Our tour this year took place between the 18th of May and 3rd of June starting in Nuremberg and finishing at Metalfest Openair in Pilsen. Overall it was the shortest one we did so far totaling at 3500 kilometers but equally as eventful as the previous ones.
We started on Saturday morning after spending some time to clean our bikes, which turned out to be a stupid idea as you will understand later, and headed straight for the Alps by taking the highway to Munich at first. As it is mandatory to happen quite soon after going away from the highway we got lost and it took us a some time to find the correct way to Austria. Good thing was we were at a fuel stop just around the border and got informed that a vignette is needed to drive in Austria. As it was getting late and it would appear most places there close at 18h we settled for a fantastic nice camping place and went to the shop. By that time it already started raining on us so we arrived quite wet – a theme which followed us for the next week or so. A very nice addition in the rain was that Julius had some fairy lights and a tarp so we ended up making sort of a rudimentary but cosy shelter.
Coming next was probably the driest day until the end of Italy. We woke up and headed directly to Lake Garda mainly using the mountain roads they are a lot more enjoyable to ride on. As compared to my personal view of lake Como from last years tour this one was a bit less impressive but non the less very nice experience. Two interesting facts about the region however – turns out finding a camping site there could be a problem as we checked a few and they were fully booked, and the other one – it is safe to directly speak German with folk as it would appear 99% of the visitors are from Germany, most probably due to its proximity to the border.
Third day shone and after a short breakfast at the beach consisting almost entirely of cabbage as for some reason we decided to get one last night and had nowhere to store it for traveling we headed off with the idea to visit Florence and then Pisa. The day started nice and sunny so we were quite excited. A couple of hours later once we reached the Apennines the rain caught up with us and we not only had to slow down a bit but also stayed wet for the entirety of the day. We did on the plus side discover the comforts of jam topped chocolate cookies during one of our stops. This led to us skipping Florence entirely and essentially speed dating with the tower in Pisa quite late in the night before going to the camp site. Fortunately we did manage to get some dinner supplies on the way and successfully have our dinner at 2 in the morning using the same technique as the one in the Alps.
Starting a bit later on the day after due to the previous delay turned out fortunate as the morning was nice and sunny however just before leaving we took a shower and our friend the rainy cloud decided it has not been enough so it started pouring it again. A nice neighbor invited us to join him and have some lunch as he had a big camper setup with rain protection. During that time we discovered that according to the news we are in a region of the country which is currently being heavily flooded. Regardless when you are on a tour there is very little you can do about natural disasters so soon after the rain decreased a little we finished packing and headed for an island we found the day before and wanted to visit. As at this time it was clear to us that we will have to make alterations to the original road plan we decided to take it slow and enjoy a day of coastal riding without any particular location to reach but with the idea to arrive at a camping place early and enjoy a BBQ on the beach. On the way to our still undecided camping location we discovered a little village and more specifically the joys of ice cream. Also we managed to find a giant field of poppies as Rita wanted to see one from closer. At the end of the day we headed to a camping site located on one of the roads leading to Monte Argentario. After doing the the typical shopping scenario where Julius sets up the tents and I go shopping the planned BBQ worked using my preferred method of lighting (which you will know if you know me but I shall not discuss it here) and then went for a early night as Rome was scheduled for the day after.
As the day started we decided to drive around the island/mountain which presented us with some amazing views and twisty roads. In addition a stretch of about 6 km of what would essentially be considered off road riding (and yes it is possible to do off road on a cruiser) took a bit longer time so we got delayed once again. After the hill we headed directly for Rome and on the way our mandatory need for some random bike part to be repaired happened. This time unfortunately it was a broken gear shifter so we delivered the bike to Rome went to our hostel and left the bike to be dealt with the day after.
The day came and I started searching for a close by repair shop which i did find but the nice part was that i discovered the Colosseum on the way the visit to which will be described later. After I found the shop and scheduled an appointment I decided to go to the bike and try to fix it myself. My attempts failed however I did manage to shift it on to second gear after which we found the official Triumph shop in Rome and delivered the bike to them as it seemed like the better option. The mechanics there were extremely welcoming and told us they will do everything possible to get us on the road but as the model is new it might take a while. We left the bike as there was nothing else we can do and decided to go and explore Rome – it was rather late so we couldn’t visit any of the popular places but we settled for a nice walk around finishing with a dinner in a pizzeria – its Italy after all.
Next morning the service folk called us and told us they will be able to fix the bike by the evening the same day but as we already knew we will be spending the day in Rome and we didn’t want to ride during the night we told them to take their time and they can have it till the morning after so we can come pick it up and continue. With that settled Julius went to the city and arranged tickets for the Colosseum and the emperor quarters and we headed for a day of exploration. Rome specifically for me has always been a place I wanted to visit and my god was it impressive. The Colosseum as one of the more popular attraction is interesting but noting compared to what I saw after – I guess that is just due to the fact that there is so much else that you can’t cover the entirety of it. But the visit to the Emperor gardens was impressive even for nowadays architecture. As I can not possibly explain the magnitude of it essentially what you would have to imagine is a single place the size of a city. Photos from there can be found on our Instagram page or in the gallery of the website. After we spend something like 9 hours walking fast pace trough the palace we decided it is time to stop and go back to our place so we can prepare oncoming day.
