Switzerland-Germany-Denmark-Sweden-Norway-Latvia-Lithuania-Poland-Czech-Germany-Switzerland, day T-1!
Phew, that was a mouthful. Tomorrow I am leaving for a 4 week motorcycle tour across Europe heading to the North. Every summer for the past couple of years I was swearing that next year I am going to be somewhere North, rather than elbowing annoying tourists in the Southern honeypot tourist traps. Finally, I am doing it!
I have been dreaming of this trip for years. I am not going to lie and say that I planned this trip in detail. I feel quite unprepared and I did very little preparation. I don’t have a specific plan in mind and I have not booked any accommodation in advance (with a few notable exceptions). My dear wife has kindly written a whole tour book for me with a collection of interesting places to visit, route suggestions and tips. She currently knows a lot more about my adventure than me. She is not enthused with sleeping in a tent and sitting on a bike for hours at a time so I am doing this trip alone. I will meet her on my way back and we’re going to spend time together doing comfortable stuff, like visiting SPAs and staying at fancy hotels. To each his own!
Today is a public holiday and Switzerland. I am packing today. I am going to leave tomorrow morning.
I woke up with a hang-over from yesterday’s corporate summer party and an allergic reaction to all the plant shit that’s flying around. I pack slowly and sometimes I just sit for 10 minutes doing nothing. Not the best of starts.
Here’s how the preparation war room looks like at the moment:
I am packing everything into two BMW side aluminum panniers and a 80L backpack strapped on top of the panniers. Combined, the volume of panniers is 80L. I also have a tank bag which I am going to use for valuables and gadgets.
My red beauty:
The bike is brand new and just out of its first 1000km service. I consider myself somewhat of a newbie rider and I don’t have vast riding experience. This does not hold me back.
Tank bag with ingenious charging solution. My bike provides a power outlet for plugging in accessories. By scouting forums and eBay I found a cool adapter that plugs into the outlet and provides two car cigarette sockets. Then I’ve plugged two high-power 2-port USB chargers into the sockets. I can charge 4 devices at a time while on the go! I also found a cigarette charger for my laptop which means I am completely self-sufficient with the power.
I am going to keep a trip journal but I am not going to update the blog while riding.