Our first few days on the road were certainly going to be recorded as "all part of the adventure" when the gale force winds and rain threatened to relocate us and our tent to another part of the field we set down on for the night. Brighton on the South Coast was nice but the constant wind and mist brought the humidity up to about 140%! I thought that a combination of camping, B & B’s and hotels would provide a good opportunity to meet people and test our ability to cope with the elements. It did.

Lesson #1 - (I thought I had learned this one long ago) Make sure you have the night’s accommodation worked out by 16:00 hrs. Searching for vacancy signs through a fine Scotch mist at 21:00 hrs probably isn’t the best way to convince your partner you know what you’re doing.

Lesson #2 - The English weather favours no-one, especially visitors. Don’t leave the good rain gear at home thinking you can bluff your way into sunshine.

Our journey took us up through Cambridge to Rotherham where we had the good fortune to meet up with another TABS member who took us in for a few days and dried us out while showing some of the local scenery. I especially appreciated the personal insights while visiting the surrounding areas. Once again, an example of a family who knew nothing about us prior to extending a wonderful welcome and affording us great hospitality. On to the East Coast and Sunderland to visit the exceptional Bamburgh Castle then up to Perth.

Lesson #3 - What do my tent and Mike Tyson have in common? Answer – they both sweat too much to be comfortable around and they are 1st round losers. When you buy a tent try it out a few times before committing over half your vacation nights to it. Looking nice and light and working properly are two different things indeed. This Walrus brand 2 person lightweight was ideal in size and set-up but the ventilation was terrible and we ended up drying the fly out every morning due to the condensation buildup. I suppose a guy could always leave the zip open but a guy just can’t go around leaving a zipper open and not expect to run into trouble..

Over to Stranraer and the ferry to Belfast to begin a counterclockwise coastal run around Ireland stopping in Bushmill (whiskey town) Donegal, Shannon, Clonakilty, Cork, Blarney then up to Dublin for a few days on a friends dairy farm. We stayed in the Warren Guesthouse, a B & B that had to be the classiest I’ve seen yet but only 34 pounds. This was John DeLorean’s old place in Belfast and we happened upon it by accident while waiting for the return ferry to Stranraer. We stayed in Ireland a lot longer than expected but could easily have stretched it to another month. The roads, the people and the scenery were incredible. An amazing amount of construction going on as the EU money continues to pour in.

By taking the secondary roads everywhere possible in the UK we probably added 50% to our travelling time due to the passage of most of them right through the heart of each city or village. But this gave us what we came for, an up close and personal view and sometimes a visit with the people who live here. We discovered more about an area by simply finding a small café or bar and striking up a conversation with a patron or the owner.

Back to South England to trade in our rain gear for warm weather stuff and on to Dover to meet the ferry to Calais. One half hour out of Dover the cloud cover lifted and the sunshine appeared as if it had been there all along, just not in England. Say goodbye to the English artery clogging breakfasts, fish and chips, warm beer and high prices. Say bonjour to one of my favorite countries and SFP 30.

Touring through France was like a step back in time and pace. We lost track of the days and date and usually arrived at the shopping stores during the lunch hour and a half shutdown but we weren’t in any big hurry anyway! Paris was a lot of fun, the secondary roads once again proved to be the best and the prices were substantially less than in the UK. Lots of camping, not many miles put on due to my partner beginning to fizz out and some of the shine of two months away from home starting to wear off. We changed our plans and decided not to visit Spain, Portugal or Morocco this time around. Instead we traveled about 100Kms each day and lived the life of Riley for the remainder of the time. Back through Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium to the beaches of Oostende and Dunkerque in preparation for the return to Dover and the end of a great trip.

To sum it up:

Some of the winners were – The other BikeShare members we met along the way, the Scottish 900 Kawasaki rider that went out of his way to drive to town for a replacement spark plug for us after ours worked itself loose and blew itself into the field beside the highway, the Irish attitude towards life in general, Paris, the two speed toilets we saw in France with a small flush for a small job and big flush for, well you know…., going to bed at 21:00 hrs and not waking up again until 9:00 the next morning, that terrific cup of coffee in the Dover ferry terminal, the conversation we had with a frumpy old guy we ran into when we stopped for a bathroom break near Bournemouth on our way back from Dover. The old guy was the front end man in their two person cafe' on the highway. He and his spouse looked as though they had been there forever. He grunted when giving a reply and barked out the food orders to his wife as though it were the only time he was allowed to holler at her. He was as cold as ice until one of his pals came into the place and commented on the motorcycle we were riding. After his pal asked us a few questions we found he and the grunt man were avid bikers but both had to give up the license to drive due to ill health. We spent the next 2 hours just yakking about bikes and parts and trips and spills! It was one of those conversations you come across by accident but make such a great, lasting impression.

Some that need work were - Scottish road signs that disappear in the middle of an intersection, Continental toilets, some of the banks/exchange commission rates on traveler’s cheques, my temper, our cooking gear, being passed on the inside by superbike riders,

Some of the smart and not so smart things we did:

Bringing my own film (+10)

Not bringing all my rain gear (-8)

Choosing the BMW for transportation (+10)

Believing the sign that says "Slow Down Now" just before the right angle corner (+5)

Always keeping that extra roll of TP in a watertight bag (+8)

Charting the day’s course with names and numbers every morning (+7)

Keeping in touch with home via Hotmail (+7)

For anyone who ever had any qualms about using the motorcycle for a trip like this all I can say is try it, you’ll be convinced (one way or the other) in a very short time.