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Hokum
Spanner Monkey
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HotdogMcDraw
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 Posted: 14:58 - 03 Jun 2014  Post subject: |
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That looks like an awesome ride, pity it was stopped short by the barrier.
____________________
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=284963 - What to expect on a MOD 1 (contains video footage) - Posted by BG5067
Honda Rebel 125 (L Plate Warrior) - Nov 2013 to Aug 2014, BMW G650 GS ABS - Aug 2014 to Current |
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Spanner Monkey
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Posted: 00:14 - 19 Jun 2014  Post subject: |
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Day 7 - Friday 18th April Erstfeld to Vevy via Interlaken (174 miles)
https://goo.gl/maps/LWYD1
Woke up late again today and missed the initial breakfast but the hotel staff were very accommodating and brought out a selection of food for me. I guzzled that down quickly and set off for about 10:00. I headed north on the local road toward Altdorf where I finally found a proper petrol station with people inside and filled up before heading west.
The first part of the route was via the autoroute and it passed through a great long tunnel before emerging on the other side along the shore of Lake Lucern. The road moved further away from the shore and I soon turned off at Stans to take the local road south and miss at least of the autoroute, which I rejoined further on at Sarnen. The road then went through a number of tunnels before terminating and becoming a regular road and climbing upwards towards the Brunig Pass.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2859_zps1718a6bb.jpg
I carried on past Lungern and wound my way up the hillside to the top of the pass before the road headed steeply down the other side into the valley of the Aare River. From here I chose the road on the northern side of Lake Brienz over the autoroute for the sake of a gentler and more enjoyable ride. The road hugged the shoreline the entire way and was rather gentle in pace as the limit was only like 50 or 60 kph beause of the number of towns and villages along the route. Slowly I made my way into Interlaken and stopped for a walk around.
It was here I found I’d taken my previous night’s room key with me having forgotten to hand it back. Frantically I called them up and explained and promised to send it in the post the next day, it was Good Friday and all the post offices were shut.
I had a long walk round, wandered into a few gift shops but again found the items for sale over-priced and just generally looked like tourist tat to me. I didn’t buy anything whilst I was there aside from a horrible sandwich from a local shop and a sweet pastry for my lunch but I spent a good hour walking around looking at the buildings that lined the main boulevard. The place seems nice but too expensive and looks a little boring to be honest. There shed loads of Chinese tourists hanging around here so I assumed there must be a couple of group tours going on.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2866_zpsee86fff6.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2869_zps63911a33.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2867_zps86269e0b.jpg
Anyway having had enough of the place I headed south into the valley of the Lutschine, I kept to the right and rode onwards to Lauterbrunnen. Here I stopped and marveled at the Staubbach Falls that fell 300 metres from a hanging valley up above.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2872_zps8fc2777d.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2873_zps89ec4e44.jpg
I didn’t end up going to the base of them but instead headed back down the valley and took a detour up to Grindelwald. The weather was closing in at this point and my view up to the Eiger was obscured by the encroaching cloud unfortunately.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2874_zpsd9f107dd.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2875_zps0851b34a.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2876_zps3f968adb.jpg
Time was marching on and I so I got back on the road and followed my route back down to the edge of Interlaken where I picked up the autoroute once more and headed out west. The autoroute was rather nice to ride as it hugged the shore of Lake Thun rather closely. I did not stay on here for long as I turned off near to the town of Spiez, where I joined the route 11 and rode up into the hills again. It was around this time that weather really closed in and it started raining constantly for the first time on my entire trip. The wind was also quite gusty but the rain was the main issue, as was the cold that came with it. It didn’t take me long from here to discover my textiles were not waterproof in the slightest. Thanks IXS!
My closed pockets quickly filled with water and the rain seeped through my front zip and dampened my base layers. My crotch also began to let water in after a while. I had no choice but continue on my journey through the mountains feeling very cold and damp and I can tell it was not a nice experience at all 
It could’ve probably been avoided if I’d used a rain suit but TBH I’d expect textiles to be up to this sort of weather. I guess I’ll have to invest in some better-equipped gear or dowse the outside in Fabsil and double check the zips for water tightness.
