Cross Country moto... No Challenge

Quite an easy day today. We’re still suffering under the curse of womens issues so instead of a longer drive into Lyon we had a shortened trip into Albi which took roughly an hour. Getting out of Toulouse was pretty straight forward and I was able to follow the signs all the way from one hotel to another. If I’d followed the GPS or google maps I’d probably still be there now...
Anyway, one minor issues was with my front tank. There were marks on the front upper lip where I can only assume the tyre has made contact. I’ve tried to replicate the conditions by jumping it up and down curbs loaded and unloaded and braking as hard as possible but nothing. I’ve marked the front with powder and cannot get the tyre to mark the fresh powder. I can only assume it’s from Barcelona where we braked for our lives behind a scooter, it’s the only full-blooded emergency stop I’ve made. From now on I’ll ride more carefully and keep a close eye on it. When I get back I will look at moving it. I might be able to move it back or down a bit or maybe switch it to mount on the side of the bike (my original idea) so we’ll have a play when i get home. I like the weight where it is but frankly the spot will be fine to mount other heavy gear so nothing is really lost
Ambi is nice. An old town full of French clichés and impressive architecture. The cathedral was open to the public and she went into shutter-bug mode instantly, firing snaps off at everything. We were allowed to just walk in and she observed, quite rightly, “not like England... they want paying for everything...”
We found an old monument bridge and my vertigo oddly flared up. It was only a hundred metres high above water and chances of survival if you were to fall were good. Yesterday chances of survival were less than none but I was fine. I guess irrational fear is not meant to be logical. Nice to know I’m still carrying totally baseless emotional baggage. In any case, I still walked across it and the view was very impressive. People are nice here too. I like France but it’s so damn expensive. Food is now three times the price it was a hundred miles ago. It’s good though, the cooking here is top notch. I want to try a McDonalds at some point to see what they’re like here but we haven’t even seen one.
We had a bit of rain today. The weather forecast says it’s in for tonight and then clears up. Showers by Thursday but we’ll be in another country by then so we’ll see what happens.
My brother has bought a V-strom for touring. He’s coming away with me on the Europe leg of my ride to Asia. It’s going to be a more hard-core trip, we’ll be packing less weight and running cheap. No hotels this time, camping rough. I think it’s the wrong bike, not just for the trip but for him. He tends to get bored with bikes too quickly and I can’t see the Strom getting under his skin and I think he needs to learn to love a bike and keep it long enough to bond with it. I also think that while comfortable it might be a bit too bland and heavy but we’ll see. It’s got more power than i’ve got and his bum won’t be as sore... maybe I’m jealous of that.
I think my bike is perfect for my big trip and the modifications make it just right but there’s other considerations. I use my bike daily at home. I can’t afford to take it off the road for 6 months at a time between trips to prep it. She always needs to be ready. She’ll also be daily used when i arrive in Thailand so I had to consider that too. The only thing I didn’t consider is this Europe trip, 2 up. I didn’t have that in mind when i bought my bike or even when i started the upgrades. The suspension work was just for my own benefit. The upshot is that she’s doing fine but I’m not happy with the extra weight. She’s not designed, built or rebuilt for this. I’m being careful and so far no sign of problems. I wanted the Touratech rear boxes which come with a steel subframe and can handle the weight. The cost was over £1100 and boxes are not ideal off road. My solution was £300. I thought about the 09 rear steel subframe but that was £800 from BMW (I could buy a Honda Dominator for that and just ride it). Again, not worth the cash for the possibility of snapping the subframe which is a slim possibility and I’m already taking precautions against by packing carefully. Power wise... I guess the truth is I could have done with a V-strom. I know there are crazy (American mostly) people on the ADV forum (mostly crazy Americans) who reckon the Strom is a true enduro capable of anything including travelling through time, flying and fighting robot dinosaurs but the truth is that’s a low-slung multi-strada machine with cast wheels that can just about handle some fire-roads. With two up that would have suited me fine. Acutally I looked into possible weight savings of stripping one to the bone and reworking it with better shock and forks but I found the cost prohibitive and still thought the Beemer the better bike (opinion varies).
In any case it’s always exciting to have a new bike on the table so I’m keen to see what he does with it. For my money I’d add HID spotlights straight off, upgrade the horn and look into a sturdier bash-plate. I don’t know much about the suspension but the upgrades I made to mine were well worth the money so I’d look into that. I’d not use plastic boxes, I think they’re too flimsy, especially on unmade roads which we’re planning to use. I’d go with bags and simply bungie them to the racks. Anyway, I’m keen to see what he does.
I find myself looking at the back of bikes now everywhere we go. My partner doesn’t speak English as a first language so sometimes the conversation is a little basic. Being surrounded by foreigners is making me feel even more isolated. I speak a little French but not enough to hold a worthwhile conversation. I find myself hoping to meet some English people, ideally with a bike so we can talk bollocks over a . Maybe that’s why I’m rambling so much in my blogs but hey.... you don’t have to read this crap...