AIRCRAFT INSPECTED
I did mean to go from Bernhard’s place at Pfaffinghofen to the Deutsches Museum’s extended aircraft collection at Schleissheim on Thursday, but lunch took longer than I expected and I ran out of time.
I decided I’d do it today, Saturday. Katrina said at lunch on Thursday that Regensburg had some great gothic architecture and was a nice place, so I decided I’d go there afterwards.
It was only half an hour or so from Erding to the Schleissheim airfield, and I got there just after they opened at 0900.
I paid 3 euros for all day parking even though I was only going to be there a while.
I checked out the old planes: a Fokker Dr.I, a F104 Starfighter, a MiG 19, a MiG21, a Dornier Do117, an F86 Sabre, a Eurofighter. Lots of others. I took a load of photos.
Deutsches Museum Schleissheim Airfield – worth a visit
After an hour or so I left. I turned from the airfield on to Dachaustrasse and when I got to the railroad crossing the lights lit up and the boom gates came down. There was a guy on a bicycle in front, then a car. I wondered if lane filtering was illegal. I decided I wouldn’t chance it. I checked my mirrors and a huge tractor with an enclosed cab towing two trailers full of hay was rolling up behind me. I hit the kill switch and waited.
The train passed. The bicycle took off. I started my engine. The car took off. I selected first gear. And then the tractor ran into the back of me.
I took off then. Smartly. He was up high and he probably couldn’t see me over his bonnet, and had forgotten that I was there. If I hadn’t been in gear and able to get away smartly, I suspect I would have been jam. I pulled over just before the train lines and he got out and started apologising in German. I asked him if he spoke English and he said no. His Frau got out, and she spoke a bit. She’d picked up the KTM’s left pannier from the road.
We checked out the damage: broken pannier, bent mounting bracket, broken indicator (but it still lit up okay).
Not so bad, really.
I explained that it wasn’t my bike but a Mietmotorrad, and showed them the rental papers, which they photographed. Then old mate showed me his driver’s licence, which I photographed. We wrote down each other’s addresses and numbers. They kept saying they were sorry and I kept saying “Das ist egal” and that was that.
I rode back to Erding, and told the Ralf the rental guy what happened. He took the details and said he would contact them, and as it was not my fault I wouldn’t have to pay for the damage. He checked the bike out and said I could ride it, so I headed off to Regensburg.
I had my first full conversation without using English with the guy drinking beer near where I parked. I asked can I park here, and he said no but if you go up the end of the street and turn left you will see a big parking place. We understood each other and I was very chuffed.
I parked and walked over the bridge to the old town and walked around for an hour photographing things.
The old church burnt down in 1273, so they had to build a new one. They had it done by 1520.
I walked back to where the guy had been drinking on the street, grabbed a table and ordered a Weissbier to stiffen the sinews and summon up the blood.
Then, I rode back to Erding at 200 km/h.
What a country.
I had to stop a bit outside Erding. It’s almost impossible to stop on German country roads because there simply isn’t room. They have almost no space at the side. Every square metre is used for growing things. There is corn growing outside Munich airport.
Even if you find room to stop, you’re riding on the right hand side of the road, the road slopes down to the right, the side stand is on the left, and there isn’t enough room to park at ninety degrees..
The KTM 990, damn its tiny tank, drinks like a sailor at 200, and it was telling me that it had 5km of range left. I took an exit off the road and parked on the striped bit of the exit where vehicles aren’t supposed to be, because my GPS was telling me that Erding was 8kms away, and you know what Austrians are like.
The GPS said continue along the exit road and there’s a petrol station in 100 metres. So I got back on and continued on the exit road, and when the road straightened out there was a fuel station.
It took 12.4 litres. I’m pretty sure it’s a 13 litre tank. I’m not going to look it up, because I’m never going to buy a bike with a tank that small. And I just know that KTM aren’t going to make a new model with an 18 litre tank.
You know what Austrians are like.
About the Author
Al Al does a bit of everything, and likes hanging around with Boris, because there are generally motorcycles and whiskey, and because hilarity generally ensues. He wastes his spare time not moderating the BIKE ME! forums, where he posts occasionally and is regarded as unfair, unbalanced and unmedicated. Shows how much THEY know.
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