Scooter, s'coue toi !

The Idea



First of all: the decoration: A camp-site in Bavaria, at the edge of a lake, meadows of a castle of Ludwig II with the unpronouncable name.
The wet and cold morning of this new day of July has just risen. Noises of mess tins for the breakfast - you surely already noted this particular noise which makes sure that you are really camping!
All the family sat without anything to say around the too small and wobbly table. Everyone tries to be heated by putting its hands between its knees and by bringing the shoulders closer. The stove tries of all its forces to heat water in the dented aluminium pan.
I am very black inside... why did I had this idea to come by car to visit the castles of Bavaria?!! I have horror of car more and more... More, that enchanted nobody to make 3000 km in the car...
A guy on an old scooter, oddly very long, passes on the way by making pout pout pout... (you see as I imitate well the noise of the old scooters ;o). It stops immediately the thread of my lugubrious and frozen thoughts. Automatically I follow it of the eyes.
In fact, we all follow it of the eyes. He is crazy, this guy, it is too cold to ride a scooter...
We quickly lose sight of it in the maze of the alleys of the camp, but we still hear his engine when another identical machine makes the same course while passing in front of us!
Ho, it is odd that? What do they make there? - You will have surely noticed the change of color in my head: it was very black, a question starts to awake all the contents... and that becomes gray!
I slowly look a little everywhere around us and I realize that there is full of insanes like that, with their scooters!!! It is one concentrates or what??
A couple of young people pass in front of us with the same scooter very long and full of satchels and gears hanging around.
And There, FLASHHHHHH!! the idea!!! Like in cartoons!!! Instead of being a bullshit in a car, we could do that by scooter !?!!! Yeeeah, it's that, by scooter!!!
I exclaim: "the next year, one makes the turn of the world with scooter!!!"

Immediately, I receive "that does not go right in your head!", "what an idea!" and a "drink your tea, it will be cold!".
I let pass the wave, already lost in the beautiful middle of the steppes of the Central Asia repairing a tire which has just burst for the third time of the day...
And abruptly, Laetitia , which has surely make calculation that at the end of the year, she will be 14 years old and thus have a scooter to go to the college, exclaims: "Yeeeeeah, it's a good idea, I will follow you with mine...". She looks at me with a small smile, enjoying its success while waiting for the answer. I look at Francoise and smile in my turn: "the only difficulty is that at least 3 scooters are needed ... thus it will be necessary that you ride one of them !".
Suddenly, Laetitia, strong of her experiment on the matter (it does not even have touch its bicycle more than one ten time!) : "oh yes, you will see, it is easy!". Smelling a trap there, the answer is made wait: "... we will see... " It is not a yes, but it is not a no ! Will be necessary to maintain the pressure!!!
However, the moral of the troops goes up out of arrow, each one thinking extraordinary adventures, the breakfast is sent in three times nothing, we even decide that Germany by the car, it is really too shitting and that we will return directly.
...
Just arrived at home, I jump on the world map in three panels which had remained rolled in a corner since the last removal, I remove the pictures from the wall of the living room and I fix them in good the order, Europe in the medium!
Ouhaaaa, It is beautiful, the world... that will be giant this world tour !!!
With the wire of the weeks, the idea makes its way: Francoise is not frankly refractory but she never has touch a motorized cycle !! And then, the turn of the world... It is rather a deaf concern which settles. Laetitia make the intox to have her scooter at her birthday, in December, and to be able to use it to go to the college. Guillaume does not say anything, but it knows that, since his sister will have a scooter, he will have some also for his 14 years, the more so as the grandfather said it would make them gift (that falls very well ;o))
While reflecting a little, (if, nevertheless!) The idea becomes more reasonable and changes "to start" in:
Gibraltar, Spain - NordKapp, Norway. Tadaaaa!!! Europe from the south to north like the new Euro!! Taaadaaaaaaa!!
Good, it sounds less prestigious than the world tour, but that throws some nevertheless, not!!!
And then, that can be done during the school holidays, which simplifies the things largely and reassures Francoise a little.
"Seen from there, it will be about 8000 kilometers..."
"8000 kilometers ?!" Sylvain ,the small last, 9 years, "we will have buttock hatches!!"
It is not false... will be necessary to find comfortable machines...

I make a turn of the dealers in the area to find the best machine for this tour and the heap of docs starts to increase!!
Finally it is a reduction without competition (thank you cousin!) and a good press as a whole which decides choice of the machines: 2 scooters 125cm3 MBK (YAMAHA) for the large ones and a MBK Booster NG 50cm3 for the daughter.
Purchase and transactions "by correspondence" with the grandfather who treats with the cousin, all 2 in Valence. I pass the flash grinding by the grandfather himself, which besides find that interesting...

