Mont Faron and champagne!

What a kif on the laces of Mont Faron! The harbor below. Desert rock. All kinds of switchbacks. Oh, I didn't remember it being so steep! I had to play with the box, first sometimes, second often. Third was a bit grazing.

50 km/h on average, I never had to exceed 70 km/h, frustrated at not being able to take the leap that awaited me at every turn. All the Mototour staff were waving, and you could hear the applause before the Zundapp, which, between you and me, really deserved it, didn't it?

Departure after 10 a.m., relaxed, sun rising. We repeated the same urban loop several times, and I have to say that after so much wide-open space, I became claustrophobic in the city. The bike still wanted more, valiant and courageous, rejuvenated by the care of the Veloce Team mechanics who never leave it without its ration of oil and love.

Fatigue? What fatigue? I was transcended by this Mediterranean finale and the conclusion of a project, or rather an adventure... The timing was right, and I even had time to munch a slice of pizza. But what would a stage of the ZundappMototour be without some mechanical trouble? Today's problem was a broken clutch cable. I had foreseen this and with Jacques, Denis and the help of a mechanic from the team opposite, we quickly reassembled a universal cable. The clutch was so much smoother, I almost regretted not having broken it before!

What remained was a 4th lap where I gave it my all, meeting up with Cathy, Sylvia and my friend Patrick Beauvais at the summit, who had been following me since Limoges. A royal descent with no time constraints, then back to the paddocks where the Veloce Team had organized a guard of honour. Aurélien rushed to remove my helmet and I was showered head to toe with champagne. My family then joined me. What happiness!

In the euphoria of the finale, I didn't forget my promises. I had assured Pascal Raspolini, chief engineer of the ZundappMototour project, that I would post him a photo of the bike in front of a "Toulon" entrance sign. And so it was. Then I headed for the shore so Miss Zundapp could get as close as possible. We'd talked so much during those 3,000 kilometers, and she'd done so well, that I couldn't see myself disappointing her. Facing the beach, she silently gazed at the calm water, the reward for the thoroughbred whose still-smoking nostrils are covered with a blanket at the end of the Prix de l'Arc-de-Triomphe.

A text message disturbed the peace. I was called to the podium for a symbolic award, "1st in 50 cm3". A nice moment. Thanks to the Mototour organizers and to those without whom none of this would have been possible: Pascal Raspolini, Yohan who worked on the clutch before the start, all those who helped prepare the machine and the incredible Veloce Team who gave the Zundapp a makeover every night.

It's now part of my life. I'm going to repair it, pamper it and keep it, witness to an adventure that no one thought possible. Except her, and me.