France has – like Germany – decided to adopt a scheme where certain types of vehicles are prohibited from entering cities or city centres depending on the emissions they produce. Unlike ULEZ or Barcelona’s LEZ (to which TW560 has already (2021) been multiple (2022) times and has an official account) Unlike Germany, these zones can be combined with time-based limitations and – crucially for older cars that aren’t driven a lot, such as old-timers, there are exemptions that can be easily obtained digitally for a number of days per year. The agenda for the reductions is very aggressive: after 2025 […]
Not much going on here!
Very true. Everything is OK: The TWIKE is doing great – I’ve been busy again – traveling to Singapore and other countries job-wise whilst in my private life other priorities have been in the way of me exploring Switzerland. Good news is that I’m still planning a longer-distance trip this year: I’ve got some TWIKE-related projects that are on hold for the moment such as the center console restoration or a better Type2 charging solution, among others. Check back soon.
Hello 2024
Time goes by really quickly – especially if you’re absent. Welcome to a quick re-cap of 2023, the usual stats and an outlook into 2024. The good news first: TW560 had no major technical problems during 2023. Only following parts had to be serviced: 2023 started with me heading back to Singapore for another 4 months – extending my total stay there that started late 2022 to a total of 8 months. After some relaxing days back home over Christmas and New Year I headed back to Asia. My wife visited me for 2 weeks of vacation in Malaysia before […]
Projects: Passenger Side Wind Deflector
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 […]