..unfortunately, it doesn't apply for the bike, but it's not as bad as it could be.. just got some scratches and a bit of plastic missing.
This day started so fantastic with one of the best breakfasts I've ever had. Definitively the best since I started this trip and for sure the best you can get in whole Albania. They didn't stop to bring things.. next to coffee and juice, there was rice cooked in milk with cinnamon, home made butter, jam and honey. Fried egg, cheese, olives, tomatoe and cucumber and a plate with fresh fruits. I was happy that I left out dinner yesterday ;)
So after filling my belly with yummi things, I ventured out towards south. Perfectly blue sky and at laest 30 degrees (I was cooking by only standing next to the bike, but once driving, it felt just perfect). It was planned to ride all the way up on top of a mountain. While being on the paved (boring) road through the valley, I decided spontaneously to drive up a dirt road as it was marked on my GPS and I felt like giving my bike what it deserves! So I rode up many kilometers and drove down on the other side, circeling the mountain and passing through villages that are definitively not used to see tourists on Enduros (always nice when children are waving ;). When I got back on top, I ran in a summer storm with tunder and lightning and while first gambling on just riding through it (first there were only few, but heavy raindrops), I finally gave way to urge of staying dry.. well.. I was already soked and I pictured my things in the back doing no better than I did). So I covered myself all up and continued the way down direction main road. Of course it just changed then to very little rain and it was pretty much in vane to put on all my gear. It was over 50km dirtroad through the mountains, before I got pavement under my wheels again. Had some beef stew at the village belown and checked out a pretty nice (and deep) canyon that runs parallel to the street. As I needed to dry up, I already got rid of all the water proof clothing, but put them back on as I saw some heavy rains ahead. As expected I ran into them, but it was nothing that could have me stopped. The idea was to take some small dirt road from Corovode to Permet, because otherwise I would have to had going back a looong way (that I partly already rode and partly absolutely wanted to avoid). So the dirtroad through a national park in the mountains sounded a lot like fun. Unfortunately turned the rain it into a big slippery mud hole. I don't even know how it happened.. it was so fast (despite I was going barely 20km/h). Probably tires filled with mud, a slight slope and my front wheel bolting (what affected slightly the throttle control). Before I had any chance to react, I dropped the bike and it was so level on the ground that I couldn't lift it up without getting everything off. As it was pouring down, I made haste and threw my bags next the trail, stemmed my back against the bike and lifted it off the ground. First thing was putting in in neutral and check if it would start again. It luckily did! then I had a glance at the bike itself and yes.. there was some minor damage done. Gear lever bent out, deep scratches on the side and two fragments of the side cover broken out. Buhuuu.. it was so so damn shiny nice and looked like new! :'( well.. not anymore :P I myself just got a very small scratch on my knee.. to small to even take a picture of and put it online (in Asia I got some bigger scratches, but even those were just fleshwounds). Yesterday we talked about if you ride a horse and it bucks you off, then you should immediately get back into the saddle and ride it again. If the horse is a 200kg motorbike and your only mean to get yourself and your equipment back to civilization, then replace the "should" with "must" and if you're not able to pick up your bike on your own, then you're screwed anyway :P
So I hopped back on and continued in first gear.. luckily I could still move the gear lever, but I tell you, I didn't take the eyes of the road for a single second and I felt pretty unsecure back again in the saddle. I was sweating big times to drive up these trails that turned into mud rivers. Soon thereafter I laid it down again, but this time it was standing still and I could pick it up without unloading it. Also no further damage was done. My handlebars are slightly tilted to the left, So this is another thing that needs to be fixed. Won't be expensive, but to find another side cover for that bike is almost impossible (or then too expensive to purchase.. I mean, the whole bike was 2000CHF, so I don't intend to put a piece of plastic for 1/10 of the price on it). Well.. shit happens! There are like a hundred things that could have gone wrong and would be rather major than a piece of broken plastic. Still.. hurts my pride and just started to have such a close relationship with my bike. Unfortunately threw away those fragments when I continued after the fall.. couldn't really think straight then, but yes.. true beauty is on the inside they say ;)
so after an hour I relaxed a bit more as the road got better.. drier and covered with gravel. Thanks god, because I wouldn't have know how to get down from that mountain. Riding up is one thing, but riding down a 300kg sled without controls is no fun thing at all! At a certain point I dared again to switch to 3rd gear and was happy that I made it out in one piece (there were plenty of slopes that would have ended this trip and probably all trips ever.
