Left the Le Puy campsite at 08:08 with about 100 miles worth of petrol which would dictate when breakfast time was going to be. Although the roads were wet and drying, from some unforecast overnight rain, good progress was made through all the good roads up towards the Vichy area, where the good stuff ends and the boring stuff begins. One more fuel stop and I was heading through Troyes for the peage. With my ticket safely tucked away I had plenty of time so no need to rush. After about 10 minutes a couple of UK registered bikes came alongside, cruising only slightly faster and settled in front of me. I was now 4th in a group of 8 or 9 naked style bikes, just indicating and overtaking trucks and slower traffic as and when necessary. I had thoughts of being a Spitfire pilot in a squadron hunting down the enemy. I had planned to eat at the first services which was 20 kms further on, and hoped my new companions were as well. But as I indicated at the exit waves were exchanged and I was on my own again.
With me and the bike refuelled, I changed over to a clear visor as the sun was setting fast. With a nip in the air I decided to wear my waterproof overjacket to help keep the chill off. As I accelerated down the on ramp, the SP carbon can wailing like a banshee, I imagined for a few seconds being Jean Marc starting the night stint at the Bol.......only for a few seconds mind.
I hadn't travelled far before encountering a roadworks for the next 15kms sign. Would I get a rebate on the toll charge as the parallel N road traffic was making much quicker progress. No of course not. Then the rain started, heavy, heavy rain. With leather bottoms on, my boots began to fill very quickly, why didn't I include the waterproof trousers when I put on the jacket. I just had to grin and bear it until the first exit, where I could hop about struggling to get the trousers on. The rest of the journey to Calais was uneventful if a bit miserable, mostly of my own making.
The M20 was shut for night time roadworks, so diverted around the lanes in order to dictate my own progress. Rolled on to my drive around half past midnight with 621.2 miles on the tripmeter for the day, and 2422 for the week. Thanks Yamaha for producing such a brilliant all rounder, I've had a great week
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