Moto GP Assen

On the grid, Rossi starts the race in pole position, a win today would make this his 100th MotoGP win. The young Spaniards Pedrosa and Lorenzo heading off the first row, and Jorge will be looking to pay Valentino back for the MotoGP race at Catalunya 2 weeks ago.
Joint championship leader Casey Stoner starts this race in 4th on the grid. British Rider James Toseland starts the race near the centre of the grid in 19th hoping to finish the race near to the front.
Dani Pedrosa begins with a cracking start, however first place is short lived as both Stoner and Rossi steal 1st and 2nd from him. Lorenzo is making his way back up the field and lands himself just behind Dani.
First lap finish's with Rossi leading the race. JT is now finding himself higher up the grid in 8th position just behind Nicky Hayden. Lorenzo takes 3rd and has his eyes set on the Casey Stoner and The Doctor.
Pedrosa's front wheel washes away in a low side and finds himself in the sand box. Rossi manages to pull away from Jorge however with 19 laps to go, unlike Catalunya there won't be any last minute wheel to wheel racing for 1st place as Rossi opens a 4+ second lead and keeps it.
Toseland finally overtakes Nicky Hayden and is now in 7th place. He has a long way to go before he can get into the top 5. Another Honda comes off as Dovizioso finds himself in the playing in the gravel as well as Pedrosa a few laps before. This moves Toseland in to 6th and has his eyes set on Vermeulen; however he is under pressure by Mika Kallio on the Pramac Ducati.
Mika Kallio sneaks past JT however he does not seem capable to pull away and the battle for 6th is not over yet. Toseland manages to get past Kallio again and will be hoping to pull away as quickly as he can. Mika Kallio falls at the last bend and is unable to finish the race. Leaving British rider James Toseland to finish in a well deserved 6th position.
Rossi takes his 100th win in his career. And Lorenzo finish's in 2nd and Stoner completes this one in 3rd.

Brno

we still have places for brno so come and ride the ride join the adventure with all the exitment of the motogp
phone me 07779 611084
john

The Journey Home

After a fantastic race and adreneline running high we decided to pack up the tent and head back on the Sunday night.

We left the circuit at about 16:30 after the first rush, but it still took nearly 2 hours to get out of the car park, so if we go again, we need to re-think the parking. A lot of people parked in the industrial estates that surround the circuit, so that might be a better option.

We travelled back up to Clermont Ferrand from Montmelo on Sunday night and stopped at an Etap Hotel to get our head down for a few hours before the final leg. I'd recommend the Etaps for a cheap stopover, only 36 euros for a double room.

We drove straigyt back up form the Dordoigne to Mid Wales on Monday, which took about 15 hours, the only place we got a bit held up was around Paris.

We did just under 3000 miles in the 2 weeks we were away, but the trip back from Montmelo was about 1200 miles, we used the toll roads on the way back which was about 70 euros.

Montmelo is a fantastic track with a superb atmosphere and great racing, I recommend a trip down and we can't wait to do it again next year....on the bike next time though.

P.S.
Just a quick bit of info for all of those Spanish fans that hissed and booed the Italian Simoncelli, every lap after he crashed, 'Rossi is Italian as well you know .'

It didn't stop them cheering when Rossi over took Lorenzo on the last corner though...

Rossi wins at Catalunya MotoGP

The last race of today is the big bikes, and Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner head off the first row. Dani Pedrosa takes the grid in 8^th with British rider James Toseland 1 place behind Pedrosa. Fellow Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards starts in 6th just behind Dovizioso and Elias.

As the light change for the start of the MotoGP Lorenzo and Rossi have a flying start, Casey Stoner hot on their heals challenging to get past. Takahashi came off on the 1^st lap with no way of recovering for the rest of the race. Leading racers Lorenzo, Rossi and Stoner started to pull away from the pack however did not look like separating from each other. Despite Lorenzo's best efforts he could not keep Rossi at bay and lost 1^st position with most of the race left.

With 19 laps to go Toseland has lost 6 places and is sitting in 15 th with Gibernau and Hayden close by. Rossi and Lorenzo began to widen the gap from Stoner. Elias takes a tumble and finds himself picking his bike up from the gravel.

