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Thursday
4/30/15

I was 3 weeks in Paris to help Marie Françoise, the mother of my 2 oldest daughters. She is now tetraplegic with the ALS desease, weight 82 lb, and is very weak.
I admire her determination and courage to undertake painting again !!!


I arrive tonight in Mumbai. I got my sidecar that was parked at my friend Adil's building and drove it downtown to Fort where I park it now at my other friend Daniel's gas station.. I am now in my little hôtel a block away.


"No, being sick is not a drama, it's just an experience to live like so many others in life;
and unlike the appearance, I don't paint with my head !!!" - Marie-Françoise



With the "Mimis" from my team of the Paradis Latin in the 70's. Quai de Seine, Paris.


What a good idea he had Nico this morning to tell me to do a story about my starter !!!   (;+>


Monday
4/6/15

These last 2 months, I rode in the South of India. I went by Bengalore, the Indian Silicone Valley, cosmopolitan city, very young where everybody works in IT. Then I rode in the coffee districts, the elephant territoty (I saw 2 of them) and the beautiful tea country in the region of Ooty.

I came back in Mumbai to take a plane to Paris where I will stay for the next 3 weeks to visit Françoise - my 2 olders daugther smother - affected buy ALS (ice bucket challenge). I will be back in Mumbai in May.


En Inde, l'éducation est gratuite, ce qui ne veut pas dire que tous les enfants vont à l'école

Rouler la côte ouest du sud de l'inde... un régal !!! 29 Mars 2015.


The 10 days race on Lake Baïkal called the "Ice Run" started today. March 20, 2015.


The "Return to the roots" is a slow process that you work for yourself
like Sangeetha or Santosh and I admire people like Malavika (R) who succeeded to came back and
lives a very simple life in the south montains of Bandipur, territory of the wilds elephants of India.



Thursday it was a gathering at the Cricket stadium in the Diamond lodge... more nice bikers came there...


About 30 showed up at the Courtyard Cafe last sunday, all motorcycle passionates people.


Friday
3/6/15

Came have a drink Sunday starting at 3:00pm

Courtyard Cafe, KH Road (double road) Karnataka, Bengalore.

 

Hubert


My driving stlyle is quite costly bearing whise because I use my rear wheel to turn - and not the handle bar -
I apply the independent sidecar or rear wheel brake - with a good throttle - at every turns and the bearings don't
ike the constant twisting effect. There are no better place to do the work than Bali's Motorwork shop in Bengalore,
he has the passion of mechanic, no ego, a huge heart, and as you can see a big quality control staff. Thank you Bali !!!


Thank Rahul and your family and all your friends from Ratnagiri,
it was an honor for me to celebrate with you my Ten Year on the Road


Monday February 16 at 6:04 am, I will leave Mumbai to go to Goa and after exactly 10 years on the road I feel the same way as the first day when I left New York for the Arctic Circle "will I make it, what if it break, what if I have a problem...". I did not change, and the same voice in me let me move one step at a time, packing my stuff into the sidecar, checking the oil, getting up early in the morning and moving on 1 mile at a time !!!
Out of all the ride I made, of course the Ice Road of Canada to the Arctic Circle was very important to me because I had prepared it for the last 3 years not knowing if I would be able to reach it ! Then riding south, the passing of the Panama Canal on my tug boat, Patagonia and finally going to Antarctica are my most important landmarks. Going up, the triangle of the last Incas in Peru where I spend 3 months to visit all their lost cities sometimes on a mules, and riding for 6 months with my friend Jean-Louis are the highlights. Then from France going to North Cap in winter on my new Ural, entering Russia scared to be miss treated, I realized the 1st day how Russian people are nice, 6 month later after passing the Transsiberian highway in winter, I arrived in Mongolia at the beginning of the winter and by -40ºF I encountered a nomad named Pourou in the middle of the steppes of the Gobi desert. Mongolia is by far my favorite country of all because there are 1 million nomads there who even if they have Chinese motorcycle, solar panels, TV dish and cell phone, live today with the same family values at the same rhythm and the same simplicity as they were living a thousand years ago under Genghis Khan.
Going down Africa is a big chunk in my memory too because I was again with my friend Jean-Louis but I did not like much Africa for the complexity of the visas and the begging by most of the population, I felt I lost my freedom of travel there. Namibia and South Africa are not Africa it's a different universe very nice for tourism. I only spend 2 months in India but I loved it from the 1st day for the kindness of the people, they are pacifist, caring and keep their family values.

