Ireland asap, followed by the rest of Europe, then who knows....

[FeralCat]

I'm looking at doing Ireland ASAP, then continuing onto the rest of Europe. I prefer to camp, stay in hostels, couch surf, etc, but don't mind splurging every once in a while.

A little about myself: I'm a 30 year old male from Los Angeles, California with nothing but time on my hands. I've never been overseas, but I'm an experienced rider and moto traveler. I clocked over 35k miles last year on a 6 month trip across the US. I'm a pretty flexible, laid back type of guy, and enjoy the riding as much as the sight seeing.

Wouldn't mind teaming up with someone, short, long, or anything in between.

So, any like minded adventurers out there?

[backofbeyond]

Hi FC and welcome. So, are you bringing your own bike over or buying something over here? There's plenty of stuff in the archives here about doing the latter but if you're starting in Ireland in winter I hope you like rain!

If, as you say, it's your first time out of the US you might find riding on the left an interesting diversion from the water but normal service will be resumed as soon as you hit France or any of the other mainland countries.

Most of the decent riding conditions are likely to be in the south of Europe - now(ish) is a popular time of year for e.g. Morocco. Winter biking in northern Europe tends towards the expedition type of trip - camping in a snowdrift type bike rallies etc (for example - https://www.bvdm.de/index.php?id=47&lang=3 ).

[markharf]

Is there any good reason you want to start in Ireland during a rather uninviting time of year?

I've toured Europe in November, December and January. Best bring a thirst for cold, wet, windy and gloom--and that's if you stay south, in (say) Italy, Greece, Spain, southern France.... Morocco's better, but a lot of the fun riding involves the various Atlas ranges, and that sometimes means snow in addition to intermittent lowland flooding. Southern Turkey's a possibility.

If, on the other hand, you really do enjoy rain, chill, and short days you'll find yourself in heaven.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

[giles818]

As an irishman living in Ireland my advise to you would leave it until at the earliest April, to come here travelling. It can be done in winter but it's miserable and no fun.also the days (daylight)are quite short (7-8 hrs)& it can rain the whole time, so even it might not look too cold, it is...
BUT get the weather and it's up with the best riding in the world.as already said, if u want to get going, southern spain/north Africa is a great place to be now, and work your way north as the spring/summer comes along.
If you are looking to buy a bike for your travels well then Ireland may be your only option as it's easy for a non citizen to buy and insure a motorcycle here for travelling. Not so in other European countries.
Last summer I sold my gs to a fellow countryman who was doing exactly what you want to do.
If you need any help planin or info I will help you any way I can.
Happy travelling.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[wheatwhacker]

Come on over man.
The south is fine, a lot warmer than northern CA.
Expect rain and cold and short days.
Black ice is a danger.
I'd seriously wait till mid March though.

[raycooknz]

Hi All,
I have just finished driving my Toyota Landcrusier from Singapore to Europe and covered some 32,000km.
Im now looking at planning Stage 2 for 2017 from Russia into Alaska. I have heard of people doing this in 4X4. I would be keen on any tips or advice on how to do this and what time of the year.