Palazzolo della Stella to Grossmehring – what should have been a great ride turned out to be a miserable ride, cold and wet through the Italian and Austrian Alps, visor fogging up, 2 stops for fuel where I had the usual struggle to get my wet gloves back on again. The Italian toll to the border was €10.50. Austria now has a one day vignette for €3.40, 10 days was the minimum in the past but then they have additional tolls for their tunnels and there was one that cost €13.50. Big police check point at the German border looking for illegal immigrants, rode down the emergency lane to the front and got through without having to queue. The last half an hour was fine and cold, I did not pack my heated gear so the next couple of rides are going to be fun hahaha. This was just an overnight stop, somewhere to sleep along the route to Bonn.

Grossmehring to Bonn – cold ride 11-14c anything below 18c plus the wind chill factor on a bike is cold and needs heated gear (jacket and gloves) to be comfortable. I had to make do with the heated grips on my bike which can also be a problem because if they are too hot they can cause blisters especially on the throttle which has to be gripped firmly most of the time. There was a hold up for an accident, the usual idiots following too closely and ramming the car in front.

Bonn – another nice German city with excellent facilities. Notably the birthplace of Beethoven and the Capital of West Germany when the East and West were separate countries. Having grown up listening to Beethoven it was fascinating to visit the house he was born in, now a museum and see his music manuscripts. 

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