Day 4 - 14/06/09
Surprisingly we got up at 7:30m, the camp was ok and we both had a good nights sleep. Had breakfast, (muesli) the milk in France seemed to be ok, nothing special, in fact it had a little bit of a strange taste but you get used to it and before any of you smart alec’s say any thing, no it wasn’t off. After our showers and breakfast we packed as much as we could and headed back to Le Mont St Michael, leaving our tent and possessions at the camp site securely locked away. We parked the bike in the car park, which they had the cheek to charge you for. We walked up to the city walls and went in, the inside was pretty spectacular. The main building it’s self was superb, we didn’t see all of it but what we did see was very impressive with great views all though the tide was out, again, so we can only imagine how much better it looks with the tide in. After we spent an hour an a half wondering around the city walls (we say city because once you get in that’s exactly what it is) we decided that it was time that we should get going. Once we were back at the bike we met two other on bikes too and they gave us a few handy hints on what route to take through the Pyrenees and some other roads that we would appreciate. When we got back to the camp site we pulled up next to the tent and I noticed that the door was open, I automatically panicked and as soon as the bike came to a stand still I jumped off to investigate, thankfully nothing was missing, even though it was all locked up they still had access to the panniers, they may not be able to get into them but they would be able to take them. We were on the road again by 11am, heading for Rennes and wanted to be in Nantes by lunch time.

Le Mont St Michael

The journey was a good one today the roads were pretty quiet as it was a Sunday and the scenery was great too, we headed from Rennes to Nantes via La Roche for fuel and it would be a day for us if we didn’t get lost and boy we did.
Not only did we get lost, the weather was hitting about 30 degrees without a cool breeze. This was without a doubt the hottest day either of us had had for about 3 years. Again we got lost, we had taken a wrong turn and wasn’t on the road that I thought we were on, in fact we were on the right road, we were just heading in the wrong direction. (that may have been my fault.) We passed through a little village called Lucon so we stopped for little while to try and cool down. We both liked the look of the village and wondered if there was a camp site in the near by area. No such luck, we pulled all our hot sweaty gear back on and got onto the road one more time.

So off we trot after consulting the Sat nav to another little village called la Tranche sur mer, we were both relieved when we saw from the street signs that there was a camp site and headed in the direction of the camp site. We Stayed at The Cobra 2 star camp site after the municipal campsite reception was closed. 17.94 euros !!!! No toilet paper. Putting the tent up, I managed to force it so hard into its slot that it actually snapped, oops. We fixed it with Gaffer tape and we will see how long it will hold for. We made dinner and then did another thin down of our stuff, we came to realise that we were carrying way too much weight and if we wanted to stay on a budget we would have to get food from supermarkets and at the moment there wasn’t much room in the panniers, so we said goodbye to about half a pannier. Including a pair of jeans a couple of tops and pair of shoes and a few other things. We went off to bed happy with the decisions we had made.

Day 5 - 15/06/09
We slept pretty well until the heavens opened. It rained through most of the night and again in the morning, although it did stop long enough to get everything on the bike and almost ready to go or so we thought. Just as we were about the take the tent down, down it poured one more time and all we could do was sit in the tent and wait for it to stop. Eventually it stopped, we took the tent down as quickly as we could put the rest of the things on to the bike and off we went, waving goodbye to the very expensive campsite. We had decided to head for the south of Bordeaux and find a campsite somewhere around there.

Along the way we stopped in McDonalds in Saintes to use the free wifi (all McDonalds have free wifi in France) and went also went to Super U to stock up on food as our Tesco supplies where starting to run low. Surprise, surprise we got very lost trying to bypass Bordeaux and ended up riding to the coast towards Carcans. Not going south at all and but back up north. We were too far in the wrong direction but it was getting too late to turn around and come back. So we kept going until we could find a camp site. After seeing some tents from the side of the road we stopped and asked the people if they knew where a camp site was. Just prior to this stop I had a hissy fit about getting lost and the apparent lack of camping sites. Lots of pony parks and other totally useless things (to us) but no campsites.

We got directed to Brach and a possible site. When we got there we found it almost completely empty except for two rather dodgy looking types, showing a bit of interest in us. We where not gong to stick around until an English couple drove in and parked next to us. They soon offered us dinner and of course we accepted. They were a lovely couple from Chester that own a caravan on the site and had been going to there for 7 years. Dinner was great and we chatted till the small hours of the following morning, after having such and long and stressful day we had decided that we should get to bed. We thanked them for a lovely meal and off we went next door to our tent.

Day 6 - 16/06/09
Got up at normal time and packed up the castle, we said our goodbyes to John and Anne. The lady that owned the site had still not tuned up so we left with out paying armed with how to bypass Bordeaux easily. The weather was now gradually getting hotter and hotter and our textile bike pants were sticking to our legs so Jo decided to wear her Hornee bike jeans for the first time on the trip.
On our way out of the camp site our new found friends had told us of a couple of places to visit if we were interested. One of them was Europe's largest sand dune at Arcachon. So off we headed in that general direction. It took us a little while to find it, yeah yeah funny I know, How can you miss a giant sand dune? Well we did but we eventually found it, we paid 1.50 to park and walk up it. It was pretty cool and the views form the top were amazing. After the previous days fun we decided that a short day on the bike was in order and headed for St Jean de Luz. This also let us say in France for one more day and night. We managed to ride through a really cool thunder storm and stopped under a bridge to put on our water proofs and jumpers. We arrived in St Jean around 6 and after riding up the odd foot path, we found a 2 star beach campsite just outside St Jean de Luz. 17 Euros, with a great view of the Pyrenees. We Setup camp and had bolognaise with pasta. Very nice if we do say so our selves. We watched a beautiful sunset and retired quite early for the crossing of Pyrenees and on to Papolma the next day.

