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Participation to the Milano - Taranto motorrally in Italy, July 2007
(you can click on most pictures for full size)

	Castropignano-Paestum, 343km The next morning, the sky was clear blue, as if the rain of the night before had never happened. There was an active & positive atmosphere between the participants. Left and right few had to do some mechanical work on their bikes.
(Polish made) Junak sidecar combination Father & daughter on an identical Lambretta Start of the sidecars Mechanical work on a German Moto Morini 3½
	The trip itself was without any problem. We even had time to drink an espresso in one of the many Italian espressobars. Never ask for capuchino after 11.00h in the morning, because the Italians only drink this for breakfast. You can also ask for coffee Americano, which is a double espresso, for those who think the amount of espresso in a cup is not enough. Lunch took place in a village where the Italians organised a kind of party to welcome us. Even the carabinieri, which is a nation-wide police force in uniform was present with beautiful & new BMW’s. One of our female riders was put on the BMW, complete with helmet and the nice policeman made a photo of here, using her camera. Again, the food the Italians made for us was just too good to be true. They very much enjoyed our enthusiasm on their excellent food. quick espresso location for lunch carabinieri more good food After lunch, we continued without problem and at the end of the afternoon we arrived in Paestum. Paestum is the classic Roman name for Poseidonia, an important city from the old Magna Graecia, the part of Southern Italy colonised by the ancient Greeks. Now it is an important place for archaeological findings in Italy and is located on the coast, some 85km south of Naples. It has got three Greek tempels from ancient times, but unfortunately there was no time at all in our tight schedule to visit any of the surroundings. In the hotel you would only find copies of pictures made by the ancient Greeks. When we arrived in Paestum, we were sent to a parking area where we saw a newly wedded couple. The bride and groom posed between the motorbikes. We found out, the organisation arranged that the police on motorcycles and the Milan-Taranto riders would escort the bride and groom to the hotel. Afterwards I would like to apologise to our pretty couple, but we escaped and rode on to the hotel. We really wanted to shower and freshen up. The nice parade with the newly weds would take at least 45 minutes and afterwards, no doubt, the whole bunch of riders would like to get their hotel key at the same time, causing yet another hold up. Start of your webmaster after the brake in Brienza, another 100km's to go to Peastum. On the lhs picture you can see me concentrating on the clock to leave exactely in time.
Pretty couple, just merried, posing next to a Moto Guzzi Albatro Replica 250cc, (built like the 1948 model)
	The motorcycles, sidecars, scooters and both cyclecars all had a perfect parking place in this empty factory hall, close to the hotel.
	From Paestum to Castrovillari 257km and onwards to the hotel, total 302km The last but one leg of the trip would take us from Paestum to Castrovillari. It was a relaxed ride. Really enjoyed the route the organizers had chosen. Again plenty of winding roads. I did not like the hairpins bends to the right, because you could not see how thigh they were and how to steer into such bends. But we took it easy and all went well. Down in the South of Italy, there were some other dangers for motorcyclists: the roads were not so good, but also loose running dogs. All in all it happened to me 4 times: a small dog in front of my wheels. Fortunately I saw them in time and could brake, but serious accidents could happen. I got another fright as on a mountain road, twice, Jos and Hendrika outside the hotel in Paestum cows with really long horns walked up to me. I was forewarned as the road was covered with their droppings, so I expected cattle on the road. So we continued riding in a relaxing manor. It was not a competition to arrive first. More important was to leave promptly at the minute from any location where we had an official break. The person, at the start, always had a small digital clock near him. If you had your own watch running on the same time, nothing much could go wrong. Usually once a day there was a departure time with the seconds written behind your start time. For example 15:36:00h. On the start location, you saw 2 stripes on the road. You had to wait before the first stripe and then pass the second stripe as close as possible on the given time. On the road there would be a large digital clock next to the first stripe and there was an electronic device to exactly time the participant on the second stripe. I calculated 2 seconds to pass the second stripe, so with a given departure time of 15:36:00, I would ride at 15:35:58. You could earn points by matching the given time as closely as possible.
Two stripes on the road, clock left on the pavement. Clock left, in front of the table the tripod for the time registration unit The scooter crossing the second line The setup of the equipment
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