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Well, I’ve been pretty lucky with the weather which is always good. I started with a bit of a mixed bag of cloud, the odd ray of sunshine and a bit under 20°C. As I cruised down the A5 to Freiburg at my usual 110-120 km/h it cleared up and, low and behold, as I crossed the French border at Mulhouse it was glorious sunshine and darned hot so that various stops were necessary to peel off more and more layers, windbreakers, jacket-liners etc, I was still soaked when I arrived so all the kit currently hanging up to dry in my room. I checked in at a really nice place in Thoirette called “Auberge de Thoire” in the sense of simple, good food reviews and not overly expensive. Shall report tomorrow on details but good first impressions and motorcycle friendly as the lady in charge let me put the bike in her garage – always good to know that the bike is safe and sound!
What is there to say about a predominantly motorway day? It’s good to get some distance behind you but is essentially quite boring. I passed the time working out fuel use and distances and tank capacity but once this is done as accurately as possible in my head there is a void…. this is filled with what I call “motorway madness” – in the same way that “in space no-one can hear you scream”, in your helmet, with motorway wind battering your helmet constantly, no-one can hear you sing (I sang a Rod Stewart song for almost an hour) which is, all things considered, strange as I am not a fan of Rod, shout at yourself for whatever balls-ups you’ve commited recently, talk to yourself in strange accents (I spent some time saying “muddy waters” (the musician) in a strong indian accent), shout at other vehicle drivers for no particular reason, it is “motorway madness”. The only voice of sanity was the navigator via bluetooth with an australian lady and then a french lady giving me occasional instructions to turn off here and there.
Finally, the combination of heat and too much thermal clothing reduced me to a sort of stupor, I put my chin on the tank bag and just cruised. Then, at last, the motorway bit was done and I turned off onto French A- and B-roads, what great roads they have. The motorways are actually a real pleasure to drive after the overfull German autobahns, the local and national roads remind me a bit of English roads with a lot less traffic, this is why I love driving in France. The scenery was also great with hills and rivers and fast but winding roads.
I am currently here:
Dinner is about to start so I shall stop for the moment.
