EPILOGUE

The trip, for me, was the realisation of a dream that I had harboured for many years. Back in the 70’s, I worked for what is now known as B.T. Andy McCormack, a friend of mine was planning an epic trip. He was to fly to San Francisco with his then girlfriend, now wife, Jean. He had taken his four week leave entitlement for the year, carried two weeks over from the previous year and was allowed to anticipate one week from the following year making 7 weeks in total. His request to be allowed to anticipate a couple of days 'sick' was not allowed.

He bought a Harley in San Fransisco and rode it back to New York. They flew back home and awaited the bike which followed by sea. I was green with envy. It was the late 70’s and I had a young family and commitments that made such thoughts pipe-dreams. I don’t care too much for Harleys but I feel that this trip has given me the same stupid grin that Mac had when he got home.

Leslie, Henry’s wife voiced concern, over dinner in Ayomonte, over how Henry and I had got on considering, as she put it “that you are two Alpha Males” (pass the bananas, please Henry).

Well, I have to say that we never argued once. We may have disagreed about which route to take and Bill and I did make a sport out of suggesting one thing and waiting for Henry to go for the exact opposite, as is his wont; but that was all good fun. Personally, I class it as some sort of achievement. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have at least one argument on holiday!

People “umm and ahh” about whether they should fit crash bars onto their Enfields. Let me tell you, regardless of the amount of protection they offer when you slip off, the crash bars make getting the bike upright again a much more practical proposition. I personally have had two friends who lost a leg in bike accidents. I don’t know that crash bars would have prevented their loss but I can’t see that they would have made it any worse.

Would I do it all again? You bet. With one or two provisos:

1. I wouldn’t look to cover as many miles in as many days. It’s OK doing 2 – 300 miles in a day but you should then enjoy the local environment for a day, or two.

2. I took enough changes of clothes for a clean change every day without having to wash anything until I got back. Big mistake. When your luggage space is restricted, you can plan to need no more than 3 changes of clothing for however long you go; washing as required.

3. Get a GOOD camp site book or even two. France has a good network of Municipal sites that are as cheap as chips.

4. Keep the numbers down. The more people you have, the less progress you will make each day.

5. Have a plan B. Always take out some good holiday insurance with repatriation. Mine, with the A.A. cost me £97. In the event of breakdowns that couldn’t be fixed, they would ship the bike back, give me a hire car to carry on and provide £45 per night for the remaining holiday as additional expenses. It would almost have been worth breaking down.

6. And finally, if Bill’s going, make sure he’s in the middle.



This trip wouldn't have been the same without my two Amigos and I thank them for their companionship and their support.

Also, to have somewhere "solid" to aim for with the comfort of a roof and a hot meal and good company makes the trip easier on the sanity. For this I thank Mike, Jan and Brendan.

The hospitality and interest in our travels shown by Bart and his family were most welcome; thank you all.

Finally, thank you for reading this and please feel free to leave any comments that you may have.

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