Europe's Biggest Sand Dune

The Beautiful Sunset

Day 7 17/06/09
The next morning it seemed to heat up very quickly. Everything seemed to take us twice as long in the heat and we didn’t end up leaving the camp site till around 11:30 We headed in to town for some info on Spanish campsites, road conditions and weather as today we were going to attempt to cross the Pyrenees. Unfortunately the Tourist info couldn’t help us with any of our enquiries other than the road we wished to take was suitable for a motorbike, always a bonus!!
Up and over the Pyrenees slowly on the N121 which thankfully was not a toll road.
Crossing the Spanish border was over before we knew it (in all sense of the words) we mistakenly took the Spanish boarder for the start of a toll road and drove straight through an open barrier, not knowing any differently until we hit the next village where we needed to get petrol. Not only did they say hola instead of bonjour but they were all Repsol garages, oh and of course the distinct lack of French number plates. The petrol in Spain is a lot cheaper than n France (1.02 per litre compared to 1.35) The crossing was pretty uneventful but the views were amazing . Just near the top the bike seemed to loose a bit of power, nothing to odd just would not accelerate in top gear up hill. I thought it was just the altitude and would be fine once down the other side.
We had done it, we had crossed the Pyrenees, ok not at the highest point but we had done it and with no major problems, at least until we got to Pamplona anyway. When we got just outside Pamplona the bike was idling a little roughly. Yup she was running on 3 cylinders, after going into the city a little further, finding a shady parking spot it was time to find the bad plug and swap it out. In a bit of madness (neither of us are sure how it happened) the bike fell over very gently. The bike wasn’t hurt and neither were we. After a bit hot potato the number 1 plug turned out to be the bad plug. Very black and sooty. It appears that the number one carb was a tad running rich.

The view along the crossing of the Pyrenees

With the bike running properly again we rode around Pamplona for 45 minutes trying to find the tourist office. At about 3:30 we found it, closed of course for siesta till 4. We waited for it to open then got a map with the camp sites in the region marked.
We picked a site at Ayegui as it was on the way to Madrid where we where headed in the next couple of days. 19.50 Euros later we stayed at a camping resort, with swimming pool, tennis court and all sorts of other things that we didn’t need but had paid for. A meal of rice pasta and pork sausage and we crawled into bed for an early night. The thunder storm, complete with hail had other ideas. We where treated to an awesome sound and light show played out on the mountains around us.

Day 8 18/06/09
Got up at about 8 with the intention of being in San Esteban de Gormaz before siesta. A whole lot of road works (there seems to be a lot of these in Spain) and slow traffic going the same way had other ideas. After slowly picking our way through the traffic we rode along some stunning roads and scenery. We saw hawks or eagles soaring just above us in the thermals off the cliffs. The sides of the tyres finally getting used. We both enjoyed it very much. As usual we got a little lost once again trying to go around Soria but soon got out to San Esteban de Gormaz around 1:45 only to see the tourist office shut up shop for siesta. They had left the wireless on for us and after a quick FB update and google search we found a camp site just near Riaza. 17.60 euros and another camp resort. The shower and toilet block would be at home in any posh hotel. No free wifi though. It again rained over night. And unfortunately for us there was a field of cows just behind the camp site and they decided to let us know that they were there for pretty much most of the night. Damn Cows.


My new coffee maker in action. I love it !

Day 9/10/11 19/06/09 20/06/09 21/06/09
Today was the day we were heading into Madrid to meet with Alberto, we got up reasonably early and headed to another little village to go to tourist info. We walked around for 45 minutes smelling all the delicious foods that were being cooked in the street markets. We had to walk through not once or twice but 3 times while we were trying to the tourist info that was not there. We gave up and headed back to the bike and to the campsite that our good friend had so kindly found for us. It was an uneventful ride, although it was 36 degrees when we got to the camp site. Not very pleasant when you are head to toe in bike gear, Up went the tent as quick as we could and then went straight for a swim in the very nice but very cold swimming pool. When we had returned to our tent from the swimming pool Rob had noticed that another one of the poles on the tent had broken so he sat there very patiently trying to fix it. Alberto came and met us at about 7 and we had a coupe of drinks at the campsite bar and then headed into town with Alberto as our guide. We met up with some of Alberto’s friends who made us feel very welcome. A good night was had by all but especially us, we didn’t get home till 3:30 am. We have both decided that we love the Spanish weather and lifestyle. Upon returning to the tent, sorry I should say stumbling to the tent Rob had discovered that he didn’t some keys, the set of keys that get us in to the tent and unlock the panniers, we had the bike keys which was a relief and the other set of spare keys but they were locked in one of the panniers which were locked on to the bike. Sniggering away I got on the phone to Alberto to see if he could see them any where, a short time later and Alberto called me back, trying to talk as quietly as I could (and those of you that know me know that when I’ve had few drinks that’s not very quiet!!) to tell me that he couldn’t see them but he would call us in the morning and help us sort it out, mean while half way through the conversation as rob was about to cut the lock on the tent, he says in a little voice that he has in found them. In fact they wasn’t lost at all, they were still in the lock. Oops !! After hanging up the phone I sat quietly sniggering to myself, Rob finally saw the funny side and we both crawled into our sleeping bags and had a very sound few hours sleep.

