Police World Edition 4 2014

Article

Riding through a section of the Stelvio Pass

Main image: taking a break high in the Dolomite mountains

A view of the Stelvio Pass

The Scottish Motorcycle Touring Group was formed about a year and a half ago to complement the Section UK Motorcycle Group allowing local rides - often at the last minute, bearing in mind the ‘great’ Scottish weather. The Group’s popularity has grown and it now has over 160 members on its Facebook hub. Tom McInally reports on their latest adventure. L ast year we organised 15 events ranging from evening rides to a trip to Germany involving our IPA friends in Holland and various parts of the UK including Norwich, Wales, Yorkshire and various parts of Scotland.


Many of us were meeting each other for the first time at the ferry terminal in Newcastle but it was one of those moments where we realised we had a great bunch of people and the banter was soon in full swing. We boarded the ferry and off we set for Holland. Amusingly, two of our members decided to take a nap in their cabin before dinner. On waking they noticed that the time was 09.30, which, they thought, was half an hour after disembarkation! On with the bike gear and they insisted that the staff take them to the car deck. After some resistance the staff obliged and on entering the area they noticed no bikes had disembarked and no one else was there... Yes... it was 9:30pm and not 9.30am so red faced they returned to their cabins. 
 Arriving safely we were met by our IPA Netherlands Motorcycle Club friends and had breakfast with them before exchanging gifts. They then led us almost all the way to the German border which was a great start to the day.
That evening we reached Bad Lauterberg in the Harz mountains where we were to stay for three nights. In the morning we booked a guided motorcycle tour of the mountains and organised a BBQ for

Germany. It wasn’t long before demand for a longer ride gathered support and the Italian Job 2014 plan was hatched. Section Italy was organising their 4th motorcycle gathering in Panchia in Northern Italy and it coincided perfectly with our plans. Soon we had 13 members signed up for the trip.
The interim committee, consisting of Tom McInally, Dougie Wright, Start Blaikie and Ian Buchanan, was formed and the responsibilities were shared out and the work on a plan commenced. We were determined to keep the cost to £700 for the 14 nights which included everything including the ‘Chunnel’ home. With the ferry and tour booked and deposits paid a guide brochure was printed and it was green for go.
 Unfortunately a tragic event occurred only weeks before we left when one of our team, Alex Brown, a former support staff member from Lothian and Borders Police, tragically died in a motorcycle accident on the Isle of Skye. Needless to say the whole team was devastated by this news but, on the insistence of his family, we continued with the plans for the trip and on 30 May we set off from

In the Dolomites

the following evening. The Harz mountains have some fantastic twisty roads - with one section boasting 35 bends covering only a few kilometres of downhill road. Up and away we headed for our hotel just south of Munich before heading to Austria and through the alpine Grossglockner pass and glacier into Italy and our destination in

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POLICE WORLD Vol 59 No. 4, 2014