Fawbish's Europe 2009 Write-Up [Some pics added]

[Fawbish]

We left with 3 bikes, travelled 4000 miles through the UK, France and Italy, and we returned with 2. This is what I can remember of it!

Here's a rough route we did, I couldnt be arsed to do it in more detail!

https://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7662/roughroutejpeg.jpg


https://img341.imageshack.us/img341/2360/roughroute2jpeg.jpg



Right then, this is a bit overdue. Pictures and updates will be added in due course!

This was a trip that wasn’t particularly planned, we didn’t really have any idea of what we wanted to do, we just knew that we loved bikes, we wanted to piss off to Europe, and we should do it before we get old.
The only things we planned in advance, and this was about June 2008, was that we should do France and Italy. And see what else happens. Neither of us had any previous experience. Who was actually coming on the trip varied a bit, but mainly it was always going to be me (I was 19 when we thought about it, 20 when we left):



I would be doing this Trip on my ’04 Triumph Speed Four, black, 600cc IL4 for anyone not in the know. Unfaired.

https://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v272/55/106/688853083/n688853083_1087659_2130.jpg


And Davison (Dav1 on here - same age):


He was doing it on an ‘05 ZX10R, Black and Gold. Byebye arse.

https://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v368/185/109/530280213/n530280213_4635130_3925.jpg



So I was doing this trip on an underpowered, non-sporty bike, that lacked any decent wind protection, and was borderline comfortable below 80mph. He was doing it on a hard as nails dedicated sports bike, with 170bhp at the wheel. Love it.

There ended up being three of us starting the trip, another friend of ours called Sutton. He was on a comfortable, faired, ZX9R – however…its clutch had started to go and he didn’t bother fixing it. And he had a Satnav. More of his intriguing story soon enough! (Hint….owch!)

After forgetting about the trip for a while whilst life meandered on, and whilst my bike was off the road, I eventually found the funds and time to fix the bugger.
So, I had a bike. And in January, we thought, lets just have a quick gander at the ferry (Dover to Calais) times, and see how expen- OH we’ve booked it. 36 quid return sir? Yes please. 5am ferry sir? Yes please.

We’re based in Hull, oop north, so it was 240ish miles to Dover. Who gives a shit, says we. It’ll be fine. (This became a varying state of description with a hint of worry throughout the trip. Petrol light on? Yep. Been on last 15 miles? Yep. Next town is 15 miles away? Yep. IT’LL BE FINE. )

So the months pass, and we have literally done nothing regarding planning for this trip. It’s now about ten days before we leave (14th of June) and we think to ourselves, you know what? It might be prudent to get some gear


So we got all the usual shizz, made quick lists, bought camping gear, new tents, new bike stuff, new rear tyre for me (new set for Davison) and new set for our friend who was now coming with us, Sutton. We severely under-estimated how much stuff we actually needed to take, but nonetheless – we got it all. And we packed. I think I re-packed once, to make sure nowt would fall off without some good and proper persuasion.

https://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs223.snc1/7027_164343193083_688853083_3598889_1932543_n.jpg
The bikes all packed near the Humber Bridge, raring to go.

https://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs203.snc1/7027_164343208083_688853083_3598891_3354835_n.jpg
My bike looks constantly shocked and scared for some reason. Cant be the rider, surely?



So, the dawn sprung on the day before our ferry, and fuck me, it was time to leave. It was a little nerve wracking, but bloody exciting. I don’t remember being as childishly giddy in my so far adult life. Haha! The feeling just before you leave, knowing you have 2 weeks (16/17 days I think I had in total off work) of utter freedom, is absolutely all encompassing. I was ecstatic, like a small child that’s just mixed a glass of hyper-activity inducing fruit juice with quadruple dropping some ecstasy cut with some insanely potent speed.

So, without further ado – Day 1
Hull – Ashford (20 miles from Dover) 240 miles

https://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs203.snc1/7027_164343223083_688853083_3598893_7346792_n.jpg
Self timer ftw! Left to right, Davison, Me, Sutton

We travelled down on the Saturday, setting off around half 9ish. We met at the Humber Bridge – mile long single suspension bridge crossing the Estuary known as the Humber – just with an idea of heading south. We weren’t fussed about decent scenery, we’d seen it all really, so we A-roaded and motorwayed most of the way down. Fairly uneventful day, a few notable exceptions being racing an M3 down a stretch of the A1 – my bike with gear on didn’t stand a chance. With our dark visors on, we noted a fair few hot lasses in a violet Clio we’re gesturing at us, so, of course, I stood up on my pegs about 2 metres from their front bumper, and slapped and rubbed my little arse. They loved it!

Anonyminity wins.


