Landstuhl - Gent Belgium
No riding pictures but we did venture into Gent and get a couple of snaps then on the the B&B. We were concerned that we were too early and with the location being so quiet, would they be okay with bikes?
We needn't have worried, the owner was out in his workshop setting up the carbs on his old Suzuki bandit and trying to fix the knock sensor on a Pan European. He showed us his Honda Fire Storm and prized "Show Pony" a very customised and immaculate Harley Road King.
Then he gave us a lift to his favourite local restaurant and wouldn't accept any cash for doing it, I got a couple of snaps on the walk back.
Day 14 was the most dangerous ride of the trip, I nearly got taken out by a black Mercedes van... Yeah we were back in the UK
All done!
Bike washed
AMAZING!!!
I need to do more trips like this in the future but need more money, petrol is cheap here compared to most of Europe and good food is not cheap, just sticking to bottled water is not a cheap thing either.
The fridge did overheat once in France so I already have a plan to fix that, fit some fans to force air through and paint the top box lid a more heat reflective colour than Black, thankfully I had the forethought to sandwich the sensitive drug between cool packs so it survived the fridge getting to 19°c briefly, as soon as I got the box open the fridge could shed the heat and started cooling down again.
The SHAD panniers are just not big enough for a trip like this and the aerodynamic/attractive shape means they can be hard to pack... A box shaped box works better when the panniers are all you can use, the tail pack was my dirty work pack containing the chain, chain cleaning and lube kit and my waterproofs.
The bike did well overall, it used oil and water but never skipped a beat but was not comfortable for long days and the cooling fan got a major workout, I have a solution in mind.
