Have you ever been on a trip without having a specific destination? A trip with no other purpose than riding your bike? To me, that is the essence of motorcycling. I love to find those perfect roads that snakes their way through beautiful landscapes. Roads that make me feel at one with the bike. Man and machine in perfect harmony.
I happen to live in a beautiful part of Norway. There are lots of twisty roads perfect for motorbiking, and the scenery is just incredible. The downsides on the westcoast of Norway are lots of rain and a cold and wet winter with little snow. This means a biking season that starts in March and ends in October.
Today, 01. October, I travel to Germany to pick up a BMW R1200GS Adventure. I'm taking her for a trip through France, and we end up in Malaga in Spain the 8th. October. I intend to update my progress here as I progress.
02. October
I got to the dealer at 11. We had a lot of paperwork to do, so I was not on my way until 1300. I headed for Switzerland to do some twistie roads on my way to France. After riding for an hour I couldn't get any confidence in the tires. The bike felt very unsettled in the corners. Very unlike the other Adventure I have ridden. The new bike is fitted with Michelin Anakees', and the old one Metzeler Tourance.
I stopped to check tire pressure and increase the damping on the rear. Pressures were a bit high at around 42 psi both front and rear. Adjusted slightly and got back on the bike, ignition on, press starter, nothing happens. EWS warning light comes on. Hmm, whats that? Check manual. Yes, as I thought, electronic key and receiver on bike does not recognise each other. Great!
Call dealer, he confirms my findings and tell me it's easy to fix, but I need to get the bike on a tow truck back to the dealer. Not easy when I am in the middle of nowhere in Switzerland, and ca 100 km from Bad Sackingen in Germany. He also tells me they need 1,5 hours to do the job. The clock is approaching 1600, they close at 1900. If I'm not there in time I won't get it fixed until thursday as the 3rd is a public holiday in Germany.
I contact my recovery insurance to organize transport. Get a call to say they will be there by 1800. Bummer, thats too late. I have tried the ignition again as I am on the phone. Suddenly it starts. time is now close to 1700, and I have 100 km to ride in 30 minutes.
I call off the assistance and go for it. Ride as fast as traffic and roads will allow. I get to the dealer by 1750. Puh! Two mechanics start working on the bike. They change the whole ignition switch and reprogram it to my key. I'm ready to leave by 2015.
Not a great start to the trip to put it mildly. But at least the bike is fixed so I can get on way again. I arrive at my hotel in Bourg en Brasse 2330 after taking the boring autoroutes in the dark.
03 October
Wake up to nice warm weather. My route today was Grenoble - Briancon - Gap. Some nice alpine roads in great weather. Eventually I got some heavy rain into Gap. Didn't use my camera much today. I've overpacked in a way that makes it difficult to remove items from my bags. Hopefully I'll sort it tomorrow by getting a 2nd Ortlieb bag for the rear seat :-)
16 October
I'm back! Sorry for not updating as intended, but difficulties with wlan access prevented me from getting online in Spain.
I visited a lot of beautiful areas that can best be described as motorcycling paradise. I had perfect weather 99% of the trip, which was far better then I had hoped for this late in the season.
In Spain I used boring motorways to get me to Valencia. Big mistake, as it was very expensive and very boring. After a night in Valencia I stayed well away from big motorways and headed inland to find the twisties we all love. And boy did I find them! By luck I headed for Parque Natural de Cazorla. A beutiful mountain area situated in the Jaén province. This is the biggest protected area in Spain. It has beautiful forests and rugged mountain ranges with lots of wildlife.
I came across a wide variety of roads in this fantastic area. I even tried my skills on gravel, a first for me actually. It was not intended, but I came across a road that was being reconstructed. How could I know the roadworks continued for about 30 kilometers? Good thing I was on a GS and not on my T!
Next, I happened to come across one of the best roads I have ever experienced. Just look at picture above. The surface is absolutely perfect! Road workers take notice! This kind of quality I have only seen on modern racetracks.
The road was winding its way through the landscape for miles on end. Cambers were as perfect as the surface. Traffic was limited to the odd car. The road was quite narrow, but not a problem on two wheels. I was in Nirvana!
To be continued...
