Sunday 16th May 2010 continued
So...we`ve left the rally and are on the road again....destination Verdun.
The day is bright...and getting brighter as we leave the valley.
I`ve said it two or three times now,but these roads in the 'Parc Nationale Regional Des Ballons' are absolutely incredible.
Narrow forest roads,good surfaces,bend after bend like a plate of spaghetti.
You can smell the trees..the air is fresh and crisp and it`s an incredible biking experience.
Even on a combo it`s thoroughly enjoyable...although it did raise one important observation about our Urals being 'The Wrong Way Round' .
What side the sidecar is one doesn`t matter...as that just decides which turn takes a bit more awareness than the other.
Our right handers were a bit easier than the French guys ones...their left handers were a bit easier than ours,and so on.
BUT...and a big BUT....was that our combos being set up with the 'toe-in' of the sidecar and the 'lean out' of the bike in the most suitable adjustment for UK road camber meant that with us riding on the right hand side of the road, the rider was 'down in the gutter' and the sidecar was slightly high.
Not a problem on most roads...slightly noticeable but no cause for concern... but on the quite markedly cambered single track forest roads and mountain cols it sometimes made for a bit of a workout and certainly sharpened the reflexes on some lefthanders!!
We could of course have adjusted our tie rods to alter the posture of the combo,and maybe I will do next time I`m 'Sur le Continent'...but it just added to the perversion of our trip and gave a few giggles on some bends,heh heh.
Good job Mr. Intense hadn`t thought of that tie rod one.....although some of his friends had devised a scheme whereby they`d have pre-marked adjuster rods and just spin from 'French setting' to 'UK setting' when they got off the boat!
The roads were so traffic free and the riding was so enjoyable that (unusually) I didn`t want to stop to take photos,even when a few snow capped peaks hove into view around a bend....I wish I had now.
I once slowed down to find a good place to stop and take a photo,but the moment was lost and I carried on.
Peter commented on this as he had the same thoughts about a few nice snowy mountain photos but he rode on when I accelerated away.
With the benefits of 20/20 hindsight I really do wish I`d stopped,but hey,there`s always next time...and what a great excuse to go back.
Likewise,on the final and wonderfully scenic Meuse Valley ride along the 'D' roads to Verdun,there were a few colourful photo opportunities but I didn`t stop there either....it was an area of bright yellow rapeseed fields and rolling green hills with the river below...it would have made for a couple of nice pics but maybe a bit of that 'Slightly tired and just want to arrive' syndrome had come into play?
The other thing was that although the colours and scenery were fabulous,it really looked very much like almost any country ride in the UK.
Along this section I had a feeling of serendipity.
Before this trip I wondered how much I`d miss my solo bikes which I`d blasted across Europe on....belting along those big Autoroutes and riding for tankful after tankful...stopping only for Peage booths and service stations.
Then hooning round the cols and scraping my stands or footpegs in the bends,etc etc.
How frustrated might I be at 60-65mph max?
How much would I miss leaning the bike over?
How irksome would it be having to consider the nature of some roads as opposed to the Ural`s suitabilty?
Those and several other things had crossed my mind but i wanted to see how European travelling was on a Ural combo.
You know what ?
My feeling was that at last I`d found my perfect Continental tourer!
I wasn`t feeling achey or fatigued...wasn`t feeling stressed.
No concerns at that 'squaring off ' of the tyres which ends up happening on long distance rides on a solo....after all,the more square a combo tyer is,the better.
Absoloutely no hassle or frustration loading up and carrying things.
The lower speeds meant more chance to see things and enjoy my surroundings...and what the heck was there a need to rush for anyway?
Nope....this was a wonderful machine to Euro tour with and I`ll be doing more !
On the more open sections and the bigger roads through the day,there was once again that quite significant gap between Peter and I ... yet with me not really exceeding 60mph at any point,but him definately travelling a fair bit slower than Dee`s sweet spot which was approximately 58mph.
