Euro2020 Part 5 Video: Off-roading the GS (XR) down a mountain, with a flat tyre

You can also read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

I walked back to my bike around 2pm on a scorching hot afternoon. Traveling with just a rucksack meant that I had to walk from my camp spot on the mountain (obviously I had to camp with a view) to my bike wearing kevlar jeans, jacket and motorcycle boots. Boots which I would describe as warm on a winters day or in this heat, a foot sauna. The temperature gauge indicated a more-than-balmy 42 degrees.

After the short but taxing walk, I started my daily ritual of strapping the rucksack on to the bike, adding the Rok straps and bungee cord. I was parked on loose, uneven ground so I had put a puck underneath my stand that had warped in the heat but luckily kept the bike upright. All this took another 10 minutes and I was drenched in sweat before I had even set off. And that's when I noticed my rear tyre was looking rather squarish.

My road down from the mountain was a dustry road, strewn with rocks, potholes and sharp turns. On one side of the road was a steep drop down the mountain face. This could be interesting. I thought this was as good a time as ever to make sure I was videoing the whole thing and so turned on my camera for only the second time in 8 days, reassured that if I did take a tumble down the mountain, at least I could win some internet points as compensation. here you go (password: spain2020):

Immediately I could feel that the bike was handling very weirdly. You can see how much I'm having to turn the handblebars to keep a vaguely straight line. The steering was heavy and kept pulling me towards the steep drop off the mountain. I was sweating before I left - and by the time I reached the bottom of the mountain, I felt like my leathers and jeans were basically a wet suit, except stickier.

I had no idea where I would find a bike mechanic so I set off to the nearest town. This is the approximate point  at which my misfortune for the day ended. As luck would have it, I found a car mechanic who said he could patch the GSXR tyre. I took shelter in a bar across the road and enjoyed a lemonade with free tapas, as is customary in Andalucia. I said a mucho gracias to the universe - all said and done this was a good time and place to get a flat tyre.

An hour later, I started carving through the mountain roads of the Sierra Nevada national park. But I wasn't quite feeling it so made a last minute itinerary change to check out La Alhambra, a complex of palaces that dates back to the first millenium. I checked into a hotel near the complex so I could get up early and wander around tomorrow. The following day I would learn that covid had scared off most tourists so the complex was delightfully empty for me and my thoughts to wander around undisturbed.

Next up: Part 6