Day 1 - Swindon (GB) to Strasbourg (F)

Saturday 20/05/2016
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Set-out from home at 03:00. Not natural being up at this hour, but when you've got 600 miles to cover in one day, you've got to make some sacrifices. Good to finally be on the road, but always a mixed-bag of emotions - excitement, fear, guilt, satisfaction, paranoia, loss, etc.

 

So why do these things? Leave the safety of home, spend time / money only to face discomfort and uncertainty as to what the road will bring. Well, the unexpected usually brings great experiences - sights, smells, interactions, etc. to go with some of the inevitable pain. Memories. These trips generate so many amazing memories. They open your eyes to the world beyond your doorstep, destroy stereotypes / pre-conceptions and make you feel alive and enriched. You can't beat overlanding if you're into the journey and not the destination.

 

I intend to see as much of the planet as I can, whilst I still can, at my own pace and with my own itinerary. You can't beat a good road-trip and with a motorbike road-trip, you also stimulate all the senses in a way you can't when you're stuck in a tin-box. Sure, sometimes you get cold and wet but all of that is irrelevant when you hit that perfect road, cool breeze running through you jacket.... You get the picture. I'll skip coach tours and sea cruises until I'm old(er). As with life, the best rewards often come with hard-work and self sacrifice.

Anyway, after that aside, the ride down to Strasbourg was less than enjoyable but a necessary evil. Not at all glamorous or like any of the blurb I talked about above. The motorway on the way to Dover was closed so I only just made my ferry due to the detour. The sun rose to light-up a lovely cloud free day and despite only managing 2 hrs sleep, I felt good to go. About 400 miles in I started getting drowsy so stopped at a service station and went to sleep on the grass like a tramp.

Decided to get of the paid motorways and to do the last 2 hours on smaller roads. Witnessed an awesome head-on crash (nobody died). Ended-up taking 4.5hrs. Killer. Found a decent campsite 20 mins from the centre. Curry house next door was hit initially (you gotta sample the local cuisine). I then got the tram to the city centre. Stunning place, but there was some football thing going on with lots of jobbo's shouting and bangining drums whilst the cops looked on with their guns.

Stunning city, but too tired to explore any more. Bought some groceries for tomorrow. Time for bed I think.

Mileage: 582
Country count: 2 (GB, F)
Beers: 1 + 0.5l of red
Fines: 0
Bribes: 0
Ass pain: 2/10
Mechanical issues: 0
Accidents: 1 (witnessed)
Coldness: 6/10