The weather on day 1 was poor but day 2 was biblical. It started wet, got wetter and the frequent high ground was above the cloud base making visibility very, very poor.
This guy who flew in from America and he’s riding an MV Agusta 350. He had more than one bike at his disposal, which is just as well as the MV was retired after day 2 only to reappear later in the week. But that’s another story for a later post.
The first stop was at a very large Ducati Dealership, where I took the opportunity to pick the brains of a MotoGiro guru (he’s No 4 and I’m No 34 talking to him).
He’s a regular entrant and last years winner. For winning, he was given a brand new Ducati and chose to auction it and donate the money to Cancer Research because, in his words, “I’m a Moto Guzzi man anyway”.
Highlight of the day for me was a visit to the Pagani factory showroom. Absolutely amazing cars, beautifully made, with style that only the Italians can do.
Next stop was the Museo Panini – old cars, old bikes and food and drink!
The afternoon route headed out into the country towards Parma, taking us up and down every hill in the region – or so it seemed. With the added challenge of the inclement weather, it developed into a ride of endurance, all 244 kilometers.
It was such a tough day, that several of the regular riders said it was the hardest day in the last 10 MotoGiro’s – that bad.
However, on the plus side the MV was running great (it seemed to like the damp), I hadn’t fallen off (some did) and the MotoGiro team had done a great job of transporting our luggage from Bologna. Everything was waiting for us in our new home for the next 2 days and the bikes were stored in the large underground car park, so checking and running repairs could be done out of the rain – thankfully!
After another excellent meal, many riders, like me, went down to the garage and spent an hour or so, checking their bike over. The MotoGiro mechanics were also in the garage repairing bikes that had broken down. They had a cylinder head off an old Indian and were even repairing one of the Police bikes, amongst many other running repairs.
Cyclemaster Remastered 