15.10.2022 Hotel Kyriad, Orange, France

The entrance already shows it: this wasn't may best choice of hotel. In particular in terms of communication, this hotel was a total failure. The service was also poor. 

The carpets throughout the hotel were worn and dirty. Even the rickety lift used to have brown carpeting, now almost black with dirt. 

When I complained because the internet didn't work, the owner at reception just shrugged in a French way and said "My connection works" - probably LAN, not WLAN. So I was cut off from the world. 

 This is how the room looked. Not too bad, except for the WLAN.

The room was OK and the breakfast was good. For 80 euros, however, you can expect that. The Fasthotel in Mâcon was only about half the price, and they were friendly.

For a French breakfast, that looks quite good. Often you find just some croissons.

The old town of Orange is worth seeing, many small restaurants and cafes, and a gigantic amphi theatre from Roman times, but I was spoilt for choice.

The sockets in France fit the German plugs if your plug has a hole in it. The slim power adapters like the iPhone power adapter can also be used, they just fit under the steel ground pin in the socket.

Some impressions of Orange, and the old city centre. I didn't find a restaurant or café that offered free internet. I would have sat down there with my MacBook and had something to eat and drink. But there was nothing, no service of that kind. So I ate a salad that I had taken with me from a rest stop. I also bought a fresh baguette and Janon Serrano there. It all cost less than 10 euros, I would have easily paid three times that in a bistro. 

Nice places, but no service I could make use of. No problem, I am looking forward to Empuriabrava in Spain.

On my way to Orange, I met this friendly chap from Argentina. He lives in Rostock, working as a motorbike mechanic. He owns the Yamaha JF1200. "Did you also drive through that pooring rain yesterday?" he asked. Well, I sure did, 6,5 hours. "But your bike has a Kardan, while I have a chain. Kardan is no problem, a chain must be greased after such a water impact!". His boss owns a Harley Davidson repair shop, and to everyone's surprise one day he arrived at his yard with a 1200 GS. "What is this?!" the Argentinian said in surprise. "This beast looks dangerous. It bites, no?!" - Well, to some the GS might look aggressive, because of its beak maybe, but truth is that it is a very gentle giant, my Black Betty.

Omar asked my on the phone today if I would feel tired or stressed from my travels. Well, not at all, Omar. Actually, I feel like sitting in a soft cocoon, the sound of the wind and the engine muffled by the ear plugs to a continuous whisper, the speed control set to 130 km/h, my right arm rests on the tank bag, the beautiful landscape around me, blue sky and the sun, man, that is like heavens, and I am in a bit of a strange wide awake trance.

15.10.2022 - Comments about gloves and tank bags

Before I move on to my next location in Orange, here are a few glimpses of yesterday's rainy outing. I waterproofed the boots at home, which worked well. At least my feet stayed dry during six hours of intense rain riding. The rain overall also kept tight. 

The Touratec tank bag was a disappointment. It got considerably wet on the inside. Fortunately, most of the things in the tank bag were packed in plastic bags. But you shouldn't put papers there, and that's exactly what you want. Travel documents, for example.

Another weak point were the BMW hand guards over the grips. They are more like crash protectors than rain deflectors. In any case, my gloves were dripping wet. So if you go on rainy tours, you should do something preventive to avoid wet, clammy hands. Of course, you can work against it with the grip heater, but I'm always a little worried that the battery won't charge enough. Moreover, switching on the grip heater does not eliminate the root cause, but only insufficiently treats the symptoms.

14.10.2022, first day on the road

08:30 am. Still on the car train to Lörrach. Had a good sleep, after a quite adventurous loading the bike on the train. I had to take the tank bag off to be able to lower myself down onto the tank. The Waggon is only 1,53 m high. The bike with windshield has 1:43 m. The waggon’s steel floor was slippery wet. Walter from Switzerland was experienced, he took the lead. „What one man can do, another man can do“. It all worked out well. 

The white BMW below is a very nice one, sort of like a naked bike with a traditional looking lamp and speed instruments, plus a huge wind shield. Walter wasn't that high, so maybe this 1200R would be a good bike for Susan.

