2013 Euro Tour - Beginnings of another Experience of a Lifetime

I'm not too worried about entertainment budget, I could happily get by with beer and a good book while you go boating.

If you're not going in the spahish direction the chunnel may be the best way to get to the contitnet, it's certainly the cheapest and I'm sure some of the GM's resident route planners could help with some good roads through our bit that aren't the M25.

How long are you thinking for the trip, one week?

Haha. No, no boating for me, just an example for anyone who was thinking of it. 2 weeks is about right I found. Could do longer but the budget can't. Yes, Chunnel is cheapest if you're that side of town. But it worked out to be only a tenner difference (i.e. considering the extra cost of riding to Dover from Cardiff and back again + the added time it would take after such a long trip didn't thrill me). But, I'm open to any cost saving ideas. The fun to be had is out there after all.

As for destination? I'd like to do more of France and heard there are some amazing parts of Southern Spain. Stilvio Pass has been mentioned and germany etc. So many places to go.

Well I'm a definite maybe.

It'll depend on when it is because of work and whether I can fund it but I'm certainly interested.

Always wanted to do a Euro Festival. So will probably go for one of these as part of the Tour (Hyperlinked for more info):

Sonar - June 13th-15th: Kraftwerk, PSB, Two Door Cinema Club etc.

Benicassim - July 18th-21st: Feat. Killers, Queens of The Stone Age etc;

Bilbao BBK - July 11th - 13th: Kings of Leon, Depeche Mode, Green Day etc;

All offer the choice to do 1, 2 or all days & offer camping. So dates are looking like Mid June or Middle/Late July and may extend the trip by a few days if necessary to make the return more relaxing.

For me, from Cardiff its about 1k miles. Here's a Michelin Map mock up and a link to the site if you wish to plot a route from wherever you are:

Via Michelin

So here's ep. 1 Tour vid from last summer. Turns out most of the footage wasn't the best as I realised I was much happier just riding and not filming, or thinking for that matter (which led to some interesting, unexpected experiences). Fancy that, spending £200 on a camera and finding out you're not that fussed about using it. Anyway, there's enough for maybe 3 or 4 vids and a short story so here goes:

To give a little context, I'd bought the bike for pleasure and hoped to go touring at some point. However, life got in the way and I found myself making excuses time and again - the usual, not enough money; not enough time etc. So I had two weeks booked from ages before and totally forgot about it. I then decided to move because my bike was being vandalised (*******s) and thought I'd use the time off.

With help from a friend, I got the move done and dusted and made the last minute decision to go for it. My only plan was to get to Barcelona in a week and see if I could hop on a Ferry to Mallorca. Everything else was up in the air. Last minute route planning and ticket booking ensued. It works out that its not cheaper to book last minute. I'd purchased Oxford panniers months ago and was eager to use them. I already had my trusty Ox magnetic tank bag. Last but not least, extra insurance, recovery and European Health Card and I was ready.

The plan was to use my phone as a GPS Navigator, Translator (as I spoke no French or Spanish) and Mobile Internet to locate accommodation etc. I had no map, phrase book, minimal cash (surely Europe take Switch Cards?) no accommodation booked. Ok, these aren't exactly best laid plans I admit, and as the saying goes ... things started to go wrong.

So off the Ferry in Caen after a glorious trip, really chilled and eager to get going. But its 7 in the evening (European Time) and I need to find accommodation. No problem, check the phone. "Err ... why can't I get a signal?". No matter what I tried I could not get a 3g signal despite having full reception. So that's the Sat Nav, Internet for locating accommodation and translator out the window.

No problem, improvise! Headed into Caen and really enjoyed the ride. Took my time as I was, after all, riding on the wrong side of the road By the way, its incredibly easy to get used to this as a biker. Although I had visions of making wrong turns at every junction, the only times I had problems was when initially navigating roundabouts. But soon enough this was second nature. If only speaking French was that easy!

Arrived in Caen at about 8 with the sun starting to set. Seemed darker than usual though. Brain frazzled from following numerous roadsigns in French, I stopped at the place I thought most likely to contain an english speaker - yes, the Travelodge. But 10 minutes later during which a conversation of 120 Euro per night took place, and no forthcoming info about hostels, I was back on the road again and just about stating to panic. After all, it seems a lot darker than usual ...

After finding that the City Centre of Caen is great for tourist attractions, and overpriced hotels, I decided to venture to the next town with the logic that hopefully smaller meant less expensive dwellings. Awfully dark out there.

Headed out of the city and unto and unlit A road. "Sh!t, I can't see anything!" My lights weren't working!

How the hell did that happen? They were working fine when I left. I won't bore you with the long version ("Hello, anyone still there?") but it seems en route on the ferry, the spring in the starter button housing had become dislodged and was not closing the circuit to make the lights work. Obviously, I didn't take the manual with me - the bike had been serviced shortly before I left - and at the time I had no clue what was causing the problem.

I made the decision to strip the front fairing to see if a wire had come loose or something ... at 10pm European Time. This of course was unsuccessful and so at 12am European Time I was contemplating two options:

a) Risk arrest or death by driving blind or;
b) Find a lovely little corner somewhere and hunker down for the night. After all it was a quite pleasant evening.

I've replayed these events over a thousand times in my head and there are so many things I could have done differently. But you know what, I wouldn't change anything. That first night reminded me that, even though I can be stupid, I'm also very self sufficient. It gave me the confidence afterwards to just chill out and enjoy the trip. Whatever happened next I knew I could deal with it.

Part 2 coming soon.

Now that's a crazy write-up!!! Looking forward to reading the rest......Like It!!!!

[Doinitmyway]

I was looking at a few options for a euro trip in first week of june. The ferry from Plymouth to Santander for 1 person 1 bike was available for £120. Paid £200 last year. Might give you more time to ride around the excellent roads in Spain - over/across/around the pyrenees to Barcelona??? Then a nice ride home via ? ? ? ?



Chris

Originally Posted by Doinitmyway

I was looking at a few options for a euro trip in first week of june. The ferry from Plymouth to Santander for 1 person 1 bike was available for £120. Paid £200 last year. Might give you more time to ride around the excellent roads in Spain - over/across/around the pyrenees to Barcelona??? Then a nice ride home via ? ? ? ?



Chris

Yes Chris, thanks. I've been checking and realise it could have been done much cheaper with advanced booking so working out the dates and will book ASAP. I also like the Santander route and it would be different having done France last time so will defintiely consider this.

Originally Posted by Skybaba

Now that's a crazy write-up!!! Looking forward to reading the rest......Like It!!!!

Haha, thanks man. Yeah crazy trip. The camera didn't capture even 5% I don't think. So can't promise footage of wheelies etc or any decent vlogging but will try to put something together for a few minutes of entertainment.

That all sounds positively bucolic.

I don't want to hijack your thread but I'll just leave a link here to my write up of my one and only euro trip attempt a couple of years ago.

http://www.triumphrat.net/ride-trip-...m-wearing.html