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Wednesday saw us packing panniers &
tank bag for a weekend away. ‘There’s not much room so just take
the bare essentials’ were my instructions. Good job I’m not into
the girlie scene, with 3 make-up bags & hair straighteners! Up
early on Thursday & so keen to get going that we had to stop for
breakfast & still got to the first meeting point 30 minutes early.
Dave doesn’t do late.
A steady run up to Dover (I know,
Portsmouth – Cherbourg would have made more sense) & we booked in
to the Travelodge with time for a few beers before tea. Friday’s
ferry left at 08:30am so it was an early night and another early
start but the bike facilities on the ferry were brilliant, very
secure. Once we got to Calais, the 50 of us on the tour set off at
a steady pace for the 290 miles to Le Mans.
By the 1st stop, one
group had decided that the pace was too slow & made their own way
down so it was just the 29 bikes, but still an awesome sight. The
French people’s response to bikes is fantastic, every-one
practically pulling off the road to let us through & hoots galore.
We even had a council van stop all the traffic on a roundabout to
let us out of the petrol station! The roads are a lot quieter too.
30 minutes out of Le Mans, & the
heavens opened, 50 mph on the motorway & we couldn’t see anything.
It took 3 days to dry our boots & gloves. We were sodden. As soon
as the bikes were chained in the garage, it was a soak in the bath
before going for some food. A gentle stroll into town turned into
a route march, it was further than we thought.
We decided to walk to the circuit
the next day; it was only supposed to be 3.5 miles. A slight
detour later, we finally got there. Time to search out our viewing
spot for Sunday’s GP. The noise of the bikes was thunderous & the
racing was up to standard. Another 3.5 miles back to the hotel &
we were ready for another beer. The trip into the town centre was
curtailed by rain so it was drinks in the hotel bar. Good job we
had a taxi booked for Sunday morning!
The racing on Sunday was close &
the only complaint for the day was the lack of English commentary,
shame we forgot to set the video back home really. The French
certainly know how to run a racetrack. The facilities were
excellent & most of the toilets were permanent flushing ones! Any
one who has been to Donnington will appreciate that.
Monday was a long haul back,
nearly 600 miles in a day but the Duke passed the test with flying
colours. I could still sit down the next day! Any one who has any
doubts about Ducati reliability should take note of the fact that
the only bike to break down was a Fireblade! I think the next
adventure could be Spain!
Chez
PS Uncle Albert isn’t
dead, he rides a Blackbird
e-mail. info@bikersguidesw.co.uk
telephone: 01363
881102
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