Lorenzo has taken 1^st place back from Rossi, however in usual Rossi style, he is sitting right behind laying in wait and his slip stream. Capirossi and Pedrosa are having a fantastic battle in 5^th and it doesn't look like stopping anytime soon. 3^rd place Stoner has Dovizioso hot on his heels and has a podium position in his sights.

With Only 3 laps left Rossi sails past Jorge. Jorge takes 1^st from Rossi again which only lasts for a few seconds as Rossi brakes much later going into a bend and once again Rossi is in 1^st place.

As if that wasn't enough the final lap turns into a real battle, Rossi and Lorenzo were literally sharing paint, repeatably overtaking on another in the final moments, final result was Valentino makes a final overtake just in time to take the win. I can't think of a more deserved win for Rossi, pure entertainment from the Doctor, and it has to be said a fantastic battle from the 22 year old Jorge Lorenzo. 3^rd place for Casey Stoner, James Toseland finished in 13 gaining 3 places from being sent all the way back to 16^th early on in the race.

From todays race results; Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner are all tied for first place with 106 points each.

Moto GP - 250cc - Catalunya

The second race of the day is the 250cc race and Bautista, Aoyama and Simoncelli are separated by 22 points so the points from these races will make alot difference as the year progresses. Simoncelli however is nowhere to be seen as there seems to be problems with his bike after coming off early on in the race. Bautista led for the majority of the race, with only 12 laps left to race, he found himself in a comfortable 2 second lead from Barbera. The battle for first may have been relatively over but the battle for second had only just begun between Barbera and Pasini. With 7 laps left the race seemed pretty set as Bautista, Barbera and Pasini were taking control of the podium positions with a distance between each of them.

Top 5

1 Bautista

2 Aoyama

3 Barbera

4 Pasini

5 Debon

Moto GP - 125cc - Catalunya

First to kick of the Motor Racing at the Catalunya race track in Spain are the 125cc. The race started with young Brits Bradley Smith in 7th and Scott Redding in 10^th. The battle for 1^st between Simon and Iannone is still raging as the race progresses. With only 10 laps to go Danny Web was seen making his way back into the pits after suffering from a hand injury. The battle for third isn't quite over as Gadea isn't able to gain a good distance quickly from the following 3... Bradl and Smith still fight for 7^th place but Bradl came out on top and takes 7^th position, Smith 1 position behind. Redding finished this race in 11^th position.

The battle for 1^st was over with 1 lap to go as Simon got confused and thought he had won on the penultimate lap, allowing Iannone to take the chequered flag and 1^stplace. Unfortunately for Simon despite fighting back all he could do was finish in 4th, missing 3rd by hundredths of a second.

Moto GP De Catalunya - Day 13-14

A Spanish Moto GP is like being in a different world compared to a UK venue, the facilties are a 100 times better and the atmosphere is awesome. The weather makes a lot of difference, but Donnington and Brands have loads of lessons to learn, there are 20 screens at Catalunya for example. The only disappointing thing is the merchandising, unless you're a Valentino or Lorenzo fan, or anyone else Spanish, you won't get t-shirts or anything. In fact, you get more JT stuff at BSB rounds.

A hot day and a hot track meant there wasn't much action until the qualifying sessions this afternoon, which saw Bradley and JT improve on free practice positions yesterday.

Bradley led qualifying for most of the session, but was pipped at the post in the last few minutes. 7th isn't maybe as bad as it sounds on paper because he was held up in traffic on the last lap when everyone else leap frogged him. He's on the pace and should be challenging for a podium tommorrow.

JT qualified in 9th, so the right side of the top ten, and although Edwards is 4 places ahead of him it was only by 2 tenths. Edwards may have improved on 5th and Stoner on 3rd, but they both crashed out with about 10-15 minutes of qualifying left. Pedrosa also crashed and had to be carried out of the kitty litter, so hopefully he's ok for tomorrow.

The forecast is good for tomorrow, so we should be in for some brilliant close racing.

Moto GP De Catalunya – Day 12

To be technically correct, it's actually the 'Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya' held at the Circuit de Catalunya, which is about 15 minutes outside of Barcelone in a place called Montmelo.
 
It's all lining up to be a cracking weekend of racing, the weather is about 30 today and it's forecast to get even better over the next few days.
 
Good news that Dani Pedrosa has been passed as fit to race, although I'm not sure you'd get me on a moped with a broken femur, let alone a GP bike!
 
