11th March 2022
Hi Folks..hope you’re all well and no doubt looking forward to getting back out into the World again after being cooped up for the last couple of years !
My start to 2022 could have been better; our whole family caught Covid during Christmas; including son, wife & grandkids who were visiting from USA. Thankfully our 3 jabs lessened the symptoms, but we didn’t do much partying!
Last week I had my 4th hernia repair (twice on each side); currently I’m taking it easy for the next few weeks recovering before getting back on the bike, raring to go as a new man!
Well they say that “Every cloud has a silver lining”; for me the enforced rest has allowed me to finalise plans for 3 great adventures in 2022; as follows: JUNE – ROUND TRIP TO BALKANS; JULY – FRANCE, SPAIN & PORTUGAL; OCTOBER – USA, TOUR OF CALIFORNIA.
So, unless Putin blows us all to hell..or we get zapped with another pandemic, 2022 is going to be a great biking year!! 😀😎
ROUND TRIP TO BALKANS – Approx. 3000 miles
One of the trips that had to be postponed in 2021 because of Covid was a return to Romania; my friend Bernard and I had visited in 2014. Romania is a long way from the UK and this was planned as a 4000 mile adventure. Fact is that during the 2 years of Covid restrictions time moves on and it just would not be possible to fit in a trip as long as this with everything else I wanted to do in 2022. So I decided to cut 1000 miles out of the trip and here is the new plan!
Channel Tunnel to Calais then riding through France & Belgium to Baden Baden, Germany; then the famous B500 South, before heading East through Austria and taking the Grossglockner High Alpine Pass further South and into Slovenia; skirting Ljubljana and over to Rijeka in Croatia; then South down the Adriatic coast to Split where I will meet up with my friend Bernard. Bernard will have ridden down a week or so earlier and spent a few days holidaying with his wife, who will then fly back to UK. Bernard and I will then head off into Bosnia Herzegovina making for Mostar and its famous bridge.
We will do a loop through Bosnia and then head North, finally crossing back into Croatia before entering Slovenia and then on to Italy and West through the Dolomites. All the very best roads and mountain passes and then back into Austria before skirting Lake Constance on the German side and spending 2 nights in the Black Forest for a day loop ride on some great roads.
From there we will cross into France and ride through Les Vosges heading North to spend our last night in Metz, before jumping on the motorway back to Calais and home.
FRANCE, SPAIN & PORTUGAL – Approx. 3200 miles
For several years in a row my friend Bernard has organised a trip to the Pyrenees; its always a great trip with great roads and there is a group of 7 of us who try to make the trip. I missed last year’s adventure as it was at the same time I was due to be in Alaska, USA, riding down to SF. My trip got cancelled however, due to Covid, and I ended up doing my own trip to Scotland instead.
I am very pleased to be able to join Bernard & the guys this year for what should be a really good one. 😀 There is one challenge however; this trip leaves just 2 weeks after we get back from the 3000 mile Balkans trip! So during that time I need to get the bike serviced and a new set of tyres fitted, as well as completing the long list of domestic “to dos” that I’m sure will be waiting for me!
We will cross the channel by ferry to Cherbourg and then ride down through France, avoiding Motorways, heading to the Massif Central region with its fantastic motor biking roads. We will then ride South, skirting Andorra, and into the Spanish Pyrenees. From Ripoll we will head West through the Pyrenees to Pamplona and then across Spain to enter Portugal through Serra da Estrela Natural Park, which is situated in the largest mountain range in Portugal. After enjoying the roads in the mountains we will head North and re-enter Spain riding through the fabulous Picos de Europa mountains, spending our last night in Potes. In the morning we head for Bilbao and our overnight ferry back to Portsmouth, UK. Total mileage approx. 3200.
USA, TOUR OF CALIFORNIA – 7 Days 2000mls
Back in 2020 at the start of the pandemic I was disappointed to have to cancel a riding trip to Thailand; later in the year during one of the lockdowns I decided to plan a really big trip for 2021 instead. This would be Alaska down to San Francisco; on the assumption that it would all be over by August 21 this would be my main trip for the year and would be tied in with a visit to my son & family who live in SF.
As we know now International travel restrictions continued right through the year, especially where USA & Canada were concerned. Therefore I was forced to postpone that trip until 2022. MotoQuest, the bike rental company, offered to carry over my non-refundable $1000 deposit and BA gave me a flight voucher, so my plan was to do the Trip in August 2022 instead.
However, time moves on and things change; by the beginning of 2022, with the Balkans trip & France, Spain, Portugal trip already booked, there is no way I can justify either the time (one whole month away), or the cost (approx.. £7K) of the Alaska trip in 2022. One option could be to try and reschedule again to 2023, but as I don’t have a crystal ball I decided best to focus on the short term!
So, I worked on planning a shorter and less expensive US trip which would enable me to use my non-refundable $1000 deposit with MotoQuest, and my BA flight voucher which expires at end of 2022. In view of my other 2 trips being in the summer months I decided to go to California in the autumn, which would still be quiet warm. Also, flights are cheaper and so is motorcycle rental at that time of year. As a result I managed to get 7 days rental of a F850GS and my return flight sorted for only £100 more in total than the money I had already spent last year! So this trip will be seriously good value 😀
I will fly into SFO and spend 3 nights initially at my son’s house, then pick up the bike from MotoQuest in SF and head South. My route has been planned to take in as many of the best biking roads and scenery as possible in NorthCal. I will take Mines Rd, which is a nice twisty road, over Mt Hamilton and then skirting San Jose, ride down to Monterey. From there 17 Mile Drive and Route 1 down PCH to Big Sur; continuing for about 100 miles before turning inland and heading for Sequoia National Park and then Kings Canyon in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The route will then head north through Yosemite National Park and on to Lake Tahoe; finally heading west across to Interstate 5 for a blast further north up to Klamath National Forest on the Oregon border. From here I will head back south on Hwy 96 and finally join Route 101, Coast Hwy at the quaintly named town of Eureka.
Further south after riding Redwood Hwy and Avenue of the Giants I will join Route 1 Coast Hwy (northern PCH) all the way down to San Francisco, then ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and return the bike to MotoQuest on Treasure Island.
I will then spend a further few days with my son & grandkids, before flying back to UK.
So 2022 is planned to be a really great biking year and I’m praying that no more awful World events happen again!
I intend to record footage of each trip and post videos on my YouTube channel, so thanks for following..and stay tuned!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUTWad2yIrN0hMHubRajEhUw
And finally, here is a pic of my Christmas present..a Tshirt from the grandkids!! 😎
