April 15 : Epilogue
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Even before I began
pursuing my solitary path around the world in the seventies, a German motorcyclist
called Bernd Tesch was thrashing his BMW through the deserts of Africa. Since
then, by sheer charisma, obstinacy, exuberance and a massive physical presence, he
has imposed hmself on the German motorcycling scene as a true original. 25 years ago he organised the first of his annual Treffen (meetings) of long distance riders. Being addicted himself to the harshest conditions, he of course held it at one of the muddiest places in Europe, in Flanders on the Belgian border in March, when most motorcycles could be guaranteed to fall over. I was first enticed to this mudfest in '95 and have been there two more times since. In recent years, Bernd has relented and moved the meeting forward to April, so the mud is now only an inch or two deep and the temperature is usually above freezing. So about 300 idiots like me are going to congregate in a wet field, and then ride to a beer hall where we will be peering through thick tobacco smoke at pictures of other idiots stuck in the mud in various places like Peru, the Congo, and Vietnam. Unbelievably it is all tremendous fun, but it is also, of course, a place where people like us can learn from others and get help. Bernd has turned his passion into a business. He sells motorcycle stuff, and makes a speciality out of survival techniques, having already run more than 46 training courses in this admirable art. There is nobody more skilled at lighting a fire in a rainstorm with a single wet match. But his passion always takes precedence, and he has made himself the archivist of motorcycle literature, digging out the most arcane examples of biker lore. publishing catalogues that will delight collectors the world over. When I began this second journey, I was very glad to get Bernd's latest panniers at a much reduced price. They were his new TT4 49-Litre model, which I liked because they were narrower than the earlier boxes. Unfortunately they didn't get a fair trial, because the steel frame, also from Tesch, was made for a shorter box. There was no time to fabricate another one. This had two unfortunate consequences. First, it put unusual stress on the box when I fell on it, which I did much too often. And second, it led to the boxes being mounted too far forward, a mistake I rectified rather too late, after I had broken my leg. By great good fortune I will be going to the Treffen again tomorrow, for the fourth time, and this one of the reasons I have been struggling to finish a German version of my CD. The work of translation was done by Susanne Kammüller, more or less as a labour of love. I have never met Susanne. She was recommended to me by others, and so I can't show you what she looks like, but I will see her this weekend, and the one thing I am sure of is that her eyes will betray a steely determination. How she had the guts to go on with this once she realised just how big a job it was, I have no idea. It is the size of a small book, and she has done a superlative job, with meticulous attention to detail. Because she rides a mountain bicycle herself, she had to learn the language of motorcycling to do it, and luckily there were people around to help. Markus Biebricher, at TourehFahrer, was a great help to her, and there were other friends, Caspar Gebel and Frank Wolter, who gave even more of their time. I owe them all a great debt of gratitude, and I hope when they see the result they will think it was worth the trouble. And to Susanne I can only say that I hope somehow to find a way to repay her for her dedication. If enough of you buy the CD I may even be able to repay her in money. That would be nice, although it will never be enough.  On the ferry to France, in 2001, with Bernd Tesch's TT4 49-litre panniers,
on his square section steel carrier frame. Everywhere I went in the world, people
asked me "What is that ring on the back of the frame? I told them it was for
pulling trucks out of the mud, but the truth is I didn't know. I never had time to
ask him." |