We are in France, and we know a brilliant workshop here from our last visit to Briancon (Nico Moto), so what could be more obvious than having the Transalp’s damaged footrest fixed here?
So we have an early breakfast because we want to be at Nico’s early. Nevertheless, we end up in a row behind a Swiss rider who has a clutch problem and shortly after us come two Bavarians who have completely damaged the tyre casing on a Tenere. No surprise in this environment 😉
By chance, Nico is joined by a local visitor who speaks perfect English – which, from experience, is extremely unusual. The explanation: he is an adventure traveller with a motorbike and tows us off to help us personally from his spare parts store. Without further ado, he changes the right footrest of a VFR motorbike at his home. He doesn’t want any money, he would even buy us lunch, but it’s 10:30 and we want to catch up with the group again. And so we are back on the road after about 30 minutes. Merci et au revoir Claude!
We skip the Izoard and only rejoin the group’s planned route at the Col de Vars. However, the rest of the group is travelling fast and we only manage to catch up with them by taking a diversion via the Col de Bonette, where we wait in Jausiers for them to rejoin us. And so we manage to reunite the group and ride together through the Val de Ubaye to the reservoir at Embrun.
We refuel before crossing the bridge over the lake and then try to make our way towards Ociers, avoiding the main road to Gap.
Unfortunately, we are only partially successful, but we will solve the puzzle in the next few days.
When we arrive in Ociers, WIMA members guide us to the hostel and campsite.
The first tents are already up and the first familiar faces can already be seen. There are also 3 other WIMA-Austria members (one has travelled directly from Morocco)
After a few bonjour, hello, servus, ciao, the next hour is spent setting up the tent and making the (room) cosy.
It is pleasantly warm and so we explore the grounds and chat until the start of the evening event in the marquee.
The opening of the rally begins with a short speech, then a meal that keeps us busy until around 23:00, followed by a general session and an introduction to the week’s programme.
We finish at relatively exactly midnight and a long day ends relatively chilly.
It’s a good thing that we’ve packed our thick sleeping bags based on our experience in Switzerland. So nothing stands in the way of a good night’s sleep.
Weather: sunny and warm
Distance: 258km