Mon Jun 1 : AMT Day 3 [ride] Aix-en-Provence → Cevennes NP (5h10m 281km)
Breakfast was very good. Kathi had an egg that she didn't realize that she needed to boil first, so she cracked a raw egg onto her plate.
We got to the bikes and did our briefing, but about 20 minutes late. Tomash scolded us for not getting out on time. Hopefully we won't waste sleep time by waiting for laggards.
As we rode away from the hotel, we waited at a light on a hill and I applied the rear brake. On taking off, the rear brake did not disengage. At first it felt like I had a flat tire, but then the brake applied harder and harder until it took a lot of engine power to move the rear wheel. I got the bike onto the sidewalk and waited for the truck. After 10 minutes, I started the bike and the brake was still locked. 15 minutes later when the truck arrived, it seemed fine. There was a little bit of rear brake drag, but otherwise it was reasonably free. Then I rode it maybe 200 meters more and it locked up again. Tomash traded with is R1300GS and we rode about a block before he declared the bike useless. The rest of the group went on while we waited for the truck again to get the F800GS that was dropped the previous day. The brake light is permanently on and the front brake lever is short, but the bike is useable and in fact better than the F900XR. Unfortunately, the bike in the truck did not come with the bike key in the truck, so we had to wait another half hour for the truck to go back to the hotel and come back with the key. We got going at 10:40am and started following the GPS to catch up with the group at Pont du Gard.
Kathi and I made good time riding by ourselves and caught the group just as they were finishing their morning coffee stop.
TBD 10 coffee story
St. Remy tree-lined lanes
Caught up to them at Pont du Gard
Long lunch
Absolutely fabulous ride 150km on xxx and yyy from there.
