How (and maybe even Why) I Rode Around Europe

On 5th September I entered the Czech Republic and completed my aim to ride a motorcycle to all European Countries. (I very nearly rode around it so the challenge was not complete as it has been my goal for the last 3 summers and I was worried I would not have a new plan)


How the challenge came about?:

In late 2016 I decided to ride a motorcycle to all EU countries, this being slightly (but not wholly) motivated by doing it whilst we were still a member of the EU. 

This very quickly changed to riding the same bike (which meant I had to re-visit all countries I had already ridden through). 

In March 2017 after some extensive research (ie I liked the look of it, it was the big brother of my current bike -Tiger 800. test ride was fun and it was not a BMW GS), I purchased a Triumph Explorer XCa from Total Triumph. I started making plans and then added all the other European Countries as I didn't want to miss them out just because they weren't in the EU. I am so glad I did this.


My rules were:

1: must be wholly in Europe

2: on the mainland 

3: of a decent size to offer motorcycling interest. 

4: I must interact with the locals ie camp there or at least visit a coffee shop/restaurant. Just filling up with fuel does not count.

5: I must visit the Extremes. I could identify North, West and South but never could pinpoint East (so dropped this idea). Still, 3 out of 4 is not bad.


Following these rules I identified the countries I needed to visit - see bottom of this post for the definitive list.


How did I do it?

I split the trip into 4 tours. This is not the most efficient way to do it but I wanted to enjoy each country and take my time rather than blast round in a few weeks

Summer 2017 was - Solo to Nordkapp

Summer 2018 was - South West Europe and also Ireland

Summer 2019 was - South East Europe and Eastern Europe

After the first trip, I had some interesting road conditions and headed to Sweet Lamb Adventure Bike  for some Off Road Coaching with Moly. These days were well worth it as I encountered lots of roads that were more "off road" in nature on the subsequent tours


The Bike - Triumph Tiger Explorer XCa

The bike is stock fitted with a low seat and Triumph Side Cases. On the first trip I had a Triumph Tail pack but all the other trips I used a Givi Top Box. 

Navigation was provided by Garmin with a Zumo 390 on the first trips upgraded to a Garmin 595 for Summer 2019. 

The first I  trip ran a Go Pro but this was changed to a Garmin Virb for the rest. Easier to use as compatible with the Sat Nav.

Overall, I have covered in excess of 22,000 miles (bike currently has 28,000 miles) on these trips and the bike has done it all with ease. The only problems were a weeping fork seal and screen clips falling off (both repaired under warranty) and a headlight bulb (which I changed myself).


Tyres

I really struggled with tyres at the start. The OEM Metzler Tourance Next were shocking and were in a bad way halfway through the Nordkapp Trip at around 4,000 miles.

Next I tried the Continental TKC 70's and these were OK at first but these also wore very badly after 4,000 miles making the return from Spain pretty grim.

Ireland was completed on a set of Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR (50:50 tyres as I was set up for the off road training). These were noisy and quite badly affected the fuel consumption

Summer 2019 was on what I believe to be the best tyres I have had (on any adventure bike), Avon Trail Riders. These tyres did both tours and in excess of 11,000 miles. They are awesome and I had some pretty good MPG figures as well.


The Person

I do a lot of lightweight camping and am used to expeditions on foot or in a kayak. I have worked in the outdoors for over 20 years and am comfortable being outside in all weathers. Why is this important? Well, it means that I could concentrate on riding the bike. I can pitch a tent in under 5mins and get out of the weather. I can drop it just as quickly and be on my way. I am so used to sleeping in tents that I often get a better night than in a bed. The reason I say all this is that I believe this is a part of bike touring that is overlooked. Big mile days need a decent nights sleep.

The reason I decided to do all this solo was that I was able to make independent decisions about when I was tired and wanted to stop. Also, being solo means that you talk to different locals every night rather than the same person all the time. I met a lot of very interesting people on my travels.


