I’ve just, a few minutes ago, finished watching Long Way Home, the classic round-the-world trip done by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. They weren’t the first to do this but the story they told inspired so many to saddle up and get touring. It’s hard not to get excited about my own tour.
Unlike Ewan and Charlie, I don’t live anywhere near the mates i’m teaming up with to do this tour so I’m struggling to find a place to show that excitement. Hence, this article – an update on the plan so far.
The Worries and Emotions
You’ve done a fair bit of motorbike touring in your life; France, Benelux, Germany and New Zealand, and you’re still anxious? I hope this is normal.
Strangely, my biggest worry is that i’ll come back and lose my desire for motorcycling. It doesn’t make sense at all does it but I have a real fear of the end of events.
Ever since I was a kid I hated coming back from visits to friends, my divorced father and, get this, I now fear the end of trade shows and conferences. I get extremely sorrowful when, even before the end of the ‘show’, people are starting to take down the theatre, right in front of my eyes. I get the same feeling with great films, good music and I fear that coming back from such a great life experience is going to push me into a space where work is meaningless, material things are worthless and friendships are the only thing that matter. Living on my own, as I do, in Germany, isn’t going to make things easier.
I need to make a plan for exactly that moment. Maybe it’s work, maybe it’s something else. Maybe it’s another tour. I’ll work it out.
I’m about to start watching the second series of Ewan and Charley’s adventure so i’ll be paying attention to why, exactly, they did a second tour.
Apart from that, no fear. Apart from bears in Romania.
The Bike – A Moto Guzzi V85 TT Travel
Baring major problems, which haven’t cropped up so far in the 4000 km I’ve done on the bike in just over two months, this is the one. It’s great. I’m so, so happy with it.
It a 2022 model which cost €8100 with 11500 km on the clock. It was restricted to 48 PS and in perfect condition.
I’m unrestricted form it’s not as powerful as I had hoped and on paper I’m well down against the KTMs that my mates Dave, Charlie and Rob will be riding which range from 100 to 160 PS. I don’t believe that’s a major problem on a long tour. What’s needed is comfort and confidence, and the Guzzi has it.
My Moto Guzzi V85 TT Travel full review continues to be updated here. I’m still undecided about tyres for the V85TT though.
We’ll be stopping in Mandello del Lario to visit the new Moto Guzzi factory, for sure! The boys will have to hide the KTMs and pretend they came as pillion riders.
What should I call the tour?
The ’10k tour’ sounds a little underwhelming, doesn’t it? I feel that I need a catchy name for this project that encompasses both the tour and anything that happens after the tour.
Here are some ideas. Let me know if you think anything stands out.
- Burgalot 10k
- RosyNeck 10k
- LuckyLegs Tour
- Crank&Hof 10k (CrankandHof?)
The Rosy Neck Tour has a good ring to it, don’t you think? Crank&Hof makes me smile! Chippy Crankandhof! 😂
Luggage
Hard, soft and everything in between, with millions of permutations. Luggage can cost a lot, too so I’m building a luggage solution around what I already have.
The V85 TT Travel has hard plastic luggage which appears to be relatively waterproof, locks well and is stable. I don’t know what will happen if the bike takes a fall. I’m not confident about that scenario and yet I feel OK about it. Straps around a huge plastic bag will suffice until I can buy something else I guess.
You can read more about the 120 liter luggage solution, here.
Packing list for the tour
I know what you’re going to say. “Too much, Chippy.”
Yes, you’re right but a lot of that stuff will be split between the team. As for the cot bed…it’s my luxury item…as is the Bluetooth speaker and the collapsible stool and the camera equipment.
Take a look at the packing list and let me know what you think via my socials. (Unfortunately I haven’t been able to enable comments here without getting spammed to high heaven.
Tips on packing? Let me know.
Route and Navigation
This is still a challenge that I need to solve. I’m a Calimoto user but quite keen on the Beeline Moto 2. I’ve seen reports of Moto 2 devices falling apart and I’ve also read stories about smartphones taking leave of motorbike mounts. In the sidelines are two of the team with Garmin Zumo devices. I’m undecided. Help!
More testing is needed and i’ll keep you posted. Do I really want to invest €500 in a screen? I can buy a backup Android phone and storage for my videos for that money.
As for the route, we have a rough plan.
The issue now is whether to try and plan day routes or to just leave the fine planning for the day. I prefer the latter strategy given that we’ll have weather, mechanical and personal issues to deal with. There may be the occasional hangover, too!
There are a few more items on my list.
- Security (bike and personal.)
- Helmet. New?
- Riding jacket. I just spent the hottest summer using only my trusty leather jacket. Do I need to switch to my ‘functional’ fabric jacket or can I just throw my waterproofs over the top when needed?
Video updates.
Up until now I’ve ignored video updates but one of my aims is to record the tour for our personal pleasure and humility for the future and if i’m doing that, why not try to build up the subscriber numbers, too? A good community is worth gold and you never know what you will do in the future. Guided tours in Germany?
Video updates will be coming in the very near future.