Dad edged the behemoth out of the yard onto the road, Mum following behind in the A, I of course was strapped in next to Pater. Talk about weird, for starters you get into the cab bit from the camper, there aren’t any doors! Then of course you are sat miles away from everything although the view from so high up is pretty cool.

There’s a fuel station next to the camper place so we used that to fill the monster’s dual tanks. That done it didn’t take long to reach the A1 and the stream of traffic heading west.

"What are we turning off for?” I queried a few minutes later, "The A1 goes straight to Kӧln.”
"We aren’t going to Kӧln. though.”

Beep beep! Mum pulled past and waved before accelerating off down the A1 as we slowed to navigate the A43 A46 A1 interchange.

"So where’re we going?”
"Mettmann.”
"What for?”
"Well it’s a bit daft being up here today then having come back again tomorrow to pick up Ron and Angela.”
"I guess,” I allowed, what would we do without Dad’s magnificent brain on the job?
"So they staying at Altenahr?”
"Not tonight.”
"At ours?”
"Sort of,” he supplied changing lanes to pass a string of trucks.
"What’s sort of mean?”
"They’re going to christen this thing.”
"They can’t!”
"Why not may I ask?”
"We should be the first to use it,” I told him.
"It was part of the idea, that we’d use it for occasions like this,” he pointed out.
"I know but it is our camper.”
"So what do you suggest?”
"They could use the pull outs like before?”
"You could give up your bed,” he proposed.
"For why?”
"You could sleep in here instead of Angela.”

Hmm, he might have something there.

 
It didn’t take long to reach the Mettmann turn off and our exit from the autobahn network, joining instead the somewhat twistier and narrower B7. It might only be about ten K to the Grönberg’s but we must’ve stopped ten times to allow trucks and stuff to pass us – Dad being justly cautious. Eventually though we reached our destination, hey Grönberg’s, cake!

 
"It’s huge,” Ron mentioned as she followed me into the Hymer.
“’S what I said.”

Angela had of course suggested we have lunch before leaving so whilst that was being organised I volunteered to show Ron the mobile gin palace. Well I wanted to explore more too.

"Full kitchen,” I supplied, "There’s even a full size oven.”
"And fridge freezer,” Ron added opening said door.
"Really?” I hadn’t seen that.

This thing’s got more stuff than some houses! We opened doors, tested mattresses, lounged on the sofa – well you have to don’t you?

"Girls?”
"Did you know there’s a DVD player, Daddy?”
"Yep, kiddo,” he admitted stepping up to join us, "So, does it pass muster?”
"It’s well cool, Mr B,” Ron told him.
"Angela’s just serving up so let’s go in the house, eh?”

Food, camper – food wins.

 
Training was of course our Adenau – Nurburg circuit, new for Ron but pretty mundane for me an’ Mand.

"Geez, doesn’t this ever stop?”
"Not until we get to the circuit,” Mand advised a little smugly, for once she could be superior to Ron.
"I never realised it was so hilly,” Westfalia Ron admitted.
"You’ve been before,” I noted.
"Not to ride, you don’t notice the drags in the car.”
"Not far now,” I advised, "Ramps up a bit through Quiddel then we’re at the circuit.”
"Thought we went under it back a ways?”
"The long circuit, the GP circuit’s up at the top.”
"Joy,” Ron sighed.
"We’re inside the big circuit,” Mand added.

 
We usually use the main road past the circuit but with Ron along we took the quieter, more scenic route through Nurburg village past the castle and the public circuit access point . The distant growl of a performance car signalled its impending arrival on the Döttinger Höhe, the Nordschleife circuit’s kilometre plus straight. Ron strained to spot the automotive missile, I guess it’s a bit of a novelty for her, we locals pretty much ignore the noise and so on.

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww.

The streak of green flashed along the track followed shortly by the dopplering of the exhaust as it slowed up at the grandstands.

