Friends, all good things must come to an end and so on Friday Sept 30, we started our journey back to London via Reims France. We started off at schedule at 8 am and as we rode down the last mountain curves I couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the mountain made by God but the brilliance of the powerful machine made by man. Thank you BMW. You are the best.
We had a big day ahead of us riding from Andermatt to Reims (almost 570 km). Thankfully the weather was perfect and by lunch we had done almost 60% of the distance. At lunch we met an old French couple who tried talking to me first in French and the German but after I told him I only speak English and Portugese he became very excited and wished us well. The weather turned very hot after lunch and I started getting really sore and my legs started cramping a bit but we kept going. Then Vishal had a crazy ass idea. That, to make it all the way to London. I told him he was insane. That would be another 400 km and 5 hours of riding. Thankful he came to his senses. On one of our breaks a car pulled up very close to us and a shady looking Algerian guy came out stood next to us and started rolling a joint. Soon other cars started pulling up and I realized he was selling drugs at this gas station.
I quickly told Vishal to put on his helmet and move away before we got busted with them. Finally got to Reims around 6 pm and made our way to the town center. Reims is a college town and it's big attraction is the magnificent cathedral.
But vastly under rated is the number of beautiful women walking around! It is must vist for any boys trip. Unfortunately we only had a few hours and were too tired and headed back to our hotel for a good sleep.
The last day back was uneventful except we encountered crazy fog on the motorway just outside Reims which made riding a little challenging and it was quite chilly as well. Anyway soon it warmed up and we made our way to Calais where we were able to board an earlier train. This time the UK immigration did check our passports. From Folkstone UK to the bike store was around 2 hours riding but as it turned out the temperature on this day was the hottest ever recorded for London. I was about to pass out from the heat in my full motorcycle gear but I finally made it to the bike store in time to return the bike. Strangely enough I became quite attached to it in the one week I had it. Audrey had arranged a car for me to pick me up at the bike store and I was happy to make it back. End of Official bike trip but the story is not over yet!
Audrey and I planned to go for dinner at a nearby pub. We walked through the park close to her flat and as we came to the exit we realized it was already locked. There was a 5 foot metal fence and we decided instead of walking all the way back we would just climb over it. I went first and got on top of it. As I made my jump my jeans got stuck in the railing and I landed hard on my heel. I can't describe the pain I felt and had to immediately sit down. I knew instantly that something was wrong. Audrey called a taxi and we made our way to the local hospital. The ER was scary, a guy with bleeding from his head waiting to see a doctor, another guy doubled over in agony. I was sure I will never see anyone for a few hours but as I called my friends they all told me this is how healthcare works in UK so just wait it out. I finally saw a Dr who took some x rays and gave me the good news (sort of) that I didnt have any broken bones but just soft tissue damage which was going to hurt a lot and I would need crutches but it will heal on it's own. So I went 3000 km to the alps and didnt even get a scratch and within hours of being back injured my foot seriously. Lesson learned stay away from walking!
This is the end of this trip but the bug has been planted and next year itenirary includes Chile and Argentina!!!
Link to Pics
We had a big day ahead of us riding from Andermatt to Reims (almost 570 km). Thankfully the weather was perfect and by lunch we had done almost 60% of the distance. At lunch we met an old French couple who tried talking to me first in French and the German but after I told him I only speak English and Portugese he became very excited and wished us well. The weather turned very hot after lunch and I started getting really sore and my legs started cramping a bit but we kept going. Then Vishal had a crazy ass idea. That, to make it all the way to London. I told him he was insane. That would be another 400 km and 5 hours of riding. Thankful he came to his senses. On one of our breaks a car pulled up very close to us and a shady looking Algerian guy came out stood next to us and started rolling a joint. Soon other cars started pulling up and I realized he was selling drugs at this gas station.
I quickly told Vishal to put on his helmet and move away before we got busted with them. Finally got to Reims around 6 pm and made our way to the town center. Reims is a college town and it's big attraction is the magnificent cathedral.
But vastly under rated is the number of beautiful women walking around! It is must vist for any boys trip. Unfortunately we only had a few hours and were too tired and headed back to our hotel for a good sleep.
The last day back was uneventful except we encountered crazy fog on the motorway just outside Reims which made riding a little challenging and it was quite chilly as well. Anyway soon it warmed up and we made our way to Calais where we were able to board an earlier train. This time the UK immigration did check our passports. From Folkstone UK to the bike store was around 2 hours riding but as it turned out the temperature on this day was the hottest ever recorded for London. I was about to pass out from the heat in my full motorcycle gear but I finally made it to the bike store in time to return the bike. Strangely enough I became quite attached to it in the one week I had it. Audrey had arranged a car for me to pick me up at the bike store and I was happy to make it back. End of Official bike trip but the story is not over yet!
Audrey and I planned to go for dinner at a nearby pub. We walked through the park close to her flat and as we came to the exit we realized it was already locked. There was a 5 foot metal fence and we decided instead of walking all the way back we would just climb over it. I went first and got on top of it. As I made my jump my jeans got stuck in the railing and I landed hard on my heel. I can't describe the pain I felt and had to immediately sit down. I knew instantly that something was wrong. Audrey called a taxi and we made our way to the local hospital. The ER was scary, a guy with bleeding from his head waiting to see a doctor, another guy doubled over in agony. I was sure I will never see anyone for a few hours but as I called my friends they all told me this is how healthcare works in UK so just wait it out. I finally saw a Dr who took some x rays and gave me the good news (sort of) that I didnt have any broken bones but just soft tissue damage which was going to hurt a lot and I would need crutches but it will heal on it's own. So I went 3000 km to the alps and didnt even get a scratch and within hours of being back injured my foot seriously. Lesson learned stay away from walking!
This is the end of this trip but the bug has been planted and next year itenirary includes Chile and Argentina!!!
Link to Pics
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