Today’s the day: My youngest daughter and I are on our way to Styria via Italy and Slovenia. After a very normal hectic last day at work spent making sure everybody knew what needs to be done during my absence, I meet my daughter outside my office at 4.30pm. We leave Zürich and hit heavy traffic on Switzerland’s motorways – Zürich’s schools close for a two-week autumn holiday period today and we’re not the only ones with the brilliant idea to drive towards Italy 🙂 As usual, here comes the traditional TWIKE-team picture: There isn’t too much to […]
Update: TDIN2016 – one week to go
Quick update on TDIN2016: The final version of our route is ready. My youngest daughter and I will be leaving from Zurich late Friday afternoon and drive to Italy for our first overnight stay just across the border in Sondrio Province. TW560 will be crossing the Splugen pass for the second time this year. We’re also going to be visiting some Italian friends in northern Italy on the way. Both me and my daughter are very much looking forward to this trip. The trip we’ve planned has some stunning stretches of road in store for us – see for yourself: […]
TDIN2016 – TW560’s second 9-day 2016 adventure
As you might already know, the Austrian part of my family meets up once a year in Styria for a few days of catching-up, eating good food and drinking Styria’s very drinkable white wine. We from Switzerland have been taking part for over a decade now and wouldn’t want to miss this event for nothing in the world. (Teenage daughters insisting on coming is a good sign 😉 ) TW560 has also been to Styria a few times and it has always been a very memorable trip. This year, my youngest daughter and I will make our way to Styria […]
New Battery Pack: How far can I go on a charge?
Every time when changing something related to batteries, many other parameters potentially change at the same time: Chemistry, response to load, max/min voltages and discharge curves, etc. In a way, it feels like being a novice TWIKE pilot again – you really don’t know how your battery will react and – in consequence – how far your will be able to drive. Without a reliable total charge capacity figure, any subsequent computations are meaningless. I’m currently driving with the 29E-config I just left in-place since my 35E pack has at least 14% more capacity. It would, nevertheless, be interesting to […]
Professional photos from TDAF2016
On day 3 of this year’s TWIKE adventure TDAF2016 whilst climbing Le Col de la Bonette, we had some professional photos taken of our ascent. After waiting 2 weeks, finally, the images were sent to us and we’re really happy with the result. Not much else to say than … enjoy:)
TDAF2016 – Day9: Higher than expected / 0.5kWh for 69km / Home Sweet Home
Welcome to the last day of TDAF2016 – currently, we are at an alpine resort called Aprica at 1100m. Toady, we have a day full of alpine passes waiting for us: 1181m – Passo di Aprica – Italy 2621m – Gavia Pass – Italy 2291m – Foscagno Pass – Italy 2315m – Livigno Pass – Switzerland-Italy 2328m – Bernina Pass – Switzerland 1815m – Maloya Pass – Switzerland 2117m – Splügen Pass – Italy-Switzerland First thing in the morning, I open my window to be greeted by the usual blue sky that has followed us during all our trip. Thinking […]
TDAF2016 – Day8: TIP in Milano & snow
Welcome to the 8th day of TDAF2016, TW560‘s yearly trip to somewhere outside of Switzerland. Currently, our total cost for energy still is at €0. Last year’s trip totaled at €2.5 for 2900km 🙂 I start my day by opening the tall windows of my room, just to be greeted by… …yet again. My family and friends have sent me grey and rainy pictures for the last week. I’m getting increasingly reluctant to send back anything pertaining to weather. 🙂 We leave our place to have some Italian-style breakfast somewhere at the main square. Unlike yesterday, the street […]
TDAF2016 – Day7: Dual carriage, normal, single lane… no road at all.
Today gave us a comprehensive mix of everything we like about our trips: cruising along a coastal road, lots of small towns and villages, super-small roads, very steep climbs, beautiful views and very friendly encounters with people we met along the road. Our trip starts after a warm farewell by the hotel staff. Our day off yesterday sees us back on the road, very much looking forward to what today will bring us. We’re very happy that there are some clouds in the sky – every time we drive into the sun, it gets very hot really quickly. The roads […]
TDAF2016 – Day6: R&R in Diano Marina
Everyone needs a break from time to time. Same for us – after 5 Days on the road, we decided yesterday that we would add an additional – drive free – day in Diano Marina. Instead of a travelogue, today, just some impressions of what we were up to. (Add a generous afternoon siesta for me). A walk along the beach, then drive to Diano Marina old town. We then decide to have our hair cut and be shaved. Go back to the beach… it’s still really quiet there. (First wave of tourists start arriving […]
TDAF2016 – Day5: Italianità on the Ligurian coast
Our travelogue for today is short. Since our aim is to be on a much more relaxed schedule than last year, we leave from Menton at 9am after sleeping well in our very basic hotel. All our battery indicators are back to normal, since we’ve allowed for a full and normal charge and are looking forward to meaningful information by our onboard computer. (Since we only changed the maximum charge voltage yesterday, our computer was trying to cope with the fact that we were still able to recuperate over 500Wh into the battery although it was ‘full’ from its point […]