New Guy - First Time Out
 

Firstly - Hello to all, I've been lurking on this site for a while now and finally bit the bullet and registered.... Kudos goes to the man (or Woman) who's idea this site was!!!!

To business!

Me and a buddy are off on one of our first (hopefully of many) tours. We want to encompass as much of Europe as physically possible during out time out and would appreciate your thoughts on the below route:

UK
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Czech Republic
Germany
France
Belgium
Netherlands
UK

Being as we are completely new to this I wanted to know if any of you loveley people can offer any advice?

> Is this route too much for a first time out?
> Can anyone see any problems with border crossings etc?
> Bike recomendation (Will be selling my pride and joy ZX6-RR so be nice!)

Thank you for any and all help you can give!


:wave: :wave:

Do it
 

Don't think about it . . just get yourself a GS, pack it up and start riding.
You won't get lost over there and no problems with visa's etc.
See you on the road in 12 months

:thumbup1:

PS read the hubb thoroughly, there's everything you need to know right here.

Is this route too much for a first time out?
> Can anyone see any problems with border crossings etc?
> Bike recomendation (Will be selling my pride and joy ZX6-RR so be nice!)

Could be a long way but that depends on how long you are allowing for this (and other things like where you will get accomodation, how long you want to stay in any particular place etc etc).

As previous post, just go for it: North and West Europe = no probs!

Also as previous post, lots of advice in here about what bike to ride (anything basically!).

Has anyone been to these parts of the world recently - Is a GS or equivilent needed?

My concern is about road condidtions and buying a bike suitable. BTW I have :thumbdown: tiny :thumbdown: legs - despite being 5'8" :censored: :censored: :censored:

Is a GS or equivilent necessary, are road conditions in Lithuania, Estonia bad enough to warrant one (I ask as a friend had offered me his Pan European for the trip)

Thanks to Walkabout and Michael for their replies:thumbup1:

Any more thoughts of comments, particulary on Eastern Europe road conditions would be appreciated.

Type of bike....
 

Any bike will do. We did most of your planned route last year (Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany. Holland.) Some minor roads were unsealed. I had a GS but my mates were on a Blackbird and CBR1000 and had no trouble. Did it all in 9 days at an easy pace. No problems with borders etc. Don't forget to take your bikes registration document though (log book) - you'll be asked for it at borders. Have fun.

do it
 

Paul M

what route did you take, I leave this week, we may revise our plan so any ideas would be appreciated.


oh and just take the kwacker, will be great on those twisties

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Well done to all who helped.

Any fears are now gone! - We may set off a little earlier if I can take the Kwak.

Cheers for all your help guys.

hi
Welcome to the HUBB. Learn it and use it you will be amazed.

As for your bike, I ride a GS and a varraderro. No need for a GS if you're happy with your bike ride it.

as for the route you are taking. There is no problem with visa's etc .

Roads in Poland are Narrow and drivers are bad so watch out. you'll get it hard to find a hard shoulder anywhere.
You havent Slovakia on your list , its worth a visit to the north part to see the high tatra mountians ( dont go in the winter on a bike).

I can help you with info or contacts if you need any in Poland or Slovakia , oh and Ireland of course :)

have fun

Martync - route
 

Ferry from Newcastle to Goteberg (DFDS). Goteberg to Stockholm. Ferry to Tallinn (Tallink). Tallinn,Tartu, minor roads down the side of Lake Pskov. Aluksne, Rezekne, Daugavpils, Utena, Vilnius, Suwalki, Ketrzyn (See the Wolfschanze complex where the atempt on Hilters life was made) Gdansk, Gdynia, Koszalin - don't take this road - very busy and boring - Szczecin then across Germany and Holland to the DFDS ferry Ijmuiden (near Amsterdam) - not sure about the spelling of that. If you need any further info - email. Have a good trip. We did it about the same time of year and the weather was great. Have a good trip. Paul

Cheers for all the help guys. We're due to set off this time next year and i've already accuired two extra guys who want in (one is a media student at Bournmouth Uni' who's going to film the whole thing!!)

We may have to use some of your route ideas PaulM:thumbup1:

Finally - Would we need a carnet to enter any of the Countries listed? I'm still a little confused as to how they work (And i've read the threads relating to them) Can anyone put it into Lamens terms?

Thanks to all again - This forum ROCKS!!

I did the baltics and some of E. Europe on my way to C.Asia then back from Russia. The 'wildest' places on that list should be Poland, maybe Estonia (never been to Estonia so can't comment), I found Latvia and Lithuania to be very 'Western Europe', had no problems in any of these countries with people, paperwork, borders etc - you just get waved through nearly all the time.

As for bike absolutely any bike could handle the worst roads I came across, so it's probably more a question of how you like to ride, how long you will be in the saddle for, and your budget. A 'GS' is definitely not 'necessary', but IMHO there isn't a situation where a GS is (sound of a cash-strapped and bitter biker.....)

This sounds like an ideal first trip, have a great time!

..............and Finally.
 

Does anyone have a rough idea how long this would take?

I've booked 4-5 weeks for this travelling 6 days p/week - Is that realistic or am I being VERY hopeful?

easily do-able
 

You should be able to do it in a month at a very leisurely pace, so don't worry about the timing and just enjoy yourself - you will never be more than 2 days ride from Rotterdam (it took me 2 days to ride from Russia to Rotterdam but was a bit sore for a few days...)