"Today's best music while wet goes to..."

Monday - 21st (Day 2)

I woke up early and enjoyed fresh french coffee and French stick (for those like Scarlett who didn't know - like a french baguette) supplied by the Hotel. Amongst some ribbing about sleeping with a stuffed dog, I prepped the bike with chain cleaner, lubrication and a quick tightening of a couple of spokes that were not twanging at the same pitch as the rest.

I left the serious "big bikers" at the hotel and set off for Verdun with a vague idea of visiting the WW1 cemeteries. about an hour later they screamed passed me at warp speed 5, but then another hour later I found them at a service station as they were donning water-proofs; a bit of a hare and tortoise morning in the end!

Just past Verdun the rain came back with a vengeance and I was wetter than a fish waiting to be caught, in fact it was wetter inside my bike suit than outside!
Progress slowed, mainly because it was so wet and the service station had a big TV with The Great Escape playing, so I naturally had to sit it out until the bike scene was over.

Captain Scarlett: "It's wet and I left my doggy-rain-coat in England!

Late afternoon found me riding into Germany without having even seen a border. The rain was so bad that the motorway was flooding and the bike was starting to miss-fire and stutter.
Enough was enough and I gave up, took shelter in a motorway parking toilet (quality trip this) and searched on the iPhone for the nearest cheap hotel.
I managed to strike gold as only about 5 miles away was the Cafe Elizabeth in Mutterstadt, which I can assure you is closer to the Ritz than a British cafe!

Streak, frites, Weissbier and followed by lots of sleep is next on the agenda because tomorrow is a long push whatever the weather to make it to Klenová for the Czech 'all night party and rave' ...

Perfect end to a wet day

Hope the rest of the bikes are making progress, especially the Lock, Stock & 3 Smokin' Hondas team who had issues yesterday.

PS. Captain Scarlett on the back is still a great co-pilot (or at least hasn't gotten me horrifically lost yet) and continues to raise beeps and waves everywhere I go. On the motorway one driver waved for me to slow down so tat his daughter could take a photo!

Song of the Day: John Lee Hooker 'The Healer' : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aFKgi5D6eU