Day 4: Leipzig - Pra....Brno?

Well, seems my Japanese friend I met yesterday must have gotten to Prague via the autobahn, because despite leaving Leipzig at 9am – after a couple of pro plus and a long hot shower, I didn’t reach the Czech border until 12. Boy was it worth it though. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been so relaxed and awestruck by the sheer beauty of the countryside I rode through today. From Chemnitz all the way past the Czech border was utterly sublime, and so highly recommended I’m tempted to go back tomorrow.

That might be a little tricky however as rather than be in Prague as intended, I’m actually in Brno... I had a thought this morning that I might be able to ride through to tomorrows destination, as I had a couple of very hard days riding once I reached Brno - first navigating my way into the heart of Austria, and then the huge 300+ mile trip through to Verona. If I was able to make it to Brno today, then I’d be ahead of schedule and be able to take it a little easy...

That thought was soon removed from my mind when I reached hour five of my ride - had Prague been a two hour trip, then no problem, but to double the distance after spending most of the day on the road anyway? Madness, surely...

I stopped off for a quick bite to eat at a restaurant (shack?) located bang on the Czech border before riding through some of the most incredible scenery I’ve ever seen. Small villages and Czech architecture, dotted around dense forests and woodlands, twists and turns keeping me on my toes and at a pretty steady 40-55mph tops. Soon enough though, I hit the motorway heading for Prague. Route 7 was easy enough to get on to, and I relaxed in to the ride, barely hitting 60mph as I trundled along, relaxed and content in my own little world after the previous few hours driving - that was until I was joined by a few others...

About half way to Prague on route 7, I was overtaken by a Yamaha Dragstar with exhausts which sounded like they were spitting out thunder. Then, out of nowhere came a Suzuki GSR 600 and a Kawasaki ZX-7R. Oh, it was on... For the next 100+ miles we rode as a unit, the three other bikes sporting Czech licence plates. I initially thought that they’d be heading to Prague too, in which case they might be able to advise on a decent place to stay for the night, but as we overtook traffic in a 2 x 2 convoy at 70-80mph through the Czech countryside, navigating motorways, dual carriageways and huge tunnels carved into the mountains I began to think differently. The turnoffs for Prague came and went quickly. Queues were no problem either surprisingly – cars we eagerly moving out of our way (upon hearing the exhausts from the Dragstar no doubt) as we filtered through two lanes of stationary traffic at 30-40mph on a congested and very modern Czech highway. Road surfaces were variable though, with the other bikes frequently using the hard shoulder to get some smooth tarmac under their wheels as I bounced along poorly laid sections of road.

As we took the turnoffs heading to Brno, I remembered my initial plan for the day. It was already gone 3pm and I’d been riding since 9 in the morning. We pulled in to a rest stop about 140 miles from Brno, and I got a chance to meet the guys I’d been riding with. Despite not understanding a word of English, I managed to find out that they weren’t actually heading to Brno, but instead were on their way to a big bike festival 30 miles down the road. After a quick re-fuel for Betty and I, along with a Kodak moment, we set off again, but not before a huge Harley with a massive 240 rear tyre pulled up and decided to tag along with us. This was the stuff dreams are made of...

From setting out from Leipzig on another cold morning wearing my thermals and a jumper, it was now 34⁰c on the Czech motorway and I was sweltering. Wasn’t so bad when making progress, but navigating traffic jams and the like was a nightmare, albeit a thoroughly enjoyable one! Soon enough though, the convoy parted ways - with a 75mph wave and a blaring of horns through the sounds of over-revving engines as clutches were dropped and throttles opened up. I still had around 110 miles to cover before I reached Brno, and I’d been on the road for around more than six hours, but I was perfectly happy going back to doing my own thing after such an impromptu and massively fun turn of events.

I’d pulled in to stretch my legs and refuel about 20 miles from Brno, taking a little bit of time to sort myself out after so long riding in hot and humid conditions. Soon after setting off however I came across a huge traffic jam stretching for several miles. A four car pile-up had occurred, and as I passed the tow-trucks taking the damaged vehicles away, I recognised a couple as vehicles I’d overtaken before pulling in to refuel. It had taken me a good 30 minutes of filtering through stationary to reach the front of the queue, overtaking traffic and becoming a little concerned at the heat coming from the VTX engine. Betty had been running for over 8 hours, pretty much solid, after several pretty hard days riding. I needn’t have worried though – we soon made it past the jam and into Brno.