At got up at 10:30 the following morning both feeling slightly delicate. We were supposed to go in to Madrid today but we thought better of it and stayed by the pool for most of the day, hoping that the cold water will shock our systems into clearing the hang over. Later that afternoon we met up with a couple, an Aussie and a Scot and had drinks with them and chatted the night away until the camp bar closed, then we headed back to our tents to make dinner in the dark. After our late night dinner we went back to their tent to join them for a few more drinks before we went to bed. We ended up heading back to our tent at about 2:30am feeling more than a little drunk, again.

30 Degress at 3:30am. We love Spain

We got up reasonably early as we were heading into Madrid, Jo was hung-over so didn’t really feel like navigating. When we got into Madrid we went the wrong way as we came out of the bus station, eventually after hour and half of walking around Rob asked someone if they could help, although she was very helpful she was gave directions for the totally opposite way we wanted go. We headed back to bus station to look at map and realised it was just around the corner from where we had started off, annoyed much!! (maybe we should of done that to start with ??) We Walked around Madrid for a while, taking a few pictures here there, but to be honest we didn’t think it was anything special. We were pretty disappointed. Maybe we should of done some research before we went in and we would of appreciated it a bit more, oh well, it’s all a learning experience.
We had opportunity to go to a bull fight but we decided it wasn’t our thing so turned it down.
We went back to camp to start organising our things as we were heading off early tomorrow to Valencia. Surprise, surprise the tent pole broke again in the same place but this time it was easier to fix having done it before and all.
We made a disgusting concoction for dinner that resembled puke, that’s the problem when you cant read what’s on the label of the sauce jar. I left most of mine but Rob did a good job of eating what he could, we both went to bed a little pi**ed off and hungry.

We got up at 7:00am even though we had slept through the 6am alarm. We packed up all our stuff in reasonably quick time, said our goodbyes to the people we met. Just as we were leaving Rob had noticed oil leaking from one of the forks, the seal had gone but we hoped it last until we got to Valencia. So off we headed for reception to pay the bill and hit the road looking for a camping shop for replacement poles.

When we arrived at the camping shop the fork seal was leaking pretty badly and clear it wasn’t going to last. So while we were still in Madrid we would try to get them fixed, so our hero Alberto came into action again after we had disturbed him from his work, he found us two bike shops that would be able to help us and sent us there address, into the sat nav they went and off we went. The guys at the bike shop were so friendly, even though they didn’t speak a word of English and our Spanish is, well lacking. We communicated via a great web site which did the translation, they told us they could do it that same day so we asked them to put on a new rear tyre as our one was looking considerable bald and flat. They also gave us a map of the area and a mobile number in case we got lost, (I can only imagine that conversation, us not speaking Spanish) so off we went with map in hand into the town where we had a 5 hour wait for them to fix the bike. We were trying to spend as little money as possible. Which me managed to do considerably well even as we ate out, (this is a luxury for us). The bike was ready at 6:30 as promised and we headed back to the same camp site. Alberto came out to see us again that night we had couple of beers and a great nights sleep.

Some of the fine, simple food in Spain. Oh and Jo of course.

Day 12 22/06/09
Ok so we are finally leaving Madrid, we had a great time and it was great to catch up with Alberto. We got up early again to head off for a long days ride. We covered pretty good ground to Valencia which is roughly 250 + miles. It was a very uneventful day , it was the first day we didn’t get lost in a while. Saying that we couldn’t get that lost as it is pretty much a straight line east from Madrid. Going straight across the centre of Spain it was pretty boring a whole lot of nothing and very very hot almost like riding across a dessert, with the heat and the very boring road we decided to do things the Spanish way and stopped at a petrol station for a little siesta, Rob had a ten minute power nap while I baked in the sun and kept and eye and on all our belongings. We finally made it to the outskirts of Valencia. Although we kept going for a few miles north as we didn’t want to camp close to the city as.

We decided that we would stop at the petrol station and ask if they new of any camp sites. They were very helpful and even drew us a little map, good job they did because they road they sent us down was almost a farm track and we would done a U-turn. We found they camp site and checked in, he lady at reception was English and said something to put my back up straight away so I stood back and let Rob sort everything out, as it turned out it was right on the beach and apparently there was some sort of Pagen festivities happening on the beach, bonfires and fireworks and so forth all night. Apparently you had to dip your feet in to the sea and midnight and what ever you asked for would happen, (a load of bull to me but we thought we would check it out anyway) We set up camp, got changed and headed for the bar. Unfortunately or unfortunately which ever way you want to look at it, we didn’t have any cash on us and they didn’t take card so a little deflated we took a slow wander back to the tent to decide what we would do, there was a bank in the next town but to be honest we couldn’t be bothered locking up the tent and going so we decided that we would be party poopers and go to bed. A well deserved sleep after a very long and boring days riding, as usual I slept through all the fireworks and noise Rob heard a little but not for long a very good sleep was had by us both.

