Showing posts with label germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label germany. Show all posts
Total: 1280 km/800 miles
Second day: 520 km/330 miles
Monday morning, and I'm off again towards Berlin.
What happened with my bike?
Well, we went to a car repair shop and they managed to get the broken spark plug out of my engine and in a different shop we were lucky to get a new spark plug. Put it back in and happy me, when the motor sounded like I knew it. Once I drove off from the repair shop, I had such a big grin you wouldn't believe it. And a rush of light air wallowed up in my chest as well.
The weekend I spend with my friends, having BBQ, experiencing the amazing Ruhr, a metropolitan area in West Germany full of a mining history and fantastic new developments with superb green environments. Awesome how you can turn dirt into a beautiful tourist attraction. Then I went golfing and mostly relaxed before the last part of the trip.
Monday was fast. High velocity, to get the oil from the broken spark plug out of the engine. It was fun to drive on the German autobahn, as fast as I could, with 100 m/h or 160 km/h through the country. 6 hours later I arrived in Berlin without any complications. It's worth a ride, trust me. You see a lot on a bike and it's fun up the mountains and down again, even though yuo have flies sticking all over your visor.
Second day: 520 km/330 miles
Monday morning, and I'm off again towards Berlin.
What happened with my bike?
Well, we went to a car repair shop and they managed to get the broken spark plug out of my engine and in a different shop we were lucky to get a new spark plug. Put it back in and happy me, when the motor sounded like I knew it. Once I drove off from the repair shop, I had such a big grin you wouldn't believe it. And a rush of light air wallowed up in my chest as well.
The weekend I spend with my friends, having BBQ, experiencing the amazing Ruhr, a metropolitan area in West Germany full of a mining history and fantastic new developments with superb green environments. Awesome how you can turn dirt into a beautiful tourist attraction. Then I went golfing and mostly relaxed before the last part of the trip.
Monday was fast. High velocity, to get the oil from the broken spark plug out of the engine. It was fun to drive on the German autobahn, as fast as I could, with 100 m/h or 160 km/h through the country. 6 hours later I arrived in Berlin without any complications. It's worth a ride, trust me. You see a lot on a bike and it's fun up the mountains and down again, even though yuo have flies sticking all over your visor.
Total: 1280 km/800 miles
First day: 760 km/470 miles -
after the ferry: 430 km/270 miles left
Friday evening, time has changed, the sun is still out and I'm happy.
Driving on the right side is strange at first, but after all these years I get used to it quickly. Happily I'm singing into my helmet as I drive though the north of France and into Belgium towards the Netherlands. My excited jumps on the bike and flips with my head must have looked amazing - I didn't care, it was fun.
I drove and I kept driving. Then I had to get petrol, so I could have a break, sit down in the sinking sunlight and eat some bread and my biscuits. Off to the motorway again.
Suddenly, not far from the next major city - close to Germany - my motor kind of buzzed, got much louder and my speed dropped abruptly. Shock. I went to the side and stopped the engine, swearing inside. It was dark by now.
I called for help and then I phoned my friends, who were expecting me soon. They said I should have it checked, but it's likely to be a faulty spark plug. The mechanic said the same, but he couldn't fix it.
So I had to drive another 130 km / 80 miles with only 80 km/h 50 m/h. I really was afraid. The mechanic warned me to do it, but my friend said it will be ok. Two traffic jams, a couple of red traffic lights and a few engine break-downs later and I was at my stopover for the weekend.
See tomorrow what happened with my bike and how I got home.
First day: 760 km/470 miles -
after the ferry: 430 km/270 miles left
Friday evening, time has changed, the sun is still out and I'm happy.
Driving on the right side is strange at first, but after all these years I get used to it quickly. Happily I'm singing into my helmet as I drive though the north of France and into Belgium towards the Netherlands. My excited jumps on the bike and flips with my head must have looked amazing - I didn't care, it was fun.
I drove and I kept driving. Then I had to get petrol, so I could have a break, sit down in the sinking sunlight and eat some bread and my biscuits. Off to the motorway again.
Suddenly, not far from the next major city - close to Germany - my motor kind of buzzed, got much louder and my speed dropped abruptly. Shock. I went to the side and stopped the engine, swearing inside. It was dark by now.
I called for help and then I phoned my friends, who were expecting me soon. They said I should have it checked, but it's likely to be a faulty spark plug. The mechanic said the same, but he couldn't fix it.
So I had to drive another 130 km / 80 miles with only 80 km/h 50 m/h. I really was afraid. The mechanic warned me to do it, but my friend said it will be ok. Two traffic jams, a couple of red traffic lights and a few engine break-downs later and I was at my stopover for the weekend.
See tomorrow what happened with my bike and how I got home.
Now it was time for me to drive back to Berlin - from England.
Total: 1280 km/800 miles
First day: 760 km/470 miles
Friday morning, everything's packed and I'm ready to leave England for the summer. No, I wasn't ready, but I did.
I drove down M1, all the way to London. Lucky me, the sun was out, it was warm and I was boiling under my 4 layers of clothes despite the wind that hit me with 120 km/h or 75 m/h. I loved riding my motorbike, especially with my new headphones and the awesome playlist I assembled the day before.
There was only one issue on the first journey to the ferry: English roundabouts. I drove 260 km/160 miles without a break. It surprised me to get that far. My bike was running on the last drops of fuel and to Dover it was another 20 miles, so I had to get of the motorway and find a petrol station. I'd read about a shopping centre, but finding it? I took three different roundabout exits before I hit the one with the petrol station. And don't think you'll find another petrol station in England. No. They only have one.
I had my break and made it to the ferry just in time. Tomorrow I'll tell you about the rest of that day which ended with me being all alone in the dark at the side of a Belgium motorway.
Total: 1280 km/800 miles
First day: 760 km/470 miles
Friday morning, everything's packed and I'm ready to leave England for the summer. No, I wasn't ready, but I did.
I drove down M1, all the way to London. Lucky me, the sun was out, it was warm and I was boiling under my 4 layers of clothes despite the wind that hit me with 120 km/h or 75 m/h. I loved riding my motorbike, especially with my new headphones and the awesome playlist I assembled the day before.
There was only one issue on the first journey to the ferry: English roundabouts. I drove 260 km/160 miles without a break. It surprised me to get that far. My bike was running on the last drops of fuel and to Dover it was another 20 miles, so I had to get of the motorway and find a petrol station. I'd read about a shopping centre, but finding it? I took three different roundabout exits before I hit the one with the petrol station. And don't think you'll find another petrol station in England. No. They only have one.
I had my break and made it to the ferry just in time. Tomorrow I'll tell you about the rest of that day which ended with me being all alone in the dark at the side of a Belgium motorway.
One week and a bit to go until the A-Z challenge. (You can find a nice little picture and a link on my notepad sticky note on the left)
I have thought about so many ideas, but I'm unsure yet about which letters to sort them to. Just to explain for newbies, although it's hardly likely that anyone in the part of the bloggosphere hasn't heard it yet, the A-Z challenge is a month-long blogging challenge, hosted by TossingItOut.blogspot.com.
There are 26 letters in the alphabet (in English) and you have 30 days to dedicate one post per day to each. Easy peasy.
So, what are you ideas so far?
I hope to see you there soon.
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