Monday, July 10, 2017

Almost Ready To Go! #RoadTrip

Today is about getting ready for a ride to Munich starting early tomorrow morning. It is a three day trip and is 1,800 km (1,120 miles) long. Day 1 starts with the 08:05 ferry from Dublin Port to Dover in England. The ride from Holyhead in Wales to Dover is 621 km (386 miles) - estimated to be 6 hours and 15 minutes by Google. I'll have to stop at least once for petrol on the way. On Wednesday morning I am taking a ferry from Dover to Calais - my end-of-day destination is Verdun, a distance of 443 km (275 miles). A long the way I am visiting Thiepval to take in some First World War sights. Unfortunately it looks likes I'm going to get quite a bit of rain on both days - I hope my rain gear will be up to the task. However, riding all day in the rain it is impossible to stay completely dry. Rain also slows down everything and it can be pretty miserable, especially the spray from trucks on motorways. But it beats being at work!

On Thursday morning I'm setting out from Verdun to Munich - a distance of 585 km (363 miles). This should take just under six hours and I hope to meet Roma in Munich - she will have flown from Dublin earlier in the day. The forecast for Thursday is good so far - so I'm looking forward to testing out the new bike on the Autobahn!

I'm a bit more nervous ahead of this trip than for my previous road trips to Europe. It is six years since I rode to Murcia in Spain in July 2011 - my last long ride. Previous to that I rode to Sigean in France (July 2008), and the Algarve in Portugal (July 2005). Long journeys are not easy on the body while riding a bike - the shoulders get stiff and the ass gets sore. I hope the body is up to it! At least I have cruise control on the bike which will make things easier. Trips like these are what a Harley-Davidson Road King was made for - for the next 16 days I will be riding every day around south Germany and Austria, and back home via Luxembourg, Belgium, France, and the UK. I'm looking forward to lots of sight-seeing and being in the Alps, and of course blogging along the way!

1 comment:

  1. Fair play Eugene. I am sure Harry is mad jealous! Good luck getting to Munchen :) Keep us posted.

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