Quite a Long Way Down by Gy200 - sorry Ewan !

[bojer]

Two years ago on 19 April I pulled into the petrol station in Dover - it was 3 in the morning I was freezing cold - despite seven layers of clothing ( really!) to find my chain lube aerosol had rubbed through and coated the back of the bike with v sticky grease

I topped up the tank - a whole 3 litres and headed for the port - sheltered from the worst of the wind I wondered about my "plan" . The plan was to ride the 1250 miles from my home in Bedfordshire in the UK to Alicante in Southern Spain and not to make things too boring I was using my recently purchased GY200

Luckily this means just heading due South from my house - so hi tech navigation consisted of a car compass stuck to the headlight shroud ! DSCF0066.jpg Note the "keep right" on the handlebar pad - it worked and I avoided driving on the wrong side of the road the whole time ....

As is usual my biking mates had avised not to buy a Chinese bike as they depreciate quickly and are unreliable - so riding to Spain on one loaded with camping gear did surprise most of them ! My friend Keith came along with me on a Honda CB250 that was quite useful as a fuel back up - the GY tank only holding about 5 litres of fuel was a problem and meant many stops on the way . TBH that was a good thing as it allowed a bit of blood to flow to my legs while I filled the tank . I should also point out I am well over 6ft and 95kg so the bike did not have an easy run .

The early crossing to France meant we had clear roads as we set off into the light rain - that rain was to haunt us until crossing the Pyrenees .

By the end of that first day the sun appeared for a couple of hours so we could the tents up and dry some gear before I headed off to the local supermarket for Vin rouge ! DSCF0003.jpg

The next morning I donned my 7 layers of clothes/oversuits etc and topped them off with plastic bags on my hands to try and keep them dry , that worked except for when they blew off when I took my hands off the bars ! Avoiding major roads we made steady progress through France but it rained all day and it was apparent that as most sensible people do not camp in April most campsites were closed too As evening began to draw in we were lucky enough to find a place that was open as it was being refurbed - spent the evening cooking under dripping trees and drinking more vin rouge ! DSCF0007.jpg Sorry about the pic quality but I think it shows how soggy it was - had to park the bike on tarmac or the stand would sink into the grass.....

After another day spent looking for fuel station we were now in the foot hills of the Pyrenees , no problems with either bike , though I had run out of fuel about 10 miles from the nearest town . The CB donated a litre or so but as Keith "sped" off I noticed a streak of something in the road and the CB died after a couple of backfires - he had not put the fuel pipe back on the tank tap !

Another soggy evening with campfire cooked food DSCF0012.jpg

By the next morning there were signs the weather was looking up - even small bits of sun to be seen...