Day 13 Cambrils 23/06/09
Another uneventful day today, we packed up slowly checked out and headed for the next village to get cash and to do some shopping as our food supply was running low. After a couple of hours wandering around the supermarket we filled up with petrol and headed north to Barcelona where we thought we would meet up with another friend. We found a camp site just south of Tarragona on the Costa Durada cost about 85km south of Barcelona. We set up our home and had a very lazy couple of hours both feeling very lethargic from the heat. After dinner we tried desperately to catch up on the blog as we are so behind but again a very unsuccessful blog session we gave up and headed for our sleeping bags..

Day 14 24/06/09
Got up early had breakfast and showers and started to pack up our stuff like every other day. Half way through packing up our home on wheels we decided that as we still hadn’t heard from our friend in Barcelona we would stay another day and wait for a reply as well as catch up on a few things. We unpacked our stuff again and headed for reception to tell them we were staying another night and to ask if they knew the where abouts of an internet café as it’s cheaper then the wifi. They couldn’t help us, in fact the lady was pretty useless and unhelpful so we decided we would head off and find one ourselves. The sun was getting stronger and it was getting close to the hottest part of the day. As we were about to leave, helmets on and all, Rob realised that his gloves were missing thinking it would be in the tent we kept our gear on and had a quick search, twenty minutes later very hot and sweaty and still no gloves we took all our gear off and searched the tent high and low to try and find them without success. This put Rob in a bad mood as he was sure that some one had stolen them, I on the other hand wasn’t so sure, why would they come in to the tent and just steal a pair of gloves when there was better stuff to take. Usually everything gets locked up but Rob had popped to the loo while I was in the shower and hadn’t done so, so from that moment onwards anyone riding any form of bike, be it push, motor or scooter was a suspect and silently accused of stealing the gloves. About an hour later we finally got on the bike and rode off in the direction of the main drag and found the tourist info who kindly pointed us in the direction of the internet cafe. We stayed there for a couple of hours trying to catch up on everything home and away and then found out that the person we thought we were going to meet in Barcelona didn’t actually live in Barcelona but just south of Valencia. So that idea went out of the window, I suppose it’s always a good idea to find out where people live first before heading in the direction you think they live in. After walking around for a little we headed back to camp for something to eat and a swim. We relaxed for the rest of the day for a change although I could see Rob was casting his accusing eyes around the campsite for the glove thief. We decided that night we would walk to the beach and see if we can get some Paella. We did and it was amazing and it was washed down nicely with a couple of cold beers a great end to a great day.

Our first Paella

Day 15 Getting to Barcelona 25/06/09
Today we headed in the direction of Barcelona, we didn’t leave as early as we would of liked to but nothing new there. Just before leaving the campsite I noticed one of my missing gloves sitting on a fence of a caravan. I immediately knew what had happened. No one had stolen them. I had not put them back on after checking in. I had left them on the tank bag and while I was riding around looking for a tent spot, they had fallen off. Stupid me !! The camp site was not filled with thieving children…Sorry about that.

Barcelona from my Lid

We thought we would take the coastal route and soak up a bit more of the Spanish coastline. While on the road heading north I noticed a woman sitting at the end of her driveway every now and them, seemingly sunning them selves. Bit strange I thought, but hey, why not the weather is great. Naïve me, it wasn’t until I saw the Spanish equivalent of the RAC(V) giving one of these girls some “road side assistance” that I realised what they where actually doing. A short hour, hour and a half ride and we where skirting the outside of Barcelona following the GPS’s directions to the nearest tourist information office. It worked out fine but it actually took us around the city and then into the centre via the port. Armed with a campsite location and getting directions from the GPS once more we were off weaving through the traffic along with the 10,000 other scooters and bikes. It was actually amazing how well the traffic worked with all the bikes, scooters, cars and one giant Yamaha loaded to the brim moving about without ever feeling in danger. Out of the city and we found our campsite right by the beach. By this stage it was about 2-3pm so it was really hot and we didn’t feel like doing much after struggling with the tent and the ground that was hard as concrete. We happened to set up next to 2 other bikes and we later found out that they have taken their bike (a 1984 Yamaha FJ1300) to five continents. Makes our trip seem like a school excursion really. After the hard work in the sun we figured ourselves deserving of a dip in the Mediterranean, so off we went to the beach. The swim was great and while trying not to look like a pervert (most of the beach was topless) I let my eyes rest just a little bit too long on one individual and before long he offered me some hash. I politely refused and he went about his business. After our swim in the Med we headed back to do some camp site cleaning. (Jo is the washing Nazi) it was a very relaxing afternoon.

Day 16 - 26/06/09 Trip into Barcelona and France or bust
For once we got up reasonably early and packed up all the gear, paid the bill (26 Euros, the most expensive so far) and parked the bike in the site car park. Catching the train in to Barcelona was easy and very cheap, it even dropped us at the same tourist info we had been the day before. We got ourselves a map and headed off on a walking tour of Barcelona. Seeing the Sagrada Famila, sitting in the gardens near the Museu Ciencies Naturals and strolling down the market stalls of La Rambla where the highlights, we both enjoyed being in such an alive, big city. Jo liked it especially, in fact she proclaimed it her favourite city of the trip. As we wanted to keep moving we set “somewhere in France” as our target for that night and hit the road running after our day trip. We filled up one last time with the cheap Spanish petrol and despite my little indiscretion at the French/Spanish border, there was no problem crossing back into France and we set about finding a campsite. Up to our usual tricks we didn’t find an open site until about 7:30-8 pm. A small case of mistaken identity (for some reason I look like a French Electrician dressed in my bike gear) and the information that the French had just been beaten by Australia in the rugby made for an interesting welcome to the campsite. Despite that, everyone was very friendly and very inviting, once our tent was up and all the usual things of setting up home was done we went for a beer to mull over the map and to decide where we were heading for tomorrow even though this destination normally changes when we go back over the map.

