We all love a good trip, don't we? Open roads; freedom to roam; finding new places; new roads; getting to know your bike; and beers with mates at the end of the day. But having been on a lifetime of trips – with and without others - I'd say the truth is less clear-cut. We probably all love the idea of a bike trip. The reality is more like Day 1 excitement turning into Day 2 bike niggles (is that a slow puncture?) to Day 3 irritations with your fellow travellers or the weather. This then wanes into Day 4's repacking frustrations and 'I miss my bed moments, which finally leads to a last-day mad rush home (witness the ritual of riders rushing to get off the ferry first). Once home, of course, the trip retold is transformed from an exercise in endurance to one of man and machine in perfect harmony.
My answer is not to rush (there or back) and make the riding only one part of the trip. Plan equal time off the bike as on it. Arrive, dump