Speedy and Lucky go south!

Good to hear you're both back safely.

Glad to see you both back safe and sound

Tell us about your adventure

Sorry but I missed this thread, am using a slightly dodgy computer which is a bit touch and go but am grateful to have something. Thanks for all the good wishes, was a fantastic trip, exhausting but fantastic. I too can`t wait to see all the pics.... all 230 of them!!! If I were to write a trip report it`d probs be about 30 pages long so many places visited and so much to say.

I didn`t quite realise how many miles we`d actually travelled and am gobsmacked to realise it was 3,300... no wonder I ached lol. Big thanks to Mike for all the planning and making it such a fantastic experience

[Luckypants]

Well here we go with the story of the trip (Claire asked me to do it as she cannot remember everywhere we went!)…

We left Claire’s house about 9am on 10th June to head down the M6/M1 to Dover, full of excitement at the prospect of discovering new places. The start of this kind of ride is always a bit flat due the doing the ‘boring bit’ to get to The Channel. We had bought some radio intercoms to be able to keep in touch on the move, as we thought this would be helpful. Unfortunately one of the earliest uses of this was to inform Claire that her waterproofs had blown off her bike soon after hitting the M6! (Black mark against me as I had tied them on….) The remaining trip to Dover was pretty un-eventful except that I missed some services on the M20 when Claire was bursting for the loo……









We over-nighted in the Dunkirk Formule1 before setting off to try to meet Claire’s mate in Eindhoven. Guess what? It was ****ing down and Claire’s waterproofs were just scraps somewhere on the M6! She got soaked through and I was feeling pretty guilty. We were taking the motorway today to get some miles done and riding conditions were terrible! We had to ride pretty slowly and in the end had to give up trying to meet Claire’s friend, we were not going to make the allotted time and he could not change the time when he could meet us. So we struggled on but by the German border Claire was freezing cold and we stopped for a good break.






After that we headed off to our next objective, the military cemetery at Rheinberg. It was also the end of the motorway bashing, which raised our spirits a bit more. One of Claire’s patients has a brother is buried there and had never visited the grave. He was now too ill to make the trip, so we said we would call, find the grave and take some photos for him. It was not much of a detour for us. Military cemeteries are moving places I find, so many young men having given their lives for our freedoms makes one humble. This was a modest cemetery of 3500 or so graves, kept immaculate as always by the War Graves Commission.






We spent about an hour there before moving on to our hotel in Lippstadt. Claire christened Lippstadt ‘Perfectville’ as everything was really clean and tidy (Even by German standards!). The weather had improved and so we set off in good spirits for Prague. We were able to go cross country for a most of the day and this was now feeling much more like a bike trip. The day went well and by lunch we had covered a lot of ground and also seen some good scenery. Whilst lunching in Hann Munden the waterboard back home called on my mobile asking permission to dig up my field to fix a water pressure issue – how bizarre! Even all this way abroad, they can still find you! We carried on cross country towards the Czech border, by chance I took a wrong turn in Weimar and found a bike shop where we stopped to buy Claire new waterproofs. It was late afternoon by this stage and the shop owner doubted we would make Prague that night. Ha!... We hit the Autobahn and realised it was un-restricted, so held a steady 150 KPH – and stuff was still flying past us! The road off the motorway to Prague was new and like a child's drawing, going off over hills into the distance, so with a little ‘Yeee Har!’ over the radio we attacked it. An hour later we stopped for fuel in the Czech Republic! A few miles into the Czech Republic the road deteriorated, but was straight as an arrow most of the way but we did the last hour in the dark. We hit Prague about 10pm and needed to find our hotel. We asked the way from who we thought was a taxi driver, but was just some random guy….. he just said ‘Follow me!’ so we did. It was a little harum scarum what with cobbles, tram tracks and mad drivers – but this guy led us to our hotel. Unfortunately the hotel is in the pedestrianised zone, so our good Samaritan could not drive in, but parked up and led us on foot! What a guy and would take nothing for his trouble. By 11pm we were sorted in our room, bikes parked (another story!) and having showers / changing etc. We went for a midnight stroll around Prague, had some beers then bed!

Prague is an excellent city, full of lovely buildings and nice folks. I’m not gonna do a travel log here, but loads of photos will be linked at the end. Here are a couple…





One coincidence was that some guys from my little local pub in my little village actually arranged a trip to Prague arriving on our last day! So we met up with most of them for a few beers on our last evening……



Monday 16th we set out for Budapest. In keeping with the beasting we had been giving ourselves, we were gonna do it in one day! We headed south (after doing battle with Prague ring road) and the weather held. Another long day, crossing an extra country we had not banked on (Slovakia!) where some guy asked for a sit on my bike, as he was thinking if a VFR. He was dreaming given the average income for folks there and Claire was convinced he’d knife me for my bike! We arrived in Budapest safe enough though, having passed through places with unpronounceable names and even found the hotel with no drama - it even had a garage for the bikes. Budapest is bit like a grubby Prague, so here are some pics…








After Budapest we were no longer on a schedule as we had no more hotels booked, so were able to reduce the daily mileage and do what we felt like. We set off in torrential rain (I was glad I found that bike shop and so was Claire) but luckily the weather front was heading east and we were heading west so we cleared the rain in an hour or two. We left Hungary and entered Austria in glorious sunshine….




