BMW R1200GSA vs Moto Guzzi Stelvio NTX

Wednesday 8 May 2013

Montelimar France, to Geneva Switzerland to, Challex France.

Wednesday 1/5/13

This whole spring time malarkey is getting to me. This morning is grey, wet, and cold, again. Suzanne said the rain sounded nice on her helmet and reminded her of her tin roof she had as a kid. I wish I could feel that way about it. We need to escape the cold and wet, so Geneva here we come. It had to be warm in Switzerland doesn't it?


We started out on the back roads again, but the villages have turned into small towns that aren't all that attractive, and we had a fair distance to travel, so we jumped on the motor way. Just before we did, I swear I heard The Simpsons theme music...



Does it glow in the dark?

This time for a change the views were better on the motorway. Lots of snow capped mountains.



From the top: Cloud, mountain, snow, cloud, mountain, cloud, trees.

The further north we ventured, the more Swiss the houses started to look.

We also rode through a few very long tunnels. 


I wish I could ride through here fast enough to make the lights look like that in real life.

These are great because after riding for four or five kilometres through a tunnel you never know what you'll find when you come out the other end.



This time it was a strange cloud mountain combination.
The clouds were doing all sorts of odd things today.

We pulled off the main road for a break and something to eat. This is where we met Patrice. We chatted over coffee and as Patrice was heading in the same direction he suggested we ride together. Why not? The more the merrier.



Say hi to fellow BM rider Patrice.

Patrice on the move.


More mountains, more snow.

Suzanne getting creative with the camera again.

We arrived at the Swiss border not much later and as usual, nobody was at all interested in seeing passports or any papers. They did however insist that all vehicles had a vignette. This is a pass to ride on Swiss roads. Forty four Swiss francs (for twelve months) and I had another sticker on our bike. Apparently if you don't have a vignette the fines can be quite severe. Luckily we weren't stopped when we were here last time and blissfully ignorant of the requirement.


We were heading to Michael's house so a few minutes later we rode out of Switzerland and back into France. We found Michael's house but no one was home so we went back to a little cafe, back in Switzerland, and the three of us had a few drinks.


It was here that we discovered Patrice was in Morocco at the same time we were. He travelled down the same road we got stuck on overnight and saw some of the same people we did, like a couple on push bikes that were travelling over the the pass. The only difference was he was in a Land Rover, and of course, he didn't get stuck. We talked for quite some time and at about seven Patrice decided he had to get a move on and go home to his family. It was great meeting you Patrice. We will catch up again on our way through Switzerland.


Of course the day wouldn't be a proper Wrong Way Round day without some sort of dog interaction would it?



This is Hilton, a very nice Wimey pup that Suzanne fell in love with.

It was time to find somewhere to stay for the night. Hotels are very expensive in Switzerland, like everything else, or so we have been told. We decided it had to be on the French side of the border. After trying a couple of hotels that were just way to expensive, we found Kyriad. It wasn't cheap, but at least it was affordable.


On the plus side Damian was on the front desk, and he was bloody fantastic at his job. People like this can make a business. It was funny because we met the manager later and he wasn't a patch on Damian. Damian has a big future in front of him.


Our room was "cosy" but OK. The hot water was awesome. Turn on the hot tap and the water was there instantly, and it was bloody hot. That helps take away the pain of a long ride in the cold.


With the cleansing and warming tasks take care of it was time for a feed in the hotel restaurant, then a lovely, comfortable bed, and some sleeeeeeeeep.


It had been a long day.


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2 comments:

  1. Hi together!
    Are you still in Emmenbrücke?
    Come and see us whenever you like!
    I'm following your blog with big pleasure and
    am very proud to take a little part in it!
    Big hugs and kisses
    Patrice & Family :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Patrice, We're heading back home now and flying out of London on the 22nd of May. We are glad you are a part of our trip as well. It's the people we meet that make this trip so wonderful. I'm so sorry, we didn't catch up again, we just ran out of time. Maybe our next meeting will be in Morocco, or Australia.

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