Through this long section I kept the speed down due to the conditions, the roads were thoroughly soaked and I didn’t want to push the tyres too much. The rain persisted for the rest of the day and had to just put up with it and not think about it too much and focus on my destination. I passed through rather nice countryside on the way to Zweisimmen, although mired by the weather, and I can be sure that on a nice day the roads would make for an awesome ride. I had to be careful as I went by Chateau d’ oex as there had been a major fuel spill on the bypass road. The local fire service was in the process of cleaning it up were still letting traffic to go through and so I had to dodge the stuff as best I could and go extra steady for a few miles after that 
The road turned south and climbed steadily upwards, unfortunately the bad weather continued. The road was potentially very good over the pass at Croix de Mosses but I could never get really to enjoy it fully. I would very much love to come back and give it another go in the dry, the descent into Aigle in particular. I was feeling absolutely freezing and slightly frustrated at this point and just wanted to get to my hostel as soon as I could. On the road that went north I stopped at the first petrol station I found and filled up again. I also took the opportunity to set my phone’s sat nav up to direct me to my destination.
Following my sat nav I joined the autoroute and followed around the eastern shore of Lake Geneva, bypassing the town of Montreux along the way. I wish now I’d taken the regular road a little closer to the shore of the lake as it passes right by the picturesque Chillion Castle, next time hey.
I came off the autoroute above Vevy and descended into the town. The hostel didn’t take much finding as it is in a prominent location right near to the shore of the lake on the main market square.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2877_zps7a9902b7.jpg
The view front out the front is lovely and takes in the lake and the Alps beyond.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2879_zps8edb19d8.jpg
I unloaded my gear from my bike and hauled it up to dorm. It was here when I was unpacking my clothes that I discovered my Oxford pannier were not waterproof at all, even with the inner “dry bag” in place. Fucking useless piles of crap and I am now on my way to getting hard panniers, got the Wingrack fitted and saving up for cases now. I made use of the hostels clothes washing facilities, clothes were getting rather stale at this point of the trip. I called in at the local Maccies for tea, 14 Swiss Francs for a Quarter Pounder meal FFS! I retired to my dorm and got some much needed shut eye after a soggy day on the road, though not after a brief telling off from my mum for not giving her a call in the evening as I usually did (forgot this time).
Day 8 – Saturday 19th April Vevy to Bussang (154 miles)
https://goo.gl/maps/Cgou7
After yesterday’s crap weather the rain had eased slightly during the night but was still hanging around. I got up and showered and, because I hadn’t booked breakfast, wandered off around the town and grabbed something to eat from the local market. Also posted that key from the other hotel for the princely sum of 1 Franc at the local PO, which was open today as it was Saturday. The town was rather nice and I’d like to spend more time here as there is probably quite a bit to see and do, plus the market was fabulous with a great long stall selling just exotic herbs and spices, it smelt wonderful. The town is also just a few hours ride from some of the great passes of the western Alps which I missed this time.
I was a little slow to set off despite my early waking and got told to get a move on by the hostel staff as I had to be out by 10am. I quickly gathered my things and set off. I took the route along the waterfront to have a look at the view and came across a statue of Charlie Chaplin (I guessed he had something to do with Swizterland in his later years) and a fork sculpture, I was stumped 
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2882_zps86da563b.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2881_zps115734ee.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2883_zps52feff62.jpg
I took the road out of the town and joined the autoroute and headed west initially. The weather began to close in with the winds getting gusty on the exposed road and rain began to fall again. Along the autoroute along to Neuchatel I got very cold as rain seeped in and the wind buffeted me about. But eventually I rolled in to Neuchatel and sat for a few minutes to get my bearings before setting off again. My next major town would be Chau de Fonds and, instead of taking the tunnel on autoroute, I elected to take the route over the Vue des Alps. This was to be the last pass that I would encounter on this trip and I bet there would be a great view of the Alps from here on a good day; it is in the name really. Unfortunately I was up in the clouds and surrounded by grey clag with wet snow falling at the time and a brisk winds blowing.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2884_zps5cc7d72b.jpg