Lets hope JT has a good weekend, hopefully Mugello gave him some added confidence, (a la Bradley Smith), and we'll start to see him getting some consistent top 10 results. Maybe too much to ask for him to be challenging for a podium, but I hope he at least finishes ahead of Edwards. If he doesn't, how long will it be before questions are raised over his contract being renewed with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 for 2010?
 
Lets hope Bradley can make it three in a row, anther tough ask, especially at a home track for Gadea and Simon. If he can do it here, I think that it will really assert his position as a genuine title contender… 'Good luck Bradley.'

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Moto GP De Catalunya - Day 8-11

The tickets are booked. Got confirmation by email this morning that we have seats in stand A. Should get a good view of a couple of bends and there are screens nearby. Good job I brought the laptop and Vodafone dongle.

On the beach for the next few days and not a cloud in sight today.

Campsite booked for Friday just outside Barcelona at Camping Del Mar, Malgrat De Mar. Decided not to use the Circuit camping as the facilities aren't usually that good, but we're only 1/2hr away from the circuit. Also, there's nothing on the website that says there is any camping at the circuit, but I'm sure there is.

Moto GP De Catalunya - Day 6

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The journey over the Pyrenees was superb, definitely got to get down here on the bike soon. Avoided the toll roads through Spain aswell and it was still quite a quick journey, especially on a Sunday…the roads were empty.

Arrived in Cambrils (Playa De Montroig), a resort just south of Tarragona last night. We've decided to stay here for 5 nights rather than going down to Valencia. The weather is 'Very Hot' again (32), so a few days to chill on the beach before we head back up the coast to a site in reach of the circuit on Friday.

Tried to reserve tickets online today, but the site kept crashing. Tried to call them, but they won't take bookings over the phone this week. They are supposed to be emailing me a booking form, but no sight of it yet. I want to reserve seats for stadium A, (about middle of the price band at 100 euros) but there aren't many left, so may have to resort to general entry which is about 65 euros.

Moto GP De Catalunya - Day 5-6

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Arrived at 16:30 with a few shopping stops on the way and checked in at another great site (Village Domaine D'Arnauteille), in Mont Clare. Visited an amazing medieval walled city, Carcassonne in the Languedoc region which I recommend a visit to if you're heading down this way. There's a thriving community still living within the main walls, it's all very touristy, but the prices are reasonable (unlike Paris) and there aren't too many places like this left that aren't mock ups of what they used to be like to live in.

Andrea was happy because she had her first duck cassoulet, a speciality of the region, along with the red wine that she's also taken a fancy to.
We're leaving here tomorrow to head over the Pyrenees via Axat so we're off to plan if we can stop in and get the tickets for the GP on the way.

Weather has turned bad, still warm but plenty of rain, so glad we're in the car and not on the Bike (or I'd have ear ache as well as being wet). We may just head to Tarragona now so that we can spend an extra day on the beach, weather permitting, but we'll see how the journey goes tomorrow.

Moto GP De Catalunya - Day 3-5

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We left Paris on the 2^nd June and headed down the Loire Valley to sample some Châteaux's on the way through, with the plan to get down to Sarlat in the Dordogne in time to find a site and get the tent back up.

We stopped a couple of nights at a brilliant camp site outside Sarlat, (Les Terrasses Du Perigord , facilities much better than sites at home) and spent a day canoeing down the Dordogne to Beynec, which is an amazing city built on a hillside into the rocks. We visited Roccamadour the following day, another similar place with lots of medieval streets full of Bistros and Cafes.

Glad we're not using the toll roads, not just from a cost and monotony point of view, but because you get a better experience of France and French life if you use the A roads which are pretty good as there's not much traffic this time of year. (or D roads in France).

Moto GP De Catalunya

Days 1-3
We arrived in Dover at 12:00pm on the 30^th an hour before our booking and made it down to Paris by 15:30. The weather was glorious and surprisingly French driving was ok. We used the tolls on this leg, but plan to avoid them the rest of the way down.
Andrea (the wife) managed to drive around the periferique and navigate to the campsite whilst I was asleep, (best way), thanks to the Dutch for Tom Tom!