We stopped for lunch in Austria (Woo!), checked the map and found ourselves to be slightly off course. No problem, we found a minor road to put us back on course and had a lovely ride across the hills, during which we found our first series of hairpins. These were Claire’s first ever hairpins so we stopped for celebratory photos




When we got to the area we wanted to overnight in, we found all the hotels full of cyclists! A nice man directed us to a guest house (Gasthof in German ) out of town which we found easily, but this to was full! However the nice proprietor called a neighbour who did B&B in the hills and sent us there. It was a gem with our own balcony looking out on the hills…




Next day we set out for the Grossglockner, the only really high pass we planned on tackling. We had a lovely day heading across rolling hills that gradually got more alpine. A lovely lunch stop in the middle of no where was idyllic. (with a nice grade III rapid by us)






I got us lost again, this time heading over a complete pass - the Katschberg ski resort (only 1600M) - before realising what I had done! So we turned round and headed back. We got back on course, before Claire saw where we were headed.....



Over the Radstadter Tauernpas where we saw our first snow…





Before we arrived at the Grossglockner rather later than planned at about 5pm…





Claire was pretty done in by this stage so we decided to stop in the Gasthof next to the toll booths for the Glockner..



We had dinner by 6pm and all the staff left, leaving just us alone up there with the mountain and a bottle of wine….






Then a massive stormed brewed up




Then it cleared…




Next day we headed up the Glockner….. Claire was a bit scared, but with some encouragement rode up that bad boy! It was so high our bikes were cutting out! Something to do with the air mass sensor I think, but bloody un-nerving when you are changing down for a hairpin and your bike just stops! We got to the top and even though the very top was in cloud (The Biker's Nest) it was amazing…...




Then a load of Lamborghinis turned up (more on these later)





We headed down the other side of the pass and I went on ahead. I waited for Claire and managed to get a good pic of her tacking a sharp downhill bend over a river… (note the excellent head turn, looking where she wants to go )




Claire decided to have a rest here and I went off down the road, filtering past a load of Lambos at some temporary traffic lights… They did not like that! Me and two other bikes were then chased up the next mountain by a posse of Lamborghinis until I realised that what I was doing (racing angry Lamborghini owners!) was daft and would end up with me off down a big dock off drop! So I backed off, turned around and went back to meet Claire. The huge drops and the intensity of the road had worn her out, so we took her bike back to the gasthof and she came pillion with me back up the mountain. We rode right up to "The Bikers Nest" this time as the weather had improved, the last half mile up a scary steep, narrow, cobbled road with the tightest hairpins! My bike stalled when taking first for a very tight hairpin (again!), resulting in a mad push of the starter, loads of revs and spinning wheel. Claire was not that impressed! (nor was I) The view up there was stunning….






We then went to the actual Grossglockner Glacier….





… then home (well the gasthof...) for tea and medals!

The next day we headed off up to southern Germany as we were now heading home. We found a lovely rustic gasthof in the middle of nowhere. The proprietor was a jovial guy, but with not much English (but as always way ahead of our German!) who sorted us beers and a nice dinner. We had a glorious sunset that night…







We trundled off the next day passing by Bodensee...




Where we stopped for photos, we spotted a little cemetery across the road. We went over for a look as it seemed an odd place for some graves. From our poor German, it seems this was the final resting place of 97 inmates of Dachau - no idea how they came to be there. Quite sad, but a beautiful spot for your final resting place.





Shortly after, at a fuel stop a Boss Hoss stopped by... the only production V8 motorcycle. There are only 60 in Germany according to the owner...







As we entered the Black Forest, it was time for lunch. We stopped at a roadside cafe where there were already some bikes. Claire ordered a sausage platter, not realising they eat it raw here....





Yes that is raw black pudding Luckily I ordered salad!! And to prove we were in the Black Forest...






And so into France…. Heading up through the Vosages and Ardennes, we were sticking to main roads as Claire was suffering from SV wrist in her clutch hand. She was in real pain and needed to keep gear changing to a minimum. We stopped in some nice places, but didn’t take a lot of photos, kind of having that ‘on the way home’ feeling. By Monday I was checking my distance chart in my Michelin Atlas and it said we had 400km to Dunkirk. Hell, we needed to do that in one day! So we hit the N45 up to Douai then the Autoroute to Dunkirk. 400km my ****! 220km more like! So we arrived in Dunkirk early afternoon, unloaded the bikes at the Formule1 and went two up into town. Dunkirk was closed…. Grrrr!!! Everything seemed shut, so we headed off to Ypres. What a lovely town, everyone who has heard of it tends to associate it with WWI as the fighting here was fierce and lasted the whole war. But the town square is lovely and so is the cathedral





We went up to the Mennen Gate to watch the Last Post ceremony. The Mennen Gate is like a mini Marble Arch, built as a memorial to the those with no grave, killed in the fighting around Ypres during WWI, over 60,000 names are carved on it’s walls and those are not including the New Zealanders who died here. Remember these are all the guys who were never found and so have no grave and are by no means all the guys who died here. Everyday at 8pm, the traffic through the gate is stopped and buglers sound "The Last Post" in memory of those who died here…. We were ‘lucky’ in that there was a special Last Post ceremony where several regimental associations and a school were honouring their dead, so we had pipers and wreath laying ceremony. It was all very moving…..







