27,651 kilometers (17,181.53 miles) over 120 days from June 02, 2005 to October 18, 0205
| Table of Contents | |
|---|---|
| Preparations | |
| Introduction: I need a vacation | 1 |
| Bert the blue whale: My faithful travel companion | 2 |
| The motorcycle: Affectionately known as Greta | 3 |
| Boston: Tune-up and tires | 4 |
| New York: Dropping off the bike | 5 |
| New York: Hanging out in the city | 6 |
| Back in Boston: Saying goodbye | 7 |
| Basel, Switzerland | |
| Basel: Arrival in Europe | 8 |
| Basel: Hanging out waiting for the motorcycle to arrive | 9 |
| Frankfurt: Autobahn madness, and Lufthansa breaks fairings. | 10 |
| Basel to Narbonne, France | |
| Basel to Thones, France: Pure joy in the Alps. | 11 |
| Thones to Mars, Ardèche: Grenoble, Parc du Vercors, a brilliant dinner. | 12 |
| Mars to Au fin fond du Lot: Hail is painful but friends await. | 13 |
| Au fin fond du Lot: Hanging out with friends. | 14 |
| Cahors to Narbonne: Straight highway shot. | 15 |
| Narbonne and thereabouts: Seeing the sights, doing some chores. | 16 |
| Narbonne to Barcelona: Side-trip to Spain (in a car). | 17 |
| Narbonne, France to Oslo, Norway | |
| Narbonne to Pulversheim: Back to business. | 18 |
| Pulversheim, France to Philippsburg, Germany: Renewed my insurance; happy ending. | 19 |
| Philippsburg to Louisendorf: Free pie for being American. | 20 |
| Louisendorf to Tostedt (Hamburg): Not every recommendation from a local is a good one. | 21 |
| Hamburg: Laundry in Altona. | 22 |
| Hamburg to Kiel: Baltic Sea. | 23 |
| Kiel to Copenhagen, Denmark: Into Scandinavia. | 24 |
| Copenhagen to Gothenburg, Sweden: Another day, another country. | 25 |
| Gothenburg to Oslo, Norway: Don't fine me bro. | 26 |
| Land of the fjords | |
| Oslo to Voss: Now it's getting good. | 27 |
| Voss to Ålesund: Wow. | 28 |
| Ålesund to Trondheim: Trollstigen, ferries, rain, then a shitower to warm up at the end of the day. | 29 |
| Trondheim to north of Mosjoen: First time meeting long-distance cyclists. | 30 |
| Mosjoen to Narvik: The Arctic Circle, and a minor wipeout. | 31 |
| Narvik to Nordkapp: The race to Nordkapp, midnight sun, trying to sleep on top of the motorcycle in front of a gas station. | 32 |
| Gas station to Kirkenes: Ouff I've got a hangover, still over 300 miles to go in the rain. | 33 |
| Kirkenes to Berlin | |
| Kirkenes to Ivalo, Finland: Dodging reindeer in the freezing rain. | 34 |
| Ivalo to Örnik, Sweden: Straight ahead. | 35 |
| Örnik to Iggesund: Aggressive Swedish passing manoeuvres. | 36 |
| Iggesund to Stockholm: Shortish day. | 37 |
| Days in Stockholm: Rest, chores, and a bit of fun. | 38 |
| Stockholm to Trelleborg: Catching the ferry to Germany. | 39 |
| Rostock to Berlin: More Autobahn madness. | 40 |
| Berlin: spassig (fun). | 41 |
| Berlin: spassiger (funner). | 42 |
| Berlin: spassigste (funnest). | 43 |
| Prague, Austria, Swiss Alps, back to Narbonne | |
| Berlin to Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic: Back on the road. | 44 |
| Ústí to Prague: Sightseeing | 45 |
| Prague to Poggstall, Austria: On the Donau | 46 |
| Poggstall to Jüdenberg: Scraping the pegs until the rain moves in | 47 |
| Jüdenberg to Munich, Germany: Escape from the rain | 48 |
| Munich to Silandro, Italy: The Alps (motorcycle heaven). | 49 |
| Silandro to Disentis, Switzerland: Border-hopping over the passes. | 50 |
| Disentis to La Chambre, France: Kid in the candy store. | 51 |
| La Chambre to Narbonne: Long day in the saddle. | 52 |
| Narbonne redux: Rest, badly needed maintenance for the motorcycle. | 53 |
| Narbonne: Break in the tires, see the sights. | 54 |
| Spain | |
| Narbonne to Berga, Spain: | 55 |
| Berga to Vielha: | 56 |
| Vielha to Lourdes, France: Criss-crossing the Pyrenées, end the day at a Catholic tourist trap | 57 |
| Lourdes to Biarritz: | 58 |
| Biarritz: Day off for a swim | 59 |
| Biarritz to Burgos: | 60 |
| Burgos to Gijón: Picos de Europa | 61 |
| Gijón to A Coruña: | 62 |
| A Coruña to Vigo: | 63 |
| Vigo to Astorga: | 64 |
| Astorga to Ciudad Rodrigo via Portugal: | 65 |
| Ciudad Rodrigo to Miajadas: | 66 |
| Miajadas to San Pedro de Alcántara: | 67 |
| San Pedro de Alcántara to Marbella: Gibraltar | 68 |
| Marbella to Mojácar: | 69 |
| Mojácar to Castellón: | 70 |
| Castellón to Barcelona: | 71 |
| Barcelona to Narbonne: | 72 |
| Narbonne: Back at headquarters, equipment check | 73 |
| Making my way home | |
| Narbonne to Cahors: Le Lot, another visit | 74 |
| Cahors to Rambouillet: Making my way north | 75 |
| Rambouillet to Rotterdam, The Netherlands: A stop in Paris | 76 |
| Rotterdam to Amsterdam: | 77 |
| Amsterdam to Zeebrugge, Belgium: dropping of Greta for the ship home | 78 |
| Zeebrugge to Basel, Switzerland: By train back to Basel | 79 |
| Basel to Zurich to Dublin to Boston: The journey home | 80 |
| United States: Epilogue | 81 |
| Statistics: | 82 |