Jo and the Sagrada Famila

Day 17 - 27/06/09

Day 18 28/06/09 ok so after a couple of beers we had a great nights sleep, we were up reasonably early, (well early for us) and were ready to head off to the Verdon Gorge. The roads seemed to be pretty good but as they were very up and down and twisty it took us a lot longer than expected to get there. In fact it took us a day longer. It felt like we had done a lot miles but we had hardly covered any. Oh well maybe tomorrow will prove to be a better day for riding. We put our faith in the GPS and let it guide us through the fantastic roads. For once the GPS seemed to have got it right. We found a camp site that was open, being a Sunday always a bit hit and miss. The receptionist was very nice and very helpful. Although the camp site was open nothing else was. Lucky we had already bought our dinner. The day was very uneventful and so was the evening so we went to bed pretty early still recovering from our full day in Barcelona.

Day 19 29/06/09
Today we were finally going to make it to the Verdon gorge. The roads were still very twisty but the views were amazing. We continued to follow the GPS until we could see the signs for the Gorge. We had spotted a few campsites along the way so we had no worries there. The day was reasonably hot but we kept going until we got there and decided to take the full road to the gorge first to have a look and to then come back to find a camp site. Thankfully the petrol light came on and we turned back, I was glad of this because all I wanted to do was to get off the bike I was feeling a little sore and I had the start of a migraine. Not very pleasant with a helmet on. We turned around and made our way back to the petrol station and then on to one of the camp sites we had previously seen reasonably close to the gorge. We set up camp as usual and sat in the sun for a while. The clouds started to slowly creep up on us while we were washing our clothes and about half an hour after hanging them out on our home made clothes line the heavens opened and the storm began it lasted for quite a while. We found a small break in the rain and headed for shelter to make our dinner. That seemed to be all we could do until the rain stopped. And it didn’t and neither did the storm, there was amazing rainbows though.

Nice huh !

Even better when the clouds clear.

Day 20 30/06/09
Well the rain finally gave up, we didn’t hear it though as we were sound asleep when it did. As soon as we got up we put all our still wet clothes back on the washing line and had to hope and pray that they would all dry in two and a half hours. Today was a slow day not only did we have to wait for the washing to dry we had to find the nearest village for the cash machine. The village wasn’t that far away and it was a very pleasant. It was quite small, on the side of a steep hill which made it eventful turning around the bike on one way streets (don’t ask why I was turning on a way street) with an audience of the shop owners and a very bemused looking police man. We just smiled politely and headed on our way. We finally found the cash machine, to only find that it was not available for another ten French minutes, so we had a little walk around. We eventually got our money and headed back to the camp site as it was nearing check out time.
We packed, paid and left headed for the gorge. The road was amazing and the views were breath taking. Although it looked like we were getting further away from the water at the bottom of gorge. We came to a village and a map so we decided to stop for a little break as the temperature was being to rise rather quickly. Studying the map for a little while, we thought that we couldn’t get to the bottom from this route and decided to turn around and go back and find the right way to the gorge. We made it eventually, even if a little longer than it should have been. Again it was amazing, I keep saying it because I can’t find the words to describe it. You will see for your selves the beauty of it from the photos. We parked the bike and headed down to the water.

The Verdon Gorge

Jo, Me & the Divvy at the waters edge.

Day 21 01/07/09
As the GPS seemed to help the day before we put our trust in it again and found what we thought was a municipal campsite and off we went. The scenery along the way was stunning to say the least twist after twist, rock walls giving way to tree lined hills and back again. The roads and drivers on the other hand were a little less than desired. When I wasn’t dodging front wheel sized pot holes and loose chunks of road, I was getting a little too close for comfort to the rock wall to avoid being squashed by the oncoming traffic.

We rounded a corner at a very reasonable speed and meet a very nice French lady coming directly at us. Although I could have stopped but I rightly or wrongly choose to try and move out of her way (as far right as possible) the end result is in the photo below. The pannier very gently kissed the rock wall between us and the 20 meter drop down to the river. The sound and the surprise that accompanied it was far worse than the actual damage. We stopped soon after to have a look and no less than 10 seconds later a giant tour bus came around the corner with no room to spare. Lucky us !

The gorgeous country side continued and all was well until a GPS guided detour down a farm lane, a front end slide and the discovery that we had asked the GPS to take us to a church not a campsite. About an hour later we rolled into a campsite near a big dam which had it’s own pizza restaurant and bar. Unfortunately it decided to pee down just as we were setting up our tent but on the plus side it stopped soon after.

Day 21 01/07/09

We left the camp site and seemed to pack up in a reasonable time this morning. After yesterdays farm lane detour we decided that it would be a good idea not to guess what were camp sites and what was not. More amazing scenery followed today but other wise uneventful. We were heading to Geneve today just so we could prepare ourselves for a new country and a new language tomorrow. We found a nice camp site by yet another lake, pulled in and set up near three other bikers. We realized not long after setting up camp that the camp site only took cash so we jumped back on to the bike to find a cash machine, this was harder than you would think especially as the sat nav was directing us to “the nearest” ATM. The sat nav and I have a very volatile relationship. After a few wrong turns we came to what the sat nav said was a bank, there wasn’t one there. On to the next “the nearest” ATM and all the number plates looked different and on closer inspection so did the road signs. Yup we were in Switzerland. After some more interesting turns, we came across the actual border and considering we didn’t have our passports, international drivers license or the other documents you are supposed to have with you, a quick u-turn was in order. When we did find a ATM our card was refusing to give us any money. So we went back to the campsite rather annoyed with this international bank card.

