Cheers, Max!

Glad to read you also here, my friend!!!

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Nick and his 2010 Yamaha XT1200Z Super Ténéré

Thanks mate! hope you enjoyed your s

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Eirinn - Yamaha XV1600 "Etoile Routière"
Tre uisge 's tre thèine a dh'ionnsaigh na reultan

Well guys, I'm still here, though without bike.
I'm in Florence after a week in Paris. Just doing the tourist thing.
It's fun, but I must be recovered as The last few days I keep looking at the bikes and having a little pang of regret.
Then I get a pain in my wrist(from lifting another ) and feel how hot it is and how it would be not that much fun in all the gear, and I get over it.

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There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Well it's all over. After Florence I went to Siena. What a great place that is. Then to Rome for 5 days. Interesting but really crowded. And back to London.

It was a great trip and I enjoyed meeting the Hubbers along the way.

I took the SV 650 for a spin in the hills yesterday, and after the loaded K100, it felt like a rocket powered bicycle. Heaps of fun.

Bloody hell, I'm Home.

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There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Hi Ed
Throughly enjoyed following oyur travels. I am off across the Simpson to Perth next month, but when I get back I wouldnt mind catching up for a and picking your brains for tips for my own euro trip next year.

Now that I've been home for three weeks (man that went fast), I've had some time to think about how I went about the trip.

1st off, the bike was both a good choice and a bad choice. Good because of the great arrangement I had with the guy I bought it off, and the reliability of the bike(except for the clutch breaking). I didn't even have to put air in the tyres in 6000miles. And it did the miles easily.
Bad, because it was a bit heavy to manhandle at low speeds and parking, and was hard work on rough and winding roads.

Camping gear. Saved money on a couple of occasions and was needed for Cannich and TT, but a lot of weight to lug around. Next time, I'll spend the money and stick to hotels and B&B's, and save the weight. I'd also choose a lighter bike, something like a 650 V strom or even an SV 650 or something similar.

Riding gear. I'd leave the leather pants and racing boots at home and get something like Draggin jeans and some suitable boots that are OK for walking around in. Also I'd take a waterproof coverall, as my "waterproof" jacket wasn't.

I think my idea of doing it without a guide book or GPS was a mistake. There is just so much stuff packed into Europe, and with the inability to read alot of the signs, I guess I probably missed alot on the route I took, and a GPS would have been real handy in the large towns and cities. Mind you, I actually enjoy just riding through the landscape and discovering whatever turns up.

I really needed to slow down the pace. There was just so much to see and so little time. And going on my own meant that there was no one to slow that down for me. This was especially pronounced in France because of the language barrier. I found that I put in more hours on the bike because I was a bit lonely. This worked out to be counter productive as I had to cut the bike leg short because the body couldn't take it anymore.

Don't take all this as meaning I didn't have a great time. It was a blast. And having to deal with the weight has made my bike at home seem so light that it's now a lot more fun to ride.

I'm going to put some of these thoughts to the test in October when I ride down to Melbourne to go to the GP and visit my Mum.

I hope these observations help in the planning of others trips.

Any questions? Feel free to ask.

Ed

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There's more than one way to skin a cat.