By this time I was ready to find somewhere, anywhere, to park up and get some proper rest. Riding through the centre of Brno felt like southern Spain, with the road surface glistening with the heat, not a cloud in the sky. I made my way to the Best Western Premier Hotel and headed inside to enquire about prices and parking facilities.

If I understood the manager correctly, I think I’m going to be coming back here again for future holidays. Taking the Czech exchange rate into account, my room – which is swankier than the Ramada I stayed in last night, including parking, and including use of the Sauna, Swimming Pool, Gym and with free Internet access, works out to €13. Done and done.

After a quick check of my emails and catching up with a little bit of admin after getting settled and changed, I headed out to explore Brno. I’ve decided it’s a pretty magical place. 15^th and 16^th century architecture breaking up the bars, restaurants and cafes populated by tourists and locals on every street. Friendly and welcoming, my only regret was not arriving earlier and getting to spend more time here.

After a bit of searching I headed into a local bar, grabbed a seat and ordered some dinner and a beer. I got chatting to a local guy, Jonno, whose mother was an English teacher in Brno. He was in his final year of a six year vetinary degree, and despite limited English (and no Czech on my part) we stumbled along over the course of several hours – with the huge glasses of beer flowing freely. We were joined pretty much straight away by his girlfriend Petra who spoke less English than he did, but was more than happy to muddle along and partake in the beers which seemed to keep coming from nowhere.

With the beer drunk and the bills paid (food and 11 beers coming to €30), we said our goodbyes and I headed back to the hotel where I’m writing this now. All in all, despite not getting to visit Prague, I have a day in lieu which I can use if I need to, and I’ve had a fantastic night exploring Brno. Just like Leipzig before it, this is a place where I could spend several days wandering about admiring the city and getting to know a few more of the people who live and work here. Whilst a nice thought however, Austria awaits me tomorrow, and I’m off to bed having covered a not un-significant portion of Germany, and the vast majority of the beautiful Czech Republic, all in one day. Truly one to remember.

Day 3: Kassel - Leipzig

Well, the fun has officially begun. The last couple of days have been pretty taxing, especially the 8-9 hour ride through to Kassel. Kind of felt like I was going through the motions for the trip rather than for me, but that’s starting to change now.

It was a 6.30am start this morning, making sure I was ready for a quick and light breakfast courtesy of my German hosts (the platter of meat was politely refused – yup, still vegetarian) before gathering everything together and hitting the road by 7.30am.

I covered the 180+ mile journey in just under five hours, arriving into Leipzig at lunchtime. Starting out from Kassel so early in the morning was a bit of a risk with the amount of traffic on the road, but I soon found where I needed to be. The only thing I wasn’t prepared for was the cold and the fog. I’d specifically chosen a route that would take me past lakes, hills, mountains and the like - and I’m sure they were there, however visibility was down to 20-30m in places so it made it hard to appreciate anything other than the road. This changed just before I got onto the A80 headed for Leipzig, where I broke through the fog after a long climb through the hills and had to pull over to admire the view.

I’d planned on taking route 80 all the way to Leipzig, but after the length of time riding yesterday I figured the autobahn would be just as good and get me there a little quicker. The sun was breaking through the fog at this point too, and I was perfectly happy trundling along at 70-75mph, finding that any speed restrictions which came into force were either higher or bang on what I was doing anyway.

As ever, the motorway ride was uneventful, however I crossed some fantastic bridges on the A38 and made sure to drop a gear as I went through a tunnel, making the V-Twin that little bit louder as I made my way across Germany. I did come off the motorway once to locate some petrol (only because I’d covered over 100 miles without seeing a single petrol station). Finding myself in the German countryside it was a real head vs heart moment, my head focussing on getting some fuel before I really got myself in trouble, with my heart loving every second of exploring the tiny German hamlets I’d discovered. Turns out, if I’d gone right after leaving the motorway instead of left, I’d have got fuel right away – something which only came to light from “speaking” to some very, very German locals, but then I’d not have had the brief 20 minute adventure that I did - so it was worth the mistake. After refuelling just outside Nordhausen (with a choice of three different unleaded petrols don’t you know) I headed back onto the autobahn and finished off the remainder of the days riding.