Walter and his wife are 67 and 66 years old. They came back from a three months trip to Scandinavia. Really nice and friendly people. Walter's wife looked after the luggage, particularly the tank bags, while Walter and I had to embark the train. We had to wear our helmets, for good reasons. You have to lie on the tank, behind the wind shield, to make it into the lower deck of the waggon. Not an easy exercise.

In this video you see where the train crew fasted the straps for securing the bike.

Nice people, aren't they?

 

In the video you see how low the decks are.

Finally in the train. I started in Garding already at 3pm or so, way too early, but I wanted to avoid the heavy rain that was forecasted. I got into my train compartment only at 8:30 pm.

Due to Corona reasons, the train crew tried to give every traveling party a separate compartment. So, I had this here for myself, which was a great luxury.

I made my bed in the middle bunk and I slept in no time, really comfortable and cosy

Next morning, after a mystical night, the crew even served a tasty hot coffee and a sandwich with marmalade. Exquisit!

The whole night it did not rain at all. Just when we arrived, it started pooring down. So, for the first time ever I tried my rain protection gear - and it was perfect. Very warm and dry. It is a bit bizarre: you drive in heavy rain, partly with less than 300 m sight, and it feels as if you sit in a car. You hear the rain on the helmet, see the raindrops on the visir, but that is about it.

This is the place where I stayed. The Fasthotel, right after the highway exit. It is more of a motel, really. It wouldn't win the local beauty contest, but it is clean and the bed is good quality, and it is only for one night. I booked via booking.com, for a good price (around 48€).

At 16:30 I arrived at the Fasthotel in Mâcon. Plain little motel, directly at the highway exit. There is a Novotel nearby with a bistro in it. Here I gave myself a treat. Meals in France are quite expensive. This small salad and a beer were 25 Euros.

The breakfast was only 7€ or so, with more than the usual French croissons, but toast, fresh rolls, eggs, ham, cheese, jam, butter, good coffee choices, juice, plus variations of pastries. So, really good.

Arrival in Hamburg

That was a first rainy trip - and cozy in my Patagonia undies.

 

I am at the right spot. 6pm sharp the terminal opened and I received my loading info. But it really took until 20:40 until we could drive onto the waggons and then finally move into our compartments in the passenger waggon. Walter and his wife had the more luxorious option, so, we had to split up.

The journey begins

Guess what: I have the woodburner stove going. While the sky in Garding, Hamburg and Lörrach and in Mâcon is grey with clouds of rain, I received a very nice message from the Intur Orange Hotel in Benicàssim, Spain: 

Hola Dilg Peter,

Muchas gracias por reservar en el Hotel Intur Orange. Estamos encantados de que vengas a pasar unos días con nosotros. Días que, te prometemos, jamá vas a olvidar, porque nuestras experiencias dejan huella.

Prepárate para un viaje único con los detalles de tu reserva e información que te dejamos a continuación.

Nos vemos pronto. ¡Nosotros ya te estamos esperando con los brazos abiertos!

or in English: 

Hello Dilg Peter,

Thank you very much for booking at Hotel Intur Orange. We are delighted that you are coming to spend a few days with us. Days that, we promise promise you, you will never forget, because our experiences leave their mark. leave their mark.
Get ready for a unique trip with the details of your reservation and the information information that we leave you below.
See you soon, we are already waiting for you with open arms! open arms!

That bloody makes my day. That is what I am aiming for. Friendly people with open hearts, and a nice ride under a sunny blue sky, with temperatures around 25 to 30 degrees. Easy riding. I'm coming, folks, I'm coming.

More Packing

The special feature of the original BMW cases is their expandability. You flip a lever inside the case and almost twice the amount fits inside.

I had to use this feature because I have to take some bulky things. My tip: if you are like me five to six days on the road, then take a pair of comfortable shoes. I don't want to walk around with the heavy biker boots and thick textile motorcycle suit all vacation. So a few comfortable shoes have to go, and they take up a lot of space. Also a warm fleece jacket must come along, after all it is already quite cold in October. And also a warm pair of pants must be on board. So I took my Trelobite Kevlar jeans with protectors. In Spain it is still very warm, there I can certainly still use the jeans well.

If you travel alone like I do, a selfie stick is quite helpful for taking pictures. I find this self-absorption of the selfie culture questionable, but the family is certainly happy about a few pictures in which not only the Black Betty and landscapes are on it, but also I, as part of a social structure.

