Bugger, the side stand weld joint had given way.
Don't know how this happened as the crossing was dead calm and unlike the French ferries the tie down straps used on Stena are not that strong and really quite weak. Anyway, what now? Find a mechanic to do a quick weld. Hmmm, it's Sunday.
So two options. 1: stay in holland and get it fixed tomorrow, or 2: full speed ahead and work it out as I go along.
As fear is a mind killer I decided to go forward. I mean, the first camp site I had targeted as an option was only 400 miles away. What could go wrong............
Filling up with petrol was a bit of an issue. But one makes do with what is at hand.
Those soft pannier bags did a great job at keeping the bike upright.
So now a new plan. Rather than stop every 1.5 hours for a rest I would only now stop when I needed fuel. 8 Hours riding and only three very cautious stops for fuel. A bit of a numb bum after all that.
Parking at the camp site was straight forward.
Off to find a mechanic in the morning.
Good job I allowed a few days buffer before the ferry from Sweden to Finland.
Sent from my iPhoneSo, ferry trip was a breeze and I set forth into Holland with the sun shining and purpose in my throttle.
Stoped about 10mins into the trip for petrol. Hmmmm, the side stand does not look right. Hmmm, curious. So got off the bike very gingerly and had a look.
Turns out that self-balancing Honda bike I told you about could have come in handy :-)
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