Deploy the poncho.

Last night was spent with a fantastic Bavarian family I met while I was serving in Jordan.  We arrived to a very warm welcome and, after a shower to take the edge off our not so delicate motorbike musk, a local beer.  We chatted and caught up during the evening and picked out hosts brain for good routes for today’s ride then headed for bed.

This morning, over a continental breakfast including honey from a hive about 20 meters from where we were sitting, James and I agreed that last night’s sleep was not only needed but one of the best of the trip.  After breakfast we helped clear up, said our good-byes and started towards the Freudenstadt.

We had planned for today to be short in order to position us at the start of the B500 (aka Schwazwaldhochstraße) which winds its way through the Black Forrest and is famous for being, in part, an old motorcycle race track.

I'm sure it says "Get your knee down here." in German.

We rode out of Bavaria on lovely open country roads through some spectacular scenery and made good time before our first fuel and coffee stop.  After a quick fill we were on the move again, ready to push on until the bikes were running on fumes.  That was the plan anyway….

A simple little orange light on Special Ks dash put a stop to that.  The thirsty old girl wanted some oil.  I took the opportunity to check the Triumph and found her to be low as well, with the bike maintenance done we moved off towards lunch in Tuttlingen. 

More roadside motorcycle maintenance.

Once again we failed to uphold the rough biker image and had a simple lunch in an Italian restaurant.

With tummies and tanks full we left to cover the final 2 hours to Freudenstadt and a local camp site. 

The first place we tried wouldn’t let us leave before 7:30am which is no good for us so we moved off to another.  This one is on top of a hill overlooking the town but is a bit further from the B500.  They also have a set departure time that doesn’t work for us.  However, the barrier has a gap just large enough for a bike to fit through so we’ve paid in advance and will leave when it suits us.

In the meantime the weather has taken a turn for the worse and most of today saw the temperature hovering around the low to mid-teens with short showers and ever present black clouds.  Finally, as we set up out tents the heavens opened and everything that wasn’t covered was instantly soaked.  It was time to deploy the poncho and give ourselves some cover to cook and administrate ourselves.  Now its blog and route planned before an early bed.

Wet and getting cold.  Time for a brew then.