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Eurothrash 2024 Day 7: Castillon-du-Gard to Cannes … and the Crash

| Richard

A relatively short day was planned and that turned out to be a very hot 275km and one crash: a road sweeper doing a left and taking us out.

There was some damage to the RT: both cylinder heads as it hit the sweeper on one side and the floor on the other.  I couldn’t avoid the sweeper as there was too much high road furniture on the left. so down we went. And with all the luggage it took four of us to haul it back up onto two wheels.

I was completely unscathed as I pretty much just stepped off, but Alison got her ankle pressed a bit by the rear footpeg (pushing on her boots). She’s obviously not used to this crashing malarkey!  But at least we apparently achieved a lean angle of 66º on that side…

It was then that the SOS button might have been useful, but of course that hasn’t worked since very early on with the ownership and BMW were taking way too long to release a fix for it.

So we continued on to Cannes and after more 38ºC temperatures and crawling traffic all the way along the seafront, we stopped at our booked hotel, the JW Marriott Cannes where just one night cost us over €1,150! . When I booked it, I had included instructions that we would be arriving on a motorcycle and to ask them to make sure we had a reserved parking space in the car park underneath the hotel. When we arrived and parked up outside the front next to a Ferrari and a Bugatti, I asked how to get to their car park and was told I wasn’t allowed to. No motorcycles allowed there, apparently! They instead said I should use a public car park a kilometre or so away or take my chance parking on the road nearby.  And then they made us wait over an hour for our room to be made available.

Avoid!

The Gouge du Calamity

 

 

Eurothrash 2024 Day 5: Banyuls-sur-Mer to Castillon-du-Gard (the “First Dates Hotel”)

| Richard

The original plan was to have a long day in the saddle, heading up to the Milau Bridge and the Gorges du Tarn, but herself was beginning to flag a bit, so I instead set a course along some nice-ish roads from Banyuls-sur-Mer to Castillon-du-Gard in Provence, where we were due to stay at the delightful La Vieux Castillon.

Le Vieux Castillon

 

This was the hotel that Channel 4’s First Dates show had used for their summer holidays the first few series of First Dates Hotel before they moved to one in Italy, I think?

Anyway after a very hot day – 38°C – we reached 1,175km and were ready for a rest day the following day.

By the time we reached the hotel, it was still 32°C at the pool. They let me leave the RT outside Reception which was a weight off my mind. And yes, it’s a fabulous hotel, every bit as good as we had hoped.

RT outside Le Vieux Castillon Reception Alison enjoying an Aperol Spritz

We had booked their gastronomic package, but sadly the restaurant was closed the two night we were actually booked in for, having shifted the dates. So for our first night we enjoyed a lighter meal from the bar menu.

The next day was a rest day, so we spent it mainly by the pool, although we did go for a wander around the streets of Castillon-du-Gard.

Dinner was at Joio Restaurant nearby which is managed by the chef at the hotel and opens when he’s not working at Le Vieux Castillon. We ate their signature starter and main and a couple of cheeky glasses of wine. Very reasonably priced too as well as delicious.

 

 

Eurothrash 2024: Day 4 – La Seu d’Urgell to Banyuls-sur-Mer

| Richard

Out of Spain into France. So that was the Atlantic Ocean over to the Mediterranean Sea then. And goodbye Spain, hello France. 910km so far, riding the BMW R1250RT along the N-260 (and others) from La Seu d’Urgell in the Spanish Pyrenees to Banyuls-sur-Mer on the French coast. We also diverted up to ride the infamous Gorges de Galamus.

Once we got to our hotel and parked up – after the BMW Connected app decided we should approach it from a footpath above – we checked in to our room.

Côté Thalasso Banyuls-sur-Mer

 

I have no idea what that clicking is in the video, and no, I didn’t mean the old biddy walking down the corridor…

Food at the Côté Thalasso Banyuls-sur-Mer exceeded expectations; the tasting menu was superb with the beef and dauphinois potatoes a high point before this dessert. A lovely local red wine too.

RT outside Reception War Memorial Me too, jetée, me too Me after another hot day on the bike I laugh in the face of danger

So Banyuls-sur-Mer was better than expected and they were kind enough to let us keep the RT parked outside reception where they could keep an eye on it. We decided to pin it to win it to get to our next stay, but first we explored the harbour.

Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride 2024 – Guildford Surrey Hills

| Richard

Well despite the dodgy weather forecast in the lead-up to the event, Sunday dawned bright and a bit crisp so we dressed up in our dapper finery and jumped on Blue Rex to ride into Guildford.

We weren’t sure who’d be there but as it turned out Charley Boorman was there on his Bike Shed-branded Triumph Thruxton RS which looked just great in that burnt orange.

Alison was doing videographer duties up back and we’ve got a couple of hours’ footage on one of the GoPros …and here’s a teaser:

I suppose being Surrey might explain the three Vincents/HRDs there plus a number of other lovely machines including a couple of army-specced bikes and a similar RAF liveried one (with two equally vintage riders that I saw).

We stopped at Loseley House to regroup and then continued the ride, ending up at the Hog’s Back Brewery where we stopped for Aperol Spritzes and a pulled-pork bap:

Yours Truly

Yours Truly

Alison

Alison enjoying the sun

After a relatively brief stop, we headed home.  Once parked up, didn’t Blue Rex look great?

Blue Rex after DGR2024

Blue Rex after DGR2024

MoT 2023 and the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride

| Richard

We’re approaching MoT anniversary, so I thought I’d get in there early and book the ZRX in for an MoT at a local bike shop, A Force Motorcycles in Aldershot.

I trotted up there yesterday and a thorough MoT test was carried out … with Blue Rex’s first ever failure!

The Clear Alternatives LED rear light illuminates red (and amber with the integrated turn signals) but does not shine white light down onto the numberplate, so it’s a fail. There is what appears to be a small pilot type LED which might perform that function, but the general consensus appears to be that there isn’t one. I may be able to bodge something together, but in the meantime, I rode home and then took off the rear seat cowl – revealing a missing bolt to hold the rear mudguard and under seat plastic in place, so that was replaced. I then disconnected the LED light and refitted the OEM red one (having popped to the local Jet petrol station to get a couple of 21/5W tail/stop lamps) which I keep with all the other OEM parts I’d taken off*.

I also fitted the marginally larger numberplate – I think it’s the same sized font, but just more space around it – which was the other fail item – and then this morning popped back for a free retest and pass certificate.

Mileage this year is 19,621 miles, up 159 miles from last year.

*Now we’ve moved out of London, I’m expecting to do more miles on Blue Rex, such as last weekend’s Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in Guildford & Surrey Hills, so I’ve removed the “spools” and refitted the grab rails for Alison.  Next job is removing the rear sets and refitting the standard footrests.

Here are some photos from the DGR:

Hog's Back Brewery

Photoshoot

| Richard

So with the Spider semi-run-in, a nice day forecast and a model friend, Miss Pixie, staying and shooting with us at ours, it seemed rude not to give the Spider a good clean and then go and take some photos.

We had planned a Thelma & Louise theme to the shoot, but as it turned out it was far too windy for that, sadly, so we opted for getting Ali and Pixie to pose in and around the car anyway. Thank goodness for heated seats too…

As it turned out, the car looked just as beautiful as they did:

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Special Delivery

| Richard

It’s arrived – well, a week ago, but I was in Malta on holiday and then away in the Netherlands on business – so I finally managed to pick up the Abarth 124 Spider this morning from MotorVillage Marylebone.

Roof Down Sitting Pretty Side View Roof Up Side View Roof Up Vettura Numero Sessantanove Rear View, Roof Up

And it’s lovely! Pretty car! A really throaty burble too. Hit the Sport switch and in the wet conditions just as we’d collected it, it was keen to go a little sideways – very controllably. As demanded by friends, we had the theme from the Italian Job playing as we headed down Park Lane and homeward past Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.

It’s now all set up for my gadgets and my stuff is in the stash areas, some of which are hidden from view which is a nice touch.

Planning is already under way for a mountain-based Eurothrash in 2017: with the Alps again like last year in the MX-5 or the Pyrenees like I visited on the ZRX.

End Of An Era

| Richard

So in the absence of an announcement of any release date for the RX Vision, I’ve sold the R3: part-exchanging it for a new Abarth 124 Spider which has now arrived at my dealer.

I’m keeping the personalised registration, so it’s getting transferred over and in the meantime, the RX-8 has been assigned a new registration number and the plates went on today.

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