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Cloud greeted me when I awoke in Abbeville yesterday and stayed with me all the way to the tunnel and there it was on the English side too..

I may have lost the sun but I found something just as good.

And as you can see, I am already dressed for cleaning the bike!

I covered a total of 5957 miles, call it 6000 miles and somewhat to my surprise, I only needed to top up with a total of 3/4 litre of oil in that distance. When the bike was new, it used nearly a litre per thousand miles. The bike computer says fuel consumption is now averaging 50 mpg which is also better than I was getting - of course the kind of riding has been different from the UK miles I cover, so I may find fuel consumption increases again.

The bike is also overdue its 18,000 mile service by 3,000 miles... still apart from a couple of headlamp failures it has given me no problems at all during the journey.

As I said a few days ago, I will be back with some video and other stuff when I have sorted out and edited the many pictures and video clips I have taken. Meanwhile my sincere thanks to all those who took time to comment on my ramblings and also to those who may have been reading them anyway. In particular, I should like to say a special thank you to my Spanish friends  - it was you who helped me learn enough of your beautiful language to make this trip so much more than just looking at beautiful buildings and countryside and your friendship has enriched my life.

Mercedes and Antonio

Juan David and Elena

Mercedes and Francisco