by Alec Muffett
for future reference:
For my tastes, the best bits were days 5 and 6 – incredible scenery and rock formations, sun, rain, sleet and more sun; alas the pictures will have to wait a few days…
Day 7 must have been a long, boring day.
Long, yes, but far from boring; the joy of biking is that you are not (or, are less) insulated from your environment. Riding back through the acrid pine scents of the Argonne forests was delightful, the views over the French countryside were superb, there were people to meet at the service stations, a lot of veteran/vintage cars and bikes on the road (with owners to talk to) and several chance encounters which made life much more interesting.
Yes, I started at 9:30am -ish and finished at 10pm-ish, and it was long, but far from boring for the most part.
Though 12 hours riding don’t-half take it out of your backside.
ps: maps courtesy of http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/
wow dude. You got further than Hitler did!
glad to see you had fun… and made it back in one piece.
you MUST post pictures, or suffer the consequences ;)….
(in all seriousness, post some pics.. <i>please</i>.. 😉 )
Grim-
Alec got further then Hitler, as Alec got (back) into England.
However, except for the bit in Switzerland (which he never tried invading), the whole trip was in once-occupied or dependent territory (cf http http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Holocaust/occmap.html and others)
Mmmm… i find it – odd – all this discussion, considering I was hanging out with a bunch of German and Swiss bikers.
Motorcyclists seem to have common traits (appreciation of beauty, food and landscapes, good mental focus, and mild insanity) irrespective of nationality.
For my tastes this is an underappreciated blessing to mankind. The only significant difference I felt during the trip was that:
(a) I couldn’t speak German, so had to get by in English, French, or using a handful of Italian nouns, and…
(b) By some unclear means, the Germans were much better at getting ahold of morning coffee from the Italian hotel staff, than was I. Generally I had to wave napkins in the air and bounce up and down in my seat, to achieve this goal.
i need a bigger bike before i try for moscow.
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