Winter rally ride report

[chairhead]

So,

 As some of you know I have a sidecar on my Girly, and over the winter I did a couple or three rallies, I like to go where there is snow, and if there is no white stuff then extreme cold is just as good.

First up  was the Elephantentreffen which is held in the small Bavarian village of Solla/Loh surrounded by the evergreen Bayerischerwald forest, but to get there we(Tim=BMW/Ural combo and Simon=Yam xtz660)would stop at a friend's house in Aschaffenburg and a chance to sample the excellent Schlappersepple beer once again.

When we got there, to my joy there was a light dusting of snow and it was pretty cold too

We stayed two nights, which was enough time to catch up on some sleep and dry our gear,

Tuesday morning saw us travel further south east to some more friends in the snow covered town of Vilshofen, food that evening was a very traditional Bavarian food of white sausage and sweet mustard washed down with a few beers, dark, light and wheat and to follow that we had copious amounts of various schnapps, some were very nice, others no so, i staggered to bed feeling dodgy to say the least, however I awoke the next day with a clear head to my surprise..........well clearish.

We were told the temp had dropped to -20 during the night, this was evident when we all tried to start our bikes, Simons ignition had frozen solid, Tim and I had to resort to putting our petrol cookers under the sumps and it wouldn't be the last time this would happen on the trip

Coleman comes to the rescue


Accommodation in vilshoven

Wednesday morning and on toward the ET,it was bitter, the moisture on my tash was frozen, the wind biting at my cheeks the air was crisp and fresh, I couldn't help but take big deep breaths through my frosted nostrils and enjoy the short ride to the rally site.

The snow got deeper the higher we went, but the roads were clear up to the site, this meant we made good time and were lucky to park the bikes on the road adjacent to where we decided to camp

Girly at the bus stop

The snow fell all night, but it was like little beads and very heavy, twice during the night I had to clear the snow from the tent as the room inside got smaller and smaller

Tim and I at the entrance, this the 5th time I have stood here

All three of us walked up to the village for some food and beer in the usual pub, but to our dismay it had been closed down along with the local supermarket guess the recession isn't just in the UK, we decided to go to a hotel that we passed en route and had scoff thereafter food it was back down to the rally site to the main bar where we met a couple of German friends who were also going to the same rally as us the next day

In the morning trying to start Simons Yam, we found out at the end of the trip he had a faulty side stand switch, man we tried everything to get it going.

 

Thursday morning saw us head of to the Tauerntreffen in Austria, a short trip of about 130kms,again we all had trouble starting the bikes, cookers came out and a couple of hours were lost, once we got going it was hard graft, the roads were bad, full of snow and icey,hats off to Simon who was on his new bike and a solo, once we got on the autobahn we tried to gain a little time, only to ride into a major accident that saw articulated lorries either side of the carriageway both off the road and both on their sides, once through that little mess a few clicks on and the autobahn was closed and we were diverted off, all of this had a knock on effect,consiquently we got to the beginning of the rally site very late......but I made time to buy beer at the supermarket of course.

The road up from the autobahn was very slippery and I at one point was thinking"im not going to make it "but I did ........just!, once in the car park at the start of the climb I put my snow chains on, without these I we going nowhere, having never ridden with chains it was weird at first, but I took little time to get used to them, an absolute god send and well worth the 85Euro's

Chains going on

Beer on board must get chains for the front next.

 

By the time I got to the top of the hill, it was dark and blowing a gale did the best I could and got my tent up, Simon and Tim were nowhere to be seen, it transpired that Tim had changed his rear wheel for the spare which had a studded tire on, this just didn't work up the twisty and steep snow covered hill, Simon had borrowed chains from one of our hosts and gave his homemade chains to Tim, thankfully they both got up the hill.

The next morning we set about sorting the tents, the ground on which we camp is a car park and has a asphalt top so normal tent pegs need not apply, rock pegs just about manage to go through, in the past winds of up to 90mph have been recorded in the area ripping down tents and throwing bikes on the floor with ease, so to secure your tent was vital.

Simons solo was lashed to Tim's combo to prevent the wind from blowing it over

A view from the tent, the picture doesn't do the vista justice

We spent the rest of the day watching other people arrive and trying to keep warm, temps were around -7 to -9 during the day and at night -13 to -15, so everything was frozen, this included the beer which had to be heated to enable us to drink it, wet wipes were just a brick, my gel tooth paste an ice pop, to get water the snow had to be melted, the snow fall was off and on as was the wind.

