Tulette's friendly BMW dealer couldn't help us. We took it in stride and looked for new targets. Sunshine and the urge to explore tempted us to take a detour to the picturesque Ardèche. At a campsite near Chames we happily pitched our cheap tent and praised the previous decision: The picturesque gorge was really overwhelming. Also impressive were the drop in temperature and the heavy continuous rain, which tore us out of our sleep the next morning. Sadly, we had to realize that our simple dwelling was waterproof from below, but by no means from above. And since it lacked an apse under which to store one's belongings, helmets and other equipment lay around completely unprotected in the pelting rain.
We were deeply depressed and escaped to a nearby fast food restaurant. There we had a hearty breakfast and tried to postpone the unpleasant dismantling of the tent as long as possible. After half a dozen sandwiches and two hours of drinking coffee, we couldn't think of anything else that could have justified another postponement. So we walked out into the rain and finally did the unpleasant work. A gruesome highlight was the putting on of the dripping wet helmets, whose soaked linings released disgustingly cold and damp rivulets into our necks.
Below: Packing in the rain. It's always fun!
The sky made a clear prognosis: it would not be dry again so quickly. Disgruntled, we climbed into our rain coats and took the narrow streets of the Massif Central under our wheels. Our course led via Vallon, Aubenas and Tournon back into the Rhône Valley. From Lyon we chose the Route Nationale 83 in the direction of Besançon. We were freezing miserably. Nevertheless, we didn't want to take any warm-up breaks. Who likes to enter a restaurant in full rain gear, take off their clothes awkwardly under the pitying gaze of the secretly amused guests, only to get dressed again 20 minutes later just as laboriously. In the end, you forgot the ignition key in your trouser pocket anyway and were allowed to repeat half the procedure. And when you finally sat on the moped, the ingested coffee ensured that you had to go to the potty quickly and the whole game started all over again. As a result of such considerations, we stayed where we already were: on our BMW - and continued to freeze. Morale also suffered as a result: I envied the dry shelter of the motorists in front and unabashedly imagined that I would conquer their place in a stroke of the hand. I'm sure Sigrid felt the same way.
Below: The rain suit. Dearly loved by figure-conscious pillion passengers
In this miserable condition we made it to Clerval and stayed at the "Hotel de la Paix", a shack with an adjoining restaurant, which we knew and feared from previous trips. It was in keeping with the daily routine that I entered an "impossible operation" in my travel notes. This was not detrimental to sleep. The next morning we bravely climbed back on our wheeled vehicle and heroically defied the unabated rain. In the Black Forest it was so strong that despite our good equipment, gloves, boots and lederhosen were full. In the early evening we finally arrived in Tübingen. We had covered 2,400 km in the past eight days and were glad that they were behind us – and that at least the sun was shining here.
Below: After this holiday, there was a lot of cleaning to do on the BMW.
That was it! I hope you don't find this post annoying. Unfortunately, I couldn't integrate the photos directly into the text, but only attach them as an attachment. Is there a trick to this? If the travelogue is not rejected here, then I can add more later.
Thanks for the interesting read. I have a suggestion: Please consider submitting it to the Airhead Magazine editor, so many more Airheads can read and enjoy it.
Thank you for posting your story, fun bit of reminiscing. Your English is just fine, I agree to send it in to the Airhead magazine.
For photos I keep all of mine on a pay site called SmugMug where I have almost 20K photos uploaded. They are kept in separate galleries which makes it easy to find them on my computer or phone etc and it is very easy to post photos on any forums or other online locations. If you're interested in joining I can send you a coupon code to save $5 on registration.
great ride report! I agree your English is fine, but obviously foreign. A very pleasant read. When's the next ride??
Thanks for the interesting read. I have a suggestion: Please consider submitting it to the Airhead Magazine editor, so many more Airheads can read and enjoy it.
Thanks for pointing this out! I would like to post my report in Airhead Magazine. A question about this: How do I find Airhead Magazine? I tried in vain. Can you send me an email address or a link?
You could get in touch with Chris Parker who is the current editor. Send him a note at editor@airheads.org. You should be getting the Airmail magazine with your Airheads membership.
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