In Barcellonette, things were going wrong

In the afternoon, it became overcast, and I wasted the day at the campsite. In the evening, I wanted to quickly ride down to Barcelonnette for dinner. As soon as I turned onto the road, there was a loud crash, and my front wheel wobbled. A spoke had broken, precisely five minutes after the bike shop had closed for the next two days. This couldn't be true. Couldn't this have happened earlier in the afternoon? Then I could have had it properly repaired right away.

Fortunately, it wasn't the case that I couldn't do anything at all. I had tools and a spare spoke with me. But I would have to insert a tube and couldn't ride tubeless anymore. And I also couldn't get the front wheel properly centered. Not the optimal solution, but for the time being, it would suffice to keep going. So after dinner, I transformed the washroom at the campsite into a makeshift workshop and tinkered around late at night.

The next day, I was ready to ride again, and before heading out for a longer tour, I planned to do another day trip. I wanted to go to Col de la Pare. A rather long trip that followed a large loop through the mountains behind Barcelonnette. As soon as I got up there and switched to descent mode, there was a loud crash and grinding noise from the front brake. What was going on now? The clamp on the brake pads had gotten caught and was completely bent. The next problem within 24 hours. This was also solvable, as I had a spare clamp with me. But I was starting to get nervous; there were just too many bike problems at once in too short a time. That makes me anxious, especially when heading back to remote areas soon. At the very least, I wanted to buy all the used spare parts again before continuing. So, I decided to add another day in Barcellonette. There were enough tours to make the day worthwhile.

On Monday, I was able to climb a nice summit and afterward got all the equipment I needed. I was ready for the Trans Provence, a five-day tour that had been on my list for a long time. This is the core of this trip, around which I had planned everything else. Tomorrow, it should finally begin.