I proceeded to take care on the descent as the roads were soaked and, being freezing cold at this point, I stopped at the services at the bottom to grab a coffee to warm myself up with and a pastry to fill my belly. I didn’t stay for long and was on my way again and soon passed through Chau de Fonds heading north towards the border. I found the D464 and headed out of the town. The road entered the dense forest and began to descend into a steep-sided valley where the road twisted immensely as it made its way towards the border. It was pretty slow-paced as traffic impeded progress but I didn’t bother too much with trying to overtake as the road was pretty sweet. A short while later the road bottomed out at the base of the valley and then turned sharply left across a bridge over a narrow lake and over into France. Here I stopped to take a few pics and look at the scenery, as well as the pillbox (?) by the side of the road. I am guessing some relic of the war to guard over the neutral Swiss border with occupied France. It looked cool any way and rather tranquil being nestled down in the wooded valley next to the lake with post-rain atmosphere 
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2885_zps9e5a32c8.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2886_zps391e72ad.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2887_zpse983a89c.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2888_zpse8843a4e.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2889_zpsdbe9314f.jpg
Off I rode again the road quickly climbed out of the valley and up to the flatter land above, with some hairpin bends on the way too. Up there the road wounds its way over the gently rolling hills passing through a few picturesque French towns. After Maiche the route number changed to D437 and the road became noticeably more winding as it headed into the hills and valleys towards Pont-de-Roide. Also, as I was riding this strect, the weather dried up quite a bit and sun came out eventually so the last portion of the day was nice. Soon after P-d-R the terrain flattened out quite a bit and I came off the backs roads and joined the autoroute, this time heading north past Montbeliard and onwards to Belfort where I exited and headed into the town. Here I filled up at a local petrol station and also set my sat nav up to take me the last stretch to my hotel in Bussang.
I was directed north through the town along a single, straight boulevard where I spied a patisserie and bought a few chocolate items to take back home with me. The road continued heading north, passing through the suburbs of Belfort and small town Sermamagny; all the while dark, wooded hills of the Vosges slowly rose up in front of me as I rode further on. The road became rather narrow and shrouded by trees as it began its climb upwards. Further on the road began a steep climb where it executed a series of hairpin bends up the side of the mountains with long, twisting stretches in between each turn. The road then flattened out after 7-8 bends and crested the top of the ridge where there were extensive views over the entire range of mountains and nearby was a paraglider attempting to take off into the breeze.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2890_zpsf4b105a4.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2891_zps22450895.jpg
Moving on over the summit I passed a bikers’ café, which was packed judging by the number of bikes parked up outisde. I then rode down the other side of the ridge where I encountered another set of hairpin bends similar to the ones on the section I’d just ridden followed by a straighter downhill slope and then followed by a few more hairpins as it entered the small town of Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle.
From here I joined the N66 road heading east towards Mulhouse and rolled into Bussang just a mile down the road. I made one last stop to check the location of my hotel before finding it just a few hundred yards down the main road on the left.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2893_zps240c995b.jpg
It is a charming place inside, nice comfy beds and my room had all the amenities I needed. The downside was no TV and no Wi-Fi but I made do. I fell asleep early on after I’d unpacked and missed the dinner slot so had to take a walk to the casino down the road and eat there. The food wasn’t bad and relatively cheap compared with Switzerland. Having had my fill I headed back to my hotel and promptly fell asleep again and didn’t wake till the morning.
____________________
Honda CB500s (1999) - Honda CG 125 BR-J (1991)
Mod 1 - Passed - 12/11/12 --- Mod 2 - Passed - 26/11/12
Last edited by Cyclingbiker on 18:17 - 19 Jun 2014; edited 1 time in total |
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buaan
Two Stroke Sniffer
Joined: 19 Mar 2014
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Spanner Monkey
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Posted: 23:07 - 01 Jul 2014  Post subject: |
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Day 9 - Sunday 20th April Bussang to Reims (206 miles)
https://goo.gl/maps/kqlVp
This morning I managed to get up early for once, showered in the section of room that was a bathroom, and had breakfast downstairs that consisted of Croissants and bread with jam. It was nice but a bit plain and dry compared to what I was used to having on this trip. I pulled my bike out from the underground garage around the corner and brought it up to the front of the hotel to check it over. The chain got lubed and adjusted and the oil topped up with what remained in my oil bottle. The tyres were fine for pressure even after 8 days and so was the coolant.
