This has been something my wife has been complaining about for years… When the TWIKE’s canopy has been removed, the resulting draft on the passenger’s side is a pain for anyone with longer hair or sensitive muscles around the shoulders. I’ve thought about how a solution could look like – other than her looking like Grace Kelly with a scarf and all… A wind deflector, attached to the existing snaps for the canopy, easily removable, should do the trick. This entry will show you how to create such a deflector. First of all, it’s time to go shopping at the […]
TDF2023 – Day 12 – Bye, Italy!
After a great night with fresh air, we have a hearty breakfast before packing the TWIKE for the last time. It’s always interesting to see the difference of how we pack the TWIKE when we leave to how we slot in our stuff towards the end – optimisation is key! We head back down to the junction that brings us back onto the Splugen pass. From here it’s a 450m climb to the pass itself. It will be a challenge to shape our consumption in such a way that we can get most of the energy back into the batteries […]
TDF2023 – Day 11 – Lago di Como and the Alps
With some help of the air-conditioning unit, we wake up refreshed and ready for another day of TWIKE adventuring across northern Italy. We’re looking forward to a few things today – first of all, getting out of the endless flat-lands of the Padovan Pianura, driving along Lake Como’s stunningly beautiful coast, taking the ferry from Menaggio to Varena (a ferry TW560 has been on quite a few times already…first in 2010) and climbing all the way to Madesimo on the Splugen Pass at 1400 above sea level – a nice last full day in Italy! Before we leave, however, we […]
TDF2023 – Day 10 – Heading to the Pianura
As always, time goes by really quickly and we’re on our way back home. In theory, we could have done the distance in two days, but we decided to take it slow and enjoy the drive including a detour around lake Como. For today, we could have just driven along the coast all the way up to Genova and then taken the motorway northwards … not us today. We decided it would be a good idea to take the smallest roads available and cross the hills in true TWIKE adventure fashion: Hairpin bend by hairpin bend. For the first dozen […]
TDF2023 – Day 7-9 – R&R in Diano Marina
This is a short post from our few days in Diano Marina during which we – as in Hyères – didn’t do much else than read books at the beach, eat good food and explore the surrounding area. Most of what i loved 7 years ago is still here. This is why reading my last post on Diano Marina will give you a full picture of what to expect here. Ever so often, we head into town and park our TWIKE for the public to see. The Italians are very vocal about their love for special vehicles and we usually […]
TDF2023 – Day 6 – Côte D’Azur
After our very relaxing few days in Hyères we were ready to enjoy a short and easy drive to Diano Marina, a place I had visited previously on an other trip across Europe with TW560. The Côte D’Azur is particularly well suited to TWIKE’s as the road surfaces are typically good and large parts are limited to 50km/h – ensuring full relaxation whilst enjoying many stunning views. Today’s entry will have many photos of just this – us marvelling at the scenery and enjoying ourselves whilst driving in the ultimate vehicle for this environment save, of course, the old Citroën […]
TDF2023 – Day 3-5 – R&R in Hyères
This will be a super short entry as we didn’t take any pictures at all during our stay in Hyères. (The banner picture comes from Pansard’s website) It was a period of complete digital detox with us leaving our mobile phones at our bungalow, going to the beach, eating well and short daily easy runs along the sea and in and around the old salines just besides our campsite, discovering the natural beauty of this place. We both started reading our physical books and just relaxed with lots of lovely French rosé wine every evening. The days fly by and […]
TDF2023 – Day 2: Grenoble to Hyères, beautiful Southern France
We wake up to be greeted by a very gray and chilly morning – a quick check of various weather websites forecast a happy mix of sun, wind and rain for today. As always, there is nothing to complain about as long as the TWIKE is fully charged and there is the sea and chilled rosé wine waiting for us at the other end! This entry will be more about the photos than the text – it was a super relaxing drive across southern France with not much to report other than: do it yourself! Early morning traffic is dense […]
TDE2023 – Day 1: Across Switzerland to Grenoble
This year’s TWIKE adventure was planned at very short notice – our initial plans would have seen us hiking across Switzerland’s beautiful landscapes and mountains. (and I would have a 10-day trip sometime later this year.) One evening, around two weeks before the departure date, we noticed that the various challenges during the last 3 months had taken its toll and how tired we both were. Over a glass of very nice red wine we discussed how nice it would be to just relax somewhere at the sea, complete with good food and recharging by just doing nothing somewhere in […]
TDF2023 – this year’s TWIKE adventure
This year’s long-distance trip with TW560 was planned at a rather short notice – TDF2023 a two week break with our TWIKE. The date is finally set and the general direction chosen: Southern France. During last year’s trip, whilst returning, I drove along the southern coast of France and enjoyed it tremendously. This is essentially, what we’re going to do with much more time than last year. Unlike other years, we will not be traveling with our kids – they are going to stay at home as they need to study and finish other things – which will give me […]