Our maiden trip

what to say about the following figures:

Total time : 35:12
Overall avg speed: 67.8
Max speed: 186km/h
Distance: 2388.9 km


That are the stats on our maiden trip. A trip that took us from:

Thursday : Valencia - Teruel
Friday: Teruel - Barcelona
Saturday: Barcelona - Carcassonne
Sunday: Carcassonne - Cleremont Ferrand
Monday: Cleremont Ferrand - Home

The trip as a whole was just wonderful. We enjoyed the new experience and I was so glad we did not really come across any obstacles such. Although Agnes never did a trip like this and that it was really the first really big and long trip for me as well: all went superbly well. Especially if you look like in the below picture you do not have a guarantee of success.




Ok I look smaller than the bike, but once I managed on to it I swear: I'm just flying

But the first day was all about taking in the scenery and getting used to ride the bike with the two of us. It is very strange to be so close to each other but for about hours not being able to talk sicken we do not have a communciation system in our helmets. So we took regular to enjoy the scenery both of us and at least be able to say what we were thinking, but in a way it was not necessary because the vibes filled the air.

The first night we stayed in a hostel in Teruel, more precise: a room in some sort of a elderly house for priests and nuns :-) .... Hope we did not disturb them too much. But I guess we did given the gazing stares we got in the morning at breakfast.

Day 2 brought us from Teruel to Barcelona. Again the scenery was just breathtaking and the stops in the small villages a lust for the eye and the mouth. The last part we were forced to go over highway since it was getting dark. First time lucky on that trip. With only fuel left for 10 km and no gas station in the neighborhood we took our changes to ride on the highway with a gas station about 15km away. With all our hopes we achieved the station with 0 km left on our on-board computer. In Barcelona we of course visited the tapas area around the cathedral and enjoyed the nice and warm weather of around 18 degrees.

Day three was a challenge: planning 451 km over small windy mountain roads from Barcelona to Andorra to Carcassonne. With a delay of two hours we left Barcelona around noon. I just wanted new tyres because the ones I had were worn out and I finally could throw the competitors onces away and have them replaced. Unfortunately with all the effort we could not find Dunlops in Barcelona, so we settled on something else .... hope my boss agrees with my philosophy of: to beat the competition you need to know them :-)

As said: the day trip was a challenge and we failed. We passed Andora and the Pyrenees already after 5 with still 3 hours to go in the dark and cold. It was about 0 degrees in the Pyrenees. I just enjoyed myself going down the small mountain roads and especially the joy of breaking the 11.111km barrier on the bike. The joy was not really shared by Agnes, but all the troubles were washed away once we got to Carcassonne.



but with swapping the rather rough nature from Spain with the more green from France we had to take on the flipside the change from a warm welcome every time we stopped in Spain by the typical French " friendliness" of what the @%&$ are you coming to do here .... The stay in themediaval town of Carcassonne was not going to be spoiled by that and we took the time to visit the place before taking of to Clermont Ferrand: another ambitious 513.1 km, but now with an earlier start.

All preparations albeit: I ended in the water. During the day the weather was wonderful , we even tried to figure out who lived where, since the place is so deserted they put indicators on where everybody lived with the distance. We had the sun to keep us warm, but once past 3 o'clock the clouds came in: time for the rain suits ... In a storm we still had to go the Cleremont so we altered the route.

Day 4 was a straight on trip home from Cleremont to Mechelen: around 760 km highway in a rather hefty wind, but still manageable. Also the rain was not really there, we almost avoided it completely .... Apart from the like shower we got around 11 .... After having spent 3 day in the outskirts Paris confronted us with the term traffic jam and overcrowded stress again , luckily witht he bike we could jump the traffic jam in between lane 2 and 3 .

Back home we were so happy we did it .. not that it was such a difficult trip, but the fact we both really enjoyed being on the bike. Now the only that needs to be done is to get the drivers license for Agnes. I'm set to go to Morocco hopefully in February to take my first real adventure trip. With everything I learnt on the course and the experience with this maiden trip I guess I'm armed for an exciting adventure ....

I must admit I was already passionate about bikes with the sidecar, but now it is getting to me even deeper. How foolish it may sound, I even consider to enlarge the collection with a red stallion.



but first Morocco .....


Happy travels


Toon