Planning for a big trip.... when do you start

[Mogster]

Well...fook me!!! where did the bloody time go, the time for our trip to Slovenia draws ever closer.... i shall decline to say when, as there are far to many 'unsavory characters'.......like... Policemen   ' on here to divulge that sort of info. But once the 3 week countdown is reached I leap into action!!

Usualy it takes me about 3 days to do all the routes, half an hour for each one, and the other 2 and a half days swearing at the Sat Navs and redoing them when it crashes!!!.... tbh planning the routes isn't my fav job.... i am contstantly plauged with thoughts of 'should i have gone that way instead'.... mind you seeing as invairably get us lost it probably dosen't matter.
Oh yes and maps, which have to be re-taped up after last years stuffing into tank bags.

Then there's the Bikes to prep, usually done the week before, Smartys VFR is new sos should be OK, as long as the Honda hard luggage turns up!!! .... GTR will get a service, before we go.

Of course sumit that never used to even get a thought is, 'Technology'!!! ffs! ... Camera, Bike Cam, netbook, Kindle, Phase plasma rifle in the 40 watt range... (oh i wish )... all these get laid out, battteries and cables checked etc.

Tool kit.... Hmmm what to take, neither of 'em is ever gonna be fixed at the side of the road, but should the worst happen, though  not having an allen key and a cable tie can be really iratating if it's just sumit worked loose....... so its punture kit, pump, basic tool kit, cable ties and duck tape..... on the list of 'other shit' is all the crap we have to carry on the EU plus first aid kit and spare visor fixings.

Soooo now to bike gear, water proofs, 2 pair of gloves, one summer (hahahahaha  ) one fer colder weather, a few sets of base layers, we use Nike stuff as its cheaper than 'proper bike' stuff but half the price and 10 times better.

Smarty handles the general medicines deptment.... fer some reason she is under the impression that in the event of a 'headache' in Italy she will have to call 'medicines son frontier' as there are no chemists ....  ... I mean it's not like she's not been before, this is our 5th big trip ... i stay out of it... i look at it this way..'You're carrying it'

Brew kit..... being ex Infanty... i never go anywhere with out the ability to make tea 

Clothes.... the bare min..... then Smarty comes in see's what I've laid out and tells me I cant wear the same underpants for 2 weeks....can't see why not meself. ... usually the way i work, is to lay out everything i would like to take, then see what i really don't need. I've found that way i'm not taking unnesecery stuff (like xtra underpants ) the other thing we sometimes do is to buy cheap stuff t shirts, socks, undies, etc when we get to our final destination...saves taking it all the way down... then leaving it there before coming back.

So all in all I usually start about 3 weeks before ... fiddling about with odds and ends. 2 weeks to go I'm looking to start laying stuff out sos i can see if i need anything, there is many a time i've done this and walked past all the kit, looked at it and then realised i'd forgotten sumit important.. 1 week to go, it's all laid out ready to pack and then the night before it gets packed.

Smarty on the other hand has to be 'encouraged' to start packing her kit at least a week before cos she suffers from severe 'Packing Tetrus OCD) ... and will pack, un pack and re-pack at least 300 times before she is satisfied... drives me fookin nuts!!!! 

So there ya go Mogs pre trip planning... a bit over the top i hear you cry, but He who fails to prepare gets fooked big stlye..... 

Mogs

[Lonewolf]

Your far too well organised by far! I'm the sort of person who goes, one pair of trainers, one pair of jeans, couple of t shirts and the rest will just fall into place nicely.

[Rusty]

There are many bins littered around France with my unsavoury pants socks and sweaty T shirts in ..... dump them as you go ....it's the way forward 

[Boomer]

One of the IronButt riders once said
"I buy a pack of 3 pants from Walmart. I wear pair one on day one, turn them around on day 2, inside out on day 3 and turn around on day 4. Then they get thrown in the trash. I wear pair 2 on day 5,... etc.
On Day 12 I stop at Walmart and buy another pack of 3"

Personally I think he is missing a trick as you can wear the same pair indefinitely if you rinse them out at night and hang them over a radiator. 

