When
we returned from that tour, Julia decided she wanted her own
bike and was pursued to go and do her Direct Access course.
While doing her course, we bought an AJS 125 cruiser for her
to practice on while waiting for her test date. Suffice to
say she passed on her second attempt with only three marks
against her and then sold the 125 on E-bay and then her car
to buy her first proper bike, a Dragstar 650 Classic. The
reason behind buying cruisers is that Julia was not confident
when stopping and was only happy with both feet planted flat
on the road. On the road she was quietly confident and obeyed
all speed limits at all times and was even courteous to car
drivers that cut her up. This changed when we bought her a
Suzuki RF600 and she was a changed woman. Meanwhile I plodded
along on my Yamaha FJR1300 and rode tail gunner. Her confidence
grew as did her road craft. So much so, that we decided to
do a tour on our own.
Luxemburg was the destination and after many talks with Petar,
about what we needed by law and route planning, we set off.
First roundabout in France was a nightmare, we went round
it twice to make sure we were headed in the right direction.
As the kilometres passed by, we both gained in confidence
and set about enjoying the scenery and people. Camping was
the choice of accommodation, not the biker friendly and high
standard of hotels that come with a Ride With Us tour. We
endured rain, fog and amount of sunshine in varying quantities
and enjoyed every minute of the experience. On our return
to England it was necessary to get to grips with the vast
amounts of paperwork that were needed for the wedding in Austria.
All documents had to be originals and if not, had to be certified
by a solicitor, who charged for the privilege. Birth certificates,
previous wedding and decree absolutes, passports, utility
bills ,driving licences etc etc all had to be sent to the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, then upon receipt of them
back, had to be sent for translation and eventually to The
Hague, before being sent to the chosen Registry office in
Kernautal before the wedding could take place. Not forgetting
that all paperwork is in double, mine and then Julia’s,
it’s a miracle that none was returned with a question.
We were advised on a web site, "Austria Direct",
that you should plan or start to plan at least 6 months before
the wedding date and by Austrian law you must not book earlier
than five months prior. We emailed the office in Kernautal
5 months prior and were waiting for a confirmation to say
that there were no problems with that date. None came and
as the 22nd August became closer Julia was beginning to panic
a little, as was I. Petar came to the rescue and gave us the
name of the owners of the hotel we would be staying in and
a contact number. The hotel was duly rung and a very helpful
receptionist gave me the telephone number of the office. Five
messages left, and no reply. Panic set in. " What if....?"
questions arose. "What if they don’t have a slot
open for us." "What if the registrar is on holiday?"
and this continued for weeks.
While all this was happening, Julia had her Suzuki stolen.
The irritating thing was that it was seen being ridden around
by a known bike thief and being hammered into the ground.
When the boys in blue eventually found it, it was a right
off. Fairing ripped to pieces, bars bent and levers snapped
off. The little toe rags had even removed the com system from
under the seat. The insurance company ( Highway ) were absolutely
brilliant and had the claim sorted and payment done in double
quick time. Now it was off to buy a bike for Julia to ride
to Austria on. We looked on the internet and bike mags and
decided to go and look at a Bandit or similar. We were sidetracked
by an advert on eBay, he was selling a Honda Deauville for
1400 notes. After the obligatory test ride, Julia nodded her
approvement and the bike was bought after heavy negotiations
by Julia. To my surprise she rode the bike home, a trip of
about 40 miles, as if she had been glued to it for years.
We knew time was getting nearer to the wedding as we received
the route plans for the Black Forest and Austria tour from
Slavica and noted that the 22nd August ( which was a rest
day on the planner ) said in large letters "Andy and
Julia’s wedding". Again this reminder prompted
us to phone the Registry Office in Kernautal and again, after
leaving messages, we were not informed that all was ok. To
our rescue came a call from John at Austria Direct, asking
if all was going to plan. When I told him that we were worried
as we had not received any notification from Austria, he told
us to forget our English way of thinking as the Austrian way
is so laid back, it was horizontal. He explained by saying
that in England we expect different things to happen. We expect
confirmations, we expect to receive a receipt etc , but in
Austria , when you book a date for a function, then that’s
agreed and you don’t get any notification either way.