I proceeded to set off shortly after 10 and headed west to le Thillot along the N66 that I had ridden the day before and then went north towards Gerardmer on the D486. There are so many awesome roads in this area that I had no idea existed; and I wish I had the time on this trip to try a few out, but unfortunately the distance I had to travel that day meant I had no time to explore thoroughly. This is definitely somewhere to come back on my next planned trip in August 2015 
So I headed north on the relatively placid and slow-paced main road, though it got a bit more interesting once past La Bresse where it rose off the valley floor and got a bit twistier towards Geradmer. I stopped and took a pic from the north shore of Lake Geradmer before heading west on the D417 and then D11 toward Epinal on the edge of the Vosges.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2895_zpsf9d555b4.jpg
After Doccelles the terrain flattened out somewhat and more open before the road passed through a forest and opened out onto the other side on the outskirts of Epinal, with a view towards the city and the strangely-shaped water tower that loomed on the horizon. Passing through the town I stopped for a desperately-needed piss at a maccies on the western fringe before heading west along the D166 into the countryside. It was the road I would stay on for a good 70km or so towards Neufchateau. Mostly it was boring as it wound its way lazily through nondescript French countryside, occasionally passing by a medium sized town but otherwise uninterrupted. Traffic was very light and most towns it passed were completely dead with not a soul to be seen as it was Easter Sunday. This was with the exception of Chatenois where there was some sort of market or event going on and people were actually present.
From here the road wound its way over the last set of hills before descending into Neufchateau, which was also dead. Here I turned north and started on the D164 for Bar le Duc. Shortly after Coussey I found myself travelling down a dead-straight, quintessentially French boulevard lined either side by medium sized trees for a few miles. Soon after, at Greux, I turned off onto a different road signposted for Bar-le-Duc. From here it was a long stretch across empty countryside with towns scattered about here and there. It was very quiet along here as there was next to no traffic whatsoever and every single town I passed through was very quiet with again no-one to be seen, out in the countryside they must all stay inside or go to church for Easter. The scenery was nice as the road wound its way over gentle hills and shallow valleys heading north-eastwards but, because I was aware of the time and the distance I had to cover, I did not spend time to take it in and stop to take photos. Instead I chose to just plod along and keep my destination in mind.
Passing through the pleasant-looking town of Ligny-en-Barrois I crossed under the N4 autoroute and then, looking at my mileage, decided I needed to top up the tank quite soon. Sadly the first station I came too was automated and wouldn’t take my card so I headed onwards to Bar-le-Duc and into the town. Firstly I stopped at the Maccies just off the main road for lunch, managed to get my order across fine through pointing and the cashier lady’s broken English, I must really get this whole foreign languages thing sorted for next time!
Anyway spent half an hour resting and eating and went off to find the petrol station that I knew was hiding somewhere in the old town, I did find it after a bit (and it was open luckily) and got filled up and cleaned my helmet and visor of the plastering of bugs that had built up over the last 100 miles or so 
Then I set off again heading NE once more on the semi-final push for Reims. The weather was very warm and muggy from here on and the road was excellent with long straights and gently-sweeping bends for the first few miles before it opened out completely onto the wide open plains just past Nettancourt. Continuing on the scenery was very sparse with dead straight roads to the horizon and Oilseed Rape fields as far as the eye could with only occasional buildings in the distance, I found it kind of eerie. I did not pass through a single village, hamlet or even a house for 20 miles and traffic was very light with only 1 or 2 cars a minute coming the other way. I stopped along here to take a bug-splattered selfie and see how well my bike camouflages into its surroundings 
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2901_zps0abdd822.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2896_zps3eece129.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2897_zps3ab93e7b.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2898_zpsc725fe1e.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2900_zpsaf337974.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2902_zpsbf47dd4d.jpg
The smells of flowers along here was very pungent, and pleasant, as you can imagine but played havoc with my hayfever!
I continued on and rolled into Reims along the national route which brought onto some lovely tree-lined boulevards and alongside the impressive Champagne Pommery. Once I reached the heart of the city around Les Hautes promenades I decided to crack out the satnav to guide me to my hostel. Unfortunately this turned out to be of little help as it kept sending me in circles, literally! It would direct on a route which would loop back to my current location and onwards to somewhere else FFS. This, combined with numerous road closures because of a football match, meant I could not take the direct route across the motorway and canal to reach my hostel and spent ages trying to find a way across. On one of the detours I managed to hit a patch of diesel or something on the approach to a major roundabout and momentarily locked the front wheel before it got some grip again, I was not even going above 50kph and the road was dry and I did not snatch the lever so who know why it locked. Luckily the skid was short, and after a little squirm, I managed to keep the bike upright but I was a little shaken to say the least...