The campsite (Bois De Boulogne) was the nearest to the City centre so nice and convenient to get into the centre on local transport using a Paris 3 day travel pass, which you can use on the tram, train & metro.
We spent a few days in Paris, the weather was still fantastic. Paris was great and much cleaner than I remember from a trip years ago. The only downside is the cost of everything, a 50cl beer was about 8 euros!

Catalunya Moto GP Trip

Moto GP De Catalunya - The Plan

We planned to get down to Paris on Saturday night to get the tent set up and then to spend a few days in Paris before we explored some more of France. No set plans or campsites booked, so we thought we'd just see where we ended up. We're aiming to get down to Valencia by the 7^th June and then I'm aiming to get back up to Catalunya for the Moto GP weekend at the Circuit De Catalunya for the 12^th. I ought to add that I only sprung this part of the holiday on the wife a few days before we left, so it's going to cost me in Paris.

I couldn't get the tickets before we left, as they don't post them out until a week before the race. We're still debating about stopping at the circuit to get them on the way down, or risk getting them on Friday 12^th when we're on our way back up.

Home

Arrived home about 1.30pm. The four of us covered 2.787 miles and only had the one problem Robs generator on his fireblade which is just one of those things other than that everyone had a great time with good hotels. Great roads. And weather. Amazing racing. Fuel costs around the £300 mark. Toll cost about £200. So go on come and join us at brno give me a call on 0121 270 6703 or 07779 611084.
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Good start for the trip home

It is said "an army marches on it's stomach", well we're not an army, but it's true that "motorcyclists ride well on a good breakfast". A good starter for the day which beats the continental breakfasts hands down.

Tunnels

After a good meal at the Eight Bells in Dover, John Gilday informed me that on the journey home we had gone through 100 tunnels in Italy and 7 in France. Don't you just love going through tunnels on a bike.

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Calais

Arrived at Calais 5.25pm French time.

Managed to get on the early boat 6.25pm sailing. We are staying at the Premier Lodge again tonight, so it's a leisurely crossing, food, beer and a good night's sleep before the final leg and the home stretch tomorrow.

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Lunch break

Just north of Reims we thought we'd stop for lunch and a spot of sun bathing. We are making good progress, and without tempting fate with another breakdown, we are going to try for an earlier Ferry with only 150 miles to Calais.

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Trip back to Calais

This morning started early with breakfast at the hotel. After packing up the bikes again we left Dijon and covered our first 100 miles before our first fuel stop.

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Arrive Dijon Hotel

We arrived at our hotel in Dijon at 9.15pm, we've spent nine hours in the saddle so it is safe to say we are all ready for food and a chill.

We should have an easier day tomorrow, just 350 miles to Calais.

Anyway a quick shower followed by a nice steak, find a relaxing well stocked bar for a couple of beers and a chat about the roads and the views.

Total milage so far 1875 miles.

Leaving Italy

Nearly time to leave Italy, the weather is wet but warm. I'm up first and starting to pack. After breakfast and packing up the bikes we'll be back to mile munching for the return leg of our trip.

We have an overnight stop booked in Dijon, which is about 500 miles from here. Although I'm pleased to say that there is some of the best scenery and roads you could imagine for the first section of today.

So it's going to be a long day, much time for contemplation and my thoughts are now directing towards the next trip to the Brno MotoGP for which there are still places available, but they are going fast.

Anyway time to start turning some wheels, and play with some great roads.



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Back to the town

By the end of the main event it started to rain again. We had a bit of a wet journey back to the hotel.

We thought after the disaster of last nights meal we'd try a different restaurant. All going well so far, the prawn cocktail starter was as expected and I'm pleased to say as was the pasta dish afterwards.

Rob, the human dustbin, is full! that's a first.

We've had a few drinks with our meal, but we have enjoyed our time so much at the Wallace bar we've decided to go back for a nightcap, or two.

Stoner wins the Mugello MotoGP

Lorenzo was on pole, but fell off in the warm up lap. At the start of the race Lorenzo suffered a lot of wheel spin resulting in him rapidly dropping down the field. Dovizioso led the field early on with Pedrosa, Rossi, Stoner, Vermeulen and Melandri leading the rest.

The track is drying, Toseland was the first to change onto dry tyres, with 15 laps to go and Rossi now leading many of the riders start to swap bikes.

Melandri passes Rossi on Lap 14 and the leaders all pit to change to dry's.Pedrosa takes a low side with 11 laps to go appearing to have hurt his already injured hip. Toseland has got up to 6th having passed Melandri.

