Thursday, October 23, 2014

Buxton to Manchester via Eyam

23 OCT - The day started looking like we'd get some pretty heavy rain but it never happened. We toured in the Peaks Districk and rode miles on very narrow back-country roads. Also hilly, some 20% grades, along with 210 degree turns. Gets old real fast, especially meeting trucks that are wider than their lane.

We had to see Eyam, the village hit by the plague, from London, in 1665. Amzing because the village elders made the decision, that the towbspeople accepted, to let nobody leave or enter the village. (Lesson from 1665 for Africa today?)

We made it safely to Manchester where the bike will be handed over to the freight forwarder to be preped to fly with us on Monday, the 27th., to Toronto.

Arriving at the hotel airport in Manchester I pulled in front of the wrong gate to enter the parking lot. There were no cars behind me so I let the bike roll back so that I could enter via the proper lane and Sara could get the ticket. She leaned from the bike and got the ticket, like she has done many times at toll booths across Europe. The gate went up and I started forward. Just as I was about to pass the gate it came down. I grabbed the brakes to avoid hitting the bar and damaging the windshield. The front wheel was slightly turn so the front wheel took us down. At 3 mph no big deal other than drawing a crowd. They did help us right the beast.

We're OK. A couple of new scratches on the crash bars, but that's what they're for.
At the end of the saga the hotel manager reviewed the video, everything here is recorded, and determind that when I came at the gate in the center of the lane I missed the sensors so the gate came down. They offered to have the crash bars repainted but I explained that the bike was a GS and over time there would be scratches. So, he gave us free breakfasts for the four mornings we're here and free parking. We're talking about $250 or so. (We 'd have probably gone to McDonalds for egg McMuffins.) Now we'll enjoy the 'full English' breakfast.

In closing I might add, in the 11,600 miles of this trip so far, we made it to the U.K. before dropping the moto. (That's not to say there haven't been a couple of close calls.)

Timorrow the bike goes to the freight forwarder to be preped for shipping with us when we fly to Toronto on Monday.

1 comment:

  1. Nice to meet you Doug at Manchester Airport Cargo Centre and be introduced to your epic trip. Hang on to your bike for a couple days more and enjoy the North West of England and North Wales. Have a safe journey home and if you need our help, just call.

    Mike and Craig at TQ Express

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