French Revolution Day Trip July 2010
French Revolution day was fast approaching, previous years ride was great, but Chilled had promised us a revised route this year and we were all eager to see what route changes he had made. I was to be TEC for this ride and the number of riders was down a bit from 2009, so would we be using 2nd man drop off system, or the “Do not lose the man in front of you” system? Final briefing at Folkestone would determine.
The riders this year were Chilled (leading), Easyrider (Tec), Fatharry, Sherman, Kontiki and Jodiste (based in Brussels). With the exception of Jodiste (he was meeting up with us at Calais), we were to assemble at Eurotunnel for 06.15 for Koffeee (Josiah style) and briefing. Sherman and Kontiki had stayed the previous night in Folkestone, so no worries for them about early rising, for my part I was up at 03.00am, walked Joe, my English Springer and quietly exited the driveway astride my trusty Pan European, which was fully kitted out with top box and empty panniers, I was under strict instructions to call at Auchan Hypermarket in Calais and return with no less than 12 bottles of Mrs Easyrider’s favourite bubbly……late the previous day, a cry had gone out from Jodiste for someone to get him some Tetleys green tea pure (impossible to get in Brussels) so I duly obliged by getting some from Tesco’s, with wifeys shopping list and Jodiste’s tea on board I was beginning to feel a bit like a Tesco on line delivery driver….what the heck all in the line of Club community service….
Showers had been forecast for the day but I decided it looked okay to do the run to Folkestone without putting on waterproofs, I road through a couple of light showers, nothing worth stopping for so pushed on for a much needed coffee and breakfast. At the Eurotunnel entrance I spotted a fast moving Triumph Tiger with Fatharry on board, a welcome sight indeed, at least I knew there would be at least one other riding companion. We both checked in and made our way to the car park and Café/Shop area…great there was Chilled sucking on his customary roll up….now we were three. Shortly after we were joined by Kontiki and Sherman and breakfast commenced. We decided we would not use the drop off system, but if things started to go awry then we would re-group and use it.
At customs Chilled was directed to the drug sniffing brigade, and Kontiki was asked if we were all together, as we were not all required to go through the check, but in true “Knights” Style he announced all for one and one for all, so we rode through the customs check area and surprise, surprise…we came up clean !!!!
The trip through the tunnel was smooth and uneventful, on exit of the tunnel at Calais, right on cue there was Jodiste relaxing in the service station, drink in hand and our cue for more Koffeee ( Josiah style). I handed over the Green Tea (to lighten my load, hehehe), and re-fuelled both with petrol and coffee we started the ride proper.
The weather was turning out to be perfect riding weather, the group were all riding equally as fast and the roads were great to ride, clear of traffic and with nice fast twisty bits.
The group continued to ride in nice fast formation, it was obvious we were not going to need the drop off system today.
The route was proving to be spot on, we stopped at Agincourt for Coffee Au Lait (that’s French style this time) and a toasted Ham and cheese sandwich….perfect. On to Le Touquet for lunch. On the approach to town the traffic got quite heavy and I just spotted Jodiste going straight on instead of turning left…….seems the now sunny weather had enticed him to head for the south of France instead of taking a lunch break…Lol.
We were soon re-grouped and parked. Restaurant selected we settled down to a good meal and some lively conversation. Kontiki was on his second major ride with his newly acquired BMW K 1300 GT SE and he was reminding us just how good he was finding the bike…mmmmmmm..I was getting seriously interested and vowed to organise a road test of one when I got back (this did happen and the test can be seen in the review section).
After lunch we all proceeded to the beach, stopping en-route for a delicious Ice Cream,
(see the pics in the gallery). The weather was improving all the time and we decided to strike out for Calais, with stops at Boulogne -sur- Mer and Cap Griz Nez.
Again we were riding fantastic roads, not always technical and twisty, but always interesting. Chilled had put together a fantastic ride and it was going seamlessly. We arrived at Boulogne-sur-Mer and stopped in the nice cobbled square, the outside café’s are in abundance here and it has masses of parking space for the bike’s. There is a Church opposite and we saw people exiting from a wedding which had just taken place, the couple looked happy…..wonder how long that will last, hehehe…. We ordered Coke and Orangina drinks and noticed a gathering of females, two distinct groups and among one of them was a Donkey….no not a real one, but a very attractive young lady in a Donkey costume, hanging round her back was a water pistol in the shape of a mans wedding tackle, fair size testicles and a huge penis….what the heck was this all about……we were soon to find out.
The Donkey approached, followed by her entourage, it seems this is some local custom for soon to be Wed young ladies, you either give them a kiss or get a squirt from the Penis….a no brainer really…we all took advantage and had two kisses each…well satisfied the Donkey moved on to other surrounding tables, schoolboy humour ensued but abruptly ceased when the second group of females arrived….no Donkey this time…shame…but hold on…same scenario, young lady soon to be Wed, but slightly different custom. We were required to write our name and telephone number in ink on an exposed part of the young lady’s anatomy and in return we would get a kiss….this was proving to be interesting. After some explanation from the lady in question we duly wrote name and phone numbers and collected our kisses, once the girls had moved off we opened a book as to who would get the first phone call, Chilled became odds on favourite as most of us had used his name and phone number, not phased by this Chilled announced it was alright by him, as this would be the first time he had scored in quite a while…heehehehe. One who shall remain nameless, suggested if we sat there for a while longer things could escalate from a kiss to a shag…Lol….not being into exhibitionism we declared it time to move on.
Cap Griz Nez was cloaked in late afternoon sun, and the road out and back from this point is sheer joy. It was at Cap Griz Nez we said our farewells to Jodiste, he was riding straight on to Brussels. We rode to Auchan and I duly stocked up on SWMBO’s bubbly (thanks for waiting guys). The train ride to Folkestone was relaxing and we all said our farewells before dis-embarkation, It had been a long day and we were all striking directly for home.
A long day, but boy what a great day. I was so impressed with the fast, tight group riding that persisted throughout the entire day. The company was better than excellent and the humour unsurpassed. Chilled managed to make a fantastic ride even better, gonna be hard to top this one, but in true “Knights” tradition we will try. Roll on next years French Day Trip. Big, Big thanks to all, and remember…
RIDE SAFE…………ENJOY YOUR RIDE………KEEP GOOD COMPANY.
Easyrider 07/07/2010
