I thought I'd post a day by day ride report of our trip to Garmisch last week. The trip went well and we all got home safe.
I'm a member of a local IAM group and last year got the chance to go with them to Wales and Luxembourg, if I'm honest these were my first tastes of loaded up touring. Great bunch of guys who I wouldn't hesitate to go away with again. Decent riding and no hooliganism.
Anyway being a bit of a BMW fanboy I'd always fancied getting to Garmisch but didn't really want to go solo so I though I'd ask the fellows from last year's trip if they fancied joining me, not under the banner of IAM or our group, just a holiday for old gits on bikes really. Well five of them said they would like to come so I now had a trip to plan.
The rough sketch was one day from Eurotunnel to Baden Baden, a day down through the Black Forest, two nights in the area of Garmisch, a westward day back into France, another night in France followed by an afternoon train back to Folkestone.
That's how it stayed really, gradually I booked the hotels on booking.com, gave them all chance to chip in, but really they're happy if they're on their bikes and frankly they didn't give a stuff, which made it easy for me. Booking.com made it easy to ensure that we had separate beds, breakfast included etc.
the lads https://www.flickr.com/photos/158871048@N06/
Up until recently my only bike had been my K1300R, I'd recently acquired JBs R1150GSA, so I was in a pleasant dilemma of deciding which bike to take. I'd always planned to take the K, it was freshly serviced and I'd fantasised about the eargasms I'd me giving people with it beautiful exhaust note as I ripped through the Alps. So the K got the vote. One week before though it dawned on me that the Bridgeston s20 evo rear probably only had about a thousand miles left in it, so a new one had to be fitted, I've kept the old one so I can squeeze the miles out of it, I do like to get value.
Black Mistresshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/158871048@N06/
Givi enduro tanklock tank bag, the biggest Aldi £9.99 dry bag held on with Rok-straps was plenty luggage wise. The Aldi bags really are good value, the only down side is that the aperture isn't full width so you have to stuff things down the end. I managed to get a weeks worth of clothes, a Klim mesh jacket and a pair of Lindstrands jeans in there too.
We've been having stinking weather here for weeks now but the European forecast was shite with storms predicted during day on and two. Over the last six months I'd bought BMW Atlantis jacket and trousers separately as wand when I could find them in a sale, so Iwas mainly going to be wearing that, it certainly got a good test day one, more of that later.
Not a GS amongst our group in addition to me was a K1300S, RTLC, RT Hexhead, Triumph Explorer 1200 and a Yamaha Tracer 900. I saw so many GS's in and around Garmisch it became the BMW Clitoris to me
The plan was to meet at maidstone services one the M20 one hour before the train at 0620. in order to maximise sleep in front of what was going to be a long day four of us took two rooms at The Mercure Danes Hotel, its basically on the opposite side of the roundabout from the services. I'd previously stayed at the Days Inn at the services but it wasn't great and about the same price. Denis, who lives near me, and I arrived at The Danes to be met by a friendly cheapen the desk who wasn't sure they had any rooms vacant. I explained that when someone makes a reservation they should reasonably expect a room to be ready. Eventually after some searching on his pooter, with a worried look on his face, he gave us two key cards for what should be a twin room. After a hike through the long corridors in leathers, carrying kit, in 26 degrees we found the room. My key card didn't work. Den's did, "Oh dear den its a double bed, oh and there seems to be someone's luggage open and their stuff all over the room." What a donut that boy on reception must be. So we traipsed back pointed out his error. He sent for his boss as there didn't seem to be any rooms. She arrived and put us in room 4000 - a huge room with 4 beds and they gave us a voucher for a pint each. I could've done without it as the full weight of organisation was on my shoulders for hotels, trains and gpx routes and this was a flakey cock up, I hoped it didn't bode for the rest of the booking.com arrangements.
I'm a member of a local IAM group and last year got the chance to go with them to Wales and Luxembourg, if I'm honest these were my first tastes of loaded up touring. Great bunch of guys who I wouldn't hesitate to go away with again. Decent riding and no hooliganism.
Anyway being a bit of a BMW fanboy I'd always fancied getting to Garmisch but didn't really want to go solo so I though I'd ask the fellows from last year's trip if they fancied joining me, not under the banner of IAM or our group, just a holiday for old gits on bikes really. Well five of them said they would like to come so I now had a trip to plan.
The rough sketch was one day from Eurotunnel to Baden Baden, a day down through the Black Forest, two nights in the area of Garmisch, a westward day back into France, another night in France followed by an afternoon train back to Folkestone.
That's how it stayed really, gradually I booked the hotels on booking.com, gave them all chance to chip in, but really they're happy if they're on their bikes and frankly they didn't give a stuff, which made it easy for me. Booking.com made it easy to ensure that we had separate beds, breakfast included etc.
the lads https://www.flickr.com/photos/158871048@N06/
Up until recently my only bike had been my K1300R, I'd recently acquired JBs R1150GSA, so I was in a pleasant dilemma of deciding which bike to take. I'd always planned to take the K, it was freshly serviced and I'd fantasised about the eargasms I'd me giving people with it beautiful exhaust note as I ripped through the Alps. So the K got the vote. One week before though it dawned on me that the Bridgeston s20 evo rear probably only had about a thousand miles left in it, so a new one had to be fitted, I've kept the old one so I can squeeze the miles out of it, I do like to get value.
Black Mistresshttps://www.flickr.com/photos/158871048@N06/
Givi enduro tanklock tank bag, the biggest Aldi £9.99 dry bag held on with Rok-straps was plenty luggage wise. The Aldi bags really are good value, the only down side is that the aperture isn't full width so you have to stuff things down the end. I managed to get a weeks worth of clothes, a Klim mesh jacket and a pair of Lindstrands jeans in there too.
We've been having stinking weather here for weeks now but the European forecast was shite with storms predicted during day on and two. Over the last six months I'd bought BMW Atlantis jacket and trousers separately as wand when I could find them in a sale, so Iwas mainly going to be wearing that, it certainly got a good test day one, more of that later.
Not a GS amongst our group in addition to me was a K1300S, RTLC, RT Hexhead, Triumph Explorer 1200 and a Yamaha Tracer 900. I saw so many GS's in and around Garmisch it became the BMW Clitoris to me
The plan was to meet at maidstone services one the M20 one hour before the train at 0620. in order to maximise sleep in front of what was going to be a long day four of us took two rooms at The Mercure Danes Hotel, its basically on the opposite side of the roundabout from the services. I'd previously stayed at the Days Inn at the services but it wasn't great and about the same price. Denis, who lives near me, and I arrived at The Danes to be met by a friendly cheapen the desk who wasn't sure they had any rooms vacant. I explained that when someone makes a reservation they should reasonably expect a room to be ready. Eventually after some searching on his pooter, with a worried look on his face, he gave us two key cards for what should be a twin room. After a hike through the long corridors in leathers, carrying kit, in 26 degrees we found the room. My key card didn't work. Den's did, "Oh dear den its a double bed, oh and there seems to be someone's luggage open and their stuff all over the room." What a donut that boy on reception must be. So we traipsed back pointed out his error. He sent for his boss as there didn't seem to be any rooms. She arrived and put us in room 4000 - a huge room with 4 beds and they gave us a voucher for a pint each. I could've done without it as the full weight of organisation was on my shoulders for hotels, trains and gpx routes and this was a flakey cock up, I hoped it didn't bode for the rest of the booking.com arrangements.