As time had passed in Rome and we had a ferry to catch on this very same day – Rita an Julius went to pick up the bike, I packed everything and put it in front of the hostel so it was ready to attach. The distance between Bari (where our ferry was leaving from) and Rome is only 450 odd kilometers but we needed to be on board rather early before departure so unfortunately we had to skip our visit to Pompeii and head straight for our destination. It all went good with rather uneventful highways, as most of them are, and by the end of the day we had reached our transport to Dubrovnik. As we had no cabins reserved we found a nice corner on deck and fell asleep – Julius decided to be a bit more adventurous and went to sleep outside regardless of the humidity.
The morning presented itself with a wonderful view of the Harbor of Dubrovnik after which we took a long coastal ride to Split where a friend of Julius was awaiting us. I found the hills and valleys of Croatia to be very impressive – I might be wrong but I guess there was some major glacier activity there as everything was hills hills hills and then in between these endless valleys as flat as flat goes. Additionally every time when we passed trough them there were quite a few very local markets with fruits, home made jam, dried fruit and some sort of a herbal/fruity alcohol which we obviously had to acquire a bottle of. At the end of the day we reached Split and went for a dinner at a very nice fish restaurant. The food was pretty good but a milestone for me was the fact that I realized I actually like squid which well up until now I had issues with the texture of.
The day after was filled with nice travels around the surroundings and finding out that apparently a significant part of Game of Thrones has been filmed there. We ended the day with a nice calm relaxing evening by the beach accompanied by Julius playing the guitar and some beer. At that point it hit us that the tour is coming to an end, and believe me this moment comes every year and it is always kind of sad but the type of sad which makes you feel good afterall. It is when you start to remember the previous 1.5 weeks and all that happened and all you have seen. [put a video here]
As we woke up we packed and decided to kill the nostalgic feeling by driving – it was not the end of it yet after all. We took the road and went all the way to Slovenia which was my fault entirely. For some reason I had the impression that we had to be in Pilsen two days after Split instead of the actual three. Therefore we skipped the coastal road hit the highway and drove next to a mountain which I would from now on call the WALL. It is a range going from the Alps down to the southern end of Croatia and consists of straight almost always the same elevation mountain which just keep going and going, it took us almost 5 hours to get away from it. Unfortunately by the end of the night our old friend the rain caught up with us again so it was another wet night but by that time we had gotten so used to it so it didn’t matter rally.
As we had gained a free day due to my inability to understand how time works we decided to take the next day slow again and have a nice mountain ride in the lower part of the Alps this time. The ride took us almost to our final destination close to Wels in Austria after which Rita was going to head back to Germany and me and Julius continue towards the metal fest. We managed to find one of the best camping grounds we had visited so far just under a tall nearly vertical hill in the Alps accompanied by a small lake. For some reason it was windy enough for the tents to try to fly away, regardless we set them up and enjoyed our last evening before Rita had to split off.
The last day of actual touring came and we decided to do the stereotypical motorcycle thing before we part ways and have a fuel station hot dog and a coffee which came right about time for lunch and after some time of farewells and sadness we went on our way. Soon after crossing in to the Czech republic we realized that we are exactly in the middle of two thunderstorm fronts and believe me you don’t want to be on a motorcycle in the mountains when there is a thunderstorm or generally in the open when there is a thunderstorm. After checking the met office prediction for the cloud movement devised a plan to keep staying in the middle thus avoiding the clouds which was possible if we drove trough Šumava National Park. The plan worked surprisingly well and we arrived in Pilsen even without getting any rain on us – good as for some reason I was feeling too lazy to put rain clothes on.
At the festival ground we found some pretty nice folk from Bavaria and put our tents next to them at which point Julius`s brother also arrived. The festival itself was pretty good – generally speaking standard metal fest with the difference of being located at an amphitheater so we could lay down on the grass and still see the bands – a nice addition especially if you are a bit tired. Couple of days
later our friends from Scotland, the ones that found out about the festival in the first place, arrived due to multiple cancelled flights so we got to see them as well. The time passed fast – maybe due to the large quantities of beer involved and we came to our last day when that feeling of not wanting the tour to finish struck again. But after packing up just before the end of the festival we knew we had to leave as our normal jobs were waiting for us the day after. From there at least for me was a quick about an hour and a half drive to home and another couple of hour or so to unpack with that the tour was pretty much finished for this year.
Rita arrived back in London at about the same time and Julius took till about midnight to get to Berlin as the distance was a bit larger.
So thank you all for reading and until next year when we will most probably go to eastern Europe. You can find photos from tours and other events on my Instagram and Facebook accounts (I try to have a new post each day) and of course there are more articles to come here on the website on variety of topics.
Our fundraising initiative did not reach the goal of a 1000 euro but we managed to reach about 10% which is encouriging and we will definately continiue the effort during the tours to come.
Additionally we are not working on Season 1 of the Long Way series as we decided to make short episodes covering a day or so instead of one big video. Expect the trailer very soon!
We have a question for you – as the time to make videos, posts, edit photos and write it all is more than i can afford – what is the best way you would like to have a detailed review of the tour – is it via youtube videos or maybe multiple posts covering shorter period of time or photos with long description ? Let me know at the poll below.
Also consider following my YouTube, twitter, Instagram or Facebook it does actually help!