So we started out on Friday the 19th of September, bags packed, Guinea Pig in his own personal pocket in my luggage and headed from Nottingham down to Dover to stay the night in a dodgy B&B before boarding the ferry the next morning.
We landed in Dunkerque, got really lost trying to follow GPS through closed towns and roadworks and eventually started our trip proper through Belgium and down into Germany. The MV Augusta travelling with us decided to dump most of it's coolant, so we stopped somewhere in a big forest and the boys found some guys working on a car that helped them with the stuff they needed to fix it. We also met the cutest little puppy there, it was roughly the same size as PB Guinea Pig...I'll update if I can grab a pic of him off one of the others.
We eventually all made it to Sliders Guest House for a slap up BBQ dinner, a cuddle with Daisy the huge dog and a nice, hot shower. We dumped our luggage off so we could have a ride round the Eifel region and the Nurburgring, so Guinea Pig had to move to under the seat on the 848! At least it's warm under there.
The roads were stunning, the most perfect biking roads we've ever had the pleasure of riding on. After getting dizzy round so many hairpin bends, we stopped for a breather. Guinea Pig came out to have a sit on the MV, but our mate Stumpy, with a GSXR1000 made him road kill, poor little fella.
From there it was down to a beautiful old town called Cochem, then back up to the Nurburgring, where we rode the most dangerous ride ever! Cars and bikes on a one way road, all trying to go quickly together is not the best plan ever, especially when you're the fargile biker that doesn't know where the hell they're going, whilst trying to avoid massive Porsches drifting round the corners! Guinea Pig checked out the safety instructions and met a couple of stars, Bren (broken and on a crutch, but still at the 'Ring!) and Sabine.
From there we rode back to Sliders, packed the luggage back on the bikes and rode to Spa Francorchamps for the trackday the following day. It was a bit cold and misty, only a couple of us knew the track previous to this trip and we were all very aware of being on our road bikes, on road tyres, so take it steady and enjoy was order of the day. Apart from with Paul on the MV, who decided that big lean, fast speeds and an unknown track would be the ideal place to try and set a new lap record! It didn't end well...
Luckily Guinea Pig was on hand to advise and it was soon patched up enough to ride again. We had a garage next door to Ducati Brussels, so the furry little chap sneaked a quick sit on a Desmosedici, cheeky devil!
That was the last big event. From there we headed back through the rain on the motorway, on the ferry and trudged home up the busy English roads with the rude, dangerous and impatient drivers that we'd escaped by being in Europe for a few days. One last stop for a snack and some fuel on the filthy bikes, then slog it out on the M1 home.
I think the final vote for where PB Mag Forum Guinea Pig goes next fell to Kar and the Ducati 1100 Monster launch, so I'll send him a message and poor Guinea Pig's going to have to travel in the hands of Royal Mail to his next keeper! Check back for the next, much better written, adventure! :-D
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