So then I finally hit the mainroad again and happy that just a few more kilometer part my from my final destination. I didn't wear my glasses, as they were covered with mud (normally I have the visor up and just wear glasses). I NEVER close my visor on paved roads.. only if raindrops are hitting my face like little needles or a truck on a dirtroad is wrapping my in a cloud of dust. But this time I felt, it might be a good idea to not catch a 80km/h fast bee with your eye, so I closed my visor. Didn't even take a minute and then a bird flies into my face!!! I made more than 80 000km on the road traveling, but I never ever got hit by a bird! I don't know what happened to it.. I assume something between a headache and a skull fracture, but I'm sure that I would have not only visited a mechanic, but checked in a hospital. Don't want to picture how this would have looked, but it banged so loudly that I'd compare it with a fist battering into your face. Phew.. close call!
Now I'm finally where I wanted to be.. sampling local wine and grappa and having a neat and clean room (still neat but not so clean anymore after I cleaned myself and my gear) in a 3-star hotel for 20 Euros (it helps when you tell them that you don't need a bill ;).
Today it's french that makes my life easier.. yesterday it was English and the day before my broken Italian. Somehow all my languages come in handy in Albania ;) After my italien friends were struggling on the last ride (that was not sooo tought after all), I wonder if they will arrive today at all. If not, I don't blame them. Would have been smarter to go the long way around, but with hindsight you're always smarter. Nothing else to do than getting drunk and watch some TV here. Enough adventures for one day!
This day started so fantastic with one of the best breakfasts I've ever had. Definitively the best since I started this trip and for sure the best you can get in whole Albania. They didn't stop to bring things.. next to coffee and juice, there was rice cooked in milk with cinnamon, home made butter, jam and honey. Fried egg, cheese, olives, tomatoe and cucumber and a plate with fresh fruits. I was happy that I left out dinner yesterday ;)
So after filling my belly with yummi things, I ventured out towards south. Perfectly blue sky and at laest 30 degrees (I was cooking by only standing next to the bike, but once driving, it felt just perfect). It was planned to ride all the way up on top of a mountain. While being on the paved (boring) road through the valley, I decided spontaneously to drive up a dirt road as it was marked on my GPS and I felt like giving my bike what it deserves! So I rode up many kilometers and drove down on the other side, circeling the mountain and passing through villages that are definitively not used to see tourists on Enduros (always nice when children are waving ;). When I got back on top, I ran in a summer storm with tunder and lightning and while first gambling on just riding through it (first there were only few, but heavy raindrops), I finally gave way to urge of staying dry.. well.. I was already soked and I pictured my things in the back doing no better than I did). So I covered myself all up and continued the way down direction main road. Of course it just changed then to very little rain and it was pretty much in vane to put on all my gear. It was over 50km dirtroad through the mountains, before I got pavement under my wheels again. Had some beef stew at the village belown and checked out a pretty nice (and deep) canyon that runs parallel to the street. As I needed to dry up, I already got rid of all the water proof clothing, but put them back on as I saw some heavy rains ahead. As expected I ran into them, but it was nothing that could have me stopped. The idea was to take some small dirt road from Corovode to Permet, because otherwise I would have to had going back a looong way (that I partly already rode and partly absolutely wanted to avoid). So the dirtroad through a national park in the mountains sounded a lot like fun. Unfortunately turned the rain it into a big slippery mud hole. I don't even know how it happened.. it was so fast (despite I was going barely 20km/h). Probably tires filled with mud, a slight slope and my front wheel bolting (what affected slightly the throttle control). Before I had any chance to react, I dropped the bike and it was so level on the ground that I couldn't lift it up without getting everything off. As