I wasn`t annoyed by this and definetely wasn`t going to get distracted by it,but was still a bit curious as to why anyone would want to attempt decent distances on almost traffic free roads at seemingly less than 50mph.
Anyway.....Verdun hove into view.
As I said,I`d had a pleasant stay in a nice quiet hotel there the year before,so said to Peter that I`d try and find it.
I couldn`t remember the name of the hotel,or the road it was on,but could remember it being near a small archway around the corner from the posh riverside bars and restaurants.
Accordingly I followed the 'Centre Ville' signs until I could spot the river,then headed for the 'posh bit'.
I leaped for joy when I recognised the area and found the narrow road leading to the archway that I`d remembered.
And I was even more chuffed when I found the hotel !
Not only were two rooms available....but Peter got one with a bath tub!!
So he was happy then.
Our wallets were happy too,as a nice en suite room with breakfast worked out at only 55 Euros each.
You can`t help loving France when after years of stuffy and snotty UK hotel staff,you ask in a French hotel if there is suitable parking for the bike.
Sometimes I`ve had the manager or the staff help me get a solo bike in the hotel reception...next to the counter!
One time a hotel manager got a nextdoor doctor to open his private fenced off driveway for my bike to be secured there!
Outside this particular hotel in Verdun was a narrow residential street with payable parking bays,but the lady said 'Just park outside the cafe next door to the hotel...on the pavement...it`ll be okay'.
Such a difference....great stuff.
This was today`s kilometerage for anyone sat at home calculating it throughout my tale.
Peter went off to do his 'Rub a dub dub...a Uraller in a tub' thing and I had a nice refreshing shower prior to going for a walkabout.
Verdun has always fascinated me through my interest in matters World War One related...over the years I`ve toured a fair bit of the former Western Front line and read about the pummeling the towns,cities and countryside received....to say nothing of the human losses.
Verdun wasn`t much more than a demolition site after the war but was comprehensively rebuilt to 'better than new' condition afterwards,and in some cases either almost singlehandedly or by small groups.
The archway that we`d been heading for on the way in was in memory of the return to good and the efforts put into it.
I think it was an original gateway to the city and it still had its drawbridge sections and massive counterweight chains attached...very impressive, and the plaques made for some sobering reading too.
Our hotel is just in the background and visible through the left hand archway.
Here are the massive counterweight chains for the drawbridges....
Further around the block and along the riverbank was an even more impressive archway.....the roadway led into the town itself.
This next one`s a bit dark,sorry...it was the clash of bright sunlight and shadowed areas...but this is taken more or less walking into the town from that archway above.
The spotless and litter free walkway led to an impressive bank of stone steps that in turn took you high above the buildings and shops....to a large war memorial equipped with some old cannons.
There was a museum inside this monument but sadly it was closed for the evening.
This war monument was actually in memory of soldiers from both World War One and World War Two...quite unusual in France as they usually seem to be individually dedicated.
Here`s a view along the river,taken from a point just opposite the large tower type archway above and to the side of the monument above.
To the right of the fountains is a selection of very good restaurants and small bars..this is where we gorged ourselves on a rather large meal each,and very enjoyable it was too!
Despite looking a tad expensive,the prices were very reasonable and the only snag was choosing from the great variety available.
Being on holiday...and being in France..I naturally had to start with a large plate of Burgundy snails in garlic butter....delicious!
And talking of snails...you`re not in France until you`ve seen a Citroen 2CV !!
Another alcohol fuelled evening ensued....and so did another discussion about Ural final drive gear ratios.....and feelings of over revving.
We again discussed how he was in a perfect situation of being able to swap items over from his solo at home to experiment with at no cost.
Hmmm,I started to wonder again about why Peter felt this was happening.....
We also discussed the next day`s plans,as we could really get into chilled out holiday mode now...because we weren`t actually sailing until 10.30pm on Tuesday 18th.
Effectively, we had another two days remaining.
(To be continued ... )
, characters indeed! Well done Tarka 