I decided to have a bit of a cruise around Leipzig when I arrived, rather than finding a hotel straight away. By the time I got there the sun was well and truly out, so a nice potter about through the streets in the sunshine was the perfect way to displace some of the adrenaline and caffeine I’d been exposed too whilst navigating my way there. Soon I was in the centre of the city. People milling about, shopping or making the most of the day in the plentiful parks located all around. Then I saw it...

Now I always knew technology would be against me on this trip. Something was bound to go horribly wrong, as it always inevitably does. I’d had no Internet of any kind since leaving the ferry (and that wasn’t exactly great), and my phone wasn’t picking up a signal, despite my SIM being unlocked. So seeing a giant T-Mobile branded building in the centre of Leipzig was a dream come true! Finally, I’d be able to get things working the way I wanted them too. Tweeting on the go, keeping up with my emails, posting blog updates and whatever needed sorted whilst I was away etc. That was the hope anyway.

So I’ve found myself in the Ramada hotel in Leipzig, about a ¾ mile walk from the real heart of the city, chosen mainly for its underground car park. At €79, plus €7 for the parking it is a bit more than I was hoping to pay, but I figure a night of relative luxury after a couple of days on the road is deserved.

After check-in I wandered over to the T-Mobile store, where it took an absolute age to get seen too (no change to the UK there then!). Turns out my SIM is fine (worked great in a German handset) – it’s the phone that’s locked to the UK. As I’d not spoken to my folks since leaving the UK and all being quiet on the blog and Twitter front, I figured I should sort something out to let them know I was fine and to make sure I had something for emergencies. I had tried to use the hotel phone in Kassel to call home, but that was nothing short of a nightmare – no-one needs short elderly German women shouting at them in a foreign language... So, I have bought myself a German Handy! Guaranteed to work throughout Europe using my existing SIM, the new Samsung GT-E1190 I’m now sporting is the epitome of cool – well as much cool as you can get for €39.95. No Internet, no Twitter, but it does do exotic things like call and text so it’s not all bad...

Thus far I’ve spent a few hours exploring the city outside of the T-Mobile store, and it’s absolutely amazing. I could quite happily spend several days here. The architecture is incredible, it’s easy to get around and everyone I’ve met has been extremely friendly. It’s like the best bits of London, Sheffield and Amsterdam all combined with the relaxed touch of the Mediterranean, yet at the same time also managing to be unmistakeably German.

After a long wander about I stopped off for an early dinner at Umaii, a “Japanese  Nudel Lounge” a restaurant which was nowhere near as rude as it sounds. The Japanese waitress who served me was fluent in both English and German, and seemed a little shocked when I decided to make the most of the situation and order my meal and drink using her native tongue. Sitting outside with my Kirin Ichiban, Vegetable Gyoza, and Miso-Udon mit Tofu (all for about £10), we got chatting about the trip when she noticed and enquired about my jacket sleeve. Seems her husband is a keen biker too, and she was eager to know whether I was running a website or a blog after finding out it was a charity run too. I jotted down the URL and said I’d mention our meeting, so if you’re reading this – here you go!

She also told me that it’s around about two hours from Leipzig to Prague (having made the trip herself last weekend), which is perfect. I’ve had a fantastic day exploring Leipzig and look forward to doing the same thing in Prague tomorrow. Not having the time to look around Kassel makes me feel I’ve done it a bit of a disservice as I wasn’t overly impressed, but I’m pinning that on being tired and a bit grumpy when I arrived. I figure a relatively late start around 10ish tomorrow should see me get to Prague with plenty of time to find a decent place for Betty and I to stay before doing much the same as I have done today, just relaxing and taking in the sights and sounds of places I’ve never been before.

It does feel very, very strange not having work to do, or people relying on you for things, but it’s also quite nice! I suppose I could get quite used to this “holiday” malarkey.

As I’ve got a late-ish start tomorrow I think I’m going to relax in the hotel for a couple of hours and then head out and have a few beers. It’d be a shame to visit Germany and not track down at least one European techno-metal bar (though I’m expecting good things from Prague tomorrow on that front)!

