Montpellier weekend

Montpellier, the Millau Bridge and back on a 32-year-old BMW

- Hugo Rose

It was three years since I had been out and about, partly thanks to Covid lockdowns, and in the meantime I had lost my wife, Liz. Shortly before a planned trip to the Orkneys she became ill and began a course of treatment – sadly she passed away three years later.

Now I was ready to get out and about again, but a solo car journey didn't appeal, so if I was going do a long trip, it had to be by bike. The bike part was easy. A few years previously I had bought a 27-yearold BMW K100RS. I'd been looking for a bike suitable for two-up touring (Liz didn't like the back of my 1968 Suzuki T500 Cobra), specifically a three-cylinder K75, but these seem to be hard to find in standard form. Then I found the K100, an import from Japan with just 40,000km on the clock.

The destination part was easy, too. Liz and I had enjoyed visiting an auberge in the hills above Montpellier, not far from the Med. I was determined to go back there, not just for the memory, but also because it was, and is, a very lovely spot. On a previous trip I had even met Ted Simon there. The hero of my youth gallantly joined us for aperitifs and for lunch next day, a good memory I will dine out on for as long as I can. So, I booked three nights at the auberge, arranging to meet friends down there and reckoning that two days’ riding each way would suffice.