Thursday, June 3, 2010

Classic-Bike-Camp...

The next morning we had about 250 miles to go and this would be at our planned destination of Classic-Bike-Camp.  I should note that this trip was planned using almost exclusively D-routes (District routes) which are essentially country roads, sometimes only one lane wide, cutting through the French country side.  These roads are beautiful and you really get to see the rural side of France which is considerable as France is predominantly a rural country.  At times we used the N-routes (National routes) that allowed better time but at no time did we use the Auto-routes which are all toll roads. 

We arrived at Classic-Bike-Camp around 2:30 pm that day (5 ½ hours on the road).  Both Ray and I liked the timing - arrive at our camps in the early afternoons, set up camp and relax from the days travel.  This worked out perfectly for us and we never got too tired or wasted for the next days travel. 

The camp site was fantastic.  John and Helena own a large French country house and has about 4 acres (his back yard) for camping.  John, 60 and retired, is a motorcycle enthusiast and decided to build the camp ground for bikers to enjoy their stay in the area.  We were made to feel right at home and set up camp.  John showed us around the area which included tables and chairs, a pool, covered cooking area with stove, fridge, pots, pans, towels, sink and just about everything else you might need to have a comfortable stay.  Also, large bathrooms with showers and also towels, soap, etc…  Roy and I commented that if we had forgotten anything in packing for our trip, it was all located here for our use.  Great hospitality.  I believe that John did this just to have somebody stop by on bikes he can talk too.  His house is a mansion and he also has one in the UK.  Later, he took us to his shop where we works on his bikes,  He showed us three Triumphs he had restored including one Triumph Tiger cub which was an exact duplicate of my first bike I had bought in 1964 from Judy Fish’s dad.  I bought this while I was still in high school with no drivers license and took it into my basement, took every nut and bolt apart with the help of Bernie who helped prep it to be painted and put it back together in perfect timing for my new driving license.  It had a flakey electrical system and leaked oil but I loved that bike and it was the start of a long love affair with motorcycles.  I thought it was very apropos that on this trip I get to see my first bike again. 

That night, we had another great night’s sleep.  Funny, but the birds there sang all night including a cuckoo that I could hear off in the distance.  John let us park the bikes under cover that night and he told us that he would provide us with a bar-b-que the next day when we returned from our visit to Oradour-sur-Glane.



Below is a view of the countryside near our tent.

The next morning we had breakfast bars and Roy had brought a small cooker so had water for tea.  We checked the bikes out and everything was good, ready for another day.  This day was primarily the reason for the trip.  

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