Trip Preparation

Preparation is the key to a spontaneous adventure.

The dream was to go camping during the trip. So with 2 weeks to go I assembled my tent, sleeping bag Swedish army stove, meths and some food, pretty soon I realised the bike would be piled up with kit, that's not how I wanted to ride, so I made the decision no camping, it would have to be hotels all the way.

The problem is you want the security of a decent hotel at a sensible price, but you don't want to be tied down to a schedule or even a route. So do you book in advance or just turn up late in a strange town and expect to find a clean room and not get ripped off.

Advance Purchases (1 week to go)

1. Got my tickets for the Brno MotoGP directly from the track website.
2. Booked Euro tunnel tickets
3. www.ebookers.com for an overnight stop in Frankfurt, got a 4 star hotel inc breakfast for £25
4. Getting a hotel anywhere near Brno at a sensible price proved more difficult, it was simply a matter of searching the internet and sending a few emails directly for prices. Eventually found a place just south of the city.

Having not done much long distance touring before I thought it would be a good idea to met the experts for any tips, luckily Horizons Unlimited were holding their annual UK meeting in June the same weekend as the Donnington MotoGP and only a few miles away so I did both events over the weekend. Horizons Unlimited are a group of long distance bikers and a great source of information.

Day 8: Senj - Pforzheim 533 miles

If I can put in some big miles today I could be home by tomorrow, so its a 6:30 am start but once again it starts to rain which slows me, I had only been on the road a short while when I passed a very bad accident, a van had taken a very heavy head on,and was lying in the road, it didn't look good for the driver, as people on the scene looked in control I pressed on.

I followed the very slippery looking coast road out of Croatia into Slovenia past Ljubljana. Slovenia look more like Austria than Austria does and I wish I could stay longer. I ride onto the motorway and into Austria, by 11am its stopped raining, Austria looks beautiful even from the motorway and I'm soon past Salzburg, I stop for a sandwich at Munich.

After the last three days of slow sometimes treacherous roads the German Autobahn is like a shot of adrenaline straight into your brain, once again 140 mph comes up on the speedo, man I love this countries road system.

By the time I am past Stuttgart I decide its hotel search time again and turn-off for Pforzheim and quickly secure a very tidy en-suite room in the Hotel Montana, 3 star in the middle of town. The guy managing the hotel offers parking my bike in the ground floor entrance, but I don't want to risk going up the steps, so park the bike in a nearby multi storey car park overnight for a few Euros.

Its time for my last supper, this time I eat in a Greek restaurant and start with complimentary glass of petrol, at least that's what it smells like but am reliably informed its Ouzo, and I reflect what a great trip I have been on for the last week or so.

I've briefly touched some cultures new to me, met some lovely people and what a great bike I've been riding. The more I ride the BMW R1200 RT the more I like it, it is truly a great motorcycle, I have a history of racing and competition bikes and have never previously ridden a "touring" bike before, but this German gem has got me through fast roads, slippery roads, bumpy roads, and dealt with all of them and asked for more. Some days I've done 12 hours in the saddle only stopping for fuel, and still felt like I could manage another 12, its side panniers easily carried all I needed for a 10 day trip including tools (which I never needed). It used no oil, managed a totally amazing 55 mpg average for the whole trip. Its low centre of gravity and wide bars made the tricky riding a piece of cake and the huge adjustable fairing took the bite off the wind and rain and even allowed me to adjust my sunglasses, both hands off the bars at 110 plus (don't do this at home kids).