A selfie stick also needs power, so make sure the battery is still working, that you've packed spare batteries, and that the stick pairs easily with your cell phone.

On the subject of Bluetooth pairing, since I carry two cell phones (an iPhone and a Samsung A22 5G), I wanted to make sure that both devices had already been paired with the SC1 Sena radio in my Schuberth C4 Pro helmet. With the Samsung, I followed the SC1's instruction manual. According to that, you have to press the plus and minus buttons at the same time for more than 10 seconds, then supposedly the cell phone can find the SC1 Bluetooth device. This exact procedure does not work at all.

I then searched YouTube for a corresponding tutorial and found one. It says that you have to hold the plus button for a few seconds after switching on the SC1 (briefly holding the plus and minus button) to enter the system configuration, and then press "+" again for the first configuration menu item, which is "Pairing Bluetooth devices". This process worked immediately. Now if the iPhone should fail me, I only need to connect the SC1 to the Samsung.

You don't want to have all this stress while you're on the road and probably already stressed anyway because one of the phones failed or was stolen.

By the way: I suggest that you pack the loading cables that you tested and used already at home. That way you make sure that you can rely on the material you take with you.

Packing

Today I started packing my most important pieces of luggage: the topcase and the tank bag. In the middle of my packing, my friend Omar called, still reeling from a Corona infection, but in good spirits again. "Just pack some cable ties and duct tape! That's the universal stuff for emergencies." And that's what I did. I went straight to the DIY store and bought two sizes of cable ties and a roll of duct tape and packed them. Thanks Omar! I hope that I won't need that stuff though.

In both the tank bag and the top case I tucked in a plug for the 12V socket and a cable for the phones. IMPORTANT: never leave the plug in the socket, these things still draw power even when the bike is switched off. The next morning you will find the battery empty. The steering lock won't respond, and even if it does, the starter won't even "click". I just had it. I was lucky: the battery was probably so old that it was completely dead after this carelessness. Now I've installed a brand new battery, which I hope is a bit more robust.

Another tip from Omar: take the spare key with you (the grey plastic emergency key). Thanks for that too, Omar, I did. But where to put the car licence, the passport and the spare key, so that they can't get stolen or lost? I found a kind of pouch in my inventory that you can tie around your waist with a click fastener. I' ll put an FFP2 mask in it, and some cash, just in case. Maybe I'll put my Samsung mobile phone in there too. 

In the tank bag is my toilet bag, medication, my blood pressure monitor (unfortunately, as a high-risk patient, I need three measurements a day), spare batteries for the blood pressure monitor and the BMW key and the LED emergency lights, a pair of light sweatpants for the stay on the car train, and cables and a power supply unit for my mobile phones and my Apple Watch, for the hotel and the train.

There is one thing you should not forget: some noise protection earplugs. The Sonic Shop has some very good ones, especially for motorbike noise, and I've made very positive experiences with them. The earplugs are very soft and comfortable to wear. By default, they come with a medium sound attenuation (green inner part), but there are different inserts (white and red inner part), which you can easily change for medium and heavy noise, depending on the bike you ride. Despite the plugs, you can still hear the helmet radio well, and the ambient noise can still come through well, for example the siren of an ambulance that is still far away. All sounds are only muffled in the dB value. 

I also packed an original BMW charger in the top case, in case the battery should run out against all expectations. The charger is simply plugged into the BMW's 12V socket, so you don't have to uncover the battery in the bike first to connect the terminals to the poles. However, you can also do this if you really want to. Then I packed two LED headlamps for emergencies at night and a charger for AA and AAA accus. My headlamps have different modes: bright focused light, bright wide-beam light, continuous red light, flashing red light. I then have another, not a stand-alone LED lamp with a white continuous light and a white flashing light, for example for securing an accident site. In case of an accident, I also packed two emergency first-aid kits. Also a multifunctional tool, spare halogen bulbs for the headlight, a bit set and a small bit screwdriver. The top case also holds my rain suit, a dry bonnet for changing, special spray for cleaning the visor and a soft cleaning cloth. And then there's my laptop and a laptop power supply.