I am in the midst of planning my first solo tour of Europe after having done some organised tours in group, I have become tired of the crowded chaos of fast riders and slow riders, performing drop off so no one gets lost on the way and the poor backmarker falling increasingly further and further behind the group due to an inexperienced slow rider.
And after the entire days riding what did we see, nothing just some fleeting glimpses of a lake, a mountain pass, some bendy bits and then the prebooked hotel at the end but hey we got here in time folks so lets now eat sleep and do the whole thing over again just so we can get to the next hotel.
STOP, I can't do this anymore, so I have decided to do it alone, this time without the breakneck speed, I actually want to see the country I am riding through, I want to experience the culture, take some pictures, see some stuff and then move on.
I am planning to ride to Athens, well this is at least the target destination, would like to ride around the Peloponnese but rather than planning each hotel and every stop it's going to be lose planning, the route and the sights are the important things, the journey is something I want to enjoy so I am planning rough locations in the journey for cheap hotels/B&Bs one night stopovers booked as I go so it might not always be fine dining.
The route well roughly, through France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and finally Greece which is the plan to date but this may change.
The duration of the tour will be over a period of three weeks around June 2019 and as i progress taking in the sights the route may change and the time to get to Greece may run out, if time does run out at the midpoint then I will reroute back up through Europe via Bulgaria Serbia, Romania into Hungary Austria and back up through Germany, Belgium but this is all open-ended.
My friends and family would prefer I did not do this alone, so opening this up here, this may well be a once in a lifetime thing for me, is there anyone out there that fancies a change from it all, that gets a thrill out of winging it for three weeks just seeing a lot of life and enjoying a steady paced ride around Europe if so ping me here and we can have a chat.
Not fussed if you are male, female whether your 18 or 80, as long as you don't think this is a race, and consider yourself a competent rider,
Ohh and no religion or politics these are pet hates of mine.
If you are interested you will need to ensure you can get repatriation accident insurance in the event of an accident and European breakdown cover as well as all the other compulsory bull that is needed.
I am only opening this up to one maybe two riders, as I say this is only to keep my family happy.
Sounds interesting, good luck with the trip! As for the rest - you've been riding with the wrong people! I regularly tour with freinds and it's a relaxed, chilled out, adventure away from the motorways, without an itinerary and no pre-bookings. And if someone at the back stops to take pictures then we stop too. Though sometimes it's a mile or so further on:)
Wow.... Very interesting, go for it! I used to live and work in the peloponnese, quite a few years ago. Patra is a very busy port and can get to anywhere in Greece from there, the islands are fabulous. I'm kind of envious 😂 let us know how you get on please.
good luck but best take someone with you...……………...got bored a few weeks ago and done the same on a whim and booked a tunnel ticket and off I went. Went down to Croatia and all the other countries on way germany, austria and Slovenia and Serbia border is not a place to be on your own on a bike especially if youre camping ...not trying to put you off but be carefull on your own..