[Essex Boy]

Evening Mogster, just seen your post, and my spare room sounds like yours. Panniers ready and waiting and everything laid out ready to go. We're off across Europe, through Slovenia, into Croatia, through Bosnia and then Hungary, Prague and back. Going next week-end but and it's a big but for this site.....leaving GTR behind and taking the ZZR1400....OH ERR.

Essex Boy

[Rusty]

Wow  !! .. now that sounds like some proper milage .. a magnificent treat it will be .. sounds excellent .. all the best mate, we shall ALL want to see the photos ! 

Should be getting hot down there ... with all that luggage and distance to be covered what shall it be on the day you set off .. ZZR or Gtr ??? There is always time to reconsider ! 

[Mogster]

Evening Mogster, just seen your post, and my spare room sounds like yours. Panniers ready and waiting and everything laid out ready to go. We're off across Europe, through Slovenia, into Croatia, through Bosnia and then Hungary, Prague and back. Going next week-end but and it's a big but for this site.....leaving GTR behind and taking the ZZR1400....OH ERR.

Essex Boy

cool, have a great time... I'll be taking the GTR on my trip...seeing as my second bikes a Tuono  you can tour on them... but my arse, shoulders, wrists, elbows, etc still haven't recovered from last time.... 2 years ago!

[routemaster]

A week on Wednesday there is a group of us, about 15+ FH who are off to the Moselle region of Germany for 6 days  We are staying at a very very good Hotel in Klotten, we stayed there a couple of years ago on the way to the Hartz Mountains.

On the bike front I usually start a month before, checking to see if the tyres are likely to need replacing before I go, booking the bike in for a service, arrange european breakdown recovery etc etc. On the clothes packing front I normally start sorting a few things out a couple of days before and then pack the night before. The chunnel crossing is normally booked months in advance

Steve

[mecki]

I'm off on Saturday for 2 weeks to Holland, Northern Germany and then down through Switzerland to the South of France.
I'll don't start packing until Friday night or Saturday morning since I might need the panniers and the top case before then to go grocery shopping. 
I'm sure I will forget something but with the current exchange rate it'll be most likely cheaper to buy stuff on the continent anyway. Not to mention that most of the things you can buy here are made over there in the first place. 

[Rusty]

Mecki ... that sounds great too ... there is always something that gets forgotten ! Have a great trip .. and of course ... photos !!! 

[O.C.]

We are off to Cornwall on the GTR on the 11th June, early morning which happens to be the morning after our visit to a Coldplay concert the previous night 

Is it too soon for me to start packing my toothbrush and shreddies now 

[Mogster]

I know one thing ....by the looks of it you as well shut up shop on the site for most of June... cos we're all away 

[Essex Boy]

Be prepared to have me kicked off the GTR forum but I'm going to take the ZZR over, one mate is taking their Moto Guzzi (if it can get to Dover without breaking down) and the other ones taking his TDM.
I shall keep the GTR tucked up in my garage but as I do around 16000 miles a year commuting on her she deserves the rest.

[shaggs147]

Think I'm getting itchy feet from all this talk of touring into Europe. Any pointers for a continental touring virgin? 
I was wondering what sort of distances you looked to cover on a daily basis so that you could take in a bit of scenery rather than just getting from A to B each day.
What would be a good starter trip for a week to maybe ten days? I fancy cutting through a few countries heading for Germany or Austria, but think that might be pushing it for time/distance.

[O.C.]

Think I'm getting itchy feet from all this talk of touring into Europe. Any pointers for a continental touring virgin? 
I was wondering what sort of distances you looked to cover on a daily basis so that you could take in a bit of scenery rather than just getting from A to B each day.
What would be a good starter trip for a week to maybe ten days? I fancy cutting through a few countries heading for Germany or Austria, but think that might be pushing it for time/distance.

In short it really depends on where you are planning to visit as considerable daily mileages can be covered if you use Autobahns/Autoroutes, but if that isn't your bag then less distances are likely.

I'm certainly no expert but there are others on here who will be able to advise you more accurately 

In 2009 we went to Austria and various other countries covering 2,300 miles in 10 days and it didn't seem to be a problem, but then the big GTR munches the miles quite easily