May is the month of the French MotoGP and given that last year we got to attend it by accident, we made sure it better planned this time
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As the spring approached, there was another break at school. The home ministry tabled the idea of making a weekend visit to the Keukenhof gardens. The mega flower show at the garden is open only a few weeks and we happened to be lucky to find tickets for a Friday. So bags were packed and cameras made ready for the long weekend in Netherlands again.
The garden really surprised us, the planning and execution for the flower show is top notch. Despite the crowds, the experience remained quite enjoyable, but I don’t think we could have said that on the next day when there were about a thousand buses crowding the parking lots for some special event. We were so glad that we were not going in that day, Instead we spent some time enjoying the areas around the garden and photographing some tulip fields in the hope of finding some shots where I could put both the tulips and windmills in a single frame, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Next up was May, now this is a special month in France with anywhere between 4-6 public holidays which can then be combined with the weekend depending on where they fall. Also, it’s the month where a lot of people take their remaining vacation days (if any) that they will not able to carry forward since the leave calendar ends in May. But for us, it’s the month of the French MotoGP and given that last year we got to attend it by accident, we made sure it better planned this time.
The holiday started with some sight-seeing in the Loire valley which is known for its wine and castles. We had booked ourselves at a hotel that was about an hour away from Le Mans so we could spend the first few days visiting places and then keep the weekend reserved for the race. While we concluded that the Loire valley was not really our style, the race was a highlight to end the trip.
The following weekend, it was time to stop worrying about lean angles and track temperatures and enjoy the MXGP of France near La Rochelle. The race experience was electrifying and even if the weather played tricks it didn’t dampen the spirits of the riders and audience alike.
The MXGP proved to be the last road trip with the Q3, a week later I had exchanged it for the GLC 300de and we made a quick weekend trip to get a feel of the new ride.
It was then time for the French Open at the famous Roland Garros which was on my wife’s hit list, and for the first time ever I managed to watch a full day of tennis. Was fun to watch it in some of the smaller courts but at center court it was another story, and while the experience was still special I would still prefer to watch it on TV with all the details and stats etc.
The arrival of the GLC with a retractable towhook meant we could now finalize the purchase of Pozu’s KTM SX125. But first, we had to buy a trailer. I wanted to buy the one which could take 2 or 3 bikes, but then once I saw the size of that thing at the Norauto dealership, I changed my mind to go with the single rail trailer that looked more manageable. I still struggle and generally avoid to reverse with the trailer attached, but it’s easy to unhook it and move it by hand so it’s not a cause of concern.
A week or so later we went with the trailer to pick up the bike from the KTM dealership not very far from our house. The guys at the showroom were quite nice but a bit surprised about our purchase, probably because they hadn’t had any other Indian family buying a motocross bike before. I made friends with one of the sales guys there and made sure I understood the servicing conditions/intervals and approximate costs before we left. While they helped to put the bike up on the trailer, I was advised to keep an eye if I were being followed at any point of time and not go home directly if that were the case. One of the big reasons why most motocross guys use a van and not a trailer is because of the increased risk of theft if the wrong people notice you transporting a dirt bike.
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