Some years ago I began talking about touring Italy on a motorcycle. My wife and I have made a few trips to Italy, and we always rented a car to tour the country. As anyone who has been there can tell you it is a wonderful country to visit. To say that the food and scenery are marvelous is an understatement. After a couple of trips to Italy the dream to tour there by motorcycle became firmly planted in my mind. It took about 10 years before that dream came true. All along I had the support of my wife, but having seen the way the Italians drive, she did not include herself in this trip.

When driving in Italy you can't help but notice the twisty roads and the overwhelming number of two-wheeled vehicles. Many are traditional motor scooters, others are what seems to be a cross between a scooter and a small motorcycle, and then there are traditional motorcycles of every type, make and model. The Italian riders seem to have no regard for traffic rules. At times it seems as though it's a free-for-all. But even with that in mind, I continued to keep the dream alive. Finally, this year was the time to do it. I was lucky enough to find a good friend and fellow rider, John, who also wanted to tour Italy via motorcycle.

It was a simple plan. Fly to Italy, rent a motorcycle for about two weeks and visit some of the more popular sites via the back roads. Riding the back roads as opposed to the "Autostrada" (Italy's equivalent to our interstates) was one of the primary elements of the plan. We agreed on some basic rules: to not ride at night and not start drinking wine until after we finished riding for the day.

At one time finding motorcycle rental agencies in Italy was not easy. But over the years Harley-Davidson dealerships have become more common, along with authorized Harley-Davidson rentals. Our original plan was to spend the first day and evening visiting Florence, where we would rent, and then start on a 1,500-mile clockwise loop to San Marino, Abruzzi and the Amalfi Coast then head back north to Orvieto, then on to Lucca, Cinque Terre and back to Florence.

In April we e-mailed Walter Lenzi at the H-D Speed Shop in Florence and reserved two Electraglide Standards fitted with tour packs, basically the same motorcycles we ride here in the States. Lenzi is the director of the Chianti Chapter of the Harley Owners Group (HOG), so I asked him if we could meet some fellow HOG members while we were there. We were in luck because on the weekend we were to arrive there was "The Legends on Tour" Harley Rally/Race near Perugia, just south of Florence. Lenzi invited us to ride to the rally with some members of the Chianti HOG Chapter. We accepted and before we even left the States we made an alteration to our agenda. We had no idea that this change would transform our trip from great to fantastic.

We arrived in Florence about noon on a Friday. The airport is just across the highway from the Harley shop and by 3 p.m. we had picked up the motorcycles, met everyone who worked at the shop, bought some souvenir T-shirts and had a cup of espresso.

We were a little apprehensive about riding motorcycles in Florence traffic. So that afternoon all we did was pack our stuff on the bikes and ride to our hotel, which was about a mile or two away. The next morning we rode back to the Harley shop to meet with Lenzi and other HOG members to ride to the rally site. It was an easy 80-mile ride south on the Autostrada. Yes, we already broke one of our original rules! Fortunately, on Saturday the traffic was light.

At the rally we met HOG members from all over the region north of Rome. Harley-Davidson was out in full force, and every HOG chapter had a hospitality tent. Because it was Italy, the food and wine flowed freely. Yes, again, we broke another one of our original rules! The HOG members were kind enough to include John and me in a great Italian-style dinner and party at a local restaurant. The ride to dinner was after dark through the local twisty roads, and before the day was over we had broken all three of our original riding rules. But, hey, we were in Italy, and when in Rome ...

The next day we had breakfast with our new friends and began our adventure. We followed the back roads to San Marino where we spent the next day and a half. From San Marino we rode to a little town by the name of Villetta Barrea located in the Abruzzi hills on the edge of the Abruzzo National Park. Villetta Barrea is the hometown of John's ancestors. His cousins own a hotel and restaurant there, and we were welcomed with a warm reception, great food and an amazing view of the mountains.

The next morning, after hugs and kisses, we left Villetta Barrea. My ancestor's village is close by so we made a quick stop there and then headed for the villages of Amalfi and Positano. The Amalfi Coast is one of the most scenic areas in Italy. The drive along the coast borders the Mediterranean Sea on one side and cliffs on the other. It runs from Sorrento to Salerno. During the tourist season it is jammed with traffic and tour buses. A motorcycle is a distinct advantage in that one can bypass the stopped traffic. By now we were riding like most Italians and passing traffic at will and at every opportunity. At first it's a little intimidating, but we adapted.

After the Amalfi Coast we headed back north to Tuscany and for the balance of our visit we made Lucca our home base. From there we visited some of the Tuscan hill towns such as Orvieto, Volterra and San Gimingano. Lucca is a good location in that it is easy to get in and out. We also visited a couple of the small villages in the area know as Cinque Terre and Portovenere. For the last two days we relaxed in Lucca and Florence. For the final night we once again met with Chianti HOG Chapter members for another great Italian dinner. We had turned the motorcycles in by now and the wine flowed freely.

It was the trip of a lifetime, and the HOG members we met made the difference. Salute!

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