I was in the middle of the Voges but before continuing the fun ride I decided to visit a city nearby called Colmar. It was Sunday so the city was mainly empty, except for the centre, which reminds of a little Venice.
I parked next to other motorbikea and put the invisible cloak on Lollo, which by the way works every time! So well infact that for this tour I didn’t bother bringing the lock straps for the luggage. After a nice walk and some sweets made out of almond offered me by a local shop (I also bought some), it was time to ride again.
On the mountains a bycicle ride was blocking most of the ways but not for me. I learned to politely sneak behind the road blocks and if necessary go a bit off-road. I wasn’t the only motorbike on the street and nobody was bothered by me. At this point in time, I didn’t plan to write a blog so I’ve less photos to share but I made a stop on the river of a lake called Lac de Kruth-Wildenstein and had a refreshing beer.
Out of the Voges, the temperature rised. It was really hot and I kept driving South but most of the towns where dead. I was tired and wanted to stop but I couldn’t find anything open. Until a weird place popped up out of nowhere. It wasn’t a bar, it wasn’t a restaurant or brasserie but they had beer 🍺 draught!
In the afternoon I saw a camping in Rioz called Camping du Lac – https://camping.rioz.fr – and opted to mount my tent there. They offered me free entrance to the swimming pool nearby, which I gladly accepted to defeat the heat. Unfortunately I’ve no pictures of the camping but while in my tent, this image got my full and undivided attention:
I had covered about 860 Km and the heat must have done the rest. With the rear tire in this condition, I couldn’t drive long, especially fast. There was the real risk of tire explosion. I was in trouble.
A quick Google showed a Ducati dealership in the nearby town, about 20 Km away. My smile came back, as I planned to call them first thing in the morning but it didn’t last long. They and all the other motorbike dealerships were going to be closed the next day.
I had to wait for a full day, without knowing if they had the right tires ready available. I considered all the options, including the possibility to drive 300 Km to reach Lyon, if the nearby town didn’t have the right tires. I went to bed hoping for some luck.