What did I learned:

- There are no countries where people are mean, no matter where you are if you have a problem, there will be always somebody to help you.
- It does not matter what motorcycle you have as long as you like it (as for me, I love my  2WD Ural) and it is not "if" but "When" is it going to break".
- It does not matter if you travel by motorcycle, bicycle, car, truck or bus as long as you go on the road.
- The travellers I met on the road that I admire the most are the bicyclists.

Now that I reach my 10th anniversary, I am on the road for good, that's for sure and to all the people I met on the road, on internet and all my friends and family who pushed me to keep riding, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

Hubert


Today marks the 10th anniversary of my "Ten Years on the Road", what a good idear I had !!!


Happy Valentines everybody...
I got my paperwork in order (thankyou Mustafa), my fender is fixed (thankyou Shail), tomorrow I'll hit the road to Goa.


Vidéo: Just a Sunday walk in Mumbai. February 8, 2015


As I need a few days to get my paper work in order for the sidecar, i might as well relax under the 90ºF Mumbai spring.


My tires made it through Mumbai's custom with no problem,
I am sleeping at Adil's luxury appartement where he hosted my sidecar all that time.

At the Closerie des Lilas this evening, a few hours before my plane for India.A la Closerie des Lilas ce soir quelques heures avant mon depart pour l'inde demain matin. Jean-Pascal (de Guy et Claudette), the very famous Nico, Serge the cow's horne dealer Isabelle (my little sister) Claude (the invisible man from the opera of Saint Petersburg), Dominique (the futur newly married),Jean-Marie (the mercedes gang of Bamako), Amarys (Shalimar's sister - see Mongolia), Bertrand (the professor es-finance at science po), Marie-France (my big sister). Not to forget Fredo le dentard (always on step ahead).

See you at the "India Bike Week" in Goa. February 20-21, 2015 - I am still in Paris leaving February 4.


So many good memories from Barfleur with Gary, Steve, Sarah, Lorraine and Marie Christine.


Wednesday
1/21/14

Come celebrate with me my

"Ten Years on the Road" (almost)

Tuesday February 3, 2015

Starting at 6:00pm

(the day before I go back to India)

Closerie des Lilas

(Bl St Michel & Bl du Montparnasse)
Starting at 6:00pm

 

    and see what happens after the 10 year ?!?!?



Happy birthday Giogio. Geneva, Switaerland. January 14, 2015

Since 2000 the tireless Ilya and Madina became the parents of Ural improving the reliability to
our sidecars that allows me today to travel around the world. Breakfast at Seattle, USA. January 7, 2015.



In 2006, I wintnessed the birth of her grand mother at La Lima, Cartago, Costa Rica.


Santa went "drone" this year in California.


Sunday
12/14/14

Saturday, we had a brunch around San Francisco with my new friends Doug and Jitinder from Jessica's work at Oracle. That evening, we enjoyed a fabulous crab dinner with Lorraine's family at Adrienne and Mark's house in Salinas with Michelle, Ali, Justin, Maddie, Evelyn, Jessica, Jon, Lorraine and me.

 




Sharing great travel moments this morning at the Ural dealer Triquest in Santa Clara, California.
My most impressive person who came was the young Kolton who since he is 3 years old ask his dad Nate
to read him my latest adventure as a bedtime story !!! See you on the road Kolton with or without Nate !!!


