Woke up real early to the sound of my alarm 4:45 am it's still dark outside and then reality hits home with a thump, I have to leave this morning, this thought makes me feel sad but I have missed my wife terribly, and my dog Harry so time to make a move, first things first a cup of tea and toast, then check around that I haven't left or forgotten anything that I need to take back with me. Then a slow walk to the garage and get the bike out and lock the garage up near silently for the last time this trip, and ride the bike up to outside the house where I load the luggage pack on and attach the tank bag. So that's the packing finished. Then a last walk to the bins to get rid of the last of the rubbish and anything that was in the fridge. Then a run round the house turn the water off shut and lock all doors and shutters and windows put the keys back where either Lorni or myself can find them lock the front door up and put front door key in tank bag, Place bottles of water in front of front door to keep cats away.
Helmet on and start bike up and with a very heavy heart I left! it was around 6 am. I had estimated about 12 to 14 hours to get back to the Hotel in Libourne in France it was still very dark, I set the sat nav to the route for that day and away I went first back to Valencia where once again the sat nav took me through the middle of the city but it was a Saturday and very early so not much traffic thank God I swept past all the wonderfully weird looking buildings that Valencia is famous for I can't wait till I get back and I can go and have a proper look. Out the other side of Valencia and now the boring bit miles and miles of motorway, hours of it back past Zaragoza and heading out to Huesca I stopped for fuel and a drink at service station between the two, the problem with travelling on your own is that there is no-one to keep an eye on your stuff or bike while you are in a shop or paying for fuel, when I came out after paying for the fuel a Spanish chap explained to me that he saw someone trying to take my tank bag from my bike, I quickly checked everything seemed OK, which was a relief as I had money my passport, camera bike docs in the tank bag and life would have been very difficult if that lot vanished, it was only after I got home and cleaned the bike up that I found the damage caused by whoever it was that tried to prise the bag away, my tank bag is not a magnetic one it fits on a bayonet type fitting attached to the fuel filler ring anyway a couple of bolts had been pulled out and the sealing ring round the fuel filler has been snapped.
Better that than them getting away with the bag I suppose, the weather for the trip was not very good heavy rain was forecast and I have to admit that it was getting colder and colder the higher up the mountains I went.
Unlike the trip down a week ago when it was scorching hot. Up in the Pyrenees even though the weather wasn't that good there were thousands and thousands of bike on the roads I had no idea why as there weren't that many on the way down, then right on the top of the Pyrenees in a huge par park that I would assume is usually full of potential skiers was huge marquee and other tents and a sign proclaiming a BMW Motorad Rally, well that explained it then. I made it back to the hotel without any problems but this time for some reason the sat nav missed out the forest section of the trip, not that I'm complaining as it got me to the hotel a little sooner than I expected around 18:30.
This time I had bought some food with me, after unpacking the bike and having a shower and wee doze I made my way to the bar, they may not serve food but the bar was open I had two very large and it turns out very expensive lagers while chatting to an elderly German man who spoke very good English,,and French and Spanish too, he like most of Europe could not understand what the hell the UK was doing coming out of Europe just as Europe is about to hit an economical growth spurt and go through a period of financial stability. Oh well that's England for you!
After another good nights sleep I got up had a shower and went for another huge breakfast then get packed up, I didn't leave straight away as my ferry did't leave till midnight and it was only an 8 hour trip so I left it till nearly 11 am before I set off and once again I was out in the French countryside even though it was drizzly the views were amazing it didn't take long till I was on a main road heading back to the port, the rest of the journey was uneventful I got to Dieppe around 20:30 had to wait in a queue for an hour in the rain before the gates were opened up and then after passport checks another hour in the ran before I was boarded,
I was the only bike on the return trip and the crossing was not the smoothest I had ever been on in fact it was very rough, I got some sleep but not a lot, then it was time to get back on the bike and head for home in the rain, I got back around 6:30 am and that folks was the end of this adventure.
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