A few days have passed, so it's time to continue with day 11.

YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT DAY

In the morning I get awakened by the sound of rain against the window. I’m stocked to get to Spain and hopefully better weather. After breakfast and some tips from my host, I get going again.

It keeps raining the whole morning, but I don't care about it at this moment. I pass by villages completely submerged in a meter of mud, people trying to get the remaining water out of their houses.

At some villages just before Carcassonne, I find myself in a disaster area. Military personnel is controlling roadblocks, helicopters flying over and people are just trying to get out of the area. I'm just looking for the nearest highway to leave the area, but because of that, I trapped myself in this whole situation around me.

Just to make the situation worse, the motorcycle starts to rattle real bad and I need to stop. When I stop and check where the noise is coming from, it tends out to be the chain just hanging barely around the sprockets.

I don't know how this could happen, but I need to fix it immediately. So here I am, again in the pouring rain, unpacking my stuff to get to the wrenches.

It's not working out the way I hoped it would be. The adjusting screws are sticking too far out, and I'm afraid that they would collapse. I need to turn around the axle to give me some more leverage. But turning the axle around without a stand is harder than I expected. After half an hour I think it's all set and done and I pack everything again.

Why did I not put the gear in neutral? After moving the bike around, the chain is to tight and I'm losing it at this time. I need to unpack everything again and loosen up the chain. I’m really done with it now. I just want to go to Spain.

After riding for about four hours again, the sun starts to show itself behind the clouds. The Pyrenees are visible by now and the sun is shining. It's colder due to the elevation, but I don't care at this moment, it's dry!

After finding a campsite for the night, it's time to dry everything out. All my clothes are wet, even down to the underwear. But I don't care, I'm in the Pyrenees by now.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AT DAY TWELVE

The night turned out to be colder than I expected and my tent is covered by a layer of frost. I start to think during breakfast that this isn't worth the hardship anymore. I start to plan to go back home to the Netherlands again.

I leave around 11 am after packing everything. It turned out to be a 17,5-hour ride back home. The funny thing is, it got warmer and even warmer the more I've got north. I think I have made the right decision. It was not worth pushing it anymore.

Although I'm glad that to be home after GLR 1, it turned out to be one of my favorite GLRs. Check it out now for yourself, and keep an eye on the weather forecast!

Check the GLR 1 out for yourself.

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