A Full Irish

I know I've mentioned it before but this is so good, it deserves a second airing.

So, we get to eurotunnel, I go through the check-in and then walk back  in case Knutr needs my help, as I was the one who booked the tickets. He seems to be doing OK until the machine says it doesn't recognise the booking, I try the code again, Still not accepted.  Speaking to the lady over the speaker it becomes clear that the paperwork Knutr has brought with him, is that from last year and he's entering a code from 2016! Luckily the lady can locate the correct booking and we are able to proceed. I had to explain to her that he is Irish! You'll never see a better example of that in action, I bet ;-)

Apart from that the day was pretty unremarkable. It rained pretty much on and off all day, save for the time we spent in Holland and about the last sixty miles in Germany. We arrived at our hotel in Senden about 17:45 local time. It is located adjacent to a service area, so our evening meal was over there. I had a pork snitzel, Knutr a big burger. Those, obviously, were washed down with a couple if Bitburger beers, Both agreed the meal was pretty good and reasonable value at €16 (£14) per head.

As I write, the Confederations Cup Final is on, with Germany leading Chile, 1-0. Knutr has drifted off and is snoring away.

We are already fuelled up ready for the first stint tomorrow, so once we're packed up and fed we can just hit the road. Our final destination is Kolding, in Denmark.

Expect to see some Odinn's logs along the way.

3 more sleeps

This will be my last post, before we actually throw our legs over the bikes on Sunday morning. I can almost taste it now and the excitement, after so many months, years even, of planning and preparation, is at an extremely high level.

Considering I have just 2 full days, one of them a work day, to get all my stuff sorted and packed, I have done very little. I've printed off my packing list and ticked a few things off but, I am far from being ready. Hey, at least I got some bacon in for our brekkie on Sunday!

Grizzly (Knutr for this trip), will be on his way tomorrow morning. He'll catch the ferry from Wexford to Pembroke, then make his way to the Leigh Delamere services on the M4, where his bed for the night awaits at the Travelodge. Saturday, he'll make his way to my place.

The tour will start in the evening, with the customary pre tour meal, washed down with a few beers, just to get us in the mood. Given the cost of beer in Norway, we might not be getting many down our necks over the next few weeks.

Weather for Sunday in Chatham looks reasonable, though at the time we'll be leaving, there is the highest chance of rain. I'm hoping we'll escape that this time round. There's nothing quite so bad as starting out on a 4,000 mile trip in your waterproofs! It looks even worse for Folkestone, where we'll be boarding Eurotunnel but these things can change. My fingers will be crossed, anyway. Our destination, Senden, near Munster in Northern Germany, looks to be better than the other day when I looked, now showing sun and over 20 degrees. It would have to go some to be worse than the last time we rode into Germany in 2014. The song, Wishing I was Lucky, might give you a clue to what it was like!

That's it for now then. I'll try to update as often as I can (wifi allowing) to keep you all up to speed with the events that unfold each day, so don't forget to check in each day or sign up for email updates.

Till Sunday.

Odinn

A Piss Pot Holds More

Just when you think you have everything sorted, something comes along to drop a spanner in the works. Two spanners in this case. Not massive ones though, fortunately. And now, hopefully, it is all sorted.

The first one, I came across as I was trying to plan what cash we'd need, when in Norway. I was trying to find out the costs of the ferries we'd be taking but on the Norled website, although they showed the timetable, there were no fares, for the region we would be riding/sailing through. So, I dropped Norled a little note. They duly came back with two fares and the information that one ferry no longer ran, because they had built a bridge. Trying to find out details of the bridge's location proved difficult. I assumed it would be near to the ferry crossing. This was quite important to know, as I had built in a fuel stop, just before we reached the ferry. After little success, I posted a question on the Fjord Norway facebook page. Thankfully, they came up with the goods, showing me on the map, where the bridge is. Hmm, 7 miles south of the planned fuel stop and adding a further 20 miles, to the next! 20 miles I couldn't guarantee Grizzly would make, given he rides one of those cruiser style bikes with a gnats bladder for a petrol tank! A little bit of re-jigging though and the addition of a fuel stop just after we ride off our first ferry of the day in Tau, now means Grizzly won't have to worry.

And worrying is what my little Irish chum has been doing, since I sent him, what I thought were the routes we'd be using.

You see it seems I had over-estimated the size of gnats in Ireland and Grizzly, whilst looking through the routes, was worried that his cruiser wouldn't make it between some of the fuel stops I had put in. I usually work on 150 miles between fill-ups (the Sprint can go 200 before the warning light appears) but with some long motorway stretches planned, it seems that even 150 is a stretch for a fully loaded Shadow. Better to be safe than sorry though, so I have gone back through the routes and added a few extra stops for the wee fella and his steed. Hopefully, he won't now query the number of coffee stops  (over 30) I've built into the schedule.

A shade over 4 weeks till the off. Fingers crossed everything remains on track.