Day 1 - Dull Motorways

Made it to Hamburg this evening but only just. Left Epsom late and just made it to the tunnel on time, then like a klutz dropped the bike (at the head of the queue with a big audience) & needed white van man to come and help me pick it up. I had forgotten just how unwieldy these machines are fully loaded and will take a lot more care in future. Then after 200 miles I pulled over to buy a coffee and felt for my travel wallet ....passport, money, credit cards....you know the drill, the really important one and it wasn't there. I had a horrible sinking feeling that it was somewhere on the floor when I dropped the bike. Then sanity resumed and I searched the tankbag again and it was buried in another bag. A fine start this is turning out to be, I thought.

Not much of a day as far as the riding goes, just lots and lots of motorway...550 miles in the saddle. I thought I would get as far as I could today and have a little more time up north. I devised many interesting ways to keep from going nuts from the boredom, including singing show tunes, Abba and Johnny Cash. In the end the rain held me back and stopped me getting over the border to Denmark. Looks like being a soggy couple of weeks ahead.

Am now camped on the shores of the Elbe just outside Hamburg and the sun is out again. This is a great little campsite....if you have a motorhome, not of you have a tent and a bike. The whole place is made of soft sand with a few weeds trying to hold it together. Riding a bike (especially a heavy loaded one) is impossible for mortals and pitching a tent is a bit of an ordeal too as the pegs wont stay in. Reckon I will wake up in a giant bivvy bag instead of a tent tomorrow morning. But the view over the river is great and these huge container ships plow up and down with a deep bass rumble from the engines.


503 Miles/10:47 Hrs


View BT Day 1 in a larger map