Congratulation, Jon and Jessica you are now a "has-been" marathoner. Sacramento, California, USA.
As for me, do you think I became stupid overnight ?
Don't worry about a thing, I never had neither the legs or the chest, I just felt a little fresh on my back!


In March 2015, the "Ice Run" goes accross Lake Baïkal...


Thursday
12/4/14

Come share Ski's ribs with me
at Triquest Ural
Sunday december 14 at 10 am
2981 Lafayette St.
Santa Clara CA 95054
Phone 408-855-8358
www.triquestcycles.com

Thankyou from Marie-Francoise to all the GO of Club-Med "Villa Concorde" where she finally find
a new place where everybody is beautiful, everybody is nice and the food is fantastic !!!  Asnieres, France.



Would you drive 600 miles to eat
the very famous choucroute d'Antourloupe at Guy & Claudette's house with Regine, Nico & Olivier ?    Yes, we do !!!


Saturday
11/15/14

In Mai 1971 Guzzi gave us a V7 to go around the Red Sea and Krajka the "Master of  Guzzi" in france gave us a sidecar. The 1rst day I drove a sidecar in my life was when leaving Krajka's shop 2 weeks after I got my motorcycle driver's license. Agnes, the girl friend of my brother was there, as well as her friend Francoise I met that day for the 1st time. [They became friend in an art school in paris, lived together for a while including in a phone booth sometime].

Because it was raining that day, I asked Françoise to come in the sidecar as a counterweight to go to the press conference where the French TV was waiting for us.. Later Agnes became my sister in-law, Francoise my wife and through our path of life, both became my ex. I always feel very close to the extroverted Agnes, and her children as well as I always kept a good relationship with Françoise the mother of my 2 oldest daughters.


Agnès & Françoise "You may have lost your legs, but I lost my head!   I'm not shure which is best" !!!


Monday
11/11/14

I came back to Paris where I will stay in november to give support to Françoise - Eve and Lucie's mon - who is sufffering from  ALS. In december, I will be in California with my beloved Lorraine (for 32 years today) and Jessica for the holidays. I will be back in Paris in January for Françoise and I will return to my sidecar in India begining of February.


Sylvie Delanian saved me from my fibrosis 2 years ago and put me back on my sidecar. I have always felt and admired the fact that Sylvie does take a risk everyday - I saw her doing it myself. She has made important advances in medicine and knows instinctively how to connect with people demonstrating you don't have to go on the other side of the world to find "adventure" - Hubert.


Thank you Chinzo for helping me to deliver a truck of coal to Pourou's wife in Mongolia for this winter.


In the new story, I explain why I love India !!!


Yesterday in Sacramento, Kona went to meet Betty where ever it may be.
Jessica loved, cherished & pampered both of them for over 10 years, Betty in New York and Kona in Sacramento...


Thank you to all of you, you found JP Rostingt who already reconnected with Rahul. Arambol. India.


In a remote area with no tourists or hotel, I took a ferry at nightfall thinking it could only
be good to meet people on the other side. It was, I slept at the house of the doctor of the village of Bankot.



Tomorrow morning, I start riding south by the coastal road from fishing village to fishing village...
I completed my Hindi booklet, it is a marvel !!! Thank you Tania, Joel, Chou, Lamyah and YMCA for your help.


Sunday
10/12/14

I am back to normal. Between the back and neck massages I had from Asheya and the treatment the doctor gave me, I went back to feeling human again and I did the ultimate test, the Doppler ASD - They checked the 3 main tubes flowing blood to and from my head on what's left on my chicken's neck and amazingly, I passed. It was normal.

 

By tuesday, I will start riding south.


Welcome abord... and good luck to get there !!!t
It was limit but I made it on the boat. I decided that I took  all the risk I could for today !!!
!

Wednesday
10/8/14

Since I arrived in Mumbai, the 100ºF with high humidity on this end of the monsoon season bother me (my body) a lot. I feel tired, and I have dizziness everyday. Last week, I went to the hospital, they checked my blood pressure, did an ECG and 3 blood test, I was all good to go. But 2 nights ago, after a very good shrimp garlic butter sauce (and there were a ton of garlic that I ate it all) back in my bedroom, I fainted and passed out hurting slightly my hips when falling down.

