a ride ; taking place across seven Balkan countries over seven days .
I wasn ’ t going straight there , as that wouldn ’ t be much of an adventure ; but I wanted to wind my way over the Alps and through Italy , to get to the Croatian coast-road that I ’ d driven along in an aid convoy during the Yugoslav wars in 1994 . I ’ d given myself five days to get to the bivouac stop just outside Dubrovnik , so using the route that I was making up as I went along , it would be five full days riding .
I was into sudden and very heavy rain , minutes after crossing the river , forcing me to take cover under the shelter of the first big concrete bridge I got to . The rain poured down for about two hours , easing off just before dark , and by that time I thought I might as well just make myself as comfortable as I could , down beside the bike and still in my riding gear ; I ’ d be off at first light , so what the hell .
TRAVERSE 87