Day 2: Ijmuiden - Kassel

My arrival into Ijmuiden this morning already feels like a lifetime ago, and I can’t believe how quickly early evening has snuck up on me.

It has been a fantastic day though. From the comical discovery that the reason my ferry tickets were comparatively cheap was due to my cabin seemingly being positioned above the engine room, to working out the autobahns - witnessing some ridiculous driving and actually getting to check out Hercules Monument, something I thought I’d have to do tomorrow morning.

The highlight of the day has to be meeting Jurgen, a German teacher who was on the ferry with me. We got chatting in the cargo bay as we unsecured our bikes, his 1150cc BMW, and my 1300cc VTX. It turns out he was headed towards Dortmund on his way home after a 10 day trip around Scotland (apparently there’s been a Harley convention over the bank holiday). A couple of minutes later and we had maps out, comparing routes and we were soon set to tackle the ride together. We departed Ijmuiden after disembarking the ferry and getting through passport control - heading towards the outskirts of Amsterdam. Despite a wrong turn taking us through Utrecht, we were soon back on course and leaving Holland behind – entering Germany.

Jurgen and I rode through to Reckling Hausen where he lives, stopping off a couple of times to refuel, grab a coffee and chat about bikes, home, work and the like. Speaking great English was a massive help, and it was a real pleasure to have someone to ride with – especially at the start of the trip as I got used to riding on the other side of the road!

Still hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I’m actually sat in the middle of Germany. Still feels like I could turn around and be back home in a couple of hours. Guess that’s just me not used to getting away, but it’s still a very strange thought.

So, after saying our goodbyes, Jurgen and I headed off in different directions, him through the streets of Reckling Hausen, and I back onto the A2 through towards Kamen and the A44 which would lead me to my destination for the night.

I arrived into Kassel at around 5pm and an hour later had found myself a B&B and begun settling down to write this update. The German couple who run the place don’t speak any real English, which has been a bit of an issue. Whereas I was quite pleased with myself along the journey ordering schwartz cafe, nein milche, eine zucker bitte (GCSE German finally paying off!), this was much, much more of a challenge. 

Getting a room was no problem (and for €30, breakfast included), but after the fiasco with the SatNav I was determined to make sure my bike would be secure overnight. Despite the language barrier, I managed to get them to agree to letting me store Betty in their garage alongside their car. After much to-ing and fro-ing, with the bike – and not much room to manoeuvre, the husband moved his car to the secluded, but open-air car park, leaving Betty with the entire garage to herself... I’m not overly sure how happy they are about this, so I won’t be imposing on them for anything else whilst I’m here.

As mentioned, I did make time to visit Hercules Monument (mainly because it was so well signposted) and despite major renovation work going on, the views were absolutely fantastic.

I’ve realised that other than three cups of coffee and a small pre-packed fruit salad I brought with me, I’ve not eaten today, so my plan now is to wander into Kassel a bit further and find somewhere to sit down and have some food.

Planning an early night tonight after todays ridiculously long drive. Tomorrows jaunt over to Leipzig shouldn’t be anywhere near as taxing, so I should have plenty of time to do some proper exploring.

All in all, a lot of riding and a thoroughly enjoyable day, though I am utterly, utterly exhausted.

The beginning of a Great Adventure

As I write this the sun has just broken and begun to pour through the window of the small, fairly run-down cabin - my home for the night.  The engines are becoming louder as it approaches time to depart from Newcastle and begin the voyage from the Port of Tyne over to Holland - no turning back now!

Today has been a very mixed bag. Initial excitement this morning as I packed and prepared the bike, giving Betty one last quick polish. I popped in to see Steve and the crew over at Trackside  before running a final errand - dropping my house keys off at work (huge thanks to Si for agreeing to pop over and sort out my gecko whilst I'm away). Unfortunately it was at this point that some local figured it was perfectly acceptable to wrench the araldyted and gaffer-taped SatNav from the front of my bike.

So, seems it is actually impossible to leave anything out in the open in Middlesbrough. The depressing dead-end town when I've spent the last seven years working to try and make something of myself really does breed nothing but contempt for anyone with ambitions higher than getting wasted on Three Hammers Cider on a daily basis. Maybe it was simply my fault for forgetting to take the GPS device off the front of my bike, perhaps I'm just too trusting, but as of right now, I'm actually glad to be getting away from the UK; the rumble and whir of the ships engine reminding me with every passing moment that I'm off to pastures new. Should Middlesbrough be wiped off the face of the earth whilst I'm away, well, I can't think of a single negative in that scenario. 

