9/11/05 This morning I packed up camp after a very few restless hours of sleep. I laid into the campground manager pretty hard about his lack of security and ended up getting a free nights stay, not quite worth it but it made me feel a little better. So off I set to Venice for a fairly uneventful day. Once in Venice I went to the campground I had stayed at last time. I was pretty tired so I took a couple hour nap before going out and getting some dinner. Today’s Specs Weather: 75F cloudy with occasional sunny spots Distance: 150miles Bolagna to Venice   9/12/05 Well this morning I woke up bright and early to head to the ferry dock to pick up 46 kilos of fiery polish passenger. Yep I had asked Anna if she wanted to come along when I was in Corfu and she said she needed a couple days to get stuff squared away before joining me. I wasn’t sure if she would come but sure enough she quit her job called the family and hopped a ferry to Venice to join me. She is pretty crazy, hhhhmmmm is possible I have met my match??????  Or as my dad asked have I finally met a girl I couldnt Hoganize?  Since she had never been to Venice we spent a few hours wandering around taking some pics and getting completely lost. I figured I would start her out with a glimpse of my navigational skills early on. The plan was to make to Thomas’s house in France where we are going to spend the next week preparing for the Dark Continent. So 8 hours and 400 miles later we rolled in Bar Sur Loup before midnight. Anna was a trooper no complaints after a long day on the road. Today’s Specs Weather: 80F sunny till south west Italy and decided to rain Distance: 400miles Venice Italy to Bar Sur Loup France   9/13/2005 - 9/18/2005 Welll this week has been a combination of relaxing with Anna and Thomas (he flew down for a couple days for some bike prep and trip coordination) and some mild chaos of preparation. I started with a list of about 40 things that I had to get done. The list consisted of everything from getting Anna her travel vaccinations (this was quite fun since she isn’t too fond of shots but the doctor was pretty good and we were in and out of the clinic in 15 minutes) to things like get the maps for Africa and laminate them so they last for a couple months. One of the nights we sat around and found the bottom of several bottles of wine as we looked out on the Cote De Azur while listening to our favorite songs. I managed to change the brake fluid, clutch fluid, engine oil, gear box oil, shaft oil, and fuel filter so I am feeling pretty good about the shape of the bike for Africa. It is definitely time head to the southern hemisphere in search of summer. Not only as I look at the calendar but also when I look out at the cloudy rainy weather I am aware that winter is coming. I decided that my current jacket wouldn’t be the best gear for Africa so I bought motocross style armor with a durable shell type jacket/vest. This should be much better in the heat, my old jacket was fine if I was moving but I figure there are going to be plenty of times when Anna has to push the bike and carrying the panniers while I am sitting watching. I figure it could be well over 100F and it gets hot watching people push the bike and that isn’t comfortable you know. So with the bike all dialed in, my gear settled, 46 kilos of polish fiery it is only a couple days till Africa. Today’s Specs Weather: Rainy/Sunny/Cloudy Distance: Bar Sur Loup France