The Bucket List Tour Of Europe Final Part.....

So for the final few images from my Ten day and nine country tour of Europe, what a blast, over 3500 miles on what must be some of the best roads you could wish to ride with a great bunch of people who helped make the trip what it was. Finally I have to say a big thank you to Chris Smith who organised the trip and invited me along, his planning and pre- booking of hotels made sure it ran like clockwork...

 Another Stunning Vista

 Nuremberg Ring

 Fabulous Am Tunnel, food is amazing

 Belgium (nobody smiles in Belgium, miserable

bastards)

 This is right in the middle of a park!!

 

The Bucket List Tour of Europe Part 3

Stelvio was a real highlight for me, we ascended early in the morning which is the beast time to avoid the cyclists who huff an puff there way to the top, fair play to them I say its some feckin climb!

 This is the garage roof, I'm stood on my steed

 Not even half way up!

 Reached the summit

 So after Stelvio we headed off to do the Grosglockner in Austria, now for some reason i didn't take hardly any pics! we got a fair shift on on the descent suffice to say my rear brake faded away, what an epic road!

 Grossglockner toll plaza

 The Glacier

 Toll on the other side

The Bucket List Tour of Europe Part 2

Switzerland was an eye opener! it's like the pictures you see on a jigsaw box but only ten times better! The only downside to switzerland is it's expensive and they don't take your change, so every time you go to pay for something in Euro's you have to use a note! and you end up with half a ton of change, so thats two down sides! other than that the food, scenery and roads where impresive to say the least. Here we was to ride the famous eight passes but we only managed, Furka, Grimsel and Sangottardo. The weather was awful on the day we set out, heavy rain and fog so thick you was riding following the map on the sat nav as you couldt see the road! we made a group vote that it was a risk we didn't need so early in the trip so headed back to the hotel to dry out and beer.

 

The Bucket list Tour Of Europe Part 1

Well I have been looking forward to this for almost a year, ten days riding through nine countries in Europe riding the best Alpine passes as well as some of the other best biking roads in the world with nine other riders who before the trip I knew one off (although by the end I would have to say I couldn't have found a better bunch of people if I had tried).

I am going to let the pictures do the talking as my words will never be able to do the trip justice having created some fantastic memories riding up Stelvio, the Grossglockner, Furka and the Grimsel passes to name but a few, visiting the Ace Café in Luzern was a massive highlight, I haven't been to the original yet!!! trying and failing to get a pizza in Italy (honest) standing looking out over lake Geneva to sinking beers in the evening, I would have to write a novel to get it all in not to mention the laughs we had as a group!!!

The weapon of choice was a 2015 BMW GSA just purchased from Douglas Park Motorrad, what a fantastic bike, I was worried that I would miss the standard GS air cooled that I loved so much, but know this bike filled her shoes and behaved impeccably for the whole trip.

Leaving Home

On The Euro Tunnel

Random French Services Taking on Water

Self service in the middle of nowhere

2Nd Nights digs

Swiss Border

Lake Geneva

60th Anniversary

Sticking to the heritage theme, Yamaha also anounced that all the sports heritage range was going to be available in the yellow/black speed block colours.

 

XSR 900

Yamaha XSR900

The latest edition to Yamaha's heritage line up is stonker especially in the 60th anniversary colours, for me this just hits the spot!

 

New Bike

Well it's been a long time coming,  I think it was 1993 the last time I bought a brand new motorcycle, but that was rectified on 23/08/2015 with the purchase of a blue R1200Gs TE !! To say I was feeling a bit excited on the day in question may be an understatement, think expectant Father waiting on the Birth of his first born and you may be getting close to how I was feeling, but don't tell the wife!!!

 The Red Baron has passed over to brother Alan and he is acquainting his self with being a GS owner and although I say it myself he has got a bloody good one, we had some great trips together, so good luck Alan welcome to the club!!!

One observation that became painfully obvious rather quickly is that the standard seat is completely crap! far worse that the standard on the old model and light years away from the comfort provided by the Sargent seat on my old bike, (Sargent would have sold another seat for the LC if they could have been bothered to answer the fucking phone! )  So i have ordered a Touratech one, no way would I be able to ride to Switzerland and back on the standard plank my lower back would have screamed for mercy after the first 100 miles.

Anyway here is a pic of the new bike, i did some other random shit since Dirt Quake but my brain is fogged by the effects of trying to work out which is better Jack D and coke or Southern Comfort on the rocks, this is a long term test so don't expect any quick results.