2014 Euro Tour

[nick crisp]

Yes, that's the 2nd recommendation I've had for booking.com. Just need to figure out what kind of system to take, hence Electronic Wizardry thread. I'm still really planning to use mostly campsites, but if the weather doesn't work out too well, this kind of thing could be handy. A month - jealous! I might be able to extend to 3 weeks if the saving continues to go well, but not counting on it.

[flyboy]

We  went last week in August 2013  an most of September and the weather was fantastic, warm but not silly hot only a couple of wet days all holiday .Also the summer rush is over and lots of vacancies available in b&bs, but if your camping geting a last minute  pitch  shouldn't be a problem even in high season
your idea of not booking anything in advance is I think the best move . I wish I'd done that we had booked a few places in advance for the first 10-12 days, and it put a bit of pressure  on us to be at a certain point at a certain date. The the rest of the holiday was  done on the fly and it was a great feeling to sit and have a beer in the evening and decide what to do tomorrow shall we ride 200 miles or have a shed load of beer an lig on beach all day  easy decision some days.

[Mattsplat]

My 2 cents...

Your heading to the European tourist traps, try to go in September when the passes are all open and the kids have gone back to school. Youll find avaliablity goes up and the prices go down, alot!

Bang for buck though I'd head to Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and then into Austria doing the loop back.

Ive done Europe and tbh, it costs too much, You could go to India, Cambodia or Vietnam for a month for less money........and yes, that includes a bike!

[nick crisp]

My 2 cents...

Your heading to the European tourist traps, try to go in September when the passes are all open and the kids have gone back to school. Youll find avaliablity goes up and the prices go down, alot!

Yes, I'm starting to think that may be wiser, but don't know if I can hold out til then  :lol

Bang for buck though I'd head to Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and then into Austria doing the loop back.

Ive done Europe and tbh, it costs too much, You could go to India, Cambodia or Vietnam for a month for less money........and yes, that includes a bike!

I refer the gentleman to the reply I gave earlier.....gotta start somewhere etc etc. Czech, Slovakia etc for a future trip perhaps.

I can't go to hot/humid places for medical reasons, much as I'd love to see some of those places. Just not an option.  :\

[Mattsplat]

I can't go to hot/humid places for medical reasons, much as I'd love to see some of those places. Just not an option.  :\
[/quote]

Im the same, I have really bad hyperhydrosis and I suffer in far away places but Im 'living the dream' while my spine lets me. Chronic degenerative disc disease and many spinal operations later has made me re-assess my priorities and pushed me into getting stuck into my 'bucket list' 

Arctic circle in 2015 and South America in 2016 and the list is mostly complete  :b

[nick crisp]

You're going to have some great experiences/memories to look back on Matt! Good luck with it all - jealous (again!).
I think it would be good to start a(nother) new touring thread for everyone to post their 2014 touring experiences/photos etc on soon.

[Mattsplat]

I think it would be good to start a(nother) new touring thread for everyone to post their 2014 touring experiences/photos etc on soon.

I'd be up for a bit of that 

[midden]

http://youtu.be/kGiRWIFX39I


though seeing the price, bike can sleep under the stars  :eek

[Phil]

My 2 cents...

Your heading to the European tourist traps, try to go in September when the passes are all open and the kids have gone back to school. Youll find avaliablity goes up and the prices go down, alot!

Bang for buck though I'd head to Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and then into Austria doing the loop back.

Ive done Europe and tbh, it costs too much, You could go to India, Cambodia or Vietnam for a month for less money........and yes, that includes a bike!

September could be a better bet weather wise too, although I've had some almighty down pours at various times of the year in Europe. In the hills in June-August there are often thunderstorms/downpours triggered by the heat. The climate tab on here is useful as a guide only. Last year in Romania it hardly rained all summer then kicked off in mid September.
The scale keeps changing, sometimes its 0 - 100mm, other times 0-300mm.

Bournemouth is relatively dry although it does rain a lot of days in the month.
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/m...NOREGION=0


My current plan for a Euro trip is going to Assen WSB at the end of April then heading to Croatia before it gets too hot there. I'm being made redundant next April so I'm taking tent this time to save costs. I will decide the route there depending on the forecasts, but will have a lot of time to do it.

[nick crisp]

So just been browsing this site, recommended by Adeejaysdelight - thanks Adee!  :thumbup

http://www.bestbikingroads.com/


Makes it far easier to plan where to ride, and after a 15 min browse, already have several routes that I think I'd like to try. Will have to start to look at timings and joining a few together to make a good tour. I love this planning bit! 

[midden]

My 2 cents...

Your heading to the European tourist traps, try to go in September when the passes are all open and the kids have gone back to school. Youll find avaliablity goes up and the prices go down, alot!

Bang for buck though I'd head to Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and then into Austria doing the loop back.

Ive done Europe and tbh, it costs too much, You could go to India, Cambodia or Vietnam for a month for less money........and yes, that includes a bike!

I'd like to nominate mattsplat as holder of foccer tourguide brolly..............


foccers to india, cambodia and vietnam

[nick crisp]

I'd like to nominate mattsplat as holder of foccer tourguide brolly..............


foccers to india, cambodia and vietnam

Midden, you have PM.

[midden]

[quote author=midden link=topic=11104.msg118631#msg118631 date=1388331389]

I'd like to nominate mattsplat as holder of foccer tourguide brolly..............


foccers to india, cambodia and vietnam

Midden, you have PM.
[/quote]


Phew! seen it already.........for a moment there I was hanging on baited breath waiting for the fekking T ........


I blame Father Red for that though

[midden]

in some ways it's a shame we're a motorcycle group
http://www.crumballrally.com/thundercrawl2014.php

[nick crisp]

in some ways it's a shame we're a motorcycle group
http://www.crumballrally.com/thundercrawl2014.php

That's right, encourage people to drive unsafe wrecks on some of the most challenging roads in Europe, where failed brakes can mean plunging several hundred, if not thousand feet over a rocky precipice. Way to go!  :rolleyes  :lol

[midden]

[quote author=midden link=topic=11104.msg118674#msg118674 date=1388347513]
in some ways it's a shame we're a motorcycle group
http://www.crumballrally.com/thundercrawl2014.php

That's right, encourage people to drive unsafe wrecks on some of the most challenging roads in Europe, where failed brakes can mean plunging several hundred, if not thousand feet over a rocky precipice. Way to go!  :rolleyes :lol
[/quote]


Hadn't thought of it that way.  So hey who's up for it.....[size=78%] [/size]

[Dead Eye]

That's so awesome

Totally the sort of thing I would do! Not sure if I will manage it this coming year as I think I'm out of the country during the event

Definitely a good alternative to the Gumball Rally which is just ridiculous as far as cost goes

[midden]

That's so awesome

Totally the sort of thing I would do! Not sure if I will manage it this coming year as I think I'm out of the country during the event

Definitely a good alternative to the Gumball Rally which is just ridiculous as far as cost goes

yeah and a bit safer than the Mongal rally.  so we'll plan to plan this one for future then

[Mattsplat]

I did the Mongolia Charity Rally, same as the Mongol rally but 100% charitable.

Mongolia is a long way away, you need an excuse to travel that far, for charity is a good excuse 

My five minutes of fame  :rolleyes


BTW...Thats a 20 year old, €800 bike with 200,000kms on the clock when I bought it for the rally  :b

[chris.biker]

The rules of Crumball rally allow the added cost of getting the vehicle safe and more reliable.


It does strike me we could do the same amongst  ourselves, either on our normal ''Fazers'' or on a smaller bike up to say 250cc.