It was a long two hour wait in the rain which greeted me when I arrived at the Port of Tyne. Making sure I was there in plenty of time was my main priority - all anger and frustration at the theft had gone, replaced with a melancholic sense of disappointment and disillusionment. After much standing about not doing a great deal I joined a convoy of other bikes heading over to Holland with me. Cruisers, Harleys and a couple of sports bikes, all with either German or Dutch licence plates and engines roaring as we were ushered through to have our passports and boarding passes checked.

Securing the bike down in the holding bay was a novel experience also, but having watched the RAC strap down my old 600cc Bandit more than a few times I had a fairly good idea what I was supposed to be doing. We'll find out how I actually got on tomorrow morning I suppose...

For now, I think a bit of a rest, a bit of a wander and maybe a bite to eat are on the cards. An eventful and not altogether pleasant start to the Yoo-Rup cruise, but none-the-less, whether this is the dream or not, I'm living it - and that seems to be the main thing.

The Impossible Dream

It's now less than 24 hours until I'm on the ferry sailing across to Holland. These last few weeks have flown by as I've gotten as prepared as possible for my trip across Europe. Whilst there's still a bit of time to tidy up the last couple of bits, essentially, if it's not done by now, it's not going to be.

I had hoped to put a test video up to demo the quality of the head-cam, however for reasons only James May would be interested in, that's probably not going to happen - at least not today. With any luck I'll have a solution properly figured out by the time I get off the ferry and start my adventures.

The panniers are packed and ready to go, the SatNav has been loaded with destinations for each day, I've just eaten a spectacular red pepper and onion omelette and there's a fine bottle of ale awaiting consumption. Certainly not a bad end to the day as I prepare to spend my last night before the Yoo-Rup cruise begins proper tomorrow.

Here's to a great trip, and to raising as much money as possible to support the great work of WhiteKnights EVS and BloodRun. Cheers!

Et Voilà

It was a very grateful Dan who arrived to pick up Betty yesterday lunchtime with a crate of beer in tow.

Steve over at Trackside Motorcycles had spent four hours working on the fender bolt that was getting in the way of attaching the final side spacer for the panniers before hammering out and replacing the entire thread; a job which he's insisted is free of charge. I figured supplying a few beers was the least I could do to repay his  generosity and support in seeing me right for the trip.

So, thanks to Steve sorting out the side spacers and the padlocks arriving to secure the panniers this morning, here's the result, all ready to be packed and ridden up to Newcastle to catch the ferry in ten days time!

Betty sporting her new panniers

Went for a little bit of a cruise earlier this evening to test them out and make sure there was enough room between the pannier and exhaust for the heat to dissipate properly. The lack of fire for the trial-run was reassuring, but I'll be heading out tomorrow to put them through their paces properly on a variety of roads.

 Possibly a *little* bit Blue Oyster Club. Shhh.

An ode to five minute jobs

Well, with but two weeks left before I'm due to depart for the port, the side-spacers arrived for my panniers.

The first one went on fine, and looks pretty good - it'll do the job, though it does leave me with *even more* chrome to polish!

Left side pannier spacer, fitted and good to go.

What should have been a five minute job to get the other side on has pretty much turned into a nightmare instead, with the final fender bolt sheering off completely when trying to unscrew it. A pain, but not the end of the world I suppose. The remainder of the bolt was soon drilled out, and a tap used to clean up the thread and remove what was left of the bolt. Well, that was the plan anyway, and it was going great until the tap itself snapped - leaving high tensile steel plugging the bolt hole.

The remains of the original bolt

Yeah, that's not coming out in a hurry

Betty is now back with Trackside Motorcycles, who inform me that the best course of action is to remove the rear tyre, strip down the fender and hammer/chisel the remainder of the tap.

So close, yet so far...

I've not really budgeted for any unexpected work, but in this circumstance I don't really have much choice. It takes as long as it takes, and costs what it costs. Lets just hope there aren't too many other small and easy jobs cropping up, especially those which turn out to be neither.