We stopped near the M11 for petrol at one point, and all I can remember thinking was a) My head was going to explode with hayfever and b) The fucking heat! We northerners are NOT used to there being ANY heat in the UK. When my bikes fan kicked in in traffic, I kid you not, I worried. Knowing how hot France/Italy would be. But onwards.
We arrived at Ashford at about 4pm, knowing we had to get an early night for a 5am Ferry the next day. Proceeded to grab some bloody good grub from a beefeaters, and watched Davison have a heart attack when the lass at the cinemas asked for 8 quid for a single ticket. He didn’t shut up about it after that. The lad was mortally wounded. Terminator was a good film though, lol. And we didn’t get an early night. I was on a fucking sofa. And Sutton had forgotten his Ferry tickets/pass. This is the first time I wanted to punch him. There were many more after that. And even a few with Davison!



Day 2
Ashford – Dover
Dover- Calais
Calais – Le Mans. All in, this was about 320 miles. Nothing, we thought, yesterday was easy!

It fucking wasn’t! 2am, we got up, groggily, and packed up the bikes. Everything looking good, we says. Ohhhhh no its not, Mr Weather disagrees. It seems he wanted to make up for giving us too nice a day yesterday. The drizzle started.
So there we are, bombing along at 80mph at half 3 in the morning, visibility shit, getting rather soaked, all for a poxy 20 miles before we get on the ferry. In one way, it was exciting, in another, it was retarded. Anyways. We arrived at Dover, and it was eerily quiet – the light was starting to make an appearance, but the storm clouds sat over the white cliffs didn’t look good. After a bit of messing around and being unsure of ourselves, we made our way through the (in retrospect) very simple system of checking in. However, it did stop raining, so we could wait around in comfort. We ALMOST hit the front of the queue. But a greek couple on a Divvy (I think) beat us to it!

https://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs203.snc1/7027_164343258083_688853083_3598898_5216875_n.jpg
Dover at about 4am, lovely and warm!


It was warm enough to just wear a vest, and it was about half 4 in the morning. Surreal, but brilliant. I tried to get a few shots, but it didn’t really work, not enough light.
The ferry crossing was normal, although I was deathly tired, having had about 3 hours fitful sleep. The others were the same. Visibility did not get better as we crossed. It’ll be fine when we get there, says I.

Wrong again. When we arrived in port, considering our bikes were right at the front, we had to rush and put our waterproofs on. We were about to go riding through the friggin swimming pool that was Northern France. Needless to say, it dampened our spirits a little. Well, it drowned them, to be honest.
We used Suttons satnav for a while, just to get our bearings whilst we got used to riding on the right. And you know what? There is no getting used to it. Because you don’t have to.

We all agreed it’s the most natural thing in the world. And we very much prefer it to riding on the left! It continued to chuck it down almost constantly for about five hours, and to be honest, I was starting to get fucking annoyed, and wondering why the shit we were doing it. My feet were soaked, my crotch was cold and wet, my arms were soaked. I’d managed to keep ALL of my gear perfectly dry through the modern wonders of black plastic bags though, which was genuinely a miracle. We went through lots of quaint and pretty (through a half wiped visor steamed up) villages in northern France, and whilst there was nothing particularly special about it, I really did enjoy just being somewhere different. The scenery was mostly flat, and this was nice in a way. You could see wind farms almost constantly for about 2 hours at one point. Huge farmers fields etc, and lots of trees.

https://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs223.snc1/7027_164343298083_688853083_3598904_3447032_n.jpg
Northern france, the epitome thereof? Oh wait...its not raining in this pic.


It felt open and free, which was good. Although, the crafty fuckers hide their cameras well. They give you a sign about 200 yards before hand, that isn’t massively visible in the wet at least and doing 80/90mph (we didn’t bother with converters – even though me and davs had digital speedos, and probs could have changed them) upto a camera you didn’t know coming was a little disconcerting.

One thing I will say is that it felt so free. We didn’t see police much, drivers were courteous, and we made good progress without feeling like we were going to be hauled into the cells and gaped by a black man...

https://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs223.snc1/7027_164343423083_688853083_3598924_6912119_n.jpg
Pretty much wore these waterproof (which they arent, for anything more than drizzle) suits for 48 hours at the start of the trip. It is not amusing. The hand gesture is something french bikers do, and its brilliant. Better than our shitty nod!

https://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs223.snc1/7027_164343433083_688853083_3598926_4582982_n.jpg

https://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs223.snc1/7027_164343443083_688853083_3598927_6833037_n.jpg

https://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs223.snc1/7027_164343478083_688853083_3598931_1728798_n.jpg

Some of the photos may be slightly out of order, but Ill try to add them from when they were taken. Got a couple from Rouen to add from the first day when it was actually sunny for about 2 hours

And some shots of a lake we stayed near in Le Mans (Formule 1....brilliant places)

Next update will hopefully be the weekend.
____________________
"Oh....it looks like Average Joe's is forfeiting the match!" - "Yeah, its a risky strategy but lets see if it pays off for 'em Cotton."