Day 22 02/07/09 France, Switzerland and some fork letter words.

We got up early knowing that we needed the bank before we left so we got most of what we could done and Rob headed off back to the bank while put down the tent. The three other bikers looked in with grins as I managed to get the tent down and pack it away successfully. Rob came back parked the bike and went off to pay and I loaded up the bike. I had finish loading up the donkey before Rob had got back so I started to make conversation with the three fellow bikers. They were really nice guys who came from Belgium and they were very helpful and gave us loads of information on what passes to take over the Alps. We had a good laugh before they left. When it was time for us to go I left Rob up with the bike and I told him I would meet him at the bottom of the hill. After a while of waiting I decided that I would go back up to see if everything was ok. I could tell by the look on Rob’s face that something had happened, even with his helmet on. Because the bike is so heavy it takes the both of us to take it off the centre stand but as I had gone Rob had a go himself. All was ok until it landed on his foot and as he tried to pull it out the bike lost balance and went over. Nothing major happened apart from a sore foot grazed shin and a broken indicator lense. Oops. (Rob EDIT: It’s funny, I couldn’t stop it going over, but a little bit of anger and up she came again). Today we were actually going into Switzerland but would need a bike shop along the way. We made it into Switzerland with no dramas and the roads were pretty good along with a new indicator lenses. We got into Bern and Rob had noticed that there was a little bit of oil coming from one of the forks again, we found a petrol station and cleaned it up and pumped the forks. There wasn’t much there so we weren’t sure if the seals had gone again. We carried on to see if more oil would make an appearance. After pulling over again and another look. Yep one of the seals had gone again, this time it was the right one. They should have replaced both in Spain but who knows so off we went in search of a motorbike shop,. Lucky for us we found one just down the road. They didn’t have the seals but gave us an address for another Yamaha dealer in the area. We pulled in more than a little nervous as we had to try and speak German, thankfully they guy in the shop spoke English and through a bit of pointing and sign language we managed to convey what was wrong with the bike. Once again the biker brotherhood shone through as he showed us the nearest campsite, lent us a bike (we just had to return it full of petrol) and even let us check our email. Rob took the bike in and came back with a Yamaha XT 600 Super Motard style. Looked great but for me on the back it was horrible. So all we could do now was wait for the phone call to tell us that the bike was ready. The camp site was actually really nice and every one was very friendly. It was then that we realized that they currency was Swiss Francs and not in Euros. So the quote for the fork seals was not 380 Euros after all.

The loan bike, while the divvy got new legs. It was heaps of fun for me, Jo didn't like it so much.

Day 23 03/07/09 Waiting

We woke up late-ish and took the morning slowly as we had to wait for the all clear phone call. As I came back from the shower Rob was dressed and ready to go in his bike gear, great I thought the bike was done I could start to pack up, apparently not, the phone call from the bike shop didn’t bring us good news, we were told that the forks them selves were bent. A little bit confused I got dressed and off we went to the bike shop. Both forks were bent in fact. Fine (Rob was thinking of another 4 letter word starting with F) I was thinking but how did that happen. No accidents, no big bumps while breaking hard. The only think that we could think of was that perhaps they had been bent all along and when Rob changed the fork oil, he had put them back exactly as they were. And in Spain they had put them back slightly differently. We ordered the seals and new forks and left again for another night at the camp site. There was not much we could do but wait until they were ready.

Day 24 04/07/09 More waiting

So another lazy morning and a swim in the freezing cold river. We went for a bit of a ride to to fill in time while we were waiting for the phone to ring. We explained the situation to the owner/manager of the camp site and asked if it was ok to stay a little while longer while we waited for the bike to be ready. He was very understanding and stated that we could wait at the camp site for as long as we needed to. We popped into the bike shop on the way back from our little outing just to say hello and see how they were going. There was no problem for us about how long it would take we were just after an idea so we could figure out when we should start packing everything up. They were rushed off there feet, being a Saturday if was the busiest day of the week. We felt bad for disturbing them. They said about half two but Rob didn’t go back until 3 just to give them a little bit of extra time and to fill the loan bike up with fuel. I stayed back at the camp and packed everything in to the panniers, took the tent down and strapped that to the top of the top box then all I could do was wait for Rob to come back with an almost brand new bike. We finally managed to be back on the road by about 5 o’clock; we said good bye and thank you to the very friendly camp site and hit the road. We would both like to say a big thank you to the guys at the bike shop, they really did everything they could for us. We are now heading for Zurich. Well, as close as we can get tonight anyway. We rode for a few hours through a thunderstorm and then decided to stop for a break and to see if there was a camp site about. We must have looked lost as a woman asked us if we needed help. So with our broken German and her broken English we asked about camping,. She described where a camp site was which would take us 50 minutes to get to, we said thank you and headed off in the direction she had indicated. We rode for about 10 minutes until we saw the camp site was just around the corner, silently thankful that it wasn’t an hour away. It seemed to be a little pretentious and stuck up but we needed a camp and it was late so we stayed. A very beautiful location though. Oh yeah and they had a cheek to charge you for the showers after the 26Euro charge for a patch of lumpy grass. We made a horrible concoction of fish and pasta for dinner, went for a walk around the lake and then went to bed.