Grinding and connection Valence - Toulouse
Le rodage Une petite pause La carte
the team small pause we are there?

...

Good, now, it is necessary to bring back all that stuff from Valence to Toulouse!
A road map, a straight line between the 2 cities... 400 km... with the turns, that will make us... 500 km!
The grandfather declares it's too much for him: the scooter, it is well, but with small amounts! He has already ride more than 700 km in the last 15 days for the grinding, is not necessary to add 500 more !! He agrees to accompany us with his motor home... with the age, he appreciates comfort!
Aïe! I nevertheless will not make 2 voyages!! Is necessary to find another insane...
I succeeded in convincing a motorcyclist of my friends rather easily: a world tour with these funny machines, it's completely crazy but he wants to test ! The sons also want to test ! They will come with us, it will be the baptism of fire: not far than 8 hours on road for a first test, that will be great... I am a little afraid that Sylvain falls asleep... but we will see well...
That's it, the machines are there, ready, perhaps as excited as us (who knows...) in spite of the cold of this morning of April. First turns of wheel: houlà! It is very different from the motor bike! It is very light!
First roundabout: first impression to fall! We catch up with while zigzaging, and finally that passes. In fact, it's only the scooter which leans in the turns and suddenly because of the small wheels! The passenger is always there, it is good. But now, it is not cold any more, what a heat!! Will be necessary to be accustomed to it!
The buddy leaves this roundabout as surprised as me. From a certain point of view, that reassures me, but I wonder whether we will finish the day in good condition... We will begin again since the beginning, gently to start...
After a few kilometers that goes already definitely better and even if we "trails" at 110 km/h, we sit as in an armchair and see the road and the landscape under another angle. Moreover, all people we cross star at us: Imagine, 2 crazy guys on scooters in April with kids behind them, it's not seen every day!! Thus, we are specially proud, beginning with Sylvain, who is behind me and does not stop speaking! We ride side by side as we can, it is super. The smile is on all the faces!

Almost at the beginning, because after one hour of turn, I start to feel blows of helmet in the back... Shit, Sylvain is falling asleep. I also said myself, he did not speak anymore! Next village, I stop in front of a bakery. It is 8h00, we have well right to a small pause. The granfather's truck stops a little further on the place. We will take a good breakfast with croissants and hot chocolate. Finally, it is not bad also the motor home... "Sylvain, are you falling asleep??" "No no, i have just a little cold..."
" My eye!, he would like to hold, but we waked up at 6h00 and with the cold weather, moreover... At the moment to start again, I convince him to rest in the truck. he does not struggle too. You speak, 10 minutes later, at a crossroads, the granfather says he sleeps like a baby! Behind Gilles, my friend, Guillaume (13 years) hold out. He seems to like that and they discuss together.
The impression of these first kilometres is wonderfull. I am caught myself dreaming of all these immensities that we will ride through, rocked by soft and regular humming of the engines and I am happy. All appear more beautiful to me, quieter. We ae riding cool, without desirefor speed (in fact, we cannot, then...), the nose in the wind, an eye on the road in case of... there is only this shit of hole, that recalls me back to reality when the fork phone me its discontent with a dry and sound blow! Aie! It is not an off-road motor bike and it will be necessary to remember !
At the end of a small hour, Sylvain who is awaken again and in full condition, wants absolutely to return on the scoot. It is true that the imposing landscape of the circus of Navacelle is well better than by the windows of the truck! It is much less cold, it is the heaven what! Already midday, the half of the course, a restaurant, we take some rest, good food but not time to make the nap, is necessary to set out again. It is although a little bit hard... but we have signed! It could be worse, it could have rained! Now that we perfectly control the machines and that the road is broader, we start to fool about... and to enter the race. My machine is lightly faster: 1km/h perhaps and we bend ones on the others to increase aerodynamic! It is necessary nothing to leave out from the scooter. A end of a foot and hop, the other scoot passes by again in front. Moreover, it is necessary to hold account of the road: if it goes up, Gilles and Guillaume are in front, if itgoes down, we take the lead. Is necessary to play seriously! It is funny and the time go faster. Because we are not so far, but it is now 10 hours that we started from Valence!
We arrive home with the night. Ouf, it is not too early! We all are tired, but it was a great moment, like a communion. Yes, the word is not too strong... bikers will understand me...
The Granfather, who followed that from his motor home seems to be happy too. We unload the 50cm while Laetitia jump all around, a big smile on her face. Smile a little bit yellow because she did not imagine that so big ! But she said that it will be easy (for sure !), so... She could do it easy!

 

Well, now, the adventure begins...

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