And so home to the UK. We got up early for our ferry but still almost managed to miss it! We were waved straight on board and by the time the bikes were strapped down and we were up in the lounge, we were underway! We headed up the M20 / M25 / M1 / M6 grimly, Claire filtering like a demon at the M25/M1 road works – I just followed! We parted company at Wrexham, me going home while Claire headed up to the A55/M53 to get home. My god it was bally windy on that part of trip!

The bikes stood up really well to the 3300 odd miles in two weeks. We used a litre of oil in Claire’s bike and 500ml of red (high temp) scottoil between us. Both bikes needed a good clean…. (Kwak look away if you made it this far!)






Clean now!





Links to all our photos on Photobucket here...

General photos
Prague
Budapest
Rheinberg Military Cemetary

1) So you know I'm at work
2) You tell me you've put up this post
3) And now expect me to say something nice to you??? :@















Seems like you had a fantastic time!! I'll be over soon for some route planning

Excellent

Brilliant and many thanks Mike. I think I genuinely forgot a lot of the places we visited due to arriving home so exhausted but all the pics and the report have bought back some fabulous memories. We visited so many beautiful places and saw so many fabulous sights. The stunning buildings of Prague and Budapest to the beautiful mountains and scenery of Austria. Was so much to take in in just 2 weeks and I only wish we`d had more time to spend out there and hadn`t been on such a mission to fit everything in.

In hindsight I was too naiive, i was warned about the kind of mileage we`d have to do but I insisted I wanted to see Prague and Budapest. Despite several warnings from Mike I insisted i could cope with that kind of mileage and the reality was I found it very hard going. I`m quite a novice when it comes to long distance rides and I suffered terribly from aches and pains and general fatigue. Mike was a star, altering our route where possible, showing patience and providing massage as required. He even had to deal with a few tantrums along the way when it all got a bit much By the time we got to Austria I was seriously questionning if I could carry on much further, the pain and constant tiredness had got a bit too much but I decided I`m here and I`m gonna do it so stop whingeing lol. Maybe for others considering their first time abroad it is something to take on board, don`t be too adventurous and don`t overdo the mileage!! As Mike said to me all the places you want to see will still be there next year!

Despite the above it was the holiday of a lifetime..... a truly fantastic experience and what an adventure. Everyday i`m home i keep remembering sights we saw and little things that happened and it brings a smile to my face. Again I can`t say thank you enough to Mike for the planning involved. Every bit of pain and tiredness was more than worth it and i`d give anything to be back there reliving it.

A few thoughts for anyone considering visiting 3 of the places that we spent most of our time in.......

Prague....... absolutely beautiful, has to be seen as a camera does not do it justice. Is well worth the cheap flights on offer to get there. You`ll need a good few days to take in the spectacular architecture. Personally would opt to stay in the area of Prague known as the "Old Part". Whilst I think the majority of the beautiful buildings are in the other part the old or poorer part as it was once known is quieter and doesn`t seem to have the volume of boozy tourists. Somewhere I`d definitely go back to.

Budapest......... As Mike said a bit like a dirty Prague. Was a bit disappointed with both sides of the river but once up into the Buda Castle Area it`s a different matter altogether. Fantastic archictecture and stunning views. Worth a visit but think i`d recommend staying and eating in the Castle area.

Austria......... is just breathtaking, would love to go back for a longer visit but those mountain passes and a fear of heights don`t work well together lol. Once I have more riding experience under my belt I`d luv to go back.

Another place I`d like to return but spend more time there would be Ypres in Belguim. The mennen gate is so moving and the ceremony we saw just bought tears to my eyes. A remarkable tribute to the courage of our WWI servicemen/women.

Final thankyou to Mike is for our visit to Rheinberg War Cemetary.... again so moving. I think we reckoned that there were around ? 3,000 graves there and average age of death was around 19 and 20. They were just kids fighting for our country, the oldest age of death we could find was 31. An extremely emotional hour was spent there and it has meant so much to my patient that we took the time to visit and i`ve been able to give him several photographs to treasure.

Sorry for the lengthy post but despite it`s length I don`t feel i`ve done our trip justice. Just wish it was this time 3 weeks ago and we were just setting off again

Cool pictures.

Looks like it was a fab trip.

Not sure about raw sausage though.

Great pics and a great write up, makes me want to head back to the mountains asap....