02 This is them. Top guys and gals. Another 10 second dash.


01 And this is one taken by them of the silly slow old git and his trusty steed.


We laugh a lot and after about 10 minutes we all set off together. Very soon I watch them disappear into the distance and am alone again and battling my way through thousands of 180deg bends towards Nice. Maybe I should change my forum name to ‘Slow Old Git Ray’.

After a few hours of shifting my bum on the seat I pass a couple of cars and a biker in the other direction (seems to be the only way I can pass anybody,) they are all flashing their headlights at me and I figure this is international language for ‘Old Bill Ahead, slow down’, sure enough, round the next bend was a very large Gendarme waving for me to stop. I was fairly happy as I had slowed down so was not expecting too much drama. Wrong again. “English”, “yes sir”, “driving licence”. I get out my Police warrant card wallet with all my credit cards and licence inside and I am thinking, “I have forgotten to bring my insurance and log book with me – this could get difficult”. Fortunately he is stood right beside me and watching me dig into the wallet for my licence and when opened my police badge is on full view. I retrieve my licence and he inspects it. So far so good. “Papers” he says pointing at the Ten. Oops. “Er I do not have them”, “but in France you must have them”, I then put on a pathetic look and say “Oh dear I have left them at home, I am very sorry”, There is then a long pause whilst I think about a nice new pair of cuff links and a free ride to the nearest town and he says “OK. Because you are a Policeman I will let you go”. Fantastic, this is the first time in 20 years that my shiny little badge has actually been of some benefit (other than the obvious). I thank him profusely and we nod to each other as I ride off knowing that he has just let me off a world of pain.

I arrive at Nice and turn left towards Monaco and Monte Carlo. I think the whole place is Monaco and the centre is called Monte Carlo but as one is so small and the other fills it I think they are pretty much the same thing.


10 I park my trusty steed next to some old Italian banger of a car and increase its value just by the Yamaha’s presence.

12 I cast my eye out to the humble fishing village in the bay and pity the poor people in it.


13 Again I move my bike to make an old gambling joint look a bit better.

(Monte Carlo Casino)

I decide after a short while that I cannot help these poor people, bar making their town better looking with my bike and then fill up in an underground petrol station and set off East and back toward France (in fact France is every direction except the sea). Before leaving Monte Carlo I stop to get SWAMBO a fridge magnet and also pick up an oval nationality sticker ‘MC’ which now looks dead cool on the back of my dented pannier.


14 As I exit the shop I see this and think “I need a set of crash bars like that”. I took a photo and some guy came running out of a shop thinking I was some sort of warden about to lift his bike. It turns out that this is a standard learners bike and this is what they give then to pass the direct access type test. Cool.



I then set off for France again and arrive there after 30 seconds. By this time the sun has set and darkness was looming.

I then follow the coast for a short while and just before Italy turn north towards Sospel. Its now dark and I ride through Sospel and on to Col de Tende. This is a venue I should have visited in the daylight as all I saw was the next wall round the bend many times over. By now it was about 9pm and I was tired and sore so I booked into a small hotel just the Italian side of the Col and had a couple of beers and went to bed. I did not book breakfast as I wanted to leave early.
Mileage for the day 218 (350km).

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We are now retired....so....... lots of this and this and no more of this or this