This was a great relief and we felt now that all was ok and
the tension eased a little. There were still nerves as we
knew that the big day was now weeks away and not months.
Julia got more riding time as we went out for days out on
the bikes and the new Julia was riding well. It was then the
15th August, three days before we were due at The Euro tunnel
to meet up with the gang. We spent the next three nights in
Youth Hostels as we made our way down to Canterbury so as
to have a short ride to the Tunnel on the morning of the 18th.
At 5.30 we pulled in to meet up with the Ride with Us group
and found them without too much problem. As riders of the
tour arrived over the next 60 minutes we made ourselves known,
most of the time to be greeted with the words, "you must
be Andy and Julia, the wedding couple". There was a good
mix of bikes, Hondas, Yamahas, BMWs and a Triumph Tiger with
riders of varying ability, some were seasoned tourers and
a few were on their first ever organised tour, Michael and
his dad, Colin, spring to mind as they were at first nervous
but soon mellowed after the first few hundred kilometres.
Julia slipped in behind Petar, with Slavica as his pillion,
and followed at a respectable pace. After the second petrol
stop, Petar said that Julia was a fine rider and could find
her own place anywhere in the pack. Big, big compliment from
Petar.
As the main group settled into a good riding rhythm, the seasoned
riders went their own way to meet up at the pre booked hotels
in the evening. Julia, on a few occasions, opened the throttle
to shoot off down the road and thoroughly enjoyed the wide
open roads of France. It was on one of these occasions in
Germany that Julia shot off down the road after mistaking
one of Slavicas hand signals as "35 kilometres to next
stop." I realised the mistake and shot off after her,
reasoning that Slavicas hand signal was "your indicator
is still on". When I caught up and pulled in for a smoke,
we programmed the sat nav in for the hotel and eventually
met up with Petar, who, after arriving at the hotel and making
sure that all the other riders were booked in, had headed
off in the direction he thought we might be coming from. His
thought was a good one , as we met about 10 to 12 kilometres
from the hotel. Later that evening when we were sat at the
table, for a brilliant meal, after Julia’s escapade
she was nicknamed "The Runaway Bride" and it stuck.
Julia thought that it was at this time she was accepted in
the group as "one of the boys".
The next couple of days riding, and all had settled in, we
got to see some great scenery, planned and unplanned as we
headed to Austria. One of the planned stops was the Triberg
waterfalls, it was wet and it was a magnificent sight. Many
photographs and snacks later, everyone met up to get through
the next stage and to have lunch in a scenic stopover point.
At any point during a days riding, Julia would shoot off up
the road, after making sure with Petar and Slavica that it
was ok. She had learned her lesson the hard way. When we arrived
at the hotel, on the eve of our wedding day, we nipped down
to the Registry Office in the town to find the building and
parking so that we could arrive in the morning without any
hassle. That night was different to all the others as many
of the group were a little quieter than before and I was beginning
to realise that in the following 24 hours I would be wed to
Julia. Before setting off on this tour Julia had bought a
dress she would be wearing but when we were alone in the hotel
room she decided that we would have the service with us wearing
our bike gear. Brilliant idea, but a shame, as she looked
great in it. I did not sleep well that night as thousands
of thoughts were running through my head.
We woke very early on the big day to bright sunshine streaming
through the window, and went down for breakfast to find most
of the group were already having their eats. Inside I was
feeling elated and scared at the same time, wondering how
the day was going to go. We set off heading to the town of
Kaunertal and the registry office. Julia was unusually quiet
as she sat astride the bike as we set off in convey. As we
rode through the brilliant scenery I got to thinking that
the roads in Austria were fantastic for riding a bike slowly
or at speed. We sailed into town and went straight to the
car park and had photographs taken as a group before we went
into the office. Before the wedding we had to finalise the
plans by showing passports and signing the final pieces of
paper that were required by law. It was at this point we met
Herr Eiterer, the gentleman that was to perform the ceremony.
