Update from July 9

Tolouse, France: Shit Happens!

Well as if this trip could not have gotten any more “adventurous,” we are now stuck at an Avis Motorhome rental center waiting for a tow truck. We picked up our next driving companion, Gerry, from Nova Scotia, at the Tolouse airport this morning just before noon. Gerry is a good friend of Fred and will accompany us on the remaining two weeks of our travels. This was a last-second arrangement to give Julie and I the assistance needed to continue on this quest. We stopped outside of Tolouse to re-fuel, re-fill our water tank and have lunch before the long transfer drive to Limonges. Shortly after departing the gas station, the motorhome began to run poorly and a service light showed up on the dash. We made a few calls and decided it was best to return to Tolouse after covering about 30K on the highway with reduced power in the engine. We made it to the rental dealer and they have diagnosed the problem. Yours truly put in what I thought was diesel but was clearly gasoline. The Moho will now not start. Julie and Gerry are sitting in the sun “enjoying a moment” while I type my confession.

My riding stage tomorrow (stage 10 of 21) is 195 Kilometers from Limoges to Issoudun. The last few days in the mountains have been like nothing I have ever experienced on or off a bike. The climbs to the tops of the Col de Serra-Seca, Andorre Arcalis, Port d’Envalira, Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet were the most difficult I have ever ridden. In three of the cases, I rode through the clouds well above 2,100 meters where the cold, mist and visibility were treacherous on the descents. In some cases I could see no more than 50 feet in front of me and the road just disappeared with one hairpin turn after another and grades up and down of 9-13%. There were times on the descents when I was exhilarated and other times when I was just outright scared. Hitting 50-60 mph was only a question of how hard you needed to squeeze the brakes to avoid going completely out of control. Coming down from the Tourmalet was particularly treacherous with no guardrails and heavy fog/mist for the first part of the descent. In some ways I was glad I could not see what was (or was not) over the edge. Regardless, the ride stays on course with now a new obstacle to overcome. My appreciation for the difficulty of this sport and the talents of the professionals grows with each additional kilometer and climb covered. I have ridden thus far a bit over 1200 kilometers (not even 1K in the draft of another rider). I must also add a new found respect for all those who work in support of the riders to repair their bikes, navigate, feed, arrange lodging, etc. It is clearly a monumental task and Julie and Fred have kept my dream alive and, now, Gerry is here to help. It makes me feel that much more foolish for the gas/diesel error.

We have holed up in a hotel in a little town just south of Tolouse where the fuel is being pumped out, then engine cleaned and hopefully we can be back on the road by Friday afternoon. We’ll have to sort out how this is going to affect the trip, but meantime, Julie can go shopping. Keep your fingers crossed!

Best to all.

Dave