I went back to the hospital, and fortunately, this time I was feeling dizz so the doctor could see I had a low blood pressure problem, 90/60.

He gave me a treatment and I will go back see him monday.

All is good, i am just slightly delayed !!!


Wednesday
10/1/14

We are October 1 and that makes me 68 !!!


Now, I am identified in Hindi as a "French Citizen" being on a "10 Years on the Road".

Thursday
9/25/14

I am still in Mumbai preparing myself. I lost my first Hindi teacher who did not have enough free time from his school and now I have Lamyah, Mustafa's wife, and a friend of Chou - a biker I met through a friend of him - are translating the sentences and vocabulary I put together to be able to introduce myself, tell my story and ask basic question in Hindi.

I am also working on the sidecar, fixing the starter, changing the clutch cable, cleaning and balancing the jets as well as reacclimating myself to it. Yesterday, I went uptown to visit Cho, a 11 miles ride through the Mumbai traffic in 1 hour, not that bad but with a temperature of  90ºF and the traffic, the motor of the Ural is overheating very quickly.

 

As for my plan, it changed quite a lot. I always wanted to start north by Rothang pass and up to the Himalaya mountains, but it is now too late in the season, the passes close for the winter by the end of september. I will consequently leave Mumbai to go South.

The good news, it that I will go next spring to the Himalaya mountains and that gives me plenty of time to prepare the ride to Mount Everest Base Camp by the Tibet...


Street food in Mumbai - here at Bademiya - is an incredible spectacle and extremely delicious...


Welcome to my new office in Mumbai where I started learning Hindi.


Thursday
9/18/14

When shipping your motorcycle by cargo around the world, you are at the "merci" of the shipping company and my sidecar had no priority on the cargo's route. Coming from Cape Town in South Africa it went to Singapore, Hong Kong, Malyasia, Sri Lanka and finally arrived one month late in Mumbai, but who cares when you are spending your summer in Barfleur and you are for 10 Years on the Road!

The Indian custom is known to be quite picky so I took a custom clearance agent and in 3 days, the sidecar was out of custom with no problem.

I am now talking with Arpan who would teach me Hindi 4 hours per day for the next 2 weeks and I will be ready to go on the road.

 

PS: You will see in the story to come that the sidecar is in perfect condition and that the starter just needed the hammer to kick on.


My sidecar is out of the Indian custom in India.


Tuesday
9/16/14

I am schedule to go pickup my sidecar tomorrow afternoon from the custom warehouse in Uran at about 80km from Mumbai !!!


The business card help me introduce myself very easily in many circumstances


Only for the connoisseurs, on the back, note the red dash in "SIDECAR-ING"

Monday
9/15/14

= Hubert Kriegel (say U-bear) but i am still working on it.

as well as on the shipping company who want to charge me twice on the unloading of the container to the dock, what's new with that !?!?!



The fastest i'll get my sidecar, the faster I'll merged with the crowed.
As for the food it is either spicy or it is spicy, but I pass on it when they say it is very spicy !?!?!



Just arrived in Mumbai at midnight. Hot and humid, it feels like travelling right away.


Friday
9/12/14

I am boarding at Paris CDG for Mumbai. It feels very weird, of course I have nothing prepared for India except the Lonely Planet I did not read and a few maps... we will see what's happening there. Anyway, I don't know how to travel an other way so no problem !!!


Tuesday
9/9/14

After 2 months resting in Barfleur with Lorraine and Milou, I will take a plane friday to Mumbai in India where I "hope" to get my sidecar and ride north to the Himalaya mountains before the passes close for the winter. Tomorrow, llike eveery weeks since I am in France, I will go visit Françoise at Meaux before my departure.


Even with a heck of a hake, it was not easy to say goodbye to my beloved Lorraine when leaving for India.


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