[D O G]

I suppose I have to pretend to be interested now?

[Fawbish]

[c-m]

Two summers in a row its pissed it down then i've gone through Northern France, only clearing up and getting warmer by the time i hit Lyon.

I hate Northern France, the weather is worse than the UK

[ms51ves3]

I hope this doesn't turn into a threads like G's, constantly waiting for updates. If G is reading this, where are the updates?

Good read so far, I look forward to more

[kitty kat]

Did you ride through Genova? I was there in October this year and the amount of scooters there was unbelievable with the riders having absolutely no fear of any other traffic. I found it quite scary as we didn't know the roads and didn't have a clue as to where we were going - typical bloody tourists lol
____________________
Enjoy everyday, tell those you love everyday you love them
Life is too short to fall out with people

[Fawbish]

We did ride through Genova, but in the evening, and probably not through the main parts. It was all a bit industrial and most definitely didnt have the friendly feel of many other places we visited!

I think, if memory serves, we actually carried on past it and to another small city, either that or we got horridly confused and ended up riding around in a thunderstorm (hard to recall at the moment where that was) but more to come on that, specifically, checkin into a 130 euro/night room after deciding it was too dangerous to carry on!



More soon
____________________
"Oh....it looks like Average Joe's is forfeiting the match!" - "Yeah, its a risky strategy but lets see if it pays off for 'em Cotton."

[kitty kat]

We ended up riding through Genova too, it is after all a port, so lots of traffic. We ended up near a town called Ceva for the night and ended up in a hotel (€90 a night) as there were no decent campsites near our intended route. It was also very hot in Italy, didn't drop much below 20C whilst we were there.
____________________
Enjoy everyday, tell those you love everyday you love them
Life is too short to fall out with people

[The Artist]

UPPPDDDDAAATTTEEEE!!!!

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

[Drums fingers]......



Pat
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[Notj7]

This is an awesome trip! Can't wait to hear more..

[Shay HTFC]

Awesome so far. Next time you go on a euro hoon, I am coming with you. Your gung ho attitude is somewhat familiar

I know what you mean about being somewhere new too. Even if its shite, it still feels class because its different. The signs are different, town names are different, the people look different, it just feels different. Awesome
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Full Motorbike License - GS500E '95

[Fawbish]

Update in the works, when Ive finished work for xmas (thurs) you should be getting afew more days
____________________
"Oh....it looks like Average Joe's is forfeiting the match!" - "Yeah, its a risky strategy but lets see if it pays off for 'em Cotton."

[borolad]

enjoyed the read so far, I would love to do something like this
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Suzuki GSF650SA

[Devans]

Can we get an update

xD

[Blunet600]

Good read so far, where is the rest.... looking forward to it.
Im planning on doing this same journey this year in june/july. Only speculation is whether to get the eurostar as close to italy as possible and not go through france or get a ferry and go through france.
____________________
Honda - Power of Dreams - NSR 125R - Hornet 600

[ms51ves3]

[Fawbish]

[ms51ves3]

[Blunet600]

How long did this trip take you? i've booked 10 days, thats to get to Rome and back. Would that be enough. Ferry leaves on the 7th 1010 and the return ferry is on the 18th. Is that enough time to enjoy it or should we allow more time?
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Honda - Power of Dreams - NSR 125R - Hornet 600

[Clanger]

Oi Fawbish...it's nearly the end of January...!!!!
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[Fawbish]

[Blunet600]

Yeh im hearing that, im looking at 14 days now. Given that you stopped in france for a few days, would 14 days be good time?
What would you suggest time wise?
cheers.
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Honda - Power of Dreams - NSR 125R - Hornet 600

[Fawbish]

I would say 14 days is a good amount, just make sure you take the time to enjoy it.

One thing we did, was make it up as we went along.

If we didnt have time for Rome, we wouldnt have gone as far - however, we did decide it would have been better (in a sense) with more relax time.


Baring that in mind, we went to Le Mans, Clermont, Gap, Grenoble, Cannes, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Genova, Pisa, Rome, Lake Garda.... etc and tons of towns inbetween.


Not all on seperate days like.

My best advice is not to plan too much, so that when you arrive somewhere the day you decide to go, its much more relaxed - instead of 'OMG, we're not gonna hit Pisa today cos of this puncture/traffic/roadworks/bad roads etc.

And dont overestimate how far you can travel - and take into account what type of roads they are - the twisties in the mountains are fun, but the compromise is you dont cover distance
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"Oh....it looks like Average Joe's is forfeiting the match!" - "Yeah, its a risky strategy but lets see if it pays off for 'em Cotton."

[Hazylogic]

Any more? as it's good stuff!