In the end I lost my patience a little bit and skipped down a quiet pedestrian only road across the motorway from my hotel and jumped onto the only open bridge nearby. I got to my Hostel for 4-ish, got my stuff packed into my room and set off around the city for a bit of sightseeing.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2904_zps1fb8e4fa.jpg
My cash funds were running low but decided to blow what I had and withdraw from my UK bank to have a good last night. Gorged on some street food, Churros and 3-flavoured ice slush and also bought some artisan chocolates to take home as gifts. There was much to see around the old city and I only managed a quick tour during the evening taking snaps of what I could see as the light faded and time grew short. The city is full of lovely old buildings and the cathedral in particular is very impressive, apparently there are tours that take you up into the restored roof. The tours were over for the evening but I was happy to marvel at the sheer scale of the building and exquisite medieval religious carvings that adorned each side of the building.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2933_zpsc9bd8040.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2936_zps86fb0f8c.jpg
This city looks awesome and it seems like an ideal place to spend a weekend just exploring and getting to know, I’ll definitely be back again in the future.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2946_zpscb1e3643.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2948_zps2af6aed2.jpg
Roaming around the city I looked for somewhere to get some French grub and settled on a restaurant on Place Drouet d’Erlon, I can’t recall the name but it was a nice place and the waiters spoke good English. I decided to go balls deep and try some snails since I was in France, they were nothing remarkable; fishy, chewy, earthy but most of all garlicy. Not too bad I suppose but I wouldn’t have them again if I had the choice but at least I tried them and didn’t throw them up.
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2949_zpsd1928520.jpg
Also had a very nice steak for main course and Crème Brulee for pud and washed down with 2 glasses of Rose, all for 21 Euros
It was going on 10 by this point so I then sharpishly made my way back to the hostel for the night and set my alarm for the early morning ready for the long ride home tomorrow.
Although did experiment with long exposure photography with my Canon compact Ixus camera on the way back 
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2952_zps593bda6f.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2956_zpsd3ee314f.jpg
https://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q721/Tom_McCallister/Alpine%20holiday/IMG_2958_zpsc43067da.jpg
____________________
Honda CB500s (1999) - Honda CG 125 BR-J (1991)
Mod 1 - Passed - 12/11/12 --- Mod 2 - Passed - 26/11/12 |
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Cyclingbiker
Spanner Monkey
Joined: 05 Aug 2012
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Posted: 00:04 - 12 Jul 2014  Post subject: |
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Finally I've got round to posting Day 10 - Monday 21st April Reims to Crewe (465 miles)
https://goo.gl/maps/T7a96
This post is no-picture one as it was all motorways and I did not stop at all to take a pic. I should've done at least one at either end of the Channel Tunnel but didn't think to then.
Any way that day I woke up quite early to my alarm, 7 o'clock or so I think, as I needed to be prompt to catch my 11:30 train at the tunnel. I got showered and dressed and went down for breakfast near to the hostel's reception, it was okay but nothing amazing TBF. I got it down me relatively quick and got the luggage packed and loaded onto the bike for one last time. Outside the entrance where I'd parked my bike there was a lovely-looking BMW K1300S next to mine 
I left around 8 or so and straight out of Reims I hit the motorway and began heading north for the long slog up to Calais. I got through the toll booth a few miles down the road and picked up my ticket and then set off up the long road. I usually kept around 80-85mph on this stretch and tucked behind the screen to give the bike a break and to lessen fatigue on myself as the buffeting on my chest was quite tiring to say the least. Unfortunately after approx half an hour of travelling this road, approaching Saint Quentin, my throttle cable decided to come loose from the bracket above the carb make the throttle useless. I had to pull over quickly to the hard shoulder as the bike gradually slowed down to a stop. I parked as far over as I could and made sure that it was safe to dismount. I knew what the problem was and I had all the tools necessary to fix it so there was no real problem, the only issue was time of which there was very little as I had my train to catch.
