DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE !

CLASSIC TOUR 3 -9 July 2011 BASE CAMP I The second Classic Tour started in Switzerland and I only had a journey of 17kms from our house to the first base camp at the TCS Camping Les Ils in Sion.    Some 100 participants from Portugal, Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, with 1000's, 1100's & 1200's, GoldWings, some with special modifications, some in original condition, some with trailers, some with side-car's, some over 30 years old. All were on the base camp and ready to go. Sunday night my air mattress burst so I had to go home early on the Monday morning to get another one!     I soon met up with my tour compatriots who I would share the next  5 days and some 2000+kilometers with on the road. Alex Ivan,Peter,Gino. Our Song Base Camp II Surchauffant France The first day took us close to 300 kms into the French Alps and Jura. The weather was hot and made for good riding. My air mattress burst again over night!!! Base Camp III Cademont Vosges France Second day took us 270 Kms through the French Vosage and although I didn't complete the full route as I had to go into Besançon to get another air mattress! It was also nice to see Pedro and Suzet from Portugal on tour. Base Camp IV Sägmüle Vogezen Germany Third day took us some 315 kms leaving France behind and into Germany. My new air mattress gets a leak! Base Camp V Utscheid - Im Krahen Germany Fourth day took us higher into Germany and onto the Eiffel on a 280 kms route. We rode along a section of the Mosel and took in some of the best scenery of the tour and also great food and wine by the side of the river. We arrived at the base camp in the evening to a great BBQ meal    Grill Film Base Camp VI Fuussekaul Luxembourg Fifth day and final leg of the tour took us through the Ardennes on a 180 kms route. The finale of the tour ended with a magnificent cold buffet. The atmosphere was fantastic and we all had a great sense of satisfaction having completed the tour. My air mattress burst again! Arrive at Base Camp Luxembourg Film The Group Photo     Fox Burger Mania ! Speech Film This the second Classic Tour was well organised and the tour route info was excellent as well as the tour routes. The menu selection for the evening meals was overall to a good standard, diverse and you got good portions especially if you were first in the queue! Breakfast's were also to a good standard. The tour camping's were diverse and we re-visited two of the same campsites as on the first 2008 Classic Tour. I got through three air mattresses and overall the tour week was extremely good.  I am happy to have come through this without any other major problems, mechanical or physical :) Thanks Thijs for helping with the break bleeding. The weather was hot and dry and we only had one little rain shower over night the entire trip. I thank my co-riders Alex, Peter, Ivan, Gino who made this journey even more pleasurable.  A suggestion to anyone who is considering taking part on the next GoldWing Classic Tour:- Make sure your classic GL is road worthy. Obviously apart from tyres, brake pads, brake fluid etc. Carry a head-gasket kit and as much spare parts and tools as you can possibly carry or think of. Make sure your classic bike has been ridden previously to doing this tour and that you have had a complete and full service on your machine. Some times things go wrong, even the most simple mechanical things when on a tour. Buying a classic bike just to take part on this tour without doing proper servicing and maintenance is not the right way to go about being a participant. Planning ahead and having a machine that has been tested as road worthy in advance will save you, other participants and the organisers a lot of time and hassle and more time to enjoy the tour! For GL Classic Spares For my mechanic and Classic Modifications Also I don't recommend inflatable air mattresses! I take this chance to thank Camille, Martine, Vic and Alex for all their efforts in making the 2011 Classic Tour a great success. "Bravo" I am really looking forward to the next Classic Tour. Jed Halpern The Organisers  Camille & Martine