Shakedown weekend in Verdun

In about a week we’re setting off and tension is rising gradually. This month’s issue of Motorrrijder magazine was about adventure touring and of course we had to read it back to cover. One of the tips from hardened traveler Rhys Lawrey was to do a test-trip. And that’s exactly what we did a couple of weeks ago.

During the long Easter weekend we had a few vacation days that we still needed to take and the weather forecasts were pretty bad… the perfect recipe for a final test of gear and motorbikes. We were also very curious to find out how the newly fitted Hyperpro suspension would perform with the bikes fully packed. So the plan was to head down south on Saturday, do ride-outs on Sunday and Monday along the many nice gravel roads around Verdun and head back home on Tuesday.

Saturday started with a hick-up when we noticed that the tail light on my Terra wasn’t working anymore. So instead of setting off early and trying to make the most of the only sunny day the weekend had to offer, we spent the morning stripping my Terra, looking for the needle in the hay stack. After almost 3 hours looking, Jo had the brilliant idea of checking the regulator-rectifier plug and instantly the tail lights worked just fine. Halelujah! So, we quickly load up the bikes and around 2PM we can finally set off.

The test weekend is meant to get a feel of the fully loaded bike and how the new suspension was performing. It would also be a good final review of the gear we’re packing. We were still hesitating about a few items.

 

Sofie Written by:

dreamer - traveller - citizen of Enduristan

When I'm not out there discovering the world on my motorbike, you can find me crouched on the sofa dreaming of far away destinations in travel guides, blogs and maps.