Hi! My name’s Adam and I have a problem, I LOVE motorcycles!
Welcome to Ride Italia this is my project to spread the love of the region of Italy that I live in to a wider audience. I am a guy who loves Italy and Abruzzo in particular. I love riding motorcycles (for which the region is a near paradise!) and I love coffee, wine and food. As of writing this in late 2023 I am 58 years old and my career up to this point has been (and continues to be in part) inside the motorcycle industry. Originally an enthusiast, then mechanic and college lecturer in motorcycle mechanics. As well as a mechanic I’ve been a service manager, technical trainer, training manager, college tutor and a regional aftersales manager. I’ve been self employed (in several trainer/mechanic roles), worked for large dealerships and worked for Piaggio UK as well as working with some of the big brands in the motorcycle industry. While technical training has always covered everything for motorcycles, my expertise is in motorcycle electronics these days.
It was during my 10 years with Piaggio that my love affair with Italy began. We would head over from the UK to the the factories in Pontedera (Tuscany) and Noale (Veneto) fairly often and the country charmed me. It was way back in the early 2000s I decided I would love to actually live over here for a while. I was seduced by all sorts of things, the quality of the light, the warmer, sunnier weather, the good food and not least amongst the charms were the people I met here. There’s a quickness to smile I find refreshing.
I tried moving here with work in 2004ish. I spoke to my department manager in the UK and in Italy and had an agreement I could be seconded to the office in Pontedera for a year or two. Sadly the Italian manager who supported the idea retired later on in the same week the decision was made! Ultimately the whole thing collapsed and the chance to move the whole family over here died a rather tragic death. Mostly I regret the opportunity it would have presented my daughters who would have had a couple of years over here when they were young enough to soak up the extra context that living in another country offers.
Fast forward nearly twenty years, a divorce, two wonderful daughters grown up, etc etc and it was time to realise the old dream. I started looking in Tuscany which I was most familiar with, but by chance one day I searched further afield and saw a house I like the look of in Abruzzo on Rightmove. I knew nothing about Abruzzo so I did some research, made a quick visit and that was enough to make the decision, this was where I’d buy a place. After a lot of hand wringing, a visit to look at property, I finally bought the very first house I saw in the region on Rightmove a few months before! By now Brexit and the uncertainty about what that might mean added some need to hurry, in 2020 I completed on the place and moved over officially in 2020 with my partner at the time, Clare.
Just in time for Covid! We endured the strict lockdowns, to be honest it wasn’t a bad time at all for us, and we settled in to our new place. Italy suffered with Covid but learned its lessons quickly and the population responded well, with a spirit of wider community, and managed. Since then time has been taken up with exploring the place, discovering the roads and towns, the mountains and food and wine. And some work for a client or two thrown in for good measure.
I also bought an apartment here near where I live, right in the heart of the old town of Civitella Del Tronto, I love this old town! It’s the perfect little old hill town, clinging to one side of a hill and topped by Italy’s largest fortress! If you like the idea of a stay in the heart of a little old town, have a look here:
And now it’s time to show you the amazing sights, smells and tastes of the central Italian region, and of course the wonderful scenery and fun roads!
One response
Long live the engines! Engines rock and rule!