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Hi all, just came back from an amazing motorcycle vacation trip to Italy and the UK. This write up is about the first part in Italy since that was the adventure riding part of the vacation. The second half was dedicated to trials, which was also amazing, but this is not a trials site So Ducati, like other manufacturers, organizes training for several modalities. It's called Ducati DRE and it's offered in Italy. The one I've selected, the "DRE Adventure" is given at the Nipozzano Castle, in beautiful Tuscany during 2 days. The first one dedicated to training exercises, and the second one a nice ride around Tuscany. The trip starts in Bologna, with a visit of the Ducati factory and Museum. It was an amazing experience to see how the V4 and V2 engines are made, and the assembly line for all bikes, including my dear Multistrada and the new DesertX. No pictures allowed inside the factory, but here are a few of the museum. The next day, after a short hour or so drive from Borgo Panigale to the outskirts of Florence, the real fun started. As I arrived at the castle, I was received with the beautiful sight of all the training bikes aligned: We had some time for classroom training with world class instructors. My instructor, Matteo Graziani participated several times on the Dakar rally and has 30+ Italian rally titles. He was the Ducati tester and expert advisor for the development of the new DesertX. After that, we went to the training course, still within the Frescobaldi Estates where we had all sorts of exercises with the selected bikes. I've selected the new DesertX, and oh boy, what a bike! The event was perfectly organized by Ducati, with lunch, dinner and tour of the Frescobaldi winery and Nipozzano Castle all included. The last day we went on a ride of Tuscany, about 60% pavement, 40% off-road. The DesertX is amazing off-road. Much more similar to a dirt bike than a big adventure motorcycle, but I already knew that from online reviews. What really surprised me was how well balanced and fast it is on the switchbacks, even more when you set SPORT on the dash and all 110 ponies come to life! It was around 280 KM of fun, with pauses for snack in the forest Lifting techniques And tire fixing lessons It is still fresh in my memory and it feels like a dream. I hope to have the opportunity to do this again in the future. Worthy every penny...