The Tauerntreffen is a small invite only affair, only a hundred or so get the nod each year, after that you are on a waiting list, look here

http://motorang.com/tauerntreffen/index.htm



First Tiger at the TT, and I believe the only one

600 meters further up the hill is the Hutte,where food and beer could be purchased, a real alpine hut which was warm,cosy and a chance to shower for 2 Euro's, a real bargain in my eyes, after being fed and watered it was back down the hill to the tents and mingle with the different nationalities all of whom had a smattering of English and were only too happy to try it on us, more snow had fallen whilst we were up in  the hut and so the snow once again had to be brushed off,

Tim & Simon enjoying their Rhindroladen and hellas beer in the hutte


Freshly fallen snow meant water in the morning to make ration pack tea after I heated the beans and bacon in it.

We had three nights at the TT and on Saturday the was a small ride out to a local cafe, something I had not managed the previous year as I was on the Bandit combo and had no chains, Tim said that he wanted to go in the chair, this was a chance for me to take the Tiger skating, well if I nearly shit myself once I must have nearly shit myself 3 or 4 times and broke a couple of snow depth marker poles in the process and this was just going down the hill which I rode up on the Thursday evening, but laugh!,oh how we laughed, it wasn't done at great speed but sometimes there was absolutely no control over where I was going so it was scary and very funny, at one point I did a 180 degree turn on the hill, that was scary.

Once we were down and on flatter snow I could open up the Tiger and drift her left and right, this was great fun, the cafe was 25 kms away through wooded areas and  small gravel roads that were covered in ice and snow, a couple of times I stopped to take pics because it was so beautiful


The road was just ice with a light dusting of snow, the rear chain was fantastic

Hot chocolate with chili was most welcome here at the cafe

In the cafe car/tractor park

The ride back to the rally site was just as good if not better as my confidence grew and I was able to handle the outfit better on the ice, going back up the hill was now a breeze, once we got back Tim and I celebrated with a frozen beer.

Sunday morning saw us depart the Tauerntreffen and head back to Auschaffenburg,the trip back was a bit tortuous due in no small part to the bad weather, the snow was an absolute pig being very heavy at times and not being able to see plays a big part in how fast you are able to travel, the cold too played its part, the heated grips which I used for the first time in my life were good and kept my hands warm, day turned into night and snow to slush and back again, we were cold wet and dirty by the time we got to Aschaffenburg which was frozen, driving through the old town I thought my clutch was slipping on a few occasions only to realize it was the ice on the road that had the rear wheel spinning.

Chains off in the carpark, head back to Aschaffenburg

 

Hot shower, hot food, cold beer and a  warm bed for the night was most welcome, a good night's sleep was had by all, we had breakfast and packed our bikes for the last time, it was still cold and new snow had fallen as we headed for Dunkerque to catch our ferry, it was a great trip and one I hope to repeat someday, there are a few more winter rallies I like to do ,the Primus being top of the list, but now it was on to the Dragon rally in north Wales and that dear readers is another RR

Warning this vehicle is reversing.....beep boop, getting ready for home,thanks to Si and Tim for their company and photos

[Hemibee]

Thanks for sharing...for some reason I got a chill while reading.  Must of had something to do with having to put a beer on the stove before you could drink it.   :lol:

[Geoff D]

Amazing stuff, respect to Simon on his solo... :shock:

[BigMark]

That's fantastic. For sure my next purchase will be a sidecar.. Thanks for sharing..

[John Stenhouse]

Superb write up, great pics! You must be mad  :shock:

[Kooba]

Fantastic ride report.Coming from the middle of Australia I can't get my head around the Coleman heater under the sump let alone HEATING beer to get a drink!Terrific photos.

[KuzzinKenny]

You are all barkin mad !!  :shock:  :shock:  bikin in the snow !! campin in the snow !!  :shock:  :shock:  You are all just barkin mad !! knittin with one needle !! not all the toys are in the attic !! lift doesn`t go to the top, barkin mad !!

But !! as long as YOU enjoyed yerself !!

KK

[qbto]

Yer mad enough on an outfit but te man on the XTZ's certifiable !
Respect, rode my GS through a few winters but nothing like that.