we stayed at oppenau in a guest house for 8€ ea mit Frühstück and a garage to put the bikes in!!
germans are very good about warning you about speed traps, but when we went we didn't have to contend with unmarked bikes/cars.
".............We arrive in Oppenau mid afternoon with the thermometer nudging 20C. a swift trip to the tourist info secures us a 16€ a room mit breakfast und accomodation. they also have a nice garage for us to park up in, result apart from their total lack of English. (Karl & Maria Oberle, Jahnstr.10, 77728 Oppenau Tel. 078042117)
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We decided to settle in and sort out the bikes. One of our group, a relative novice, was complaining about the handling of his striple, so after a quick test ride i find he has bugger all rear compression damping and the front end is just very tired. Talking of tyres, as we rolled it into the garage, we noticed a shiney nail in his rear, bugger. It was decided that we take a pressure reading and check it again in the morning.
after that we scoped out the local eateries. The tourist info had recommended a place, but the starters were 8€ so we passed. Found a little tavern run by a Polish lass (never would have guessed by her perfect German, Italien and passable english). 4 meals, 8 grosse beers 3 coffees and a schwartztee, 60€.
Saturday broke warm and sunny, it boded well. tyre pressure was 38psi, so good enough to ride on. We headed out on a 'scenic' route to warm up on. From Oppenau, sharp right onto a logging road, then up to the B500, then right towards Bad Greisbach, then Bad Peterstal, then back to Oppenau to the bike shop to see vos kosten reifen, bitte.
The nice man in the bike shop said he could get a tyre in 2 hours, but 220€, eek! Checked pressure again, 40psi, so worth taking a risk on. So now we tackle the famous
Schwartzstrasse .
After that we headed off to Baden-Baden up the B500, what a cracking road with splendid views, shame about the 70 kmh limit (more of which later). Well, it's like Bath, with thermal waters and quaint 19th century terraces. We meet an Austrian guy, married to an Englishwoman who tells us to go to Titisee, as it's the 'in' place for bikers, so mount up.
So now we are heading south on the B500, and as three of us are hooning around the bends, we get a big flash from a Merc coming the other way. So 70 kmh it is then. We travel for a few K's and see nothing, then down below us, on a forestry road i see a van, and between the barrier and the road is the camera, crafty beggars. So we take it easy for a few more K's then open them up again.
We peel off the B500 onto the L96, the road surface changes from grippy tarmac to an overbanded nightmare, with everchanging grip levels. Speeds are low as we are passing through quite a few villages, but still kicking on when traffic permits. 2 out of the three pull out a bit, and decide to swap bikes whilst waiting for the newbie. and we waited.......a bit longer, then as we were about to go back a german lady screeches up and babbles something at us. no translation needed
It was the worst mile or 2 of our riding careers. Not knowing what we'd find there. As we rounded a corner, cars parked up with hazards going, we saw his bike in the middle of the field, surrounded by people and a familiar, tall bald bloke directing it all, he's up and walking, praise the lord.
After parking up, and taking some piccies for posterity, we dived in and collected various bits from around the field, got it back onto the road and assessed the damage.
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Bent forks, yokes? plastics on both sides, garmin mount, bars, clocks and key snapped in ignition. "I was only doing 30, and it just let go!" We checked the tyres just in case, 38 psi rear, 32 psi front
Started to sort out the recovery, what fun that was! Then over the horizon arrives Captain Slow on the FJ, thinking we were waiting for him, then he sees the stricken striple.
Remember the speed trap, well apparently no-one had flashed him and he had a nice bill from the Polizei for 100€ for being 66kmh over the limit.
After 2 hours the recovery bloke turns up, and tells us that last year he had 80 call outs down this road. Cold comfort i'm sure. Captain Slow stayed with the truck to give his son a lift home, we two took a subdued ride back to the digs.
Back to our local tavern in the evening, but not before trying 'Biker Bar', bitch kept our change. We had a discussion about whether he should let his wife know about the crash. Of course, as it happened on a weekend, his recovery insurance/vehicle insurance offices were only logging calls, to be dealt with on monday, the day we were due to return.
Sunday dawned hot and bright, so we split from C.S. and headed off to Titisee, bit disappointed when we got there, had coffee then headed off to Todtnau, to have a look at the Hasenhorn coaster. My advice, get a multi-ticket, it's brilliant!
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We went over the hills to Freiburg im Breisgau for lunch, then onto the autobahn back to Offenburg. Being chased by cars at 120mph is interesting, nice not having to keep one eye open for the feds, and concentrate 100% on the job in hand, with 35k to go we wound it on, sat nav showing 236 kmh as my max, at 5 feet from my mate who was gently pulling away. Barking mad but great fun, really made you feel alive.
Sunday night we tried 1 more bar, oh-er, bit like night of the living dead, but mein frau gave us some microwaved bagels, which she then charged us for when we went to pay.
Back to the Polish bar, where i impressed our host with my comprehensive mastery of the Polish language, "good day, 2 beers please, good-bye, stuffed dumplings and 'crazy dog'".
I think we had more beers on sunday as i felt a bit groggy in the morning, and it was a bit cloudy as well."
Topic: The B500 (Read 4928 times)