He pointed out that there was not a translator available and
would it be ok to perform the service in "school English".
Julia and I agreed that it would not be a problem and the
final nail was nearly in the coffin. Before we went into the
reception area a couple of the guys took me to one side and
said very sternly that there was still time to get to the
bike and make a quick getaway. Ha Ha. The service was extremely
calm and Herr Eiterer looked as scared as we were, yet he
was able to convey the spirit of marriage in a story that
was based on the seasons. He began by saying that all that
was around us affected how we are and how life would carry
on through the hard times of the Fall and Winter. That the
Spring and Summer was a sign of prosperity and fruitful times
and that these times carry us through the hard times. He was
very eloquent and his "school English" was better
than many people I knew. He congratulated us and also stated
that as we had waded through all the paperwork that was required
to marry in Austria, then we would have no problems that we
could not solve in the future. Vows were made and rings exchanged
he then pronounced us man and wife and I was given the option
to "kiss the bride" which to me was the final act
of the ceremony. As it turned out we had then to sign the
wedding certificates and the register, in triplicate, to finalise
it all. Petar and Slavica then signed as our witnesses and
then it was out to the car park for photos. Herr Eiterer gave
us permission to ride the bikes onto the plaza in front of
the Registry Office and everyone gathered for the photos.
We spoke to Herr Eiterer to thank him for a beautiful service
and congratulated him on his English. It was at this point
he told us that it was his first wedding in English and that
we were the first English biking couple, with an entourage
of bikers, he had married in his career. Petar then told us
that we were going for a ride along the valley a local glacier,
a ride of around 30 kilometres. Julia threw her leg across
the Deauville and slipped into the line of bikers as we set
off, and as usual I was riding shotgun behind. As we crept
along the valley floor I was aware that it was getting significantely
colder but the road was ideal for riding and the scenery,
to die for. Rock faces to the left and open land and sometimes
water to the right and every time we passed the locals, they
waved. After about 10 kilometres the road started to rise
and we got involved with some great twisties, I think Julia
got some real riding experience here. Some of the lads went
up the road to enjoy the fun while the others just plodded
along enjoying the fullness of the valley. Upon reaching the
glacier it was time to put on more clothing as it was so cold
yet the air was crisp and clean. Everyone spent time doing
their own thing and after lunch it was time to return to the
hotel. The ride back was a little faster and I began to enjoy
the downhill sections and the hairpin bends that were thrown
at me every couple of hundred metres, it was fun but not serious,
just pure enjoyment.
After arriving at the hotel, the first job was showers and
getting ready for the evening meal. If this meal was going
to be as tasty and filling as previous meals on the tour,
then we were in for a treat. As we filed into the dining area
we stopped in our tracks. The tables had been decorated with
more candles, lace and table linen in red. Slavica had planned
a wedding meal for us weeks before we arrived. My thanks go
to the hotel staff and chefs as it was superb. We had champagne
and speeches were limited to a few words as time passed. When
we left the tables to retire to the lounge area for a few
more drinks we were again surprised to be presented with a
wedding cake truly decorated with a motorcycle, it looked
very eatable and much of it was dispatched within 10 minutes.
Julia decided that the other motorcycle tour that was in the
hotel should also benefit and I was sent to pass around a
large platter of cake to the other bikers. Later in the evening
the hotel owner and his wife had us all have a drink of schnapps,
and thanked us for choosing his hotel for this great occasion.
It was at this point his manager appeared and presented all
of the group with black baseball caps embroidered with "Biker
Friendly" logos, Everyone retired to bed that night knowing
we had to be up and away for 8 in the morning and heading
for the next destination with some brilliant roads to be had.
The tour was organised / guided and assistance with wedding
preparations provided by RideWithUs.
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Motorcycle
Tours, Organised Motorcycle Holidays, European Motorcycle Touring
