SWB on Tour - MotoGP Le Mans 09 - "Wot 'Appened Was ...."
Posted: May 19th, '09, 00:06
Well, all those that went came home, and all those that were supposed to go actually got there 
The trip started well, with all meeting at Exeter Services on time and ready to go (I actually finished swapping rear wheel bearings with 2.5hrs to go
). Colin checked everyone had all they needed and so we set off, getting down to Plymouth at 9.00 with plenty of time for the 10.00pm ferry ..... which was when Kelly then realised she had Gav's passport rather than her own Gav pulled through with a heroic ride down to swap passports, and Brittany check-in were very good, staying open right up to the last minute to let her on (they insisted we went through without her 
) and the ferry then proceeded to stay in dock until midnight because of the weather 
) and we were forced to have a beer to celebrate all being together again ...... until we remembered we had to add an hour to the time and we were about to get about 3hrs sleep 
The ride down to Alencon on Saturday was pretty good, with wet roads rather than rain for a few miles only
though the map failing to identify that much of the route was now dual carriageway made a few sections a little dull 
We only tripped a few camera's this time
Hotel very nice, and found easily, which is more than could be said for a decent meal .... though a reasonable Chinese was found in the end
shame the Chinese lager cannot be recommended
Race day was a little overcast, but dry and the ride into the circuit was pretty straight-forward. Parking was a "secure" area so you had to match the sticker on the bike with a card they gave you before they'd let you out again but as the queue to leave was so great we went out a pedestrian exit and no-one bothered to stop or check us good old French security
I won't bother with the races, as to be honest my opinion was once again confirmed that for single race events like the GP you actually fare better watching on the telly at home ..... but at the same time the "atmosphere" can't be beat
...... and you'll all know what happened anyway
Sunday night Alencon was a ghost-town, although thanks to TomR1 a decent place for a meal was found. The bar that followed had a wonderful atmosphere though we did our best to liven it up with a couple of fun games of table football - I think our goal celebrations were definitely more "Jovial" than those watching the footie on the big-screen TV
The ride back to Roscoff today was, shall we say, entertaining ....... the wind was a bit of a bu**er, being very blustery, and we had a bit of a damp spot around Rennes but it was only when at the last fuel stop where it was realised that the fool who was leading had forgotten his watch was on UK time rather than French time ...... and the last 65-70 miles needed to be covered in around 45mins ideally A rather "spirited" bit of riding followed, on some great roads, though hampered (only slightly ) by cr*p sign-posting and some damp roads ...... I'm sure some older French folks on the outskirts of some of the villages were sent running for their old air-raid bunkers thinking the bombers were coming again We managed to get back to Roscoff with at least oh, ten minutes or so to spare before departure, much to the merriment and relief of all concerned
I'd like to say a huge thanks to Colin for organising the trip, and to all the party (Chris K5, Bambam, Kelly and John) for being great sports and great company
Kelly deserves a special mention for never dropping off my back-wheel over the last 50 miles or so in some rather "testing" conditions ..... there's many out there who would have struggled (and that's not meant to sound like my riding is anything special ) given her shoulder troubles, and Bambam got on bravely considering his last ride-out experience and the fact he'd only had his bike for a couple of days before departure
I’ll make no comment on the problems his burgeoning manliness caused for Zips and Gaffa tape, other than to create something for Funky’s imagination
Thanks guys (and gal ) WSBK or Endurance next year 
A few snapshots ....
Le Depart :
Sur le bateau
A couple of bikers gathered ...
Chris works his magic on Kelly so well ...
...that Colin want's some of the action too
Whiling away the time to justify making the most of some twisty roads later
The trip started well, with all meeting at Exeter Services on time and ready to go (I actually finished swapping rear wheel bearings with 2.5hrs to go
). Colin checked everyone had all they needed and so we set off, getting down to Plymouth at 9.00 with plenty of time for the 10.00pm ferry ..... which was when Kelly then realised she had Gav's passport rather than her own Gav pulled through with a heroic ride down to swap passports, and Brittany check-in were very good, staying open right up to the last minute to let her on (they insisted we went through without her ) and the ferry then proceeded to stay in dock until midnight because of the weather ) and we were forced to have a beer to celebrate all being together again ...... until we remembered we had to add an hour to the time and we were about to get about 3hrs sleep The ride down to Alencon on Saturday was pretty good, with wet roads rather than rain for a few miles only
though the map failing to identify that much of the route was now dual carriageway made a few sections a little dull We only tripped a few camera's this time Hotel very nice, and found easily, which is more than could be said for a decent meal .... though a reasonable Chinese was found in the end
shame the Chinese lager cannot be recommended Race day was a little overcast, but dry and the ride into the circuit was pretty straight-forward. Parking was a "secure" area so you had to match the sticker on the bike with a card they gave you before they'd let you out again but as the queue to leave was so great we went out a pedestrian exit and no-one bothered to stop or check us
good old French security I won't bother with the races, as to be honest my opinion was once again confirmed that for single race events like the GP you actually fare better watching on the telly at home ..... but at the same time the "atmosphere" can't be beat
...... and you'll all know what happened anyway Sunday night Alencon was a ghost-town, although thanks to TomR1 a decent place for a meal was found. The bar that followed had a wonderful atmosphere
though we did our best to liven it up with a couple of fun games of table football - I think our goal celebrations were definitely more "Jovial" than those watching the footie on the big-screen TV The ride back to Roscoff today was, shall we say, entertaining ....... the wind was a bit of a bu**er, being very blustery, and we had a bit of a damp spot around Rennes but it was only when at the last fuel stop where it was realised that the fool who was leading had forgotten his watch was on UK time rather than French time ...... and the last 65-70 miles needed to be covered in around 45mins ideally
A rather "spirited" bit of riding followed, on some great roads, though hampered (only slightly ) by cr*p sign-posting and some damp roads ...... I'm sure some older French folks on the outskirts of some of the villages were sent running for their old air-raid bunkers thinking the bombers were coming again We managed to get back to Roscoff with at least oh, ten minutes or so to spare before departure, much to the merriment and relief of all concerned I'd like to say a huge thanks to Colin for organising the trip, and to all the party (Chris K5, Bambam, Kelly and John) for being great sports and great company
Kelly deserves a special mention for never dropping off my back-wheel over the last 50 miles or so in some rather "testing" conditions ..... there's many out there who would have struggled (and that's not meant to sound like my riding is anything special
) given her shoulder troubles, and Bambam got on bravely considering his last ride-out experience and the fact he'd only had his bike for a couple of days before departure I’ll make no comment on the problems his burgeoning manliness caused for Zips and Gaffa tape, other than to create something for Funky’s imagination
Thanks guys (and gal
) WSBK or Endurance next year A few snapshots ....
Le Depart :
Sur le bateau
A couple of bikers gathered ...
Chris works his magic on Kelly so well ...
...that Colin want's some of the action too
Whiling away the time to justify making the most of some twisty roads later
