Bert and I

Europe, by motorcycle, from middle to bottom to top to bottom to middle.

27,651 kilometers (17,181.53 miles) over 120 days from June 02, 2005 to October 18, 0205

Image Map
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