My name is Chippy, Steve Chippy, and before I’m 60, in 2028, I’ll motorcycle around the continent I’ve lived in all my life. This is part 1 of my journey, the planning.
You have no idea how many notes I’ve made up to this point. Thoughts, to-dos, equipment lists and maps are just 1% of the challenge of getting something like this moving, and today is the official start. This is the first day of action. No more dreaming, just doing.
Here’s the map I sent to a good friend of mine a few weeks ago. He returned a more detailed route across the Alps, which I take as a very positive sign. My mate Dave is in!
10K Tour Summary
I’ll start in Bonn and take a clockwise route from down to the Balkans, where the highest point is 2925 meters above sea level. Waypoint? The route, shown in rough above, might be a back-of-fag-packet idea but that’s the point. Each part of this tour, each challenge, must have a starting point.
The route will be flexible, I believe, but other parts of this tour won’t be. Planning the motorcycle will be fun but there will be no chance to change hallway through. There’s not much flexibility in the budget once it’s set, too. There’s the equipment, the friends that will join me and the challenge of camping vs hotels to sort out. Unless I start throwing away equipment, and Dave, along the route, there’s little flexibility there.
I will publicly document everything I can. Don’t expect me to be your next YouTube influencer but I’ll document it for my loved ones, and for anyone that might be interested in a similar project. Quick update will go on Insta. There will be videos, and old-school text will knit it all together here
Ground rules for a European Motorcycle tour
You’ve done your thinking. It’s time for action. The first thing that needs to be done is to set the ground rules. Here’s my starting list of rules.
Date
May, June 2027
Route
Clockwise from Bonn through South east Europe
Riding style
Road touring with a focus on longer distances. Personally I’m not interested in off-road, but I am interested in seeing amazing sights.
Average 350km per riding day.
5 days with no riding (in total).
1 tyre change is probably needed.
Distance and Duration
The total distance should be about 10000 km. At 350km per riding day (200 miles). and 30 riding days, it sounds fairly easy. 5 rest days will be included. That’s 5 weeks.
Accomodation
Hotel camping mix. I’ll have to see what my potential companion(s) want to do though.
Daily expenses
35 days at €70 per day.
Motorcycle
Help needed here!
Route planning
I’m a big user of Calimoto, but I live in Calimoto’s home country. Will it work across the rest of Europe?
Connect and help me!
Are you planning, or have you planned, a long tour inn Europe? If so, follow me and help me. I value your input!
Instagram: v4_chippy
YouTube: @meetmobility
About Chippy Steve
I’m currently 57, have ridden a Honda VFR800 for the last 4 years and previously owned various motorbikes. A CB100, through my GS500E, a KMX200, and GPZ600. There was a Tomos in there at age 16 but I really don’t remember much about that one!
I’ve never owned an ‘adventure bike’ but I’ve adventured in Scotland, England, France, Germany and New Zealand.
I live in Bonn, Germany.