#3 The first big tour with the Road Glide Ultra to Saint Tropez for the Euro Festival
Part 3
We set off on May 10th, with a fresh 6 degree cold wind blowing around our ears, but it was bearable on the big tourer and it's predictable that it will get warmer at some point if you're heading south. And that's how it was, at the height of Cologne it was already 15 degrees.
My first stop is between Cologne and Frankfurt, where I'm going to do the first inspection of the Road Glide Ultra. After 1600 kilometers you should aim for an oil change, for the first few kilometers there is still a special break-in oil in the engine and that has to be replaced.
The plan is to spend a nice evening with friends in Stuttgart and continue the next day. In total, I will ride 1800 kilometers to Saint Tropez, with an overnight stay after 800 kilometers and the remaining 1000 in one go.
From Stuttgart we head in the direction of Switzerland, the way shall lead me over Zurich A great route awaits me there, with real mountains to the left and right, which is quite something for a North German.
What's not so great is the journey through the Gotthard tunnel, which has developed into an adventure of its own, just before the tunnel it was 19 degrees, in the tunnel it goes up to 33 degrees and after the tunnel the thermometer drops to 9 degrees, it's a bit like a Kneipp tour.
THE GOTTHARD TUNNEL IS LIKE A KNEIPP TOUR
The tunnel is around 17 kilometers long, so I wouldn't be surprised if one or two people fall off their bikes in the summer.
It's not nice, but in May the pass road is not yet open, so you have no other choice. In Switzerland you need a toll sticker, which costs 36.50€ and is valid for 1 year.
The mountains appear to the left and right and slowly I approach the beautiful village Lugano, along the Lago di Lugano, you take beautiful pictures in your head. Pictures on.
This is where the Swiss Harley Days which is also an ideal location for bikers. The area is quite something, unfortunately the weather doesn't play along, but that's nothing new this year.
These are precisely the moments when you appreciate the Road Glide Ultra's fairing, the ventilation flaps all closed and disappearing behind the high windshield.
IN SWITZERLAND A FUEL CONSUMPTION OF ONLY 5.49L PER 100 KM
Switzerland is such a place where you can set fuel consumption records, I used 13 liters on a 237-kilometer stage, that's 5.49 liters per 100km, with a fully packed Road Glide Ultra.
But this consumption is nothing special, I have often consumed no more than 6 liters per 100 km when driving quickly. The Milwaukee-Eight engine is very economical, a range of over 400 kilometers is not utopian.
My journey continues, at some point I reach Italy, the beautiful city of Milan only inspires me briefly, the sun slowly sets and I arrive in France.
First I come to the Principality of Monaco, a very special city-state that I will visit later, and then Nice lies shining in the evening light in front of me, which is a great sight.
Again and again, I drive directly along the sea, simply gorgeous, even when it's already dark. Cannes is another special place full of movie stars and glitter, but I don't have time for that right now.
I'm drawn further along the French Mediterranean coast towards Saint Tropez and I'm getting closer and closer to my destination, and it's not just the Navigation the BoomBox, but also my nose!
It smells like a herb garden on the Côte d'Azur!
The scent of the Côte d'Azur is unique, Provence smells like a herb garden, it really is something very special, and I'm already looking forward to what awaits me the next day.
And how could it be otherwise, I arrive at my friends' house in Saint Maxime in the middle of the night, where the cold welcome beer is already waiting for me.
This is the beginning of a really great time with a really great Harley-Davidson on the Côte d'Azur in France! Good night!
