The Baked Beans Tour 2022 - A Hello From the Buddy!

 Last year when Hobbes and I visited Mica, we met up in a town on my way to his house, Mica had arranged a riding day with some friends from the office. 

The riding was great and we had a super fun day, obviously, as Mica had planned it so well. 

As I had planned a European motorcycle trip also this year, I started to marinate the idea that we, Mica and I, should go for a short ride together. 

Mica, as the good sport he is, thought it could be fun and planned a superb four-day-three-night trip to Italy, with the objective to do passes, eat well and have a dip in the Med, I.E. The Baked Beans Tour! 

For those of you who don’t know Mica, there are a couple of things you should know. He’s the best friend you possibly could ask for. Mica IS bikes! He knows everything there’s to know. If you need the molecular structure of a part in the engine, I’m sure he could tell you that. 

This also shows in his driving. Mica’s been on bikes for ages, I got my license in October 2019 and I’m still a newbie, so if you compare the two of us, you’d see the difference between a guy who’s tightly forged with the bike (Mica) and someone who’s sitting on the bike, clinging on to it (me). 

Having said this, Mica paced himself perfectly to me, he drove fast and hard enough to keep me on my toes and made me challenge myself, and once, I got into a serious flow and took us down a pass in a not too shabby mode. If you’re not used to driving on serpentine mountain roads, it’s a bit like going down a black ski slope, just take it easy, don’t overdo it, and you’ll be fine.  

At the end of the day’s ride, when we arrived at our destination with baked beans, we fueled up, checked in at the hotel and parked the bikes. Mica had chosen hotels which had secure parking and that feel good, look for “bike friendly” when you book hotels.  

And let me tell you, after a day on the bike in the baking heat, it was wonderful to get out of the riding gear, take a shower, put on the civvies and explore the town where we were, enjoy a delicious dinner and have a cup of tea. Life is good.