We have been touring in Italy for the past week (in a bus, not on a bike) and I’ve been on the lookout for a Guzzi, any Guzzi. Conventional wisdom suggested that the big block models would be few and far between. Until yesterday that had been our experience. And then it happened. As we walked among the fields of lava near the peak of a still smoldering Mt. Etna I heard, then saw, something familiar.
In a group of bikes rolling slowly past I spotted a red Mille 1000. The group was looking for parking and I caught up as they dismounted. Without any Italian language skill I tried my best to introduce myself to the Guzzi rider. It turns out that conversational Italian wasn’t necessary. Jaroslav and his bike were from the Czech Republic and his English was quite good.
We chatted, compared our mutual Guzzi models (the need to have several seems universal), and discussed parts, reliability, easy repairability and all things Guzzi. My parting photo shows Jaroslav and his Mille. I wasn’t able to make it a selfie, but the picture is still a nice addition to the story.
Jaroslav was not familiar with WildGuzzi but perhaps we have a member from the Czech Republic who may be able to connect the dots and pass along a greeting.
The world is a great place when a Yank can travel to the island of Sicily in Italy and bump into Czech and discuss Guzzi!
