About halfway through our 3rd day in Germany, I was feeling a bit run down like I had caught a cold. Kitty and I were finishing up our tour of the Porsche museum and I thought we ought to call it an early day. I didn't sleep well that night, so we had a down day the next day to try & rest up before taking the train to Erding to get ready to start the tour. Again, I got very little sleep and then we took the Deutsche Bahn (high speed train) to Erding.
We got checked into Hotel Henry (great spot to stay, BTW) and took a power nap before we were supposed to meet everyone, have our tour orientation and then dinner together. Orientation went well, but the universe had other plans for me at dinner. I was enjoying my meal and started feeling a bit full despite only having finished about half my plate. Kitty teased me, calling me a quitter, and shortly after that I remember feeling dizzy and then experiencing a dream-like state. That's when I woke up on the floor of the restaurant. Fuck.
I tried to rally and sit up, but I ended up passing out again. The next time I woke, several of our tour companions were tending to me and I heard that an ambulance was on its way. Double fuck! Ambulance arrived, loaded me up and the medics started checking me over. EKG online - he's got an arrhythmia. Looks like a-fib, we need to cardiovert you. I'm starting to lose count of all the “fucks!” In my head. Keep your head still, we need to get a covid swab. COVID positive, the medic says a minute later. We are now en route to the ER.
Exhausted & semi conscious, I arrive in the ER and go through several triage interviews and eventually get the news that I'm being kept overnight. We definitely are not going to get to join the tour in the morning. I am devastated. I think of my poor wife having to watch me go through all of this and not know what the next steps are yet. This tour we've been dreaming of for more than a year is starting to disappear like a mirage.
The next day, the doctor tells me that I've probably had COVID for several days based on my PCR results, so he's confident I won't be contagious. He also says that the COVID is likely what caused the arrhythmia. They prescribe some meds and tell me to rest up back at the hotel, and discharge me. I finally get the best night's sleep since arriving in Germany.
The next day I start wondering what we're going to do now that we've been left behind by the group, and that's when Dominik (one of our tour guides) messages me. He tells me that the motorcycle we reserved is still at the hotel and if I'm feeling well enough after some rest, Kitty and I can try to catch up with the group. I check the weather since we've been hit with a nasty storm and see that the next day should be overcast, but dry. We might be able to salvage this trip yet!
Kitty and I pull the panniers off the bike and pack just the essentials we'll need while we'll be on tour since we can't take our luggage with us. Early dinner. Double check that we have all the must-have items packed. We leave after breakfast in the morning.
It's cold in the morning. 7 degrees Celsius. I load up Google maps on my phone and pair it to my helmet intercom. Now I just need to avoid being a jackass for my first venture on the German autobahn. Kitty and I blitz 450 KM across southern Germany and into France. I spend as much time as possible in the middle or right lanes, as the Germans don't mess around in the far left lane. There were several times when we were cruising at 150 KPH and cars passed us like we were standing still.
Finally, after a long ride, we arrived in Ribeauville and Google maps stopped working because the streets are so tiny and often not well marked - I couldn't find where to go. We eventually got to the hotel and we're greeted by Totti, a gregarious German who drives the support van for the tour. He was impressed we caught up with the group as quickly as we did and helped give us the lay of the land.
A few hours later, the first half of the tour group arrives and there are many surprised and happy faces to see that we have been able to rejoin the group. Likewise, when the other part of the group joins us at dinner, they too tell me how glad they are that I'm okay and back among the tour.
That brings us to today, where we enjoyed a ~170KM loop through the French countryside in the Alsace region. Through quaint, little, ancient towns with tiny streets and winding through verdant green forests up into the mountains. The views were absolutely stunning. The folks we've met on this trip are all of the same mindset, we're all here to have a great time and ride the tires off of these motorcycles. I can't wait to see what the next several days have in store for us
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