"Geez, that was shifting,” Ron stated.
"They can do like three hundred along that bit,” I spouted.
"Three hundred?”
"Not all of them,” I backtracked a bit.
"More like thirty for us on Saturday,” Mand suggested.
"Yeah,” I agreed.
"We’re riding on the circuit?” Ron queried.
"Three laps of the long circuit sandwiched between laps of the GP according to Dad.”

 
With that sobering thought we pushed on towards Hohe Acht, the six hundred metre plus high point of both the circuit and this evening’s ride. Of course there’s the fun of the Kaltenborn – Kesseling descent to follow and of course Mand and me had to show off. There’s one particular dip, just after Herschbach, that I particularly enjoy, I prepared myself and flexed my knees.

Down into the dip, pump the legs, up and, "Waaargh!”

Now usually I get the wheels off the ground, you know, maybe ten centimetres but with showing off I was going faster and pumped harder. I certainly caught some air, a lot of air in fact, by the time I returned to terra firma I had a death grip on the bars. How I stayed upright I'll never know, the landing wasn’t the lightest, I sat up as soon as I was in control.

"Flippin’ ‘eck, Gab!” Ron almost shrieked.

I raised a hand in acknowledgement, the others taking a few moments to rejoin me.

"You been practising?” Mand accused.
"Nope, just skill I guess,” I bluffed.
"You must’ve been half a metre off the road,” Ron supplied.
Sugar.
"Maybe don’t tell Dad?” I requested.

Suffice to say I took it a bit easier the rest of the way down.

 
"You awake?”
"No,” I mumbled, "What?”
"You ever wonder what you’ll do after all this?” Ron asked.
"All what?” I turned onto my back and stared into the weird ‘not’ light of the Hymer’s master bedroom.

Okay I swapped my Gab den to share with Ron just so I could claim first overnight in the camper – hope Angela appreciates my forfeiture of the eyrie.

"This, you know, Apollinaris, racing and stuff.”
"After?”
"Well we can’t do it for ever can we?”
"Don’t see why not.”
"It would be nice,” Ron admitted, “but you’ve got a plan B right?”
"I can make a mean Latte.”
"Seriously, Gab.”
"Well I'm doing the hospitality management thing at college from September, I suppose I could do that. You?”
"Truth?”
"Duh!”
"I always wanted to be a painter.”
"I thought you were doing history at college?”
"I am but like it’s not exactly a career is it?”
"You could teach,” I suggested.
"Yeah,” she sounded less than enthusiastic.
"So we’ll race forever, we’ll never be wage slaves with a nine to five.”
"Says she starting a new job next week.”
"That's different.”
"If you say so.”
"I need to sleep,” I punctuated with a yawn.
"Yeah,” she agreed.

Of course then I couldn’t get to sleep instead thinking over what Mand had said. Damn you Grönberg!

 
I awoke somewhat discombobulated, no roof light, bed too wide, it didn’t even sound right and then there was the light rocking and what sounded like footsteps.A door opened and light flooded into the dim enclosure, "You getting up, Gab?”
Ron, camper – what is the time?

"Er yeah I guess, woz the time?”
“Bit before eight.”
"Urgh!”
 

"You doing stuff with Connie, Gab?” Dad enquired clearing his breakfast stuff up.
"Er think so.”
"You coming to HQ, Ron? Me and your mum need to sort supplies out for tomorrow.”
"I could just hang here?”
"Fair enough, Gab, you’re in charge of security.”
“’Kay.”

Mum, Dad and Angela headed down to Bad Neuenahr shortly afterwards along with the Hymer.
 

"You want to hang with me and Con?”
"The girl from the bakery?”
"Uh huh, not sure what we’re doing mind.
“Could do, I hadn’t really got anything planned.”
"I know, we can show you the kiosk.”
"Fine.”
"We can go on the city bikes,” I enthused.

And so half an hour later two of the country’s top under eighteen girl cyclists departed Schloss Bond looking no more like serious cyclists than Frau Holdorf does a marathon runner!

Maddy Bell © 03.03.17