Some quick answers to questions I have been asked

Favourite Country - North Macedonia / Montenegro
Worst Driving - Albania
Worst Roads - Albania / Ukraine
Most Complicated Border Crossing- Latvia into Belarus
Cheapest - Bosnia - certainly for camping and food
Worst Fuel - Ukraine
Most Expensive - Switzerland closely followed by Norway


Why did I do it?

I wanted an Adventure not a Holiday. I had a bike with the word "Explorer" written on it and I wanted to see what it (and I) could achieve. Riding to France and around The Alps was just so easy and I have done that with no planning, just deciding the day before to go for a few days. I wanted something that involved planning and that I might even fail at.

I learnt very quickly during these trips that travelling in the EU was a holiday, very easy and there was never a risk of not making it due to borders or other complications. Outside of the EU, I loved the borders, the slight risk of being refused entry, insurance issues, paperwork in another language, officials and the excitement of going somewhere unknown. Whether the UK stays in the EU or not, just get on a bike and ride round Europe. You won't regret it!

I have already started planning the next few trips though these now involve shipping the bike which is an added cost but will certainly add to the adventure.

All blog entries related to this adventure can be found here

Which countries did I go to?

Currently the definitive European Counties list includes 51 independent states. 

Blue I have been to by bike

Red I have not and my reasons why I didn’t go there (for now, I may in the future)

Albania – Cafe for lunch - June 2019
Andorra – Camped - July 2018
Armenia - politically European country, geographically West Asia territory.
Austria (EU) – Camped – June 2019
Azerbaijan - transcontinental, partially located in both Europe and Asia
Belarus – Hotel (don't think they have many campsites) – August 2019
Belgium (EU) – Camped and Hostel – August 2019
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Camped – June 2019
Bulgaria (EU)– Camped – June 2019
Croatia (EU) – Camped – June 2019
Cyprus (EU) – not mainland but been there (not on bike)
Czechia (EU) – Camped – Sept 2019
Denmark (EU) – Camped – August 2017
Estonia (EU) – Camped – August 2019
Finland (EU) – Camped – August 2017
France (EU) – Camped – July 2018 – July 2019
Georgia - transcontinental, partially located in both Europe and Asia
Germany (EU) – Camped – August 2017, August 2019
Gibraltar – Hotel – July 2018 – technically part of UK
Greece (EU) – Camped – June 2019
Hungary (EU) – Camped – June 2019 and August 2019
Iceland - not mainland but might go next year
Ireland (EU) – Camped – August 2018 - not mainland but went anyway
Italy (EU) – Camped – July 2019
Kazakhstan - transcontinental, partially located in both Europe and Asia
Kosovo – Cafe for lunch – August 2019
Latvia (EU) – Camped – August 2019
Liechtenstein - Hotel for lunch – July 2019
Lithuania (EU) – Camped – August 2019
Luxembourg (EU) – Camped – June 2019
Malta (EU) - not mainland but been there (not on bike)
Moldova – Camped – Sept 2019
Monaco - too small for decent biking roads
Montenegro – Camped – June 2019
Netherlands (EU) – Camped – August 2017, August 2019
North Macedonia – Camped – June 2019
Norway – Camped – August 2017
Poland (EU) – Camped – August 2019
Portugal (EU) – Camped – July 2018
Romania (EU) – Camped – June 2019, Sept 2019
Russia - transcontinental, partially located in both Europe and Asia
San Marino - too small for decent biking roads
Serbia – Camped – June 2019
Slovakia (EU) – Camped – Sept 2019
Slovenia (EU) – Camped – June 2019
Spain (EU) – Camped – July 2018
Sweden (EU) – Camped – August 2017
Switzerland – Camped – July 2019
Turkey - transcontinental, partially located in both Europe and Asia
Ukraine – Hostel – August 2019
United Kingdom (EU?) - not mainland but live here
Vatican City (Holy See) – too small – not even sure bikes are allowed in!

I have visited Malta and Cyprus before (but not by bike) so I have also visited and stayed for at least one night in every EU country as an added bonus.

The plan for the next biking adventures is now starting to take shape. Watch this space