First timers

[bristolsaint]

Well, as promised, here is the report.

Bristol to Dover is boring. Saturday night in Dover is a fashionfest, according to my other half, of high heels, short skirts( I never noticed  ) and IQs that match shoe size.

Easy crossing to Calais. P and O knew what they were doing.

Peage to Reims. Easy, cheap (10 euros). What a dump, but only there for the night then back on peage to Annecy

Annecy great. Plenty to see and do. Went up into Alps. 15 miles and never got beyond 2nd gear. WOW!! Hairpin bends and 1000 ft sheer drops  :wacko:

Switzerland. Paid 40 euros for motorways and the used other roads. Motorways were crowded and dull  :idiot2: and other roads were fun, fast, twisty and, largely empty.

Overnight in Mulhouse. Hidden gem.  :beer:

And on to the autobahns. 2 up, fully laden, I reckon 90 is a great cruising speed on motorways. Germans in black Beemers and Audis reckon 130 should be a minimum. Good on 'em. Just need to keep an eye on left mirror.

Frankfurt was worth a look. Brief scare with back spasm left us wondering whether we would be stuck there but I recovered overnight.

Brugge well worth a look. Lager for me  :beer:, chocolate for her  . Happy bunnies both of us and out of Germany before that football match.

In total, 1925 miles. Lots of petrol, lots of photos. Conti Road Attacks are the business. I'll definitely get them next time. Less numb bum for her than me. Will look at gel seat. Will also consider suspension upgrade to stop bounciness when fully laden.  Satnav brilliant at finding hotels and way out of town but waste of time elsewhere. Turn it off when you don't need it. Get a car version and a bike mount. Put a clear plastic bag over it for when it rains. It will still be fine with gloves on. (Garmin Nuvi. ?89 from Currys with euro maps)

Thanks to all who contributed to my threads. All were helpful, even the ones I didn't use.

If anyone's got any doubts, do it and discuss the experience afterwards.

We're already thinking about the next one

[The Prodded Dog]

Good to hear that you enjoyed it so much.
We all piddle about the UK thinking 3,000 miles a year is big mileage when you can go to Europe and rack off 2,000 miles in a week. It also boosts your confidence in the Vara as it was designed to cope with all this.
Get out there and enjoy. There is always Carole Nash recovery should it go tits up! :uglystupid2:
TPD

[Silent Whale]

Switzerland is a funny place - a couple of weeks ago some friends a) got refused entry because his KTM's pipes where (standard) too loud and b) when they sneaked in at an unmanned border another touring member got nicked for speeding 800 Euro fine and asked to leave the country.

[Davech42]

Good to hear that you enjoyed it so much.
We all piddle about the UK thinking 3,000 miles a year is big mileage when you can go to Europe and rack off 2,000 miles in a week. It also boosts your confidence in the Vara as it was designed to cope with all this.
Get out there and enjoy. There is always Carole Nash recovery should it go tits up! :uglystupid2:
TPD

some of us dont piddle about in the uk either <nonono>