Euro Adventure Part II - The East of Europe and Beyond

Earlier this year I shipped my motorcycle to Germany, and then flew over to ride it in Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain and Austria. I rode for a month and returned to the US in June. A friend was planning to return to her home in Tbilisi, Georgia. I always wanted to ride in Eastern Europe and Russia and hearing about her home in Georgia I thought it would be great to visit her and then continue on into Russia later.

I spent the Summer of 2012 planning the trip. My rough plan was to ride South from Germany, play in the Alps for a while, riding the high mountain passes and then continue South and East into Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and then head East and across to Turkey and into Georgia - a trip of 3500 miles or more over one month.

I have a friend in NY who returned to her birthplace in Tbilisi, Georgia  - after staying in the US for ten years, working. She owns an apartment, and has offered me a place to park my bike when I get there.

On September 11, 2012 - yes, the anniversary of the Twin Towers Disaster - I left New York and flew to Germany, to pick the bike up in Heidelberg. After two days to rest, change the oil and load the bike with all my gear I headed out, alone again on the roads of Europe.

After two days of chatting with other bikers at Stefan Knopf's Motorcycle B&B Facility in Heidelberg, I was in no hurry to get on the road. The fact is, I dreaded riding alone, as I found it a lonely experience on my last trip. The riding is not bad, it's stopping that gets to me. Eating all my meals alone, and walking around new towns, no matter how pretty, is not as much fun with no one to share.

At Knopf's facility, I had found lots of interesting characters including a man who had built a custom sidecar motorcycle rig so he could continue a world tour, even after a serious traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle racing crash that required 10 years of recovery.

I met couples that were touring together on rented or newly purchased bikes, men from all over the world who were taking a few weeks to travel around Germany or Europe for a holiday.

I had found an interesting subculture - folks who routinely ride to experience the adventure of seeing Europe on two wheels.

I took secondary roads through Germany, preferring to stay off the Autobahn except where it made it easier to traverse cities or boring countryside. In a few hours I was in Switzerland, and stayed the first night in Andermatt