it was pouring down, I made haste and threw my bags next the trail, stemmed my back against the bike and lifted it off the ground. First thing was putting in in neutral and check if it would start again. It luckily did! then I had a glance at the bike itself and yes.. there was some minor damage done. Gear lever bent out, deep scratches on the side and two fragments of the side cover broken out. Buhuuu.. it was so so damn shiny nice and looked like new! :'( well.. not anymore :P I myself just got a very small scratch on my knee.. to small to even take a picture of and put it online (in Asia I got some bigger scratches, but even those were just fleshwounds). Yesterday we talked about if you ride a horse and it bucks you off, then you should immediately get back into the saddle and ride it again. If the horse is a 200kg motorbike and your only mean to get yourself and your equipment back to civilization, then replace the "should" with "must" and if you're not able to pick up your bike on your own, then you're screwed anyway :P
So I hopped back on and continued in first gear.. luckily I could still move the gear lever, but I tell you, I didn't take the eyes of the road for a single second and I felt pretty unsecure back again in the saddle. I was sweating big times to drive up these trails that turned into mud rivers. Soon thereafter I laid it down again, but this time it was standing still and I could pick it up without unloading it. Also no further damage was done. My handlebars are slightly tilted to the left, So this is another thing that needs to be fixed. Won't be expensive, but to find another side cover for that bike is almost impossible (or then too expensive to purchase.. I mean, the whole bike was 2000CHF, so I don't intend to put a piece of plastic for 1/10 of the price on it). Well.. shit happens! There are like a hundred things that could have gone wrong and would be rather major than a piece of broken plastic. Still.. hurts my pride and just started to have such a close relationship with my bike. Unfortunately threw away those fragments when I continued after the fall.. couldn't really think straight then, but yes.. true beauty is on the inside they say ;)
so after an hour I relaxed a bit more as the road got better.. drier and covered with gravel. Thanks god, because I wouldn't have know how to get down from that mountain. Riding up is one thing, but riding down a 300kg sled without controls is no fun thing at all! At a certain point I dared again to switch to 3rd gear and was happy that I made it out in one piece (there were plenty of slopes that would have ended this trip and probably all trips ever.
So then I finally hit the mainroad again and happy that just a few more kilometer part my from my final destination. I didn't wear my glasses, as they were covered with mud (normally I have the visor up and just wear glasses). I NEVER close my visor on paved roads.. only if raindrops are hitting my face like little needles or a truck on a dirtroad is wrapping my in a cloud of dust. But this time I felt, it might be a good idea to not catch a 80km/h fast bee with your eye, so I closed my visor. Didn't even take a minute and then a bird flies into my face!!! I made more than 80 000km on the road traveling, but I never ever got hit by a bird! I don't know what happened to it.. I assume something between a headache and a skull fracture, but I'm sure that I would have not only visited a mechanic, but checked in a hospital. Don't want to picture how this would have looked, but it banged so loudly that I'd compare it with a fist battering into your face. Phew.. close call!
Now I'm finally where I wanted to be.. sampling local wine and grappa and having a neat and clean room (still neat but not so clean anymore after I cleaned myself and my gear) in a 3-star hotel for 20 Euros (it helps when you tell them that you don't need a bill ;).
Today it's french that makes my life easier.. yesterday it was English and the day before my broken Italian. Somehow all my languages come in handy in Albania ;) After my italien friends were struggling on the last ride (that was not sooo tought after all), I wonder if they will arrive today at all. If not, I don't blame them. Would have been smarter to go the long way around, but with hindsight you're always smarter. Nothing else to do than getting drunk and watch some TV here. Enough adventures for one day!
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen