Day 4: 13 July, 2010

Well it’s actually day 5 now as I’m kind of playing catch up, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Sunny here and oh, so hot, and you wouldn’t believe it.
As the sun went down the evening improved. There was rain and wind and thunder and lightning, but as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. So, after doing a little reading and planning and contemplating I decided that the best thing to do was call Hog Assist and get the bike checked at best it would put me back and hour or two, at worst it would end the trip. So that was it. I wasn’t going to call then, it was far too late, but the morning would bring another day and then I could take a fresh look.
I made my bed, ate my dinner and drank a coffee and then just as the last light faded, I remembered something, it must of been completely pointless, because as soon as I thought of it, it was gone. But something stirred in me and I looked outside. I don’t know why, but I did...
At the corner of the viaduct about fifteen feet away sat a rat! A bloody rat!!! I laughed; I think everyone around me thought I was mad... Bold as brass it sat ate, and then walked away.
I was up with the sun in the morning and packed by 7am... Trouble is, nothing opens ‘til 9:30am, so I sat with another coffee and watched the world go by on the Autobahn. Mad, doesn’t matter how much I watch it, I don’t understand it. No horns, no shouting, just cars at 120-130mph. Even when you get it wrong and you’re in the wrong lane they apply the brakes and wait for you to get out of the way... Go figure, would that happen in England? Is that how you drive?
I phoned for assistance, and good to their word, they phoned me straight back, so that I didn’t foot a really expensive phone bill. They told me they would be with me within the hour, and they were. They took a look diagnosed the problem and then said they would take me straight to the Harley Davidson dealership. Brilliant. All that for £33! The best thing about it, not only today, but in general, is the fact that the people here in Germany have been fantastic, bending over backwards to make sure that everything that can be done is, and they love to talk. The guy that came out to me knew almost no English and I know less German, but in all the time I was with him, I never thought that he didn’t understand me, or me him. We talked in our own special way the whole way, hardly breaking for breath. For half an hour we talked. Strange, but when you’re in that situation, you can communicate.
The guys at HD Stuttgart just looked at me as if I was mad... A wobble.
‘Yes it wobbles because you are carrying luggage...’
‘’This isn’t my first HD and I ride about 10,000mls a year.’
‘Oh.’ He said.
So he looked at it, took it for a test and then looked at it again. ‘You have a wobble’ he said...
The only problem with road-side assistance is that if there is a job to be done, then they only cover the bike for 3 days work. They also put you up in accommodation if needed, but otherwise, when 3 days is up, that’s it.
They did their best, and to cut a very long story short, they said that if it was the head-bearing then they couldn’t get the parts and guarantee to complete in 3 days... But whatever you say, the German’s are a proud people and they worked flat out for about an hour. The sun was hot and so was the coffee and I waited as they worked. Once done, and they were happy they said, goodbye and safe journey.
‘Thank you’ I said. ‘What’s the fastest way to the Autobahn?’
‘Left out of here, then at the second set of traffic lights take the first junction and you’ll be back in Belgium tonight.’
‘Belgium?’ I said, ‘I’m heading to Switzerland.’ I think it’s the first time I’ve seen so much shock in one moment. The exclamations of madness were heart-warming. But with my new directions and orders not to complete the whole journey, I was off.
It has been very disheartening to think that I will not make it all the way round, but I understand they’re caution. To complete the whole journey now, may push my luck just a little too far. The advice given warned me away from Italy (and the Mont Blanc pass) and Spain. That said, totalling up the miles I guess I’ll lose around 1,800 from the total.
Switzerland was a different story the roads are amazing, and there are tunnels everywhere. But where the Germans were extremely helpful, the Swiss don’t want to know. It does mean that I had to speak French, what little I know, but I made myself understood and on I rode. What I am impressed with is the way they deal with rush hour traffic. Simply put, they dig a great long tunnel under the city, so if you don’t need the city, you just ride underneath. I rode a tunnel today very 1.5km long at 70mph, what a rush...
The campsite was the opposite too all other experiences in Switzerland. The people were nice and the site itself, beautiful. That may be something to do with the fact that the old man was Swiss French and the woman was from Thailand and she spoke impeccable English. I had a pitch next to an old couple from the Netherlands, who reminded me so much of Aly’s grand-parents. She sat and knitted and gave the orders, he just did as he was told (after the occasional grumble), but the love and understanding was still there.
To get on to the site, you have to cross a narrow foot-bridge which has a sign showing a push-bike, a motor-bike, and a car and is split into thirds by red-lines. Now to my mind that means cars, bikes, and motor-bikes are not allowed, and sure enough it does. That is unless you need to cross the bridge (for example, for access), then, with good reason you can cross. Me being me didn’t know that, so I took my valuables and crossed the bridge on foot. The old man looked at me as if I was mad ‘Englisher’ he said and smiled. He’d seen it before. Apparantely, it’s a sign only familiar in Switzerland and the Netherlands... Go figure. So that’s it. The story so far. An adventure that has had some ups and downs, and I’m sure more to come. But that’s it, an adventure. So, on I ride in the heat, in the rain and the occasional draft...