It was a chance to give the mighty breva a shakedown ride
Find any little creaks or groans the need attention
Before this year’s UK and Europe tour.
It was a sunny day in London.
A run to Cambridge called.
Cambridge the University town.
On the river
And what I always like
Something a little quirky.
What biker can resist the high passes
In the clouds
By the icy glaciers
The winding roads up the mountain passes
The cobble stoned old San Gotthard pass my favourite of all
Crowned with its mountain eagle monument
And on a clear day the lakes, an amazing blue, pay tribute to the sky above them.
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind blow always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rains fall soft upon your fields
Until we meet again
So goes the old Irish Blessing.
Ireland, the soft green place of damp air, great learning, amazing friendliness and intense struggle
The Irish diaspora spread all around the world
The contrasts of Ireland so stark
From the halls of Trinity College
To the murals that are are a record of the troubles found in Derry
And of course the contrast is an actual divide
The north and the south, the Republic and the British
Can this divide be overcome?
People of good will can achieve anything
And on the border of Derry and Donegal bikers from both of the border come together to raise funds for a lifeboat in a little village in the Republic
By Brest in Brittany I realised nearly 10,000 km of mainly mountain riding had taken its toll on the front tyre
The left hand side had totally worn out.
But it was holiday time in France.
The Moto Guzzi dealer was shut for holidays.
The big parts store had a tyre but the mechanic was on holidays.
I was searching my phone to find another store
Then divine intervention
This young lady comes out of the store and says “follow me”
Who was I to argue as she climbed onto he Kwaka 1000.
She let me around the back streets of Brest to the Kawasaki dealer
The only shop that was open over the holiday period.
It was kisses all around. A bit of quick French I didn’t understand
Then I was told to take the bike into the workshop and choose the tyre I wanted.
Had to have the pirelli angel to match the divine intervention
The weapon
Nicely sharpened by being dragged behind a wedding car
Then fallen off on the road to await its victim
The victim
The mighty breva II
The sharpened chain slashed the tyre and flew up breaking the rear lens and numberplate cover
Need for rescue
Wow now wasn’t that wise to buy European recovery insurance.
The heroes
Pete and Vikki, fellow guzzista who run a BnB in France
Pete also runs Reboot Guzzi Spares
So wonderful Carole Nash agreed to put me in a hotel for the night and transport myself and the mighty breva the 200 odd km to Pete and Vikki’s Fortified Farm.
Which was my intended destination.
Pete had a near new tyre off a breva in his shed and a lens in stock.
So the next day the might breva was ready to roll. But I was not ready to leave Vikki’s fabulous food and the fantastic company quite yet.
One of the reasons you own a Guzzi was encapsulated in Pete’s words when I thanked him for all his help.
“well we are all part of the Guzzi family.”
As it turned out another guzzista from Melbourne arrived that night. 15,000 from home in the middle of France I was drinking red wine with a bloke that lives just the other end of Melbourne from me.
Its a small but special guzzi world.