9 laps to go Stoner leads Capirossi, a lap later Capirossi takes the lead but by lap 5 the Ducati takes it back.

Lorenzo gets past Dovizioso to take 3rd, followed with 3 laps to go by Rossi. Stoner meanwhile has gapped 2nd place Capirossi by 1.3 seconds.

Both Yamaha's of Lorenzo and Rossi get past Capirossi with 2 laps to go to take 2nd and 3rd. Toseland gets himself to 6th with team mate Edwards hot on his heals.

Final results

Pasini wins the 250's

Bautista on pole and it's wet, very wet. Simoncelli took the lead from the start and virtually disappeared into the distance. Bautista and Pasini pulled back the 6 second lead by mid race. Simoncelli and Bautista had a coming together but both managed to stay shiny side up but the off resulted in Pasini taking the lead.

 

Bautisa managed to catch up with Simoncelli, 4 laps to go. After having a couple of attempts at overtaking Bautista had a huge moment which almost saw him high siding. Fortunately he managed to hang on and must have decided a 3rd was going to be good enough.

 

Simoncelli managed to get close enough with two laps remaining to contest for the lead from Pasini. On the last lap there was a succession for passes, with real wheel to wheel racing - a real heart stopper in the wet.

 

1. M. Pasini

2. M. Simoncelli

3. A. Bautista

4. T. Luthi

5. H. Barbera

6. H. Aoyama

7. A. Debon

8. H Faubel

 

 

Heavens open for 250's

A wet race is declared for the 250cc race.

Bradley Smith wins at Mugello

Bradley Smith, on pole, had a bad start dropping to 6th by the end of he first lap but managed to recover the lead for a significant chunk of the race. Danny Webb and Scott Reading battled into 4th and 5th when suddenly with 12 laps to go Danny Webb had a huge off on the down hill chicane.

 

The pack of 8 separated with Smith, Terol and Simon battling at the front. Final results Bradley Smith achieved his second win this season. 

 

1. B.Smith

2. N.Terol

3. J. Simon

4. P. Esparagaro

5. M.Marquez

6. J. Zarco

7. S. Reading

8. S. Bradl

 

Mugello - Race Day

Up early this morning to the circuit, met up with a friend to collect two paddock passes. This was worth it's weight in gold. We managed to get some great pictures of Capirossi, Rossi and Haden...oh and a few paddock girls too.

Managed to sit on a two seater Ducati racer until an Italian official got involved.

It's not very warm this morning, and is on the damp side.

Initial practice saw Casey Stoner have a major rear slide.

125's racing next, just been declared a dry race will Bradley or Scott get a podium?

Dinner out

Went out for a meal to one of the many restaurants. I ordered what I thought was a pasta dish, what turned up was a plate of raw meat and two pieces of toast. Hmmmm not impressed, pizza and beer tomorrow.

Mugello MotoGP

Lorenzo pole, Stoner second, Capirossi third, Rossi in fourth. Lots of late action with the top four snatching last minute positions.

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Mugello Qualifying Day

Disaster, unlike the locals, forgotten the glasses for the vino and the bread for lunch, so had to buy sandwiches at the track, hmmmmm....burgers.

 

But as for the vino, it may look like a carton of orange but cut the top off and it's a glass.

 

AND news flash Bradley Smith is in pole, with Scott Reading in second.

Dinner at the hotel

Sea bass to go

And back to the Wallace bar for some good old Scottish hospitality.

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Storm warning

Thunder clouds are rumbleing over Mugello, but better tonight than tomorrow.

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Wallace bar

Time for a beer after leaving the circuit. There are many resaurants within the walls of Prato, one Scottish bar begged a visit, the Wallace bar.

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At the Track - Practice day

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Its hot. The road into Mugello from the hotel is just mega, sweeping bends hairpins what else can I say.

Rossi looked quick from the start as did Melandri. Oh, Rob got here about 12.30pm - and fell asleep.

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Friday

Rob stopped for some sleep somewhere near Genova about 1am.

We are going into town for pizza & beer.

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Bike fixed

We're on the final leg of the trip. With Rob's bike being fixed in the afternoon we had to continue, the plan is for him to catch us up.

