3. Only a couple of days to go

It is Monday morning the 7^th of September I only have tomorrow as my last full day before I leave very early Wednesday morning. Today’s tasks were simple ones to start with. First job of the day was to go to the garage and take the bike off its centre stand and put it on its side stand I didn’t want to have to try and get it off the centre stand while it’s fully loaded, I also checked the tyre pressures, slightly more pressure in both house as per the instructions that I found on the Internet I usually have 33 psi in front and 36 on the back which is recommended by Yamaha It’s now got 39 in front of 42 in the back. I took the last couple of bits to squeeze into the top but somehow managed to drop the bottle of wine I was going to take with me and it smashed all over the floor My wife was not impressed, It wasn’t a cheap bottle and somewhere along the line the corkscrew and opener have also disappeared. So, in a little while I’m going to nip to our local hardware shop to pick up a new Corkscrew, they’re not expensive and a roll of black insulating tape Lorni, I hope will go down to our local shop to get me another bottle of wine. Tomorrow, I don’t want to do anything I really just need to chill because I’ve got to leave between 2 and 4 the following morning.

 

A lot of people will say oh you’ve taken far too much I will be honest right now I have never travelled light in my life if I could get more on it I will, anything to make it a little bit more comfortable once I reached my destination, so yes I have got a dozen T shirts in there two pairs of jeans, two sweaters and the usual assortment of underwear socks, This is in the yellow bag on the back seat. In one of the panniers, I have the 10-litre fuel can, toolbox and the bike cover In the other one I have a panier bag which has got a jacket and a zip up fleece along with my laptop and my tablet. And on top of that I’d rolled up a pair of jeans a  T shirt a set of underwear to change into once I get to the hotel in Bergerac. The top box has an assortment of bits and pieces my locks a few more tools super glue my medication for the next 14 days that sort of thing there is also a bag with all my charging cables and travel plugs in and on the top there’s another travel box while it’s only there to fit two pairs of shoes in, I could probably force them in the box on the side but I’ve got to bring back two more T shirts and two sets of doc harnesses so I need a little bit of room for that, in the roll bag on top of the left pannier is the inner thermal linings  for my jacket and trousers and my waterproofs they are not heavy in the slightest, but is the bike  heavy? yes but it’s no heavier than having my wife on the back to be honest, you know a pillion weighs more than my luggage and when I’m on this sort of long trip I go into cruise mode so I’m not going hell for leather I’m not trying to break any speed limits I just know that I’ve got to get from here 960 kilometres to the hotel, my plan is to arrive around 6ish in the evening.

 

This is where the  broken bottle of wine was to be drunk, the following morning of course is another long haul up to the ferry port but that’s another day At this moment in time its 38 degrees here and it’s quarter past five in the afternoon both my dogs are wanting to go out but it’s too hot for them and me, I’ve got to clean the shoes, sketchers, that I’ve been wearing for the last day or two they’re going into the little box on top of the top box this evening. Then the only thing I have left to do after nipping to the shops is to strap my tank bag on with my action cameras, my main camera and passport I’m ready to go, hopefully.

2. Getting nearer

Today is Saturday the 5^th of September Which my brother’s birthday, So I had a quick call to him a little earlier, then I put a pair of jeans on not something I do very often this time of year because it’s too hot. grab my crash and my jacket ran down to the garage I took the bike to the petrol station. The bike had done 447km from one tank of fuel. When I filled up it only took 19 ½ litres the tank holds 23litres I still had a few kilometres left in the tank. I worked out that my trip to Alicante and back I’d been travelling at 100 kilometres an hour 110 kilometres an hour even 90kilometres an hour and I’d averaged very close to 58 miles to the gallon with what was left in the tank probably closer to 60 miles to the gallon which is absolutely incredible for a 1200 CC motorcycle.

My wife has nipped into town to exchange one of the new jumpers she bought me as it is a bit on the tight side, Unfortunately Spanish sizes don’t seem to have any relation to normal international sizes. She is also going to buy me a small roll of insulating tape that will be the last thing I buy for this trip, the bike is now full of fuel The 10 litre petrol can in my panier is full of fuel, today is the day that I start the boring ironing and final packing of my bags, and also I have started charging some of the batteries that I need along the way. My plan is to have everything packed up on the bike by tomorrow evening with only the documents and paperwork left to take with me Wednesday morning when I leave. If I’ve forgotten anything then that’s tough. Monday will be for chilling, Tuesday I will check the tyre pressures on the bike I will then spend some time Tuesday afternoon trying to sleep because I’ll be leaving in the very early hours of Wednesday morning, the adventure starts

1. Getting ready.

Today is the 4^th of September a Friday I’m only a few days away from leaving of this year’s Epic Trip on the 9^th I spent yesterday riding down to Alicante to a motorcycle accessories shop to try and find a set of waterproofs that would fit me. the problem is at 6FT and 17 stone I am considerably bigger than the average Spanish motorcycle rider. After a lot of looking, I eventually found a one-piece set that may be a bit too big but better to be too big than too small like my previous set. I have spent some considerable time planning the route from here Across the Pyrenees up through the eastern side of France All the way up to Dieppe to the ferry Trying to avoid toll roads Had as many motorways as I possibly could But also bearing in mind the shorter range of a motorcycle compared to a car I need to know But there are petrol stations on the route I have had to change the route a few times to accommodate the fact that there aren’t as many petrol stations as they used to be just like England there’s quite a few shut down Not all of them are open 24 hours it’s taken some time but I think I’ve got it right now. 

Again with the problem of fuel range I bought a rack system that fits on my top box on which four 1.8 litre cans of petrol can be stored, The problem is you’re not allowed to take this on a ferry I don’t quite understand because you can take them on the shuttle. So I have had to shift a few things around and I’m going to take a few can in one of my panniers, when I get near at the app I will top the tank up and throw the can away and buy a new one in England to come back with. 

Today’s project is first to clean the screen on my bike and affix the new Spanish pollution sticker on because the old one came off, also to find my small tyre inflator and make sure it’s fully charged and find a pannier bag for my fleeces and jackets, tomorrow and Sunday my job is simple iron and pack I want to be in a where on Monday everything is ready, the bikes packed up so I can just chill on Tuesday before I leave very early Wednesday morning. 

My plan is to leave very early Wednesday morning 4:00 AM my first uh couple of 100 miles will be on the motorways from here Valencia out towards Zaragosa before travelling towards Bergerac where I’ll be staying overnight Some people have called me a little crazy because that first stint is over 950 kilometres, but when you’re short of time sometimes you have to push it a little, the following morning I have to make my way from the hotel in Bergerac to Dieppe which is around 700 kilometres I am catching the one minute to midnight ferry so I have a lot of time I can take it a little easier.