Travel pages

This morning, after my morning shower, I packet my luggage and loaded it on the BMW in the hotel garage. Then I went to the restaurant for breakfast.
I packed an extra chocolatebread in a napkin for later in the morning and at a few minutes before eight AM I left the hotel garage on my way to Paris.

When I was outside, I had a great view on the church on the mountaintop in the morning light. It is an amazing building and some day I will come back here to spend more time to visit some of the historical buildings.

Amazing building

Yesterday, I could not find a gasstation that I could pay with Euro's or a normal creditcard so I asked the lady at the hotel receptiondesk if she knew a gasstation that would accept money. She did know one and it was only a few streets away from the hotel. I got a small map of Le Puy en Velay where she showed me te address. This morning I went there to fill my tank for my trip North.

The gasstation in Le Puy en Velay

When I arrived at the gasstation at eight, they were just opening it for the day so I was the first customer. I used 9.06 liter for 219.9 km.

After I filled my tank, I moved the bike away from the pumps and lubricated my chain with the spraycan. I had adjusted it before I left home and at Roberts place and sprayed it everyday with the special chain-oil. I am afraid that it is worn out.

Until now the weather was rather good but now it was drizzling and the roads were slippery. Sometimes on roundabouts, I felt my tires sliding a bit. Not nice!

After a short ride, just outside Le Puy en Velay, I saw the sun breaking through the clouds and shining on a fortress. It was a very nice view.

A fortress in the sunrays

The clouds were hanging low this morning so the view was not to great. It was raining now and then and the temperature was much lower then the past days. The roads were nice to ride anyway but I had to drive very careful because of slippery patches of road.

Low rain clouds

Around half past eleven AM, I decided it was time for a coffee break so I parked the bike in front of a café to get a "café au lait", a coffee with milk.
Fortunately, the rain had stopped so before I left, I put my rain overall in my tankbag.

Coffee break on route D906

Shortly after the coffeebreak, I made another stop at a gasstaion in Le Puy Guillaume and got 5,49 liter in my tank to fill it again (143,7 km)

At half past twelve, while riding on the route N7 I saw a big sign "Relais Calmos Motards". That sounded like a resting place for bikers so I followed the sign, took exit 47 of the N7 and ended up at a big tent with a lot of bikes parked in front of it. (GPS Coordinates: N46° 32' 17.68", E3° 22' 38.62")

Allier Relais Calmos Boulodrome d'Yzeure

I found out that this was a service of the French Motorcyclist association (FFMC) to support visitors of the Bol d'or race on the circuit of Nevers Magny-Cours.
Here they offered free drinks, visor cleaning, relax areas, toilettes, showers, sleeping room, mechanical intervention and a survival blanket offered to the first 2000 visitors. I was one of the first 2000 so I got a survival blanket!
I cleaned my visor, got a sticker, a ham sandwich and two cups of coffee and it was al for free ! A very nice surprise.
When I walked back to the bike I had a conversation with an elderly Frenchman. He had seen my North Cape stickers on the bike. We had a nice conversation with the limited French I can speak. I have to learn to speak better French some day.

Here I was drinking coffee and cleaning my visor

Near the circuit, the road itself looked like a circuit with strawbales on the guardrails in the corners and lots of sportbikes on the road.

A road like a circuit

Because I had a long way to go today, I decided to get on the freeway to make some progress. From the freeway I saw a very beautiful castle so I left at the next exit and took some pictures of the castle. It was just past Le Charité sur Loire.

Nice castle with vineyards

Just past two o'clock while riding on the A77.60 km North of the Magny-Cours race circuit, I need to refuel so I stopped at a big Total gasstation "Relais des Vignobles". Beside the gas station is another Relais Calmos Motards. (GPS Coordinates: N47° 9' 22.90", E3° 2' 58.74")
While I parked my bike, a French rider who was leaving, dropped his bike while turning it out of its parking space. A lot of bikers helped to put the bike back on its wheels and fortunately there was not much damage.
I got a cup of coffee and a biscuit after I filled my tank and then I was on the road again.
I used 7.57 liter for 194.4 km,

Another Relais Calmos Motards

After a while I left the freeway again to ride on some more interesting roads. Then I saw a very nice big house. The kind of house thet I would love to live in ! I needs some paint (but so does my house) but it is very nice and very big with a big garden. Now I just have to win the lottery

This is the kind of house I would love to live in

When I got closer to Paris, the roads were busier and less interesting so the last kilometers were boring but at just before five PM I arrived at the hotel in Lagny sur Marne. Before I got to the hotel, I filled my tank at the Esso gasstation so I could leave with a full tank on Sunday morning. (7.43 liter and 201 km)

When I was at the receptiondesk of the hotel, they asked €53 for a room but then I complained that I had payed €45 a few days ago. The lady explained it was because my first reservation was by internet but I could get the room for €45 now.

I unloaded the bike, put everything in my room and parked the bike on the veranda between the two buildings. Just when I had the bike under the roof, it started to rain......

My BMW on the veranda

The previous time I was here, I had found a MacDonalds close to the hotel so today I had a BigMac, a salad and a Cola Zero for dinner with a MacFlurry as dessert.

After dinner I walked back to the hotel and had a coffee in the hotel bar. Then I went to my room, updated my travel log and went to bed.