Route Barrée.  March 2010

Last chance -
One room is available for Lost in the Lakes (Easter weekend)
Two rooms are available for Lost in Les Ardennes (Belgium 28 May - 1 June)
Two rooms are available for Lost on Exmoor ( North Devon 2-6 July)
Contact me quickly if you would like to join us for these Tours
 

Bookings have continued to arrive for all Tours over the last month.  There are two rooms available on the Ardennes Tour  (28 May – 1^st June) and there are rooms available on the Cotswold Tour (14-18 May),the Welsh Tour (17-21 Sept) and the Luxembourg Tour (24-28 Oct.)  As usual, a £50 per person deposit secures a room.

I went to Luxembourg in the middle of Feb and it was very cold.  I plotted three routes and then went up into Belgium where it snowed over night.  Unable safely to get on the backroads I cut my losses and moved up into France.  I plotted three routes there and then contacted the Hotel Rittersprung back in Belgium to see if the weather had improved.  It had not, so I came home early.

The Rittersprung looked fabulous in its wintry setting but I could not risk an accident on isolated foreign roads !

Whilst in France I re-plotted all the routes that I had planned last December and I’m much happier with the results.  I found lots of new roads and interesting things to see.  I came across an automatic potato dispensing machine near Arrest and, since we shall not actually be going that way,
I thought you might like to see the rather splendid sign that advertises this useful facility. ‘Magnifique’ as they say in France. 

Whilst in France I also saw a wind-turbine sail on a truck.  It was enormously long and I could not help but wonder how they ever get them to where they need to go.  By the end of the day 5 trucks, each with a sail on, were parked up together.  Unfortunately, by then, it was too dark to photograph them successfully.

My garage is full of partially dismantled motorcycles and I think I shall struggle to find anything to ride.  With the ultra-cold weather I have been in no mood to get out in the garage to put things back together.  Since Alison and James are coming with me to the Lakes I need to get a move on to revive three bikes to some degree of reliability.  I’ll try to squeeze a fourth into the van too, in case of mechanical derangement. 

Thank you for passing on news about the Tours to prospective new participants.  I’m pleased to say that there is a good mix of regular and new faces this year.  I’ve placed small adverts in the Two Stroke Club, VMCC and AJS/Matchless Club magazines.  The VMCC forgot to print it but the Two Stroke Club printed it twice the size I wanted…you win some…

Now that I have collected deposits, I thought it might be useful if I published a timetable for the payment of the balance for each Tour.  I propose to send out requests at the beginning of the month preceding the Tour.  I am now collecting for the Lakes.  The balance for the Cotswolds will be requested at the beginning of April.  For the Ardennes and French Tours I shall send out the letter at the beginning of May.  I shall request payment for the Devon Tour at the beginning of June.  I’ll collect the Welsh payments at the beginning of August (if I remember amongst the excitement of the West Kent Run.) 
I’ll collect the Luxembourg payments at the beginning of September.

Please continue to try to encourage friends to join us for the Cotswold and Luxembourg Tours.  I hope someone will fill the last rooms in Belgium too.

I shall be pleased to hear from you with any queries you may have

Alan Abrahams 38, Charles Drive, Cuxton.  Rochester  Kent ME2 1DR 01634-710036 simplywizard@hotmail.com or gettinglost@hotmail.co.uk