So I took the seat off, unclipped the fairing pegs from the grommets on the tank and also the front fairing stays at the front tip of tank, undid the rear tank bolt and the vacuum hose and tilted the tank up and held it in place with an aerosol can so I could have unimpeded access to the top of the carbs. The nut had slipped off the end of the throttle cable nipple and I had to fish it out from just under the spring-loaded throttle linkage, it was fiddly and tight but I managed it in the end and got it threaded loosely back onto the nipple. The nipple then got put back in its mount and the slck removed by proper adjustment of both nuts on the nipple threads, I made extra sure it was tight and wouldn't work loose ever again. Then it was just the job of reassembling the bike and getting back on my way.
I was at the roadside for around 25 minutes or so and for all that time the (very light) traffic on my carriageway was mostly quite courteous and moved over the inner lane when approaching me on the shoulder. It must be something to do with the lower density of traffic on French roads but I do believe that drivers over there generally have a higher standard of driving than those over here in the UK.
Anyway I head off again, now well aware that I was running well behind schedule, so I upped the speed to 90mph and kept it up to make up lost ground. I did stop for fuel at the next fuel station at Urvillers, I stupidly filled up with the crap E10 stuff/paint thinners as it was the only "reasonably"-priced fuel available on the autoroute services so I filled up with that and set off again.
It was a long slop up to Calais from here, just long straight motorway over gently rolling hills with light traffic and an ever increasing amount of GB-register vehicles heading my way. At the exit of the toll section I rolled up to a manned booth and payed my 13 euros and carried on towards the tunnel terminal, which was another 30 miles down the road. I rolled up just in time to join the big queue for my train, I had no time to go to the terminal at this end. It was bit of a wait to board the train but there were no issues in boarding and ended up travelling next to a couple on another BMW K1300S, this time with a full touring setup. The journey was uneventful and I had good chat with the couple on the BMW, his some races a CB500 in the Thundersport 500 and gave me some great advice on my shocks (which were dead BTW) and my faulty radiator fan. They'd only been around Northern France for a few days over the weekend but were seasoned bike tourers.
At the other end I got off the train and pretty much straight onto the M20. It was stupidly busy compared the roads I had been on earlier in France, each lane crowded with bank holiday traffic. I don't like UK motorways at all but needs must and there is no other efficient way to traverse the country otherwise.
I stopped at Maidstone services to fill up after nearly emptying the tank on that near flat out run to the French coast on E10, I did something stupid like 40mpg on that stretch as I'd done 140 or so miles on the 3.5 gallons to reserve. I also had a filling Maccies lunch in the services and called home to give an update before heading off towards the M25. This time I decided to go clockwise and pick up the M40 and miss out the M1/M6 SE of Birmingham. Unfortunately as soon as I got on to teh M25 I hit a loooong stretch of roadworks which cut the carriageway to 2 lanes and reduced the limit to 50mph for a good 15 miles all the way to Cobham. I did make progress where I could as the speed cameras faced to the front of vehicles so I could slip through and get ahead but I mainly stayed put and went with the (slow) flow.
Traffic was lighter towards Heathrow but approaching the M40 traffic ground to a halt in a phantom traffic jam and I did some low speed filtering before taking my exit. It was here I got absolutely drenched by the only (I checked) rain storm in the whole of England that day. The IXS textiles providing no waterproofing whatsoever again so I stopped at Beaconsfield and treated myself to a coffee in the Wetherspoons whilst warming up and waiting for the rain to die down. I set off again and headed up the M40 towards Birminghamand stopped one last time for fuel at Hopwod Park services before beginning the last leg to home. From here I turned onto the M5 and then eventually the M6 which would take me up into Cheshire. Traffic was heavy along here but nothing too serious so progress was good. I got off at J16 and rolled into Crewe for around 4pm and immediately just flunked down on the settee when I got home. Just completely whacked out after that and needed a good recharge overnight before heading off to work for 7 in the morning 
____________________
Honda CB500s (1999) - Honda CG 125 BR-J (1991)
Mod 1 - Passed - 12/11/12 --- Mod 2 - Passed - 26/11/12 |
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Renault 5 Driver
Joined: 21 Oct 2010
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