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After weeks of temperatures in the mid 30's,the chilly start for the ride into France was, well, uncomfortable The road took me over the Jura Mountains, through tunnels, round hairpin bends and into the teeth of a cold wind, blowing, it seemed,direct from the Pole. It was mountain riding – not extreme, but enough to test my fully loaded bike.
After three months of riding defensively, it was hard to let loose. I held the bike back too much on the climb and when I stopped at the ...

7.30am and the alarm goes off. Kevin had said leaving at 8am, so a bit of a sleep in (at least for them). I’d already been awake from Murray and Anjum moving around. Then I realised I hadn’t even collected my bag from the previous evening so nothing to do there.

Still… I had to get up anyway. The sun was still somewhat cold and I wanted to check my tyre pressures as I thought they may be down a bit, especially from the bashing off road. Sure enough, both needed a couple ...

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6.45am and the cursed alarm is going off. Kevin had said yesterday he thought it was about a 7am start, so I drag my bag out and down the row to the van, where he is already loading it. I think I smiled briefly at Jan, and straight back to bed. Didn’t go to sleep however, as Anjum would be around shortly to collect his camera battery.

He comes shortly after 7am, and thinking it’s now safe to count sheep, as I’m right on the verge of sleep, Murray comes knocking. He’s ...

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The mods to Zensen have worked well. She feels stable in cornering and ready to pounce with only a little throttle, I can't wait to give her a real fistful. It all of my control not to given the new valves and cams. I'll take her out again tomorrow a couple more times to run everything in before the Dyno run on Monday.

Ikasu is slowly but surely getting race ready. Test rode her as until I ran out of gas. The gear changer still has a lot to be desired, but should be ready for a test ...

Alarm rings at 6.45am… Kevin had said that the van needed to be loaded by 7am, so dragged the bag down to the van. I should have worn jandals as the car park was crushed stone. Ouch… Bag passed to Kevin, back to the room to keep sleeping (yep, as usual).

8.30am, alarm rings again and I finally get up, shower and get ready. No continental breakfast this morning, but the quick visit to the General Store last night gave me enough for this morning as well. 4 sticks of French ...

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A good day with both bikes firing into life. I spent a couple of hours putting Ikasu back together and she showed her appreciation by firing up first kick. Mark has done her proud with the engine work as it feels a lot smoother.

The next step give both of them seats so I can test ride them.

Again, the alarm at 7.30am to drop off my bag to the van. Oh wait, I hadn’t even collected it from the van the previous evening. I was about to roll over and then I remembered I’d parked a couple of bikes in, in the evening because of a lack of space (and that some bikes seem to take up a whole park). Damn, still have to get up, because of the kindness in my heart.

It turned out they didn’t need me, having been able to get out and turn the bikes around. Back to bed, ...

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Originally Posted by Hanne

A broken down street magic got me thinking the other day. What sorts of stories do you have about bikers helping bikers?