Day 25 05/07/09 Zurich and the Alps

Up at dawn today….Sorry kidding, I just wanted to write it. Last nights interesting fish leftovers for me and we started the pack and load up. As the bike was parked about 300 meters away we decided to bring it down to try and avoid lugging the luggage up the hill. Down I came with the bike and just as we were about to clip the luggage on a very nice man told us that it was forbidden by Swiss law to park the bike next to the tent. I thought the better of pointing to the bike that had been parked 10 meters from our tent all night and clipped the luggage on under his glare and then moved the bike in due course. Perhaps I was being a little stubborn but I didn’t see his point. Off down the road we went and after a bit of fun and games we rolled into Zurich. It was Sunday so it was really quiet. After finding a suitable spot to lockup the bike, we went to the train station for the tourist info. With map in hand we started around the tourist walking trail. We did a bit of a whirl wind tour of Zurich and found it to be a very beautiful place with very friendly people. Even if there is fiberglass cows all around the place in various colours. After Zurich, the plan was to head into northern Italy after crossing the Alps. It was still quite early and until we got to Luzern, the idea was still quite solid. As we drew closer to Luzern I started to think about the bike and the ever darkening clouds ahead. We decided that we would stay one more night in Switzerland, check the bike and the weather for a crossing the next day. At the campsite we meet nice bloke called Alex. He kindly gave me the run of the camp workshop as I checked the bike over. He then became our personal guide, translator and friend for the rest of the stay. I witnessed him devour a mountain of food that even on my best days of eating lots I would not have been able to come close to. It was huge and he chatted away to us while eating it on his 15 minute break. I wonder if he could walk later that night. The water proofing was tested again that night as the lane our tent was on turned into a river then a lake. We are pleased to report that although the poles may break the tent is water proof even when under about 7cm of water.

One of the many cows around Zurich

Day 26 06-07-09 Luzern to the Alps – Take two
After the torrential downpour the night before we hoped that the weather would improve and allow us to cross the Alps today. Unfortunately the morning greeted us with grey clouds and the promise of more rain, nor did the next day look any better. Our new friend assured us that tomorrow would be better mainly because it was his birthday and it never rains on his birthday. After an hour of humming and harring we decided that although Luzern was nice there was not a great difference between riding the in the rain today or the next. So off we set, said our goodbyes and started our crossing of the Alps. While getting supplies another bike pulled up and announced that he was lost and needed help. A quick look at our map and he was off again leaving us with the great news that the toll between here and the crossing we wanted was going to cost 30 Swiss francs. Not what we wanted to hear but none the less we where going and a ridiculously high toll charge was not going to stop us. The toll never became an issue because we never saw any toll gates. So up the switch backs and sharp turns we went with a bit of light rain to make me nervous while coming around wet corners expecting to see boulders, trucks or cows in our way. It soon stopped raining but the roads remained pretty wet, which I am sure Jo was happy about as it meant I was plodding along rather than attacking the corners as I may have around the Verdon Gouge. Along the way we saw the beautiful classical Swiss villages and amazing waterfalls. The biggest I have ever seen. We stopped at a dam close to the top of the Grimsel pass I think was about 2300m high, I say think because the GPS could not get any satellites so I can’t be sure. The view was amazing as I’m sure you will agree from the picture below. Up, over and out came the sun which stayed out for the rest of the ride to the Italian border. I can’t properly sum up how beautiful the crossing was. The fact that we where both a little sad that it was over and the fact I seriously considered turning around and doing it the other way should give you and idea of how good it was. Here are some more pics.

Looking back down the way we came

Us all the way up there

Day 27 07-07-09
Today was another lazy sleep in, we were up at 8ish. Ate the leftovers from the night before packed up and pointed the bike southward towards Genova. The ride was fairly boring with the highlight being going passed the AGV helmet factory. Most of the scenery was open flat farm land. As we got closer to the coast so did the buildings around us. The villages started to meld into one big city, Genova. Just before we got into the big smoke we passed through another mountain range and as par usual (us and the mountains) it rained but only a little. Once in Genova the traffic started to get a little crazy and I fast discovered that I had to be a little more aggressive with where I wanted to go. I figured that if I could go close to keeping up with the scooters (which dart through the traffic) I was doing ok. Well that worked fine but in the end we pulled over to consult the GPS as we hadn’t found any campsites and couldn’t see any signs. The GPS was not much help and we broke out the phrase book and approached the nearest local. As seems to be the way, he informed us that there was one just around the corner. Sure enough there was and we are now camped at site built into the hills over looking the med.

