Looking across to the snow capped alpine mountains seen from the back seat of a motorcycle

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A Lazy Day In Barcelonnette

Day 5

By Bogger

This was to be a lazy day of going nowhere and doing nothing. Well maybe a bit of eating and drinking wouldn't go amiss, would it? First job in the morning was a visit to the world's most expensive "Casino" Supermarche. Nige reckons they've got the name wrong as with a real Casino at least you have a chance of coming out with some money in your pockets. It was bloody expensive.

Pete owed me some money - but he said he had no notes or change at present. Hmm really? All he could say was "not to worry, you know I'm good for it". All said in a jovial manner with a big daft grin on his face. I'm still not sure if I got it back to this day? After the Supermarket we partook of breakfast. Lardons, Dauphinois potatoes and scrambled eggs. Lovely.

Because I'm a good mate and possibly more importantly, fed up of lying in wet foreign gutters fixing bikes, I set about Fat Boys tappets. Obviously he, or indeed no one else, had never touched them. Shocking lack of maintenance.

Bogger crawls under a C125 Cub as he adjusts the tappets

At 12.30pm we ambled up to town to have a mooch round and see what was going on. Oh goody, the bars are open. I order the first round, some sort of Bierre Blonde. The lads were not impressed at all. It had a bit of a hue to it and came with a slice of lemon. I can't repeat the language but I was left with the distinct impression it was not to their taste. TBH it was a bit poop. Pete, usually the most vocal, was adamant he just wanted beer, ordinary, normal beer for normal people, not beer with fruit or anything else it . Beer, just plain beer. Is it too much to ask for just beer? Well that's that out of the way then. 

A beer on a table with a lemon in it in the town centre

After another drink we wander up to the main square. Barcelonnette is only small. Behold the town square, surrounded by bars. We were beginning to like this place. Nice place, nice weather and finally nice beer. Late afternoon we wander to another bar for a Pizza and another small libation. Then we head back to the campsite at 5.30pm along the river bank watching the bikes and cyclists go by on the road the other side. A pleasant and relaxing day.

The friends sitting around a table in the sun under a shade in the town centre
Beers and pizzas on the table in the evening sun
Clear hazy blue skies, towering mountains and a pretty river seen in The Alps


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Let The Chaos Commence It's a typical start to a trip and overall things seem to be going well. Except for the weather. And the traffic. And the suspect motorcycles. And the disorganisation.
The Chaos Increases Whilst muppetry and stupidity abound the world needs a hero - in the meantime Bogger will have to do. Fear not brave reader, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. I fear it may be a train coming towards this lot...
More Progress, Less Chaos It's a considerably less chaotic day for Bogger and pals as they make their way south through France. And yet they encounter muppetry on the roads and something's been troubling our heroic author.
And Finally The Alps! There's a disappointing level of breakdowns and mayhem for Bogger et al today. Luckily the stunning scenery and clement weather makes up for this. Shame about the traffic eh.
A Lazy Day In Barcelonnette In an unexpected turn of events - today is definitely lacking in chaos. It's just a quiet, peaceful and pleasant day for Bogger's crew. It'd be perfect if he could buy the right beer.
A High Mountain Pass And High Prices Without any disasters or mayhem let's hope Bogger's climb up one of Europe's highest roads comes with some spectacular images.
Inappropriate Alpine Off-Roading Bogger et al take a dirt track shortcut across The Alps. It'll be fine, I mean he's still here to write up this report isn't he? There's also a video to accompany the words in case you're not convinced.
More Mountains And Mayhem After achieving the impossible yesterday today's journey is merely improbable. This time the Col de l'Iseran is the challenge alongside a regular dose of disaster.
The Business Of Miles It's a short one from Bogger today. They're in the business of clocking up miles in the hope of getting home on time, there's not enough time for tomfoolery. Oddly there's always time for a beer though.
Miles, More Miles, Cafes And Campsites Many more miles on the French roads today along with cafes and pretty French towns. This is still very much the business of getting back to blighty, more's the shame.
A Cafe Lost In Time And A Funfair It's another hard day on the road for Bogger and pals. They enter a time warp in search of refreshment, take a moment to remember, then get giddy at the fair.
A Very Brief Epilogue Just a brief note from Bogger as he wraps up his Alpine Adventures on a Cub 125. It's only a short 355 miles today.

Reader's Comments

Upt'North ¹ said :-
A beer with a lemon in it. Strange innit. Why wud ya. But when in Rome?
Looks a nice place in a semi alpine sort of way.
I also appreciate a day or two or fourteen off the bike, although depends where you are.
Good scribing Blogger, keep up the good work, and maintenance, and drinking, and tiddling about, and drinking.
Upt.

05/06/2024 12:21:52 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Strange, I always manage to get nice beer in France. Pression is the equivalent of draught although I have to say that beer is one thing that's better here. At least proper cask ale is - none of this craft stuff thank you very much.

That pizza looks nice, I've had better pizzas in France than in some Italian (as in Italy) places.

I agree with Upt', keep the reports coming....
05/06/2024 15:11:39 UTC
Bogger said :-
Plenty more to come.

Bogger
05/06/2024 17:03:47 UTC

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