Thankfully Rob's now on his way, it was the generator. It's put a dent in his wallet to the tune of €600.

We are about 95 miles away from our hotel in the walled town of Prato. One thing is for sure, we shall be having a beer or maybe too many tonight.


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Breakdown

45 miles away from our hotel and Rob's Fireblade breaks down, we think it's the battery. I'm impressed it's lasted most of the day. Sent for the man from AA, arrived after 45minutes.

Not going to be fixed tonight, Rob staying locally at a hotel, with the bike, and we will continue to Geneva. Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow when his bike will be fixed.

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Lunch

Got off the boat at 10.15am we have covered about 250 miles today, 445 miles total. So far the cost of fuel is approx £50, toll charges £13. Weather warm & dry just had some lunch, I think we should get to our hotel about 8.00pm ish

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On the boat

Just left dover on what should be about a one and a half hours to Calais . And full English breakfast. Ready for some motorways but looking forward to the bendy stuff after Dole.

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Day two

So here we are, I'm the first up showered and ready to go.

We have to be at the port for 7.30am as we sail at 8.30. Then motorway to Dole and Genève by the end of the day for our overnight stop.

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Arrived at first hotel

At the Dover Premier Inn hotel after food and beer, just in time for more beer waiting for John Gilday to join us

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Stage one

Well, we all arrived at South Mimms at the same time, 2.20pm, and after a coffee and some fuel we were off again. Should be arriving at Dover 4.46pm, covering some 209 miles
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14 hours to go

Ok the state of play for the Mugello trip, we are all ready although, due to work commitments , John Gilday will be meeting us in Dover.

Last minute problem with Blackberry email, heading down to the Orange shop to sort.

The other last minute change is we will be taking waterproofs.

Follow us to Mugello

Thanks Matt, well after a week of problems with my bike which saw the AA taking me home at 4.30am last Tuesday and finding out I needed a new generator.

I now believe I/we are ready. There may be only four of us, myself JohnB GSXR 750, John Gilday GSXR 1000, Rob White CBR Fireblade and Gareth Knowells Fazer 1000. The adventure starts Tuesday when we leave for Dover. Three of us will be leaving from West Bromwich at about 12.30pm ish as we have to meet Gareth at South Mimms on the M25 about 2.30pm ish

The Next Trip - Mugello

John Bennett is taking over the blogging for the next trip to the Mugello MotoGP.

The trip starts Tuesday 26th May, the journey over the Alps is spectacular. Whilst Rossi can't get his 100th win on his home track, the Italian fans will no doubt be as enthusiastic as ever.

John, over to you mate.....

Home, safe and sound.

Oli's bike started to misfire at 6-7k revs again, just like it did last time we got off the ferry. Since he is running on RON 98 fuel and we have done around 80 miles without problem, so it isn't dirty fuel or the octane rating, I'm beginning to suspect the problems on his Kawasaki ZR600 Ninja are more associated with being on the ferry. Although I can't think what. It comes to something when my old British Triumph Daytona T595 turns out to be more reliable than his Japanese pocket rocket.

We finally got home about midnight, after unpacking the bike and getting it garaged again it was closer to 1am. I was hoping all the Red Bull, coffee and Pro Plus starts to wear off soon.

The trip back from our camp site (Le Bounty) just south of Mulsanne only took a total of 14 hours to complete the 534 miles door to door.

It is hoped the blog will be picked up by John Bennett - this time traveling to the MotoGP in Mugello in a little over a weeks time.

Earlier Ferry.

The ride back has been great. Although the first section to Alencon was sunny spells, by the time we got to Rouen we were seeing a little rain, which cleared quickly to beautiful sunshine all the way to Calais. So much so we have now got a tan on our faces, visor shaped.
We used all the toll roads on the route, again the total toll charges came to no more than 20 Euros each.
The last toll station before Calais was crawling with French Police. They'd pulled over several trucks, a few bikes and one Ferrari. We got through without incident, can't have been going fast enough.
We arrived early for our boat, paid an additional £11.00 which means we might stand a chance of getting back before the small hours of tomorrow.

Packed up.

All sorted, packed and ready to go.

French Police Montage

Over the trip we had several encounters with the French Police. Not only were there road blocks but they had the habit of sending you where you didn't want to go.

So you find another route and they've blocked that route too. So dedicated to the Gendarmes.