The beach near the campsite

Day 29 11-07-09 - Outside Florence

As is fast becoming the norm we did not get up very early but at least we had a plan. And that was to see Florence and then to be in Valentino’s home town that night, as soon as we found out exactly where it was that is. As it was a Sunday and Sundays had been good to us in the past in big cities we decided to ride in fully loaded, park up and walk about in our Merrells. We made the mistake in letting the GPS take us to the Tourist Info and after a fun (read between the lines) trip around various back streets and other interesting places we found the centre of town and the tourist info. Parked up, locked up and we were off around this beautiful city. We saw the copy of the statue of David as the queue to see the real thing was 1-2 hours long. We accidentally ( I promise) had pizza for lunch again and walked up to the best view point of Florence. We also witnessed first hand, an attempted pickpocket. The first crime of the trip. We left about 3-4 o’clock with the idea of being in Tavulla Rossi‘s home town (the name gained from a local taxi driver) that night or at the nearest campsite. Little did we know that the “quickest” route was along some of the twisty-est roads I have been along. The divvy was not the bike for the job and the many sports bikes passing us along the way proved that to be the truth. After seriously considering a hotel for the only the second time on the trip (yes I can hear you real campers saying just pull over by the side of the road) we stopped at a kind of fruit stall come bar and asked in very bad basic Italian if there was a campground near by. No, was the answer but there are about 20 on the coast near Rimini about 15 mins east. Sorted. Off we went found what had to be the family campsite in the area and set up shop for the night.

Day 29 13-07-09 - Rossi Fever

Today we are excited to say the least, we are going to Valentino Rossi’s home town, Tavulla. It has to be one of the quicker pack-ups and we are off, hoping but not too much that we see the G.O.A.T (Greatest of all time) at a bar or just walking down the street. We arrive full of silly thoughts, like having a beer with Vale or him posing for a photo with our bike. The town has yellow and the number 46 flags in all the shop windows, tasteful but gets the message across. This is Vale territory ! We drive past, the official Valentino Rossi fan club and the Rossi memorabilia shop to stop at a café suitably called “Valentino Café, the bar of Champions”. We are greeted by a wall of Rossi’s career as a motorcycle rider. After trying to digest all the photos and information we get told that he is in town but normally pops in at night for a beer. As it was 2:30 in the afternoon we didn’t think we could say that long. To cut a long and sorry (sorry for us) story short, a French couple that was at the café at the same time as us left for a while and it turned out saw him and followed him got a photo and came back. The good news is that his father did pop in while we were there and we got a photo with him. With heavy hearts we left Tavulla and Vale to go to Venice or as close as possible. After passing a few bike shops and remembering that Irish man's words “change the oil every 3000-4000 miles and everything will be ok” we decided to stay near one and change it in the morning.

Jo and Graziano Rossi

Me and Graziano Rossi

Day 30 14-07-09- Oil & an Aussie

I will stop saying it now but here we go for the last time. Yet another lazy morning, just couldn’t seem to get going. But in the end we pulled up at the bike garage and after a bit of sign language and what not, the head mechanic informed me ever so politely that even if I was going to buy some oil from him I could not change it there or around the corner or anywhere but back at a campsite. This would have to be the first time a fellow biker had not helped as much as they could. Perhaps I was expecting to much.. A bit further down the road we found another shop and great bunch that did everything they could for us short of changing the oil. Perhaps my sign language was not the best at the garage before ?? On to a campsite just 15mins ferry ride from Venice and 27 euros poorer. Great site though, lots of shade and a view of the sun setting on Venice across the water. There we met two fellow travellers, one from England and one from Australia, it’s funny how we keep bumping people in the same position with us, the travelling, the visa applications and all. They were very nice people and we joined then for a few drinks in their palace of a tent. We stayed there till about 1.30am until the campers next door to us yelled at us for being to noisy! I would like to say in our defence, we were the quietest people there speaking barely over a whisper, but hey…… So we decided to go sit on the pier until we realised it was other wise occupied and the two people already on the pier wouldn’t appreciate us joining in if you catch my drift. We finally parted company at about 2.30am still thinking that we could get up and catch the first ferry into Venice.

Day 31 15/07/09 - Venice

So the alarm apparently wet off at 6.00am, I of course didn’t hear it. Rob on the other hand did and snoozed for a few times (as usual) before waking me from a very peaceful slumber at about 7am. Just as I was slowly opening my eyes a ship went past and decided to blow his fog horn, not just once or twice but four times. It scared the living day lights out of me and then I just giggled and hoped that the man in the tent who shouted at us last night had also been rudely awoken! Horrible I know but he had no reason to shout at us…So needless to say we missed the first ferry into Venice so we thought we would catch the next one which was at nine that would give us time to load pretty much every thing on the bike say our goodbyes to our new friends and go….. We missed it, by about a minute, gutted. So we made our way back to our tent with our tail between our legs. We picked up the laptop and headed for the bar area to use the wireless. We didn’t end up catching the next ferry either but fortunately for us we made the 11am ferry. Because of this we decided that we wouldn't make it back to the camp site for check out and thought we would stay another night so we could see Venice properly. The ferry ride was very pleasant but the heat was getting to me already. We took a slow wonder around Venice with no real clue of where we were going. Some one left the map at the camp but even with the lack of a map we managed to see some pretty good stuff. The buildings were amazing although the canals were not what I had expected. Still very pretty though. We didn’t do a gondola ride even though they were very spectacular to watch. We wondered around for a few more hours and made our way back to the port for the 2.30 ferry. Venice is the only place so far that we think can rival Paris’s beauty. So Venice was great if a little too hot for me. Although Rob loved it, heat and all. Back at camp we chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. We did a little map reading to try and figure out our next destination and then pretty much nothing apart from throw the ball for a lone dog that seemed to take a liking to us. After making our selves some dinner and me burning my leg on the pan, we went next door and watched a movie and then went to bed in preparation of a big days riding tomorrow. The days are getting easier and we can go for longer on the bike with out stopping, it’s just the morning that seems to be letting us down, oh well we are on holiday after all.

Our morning alarm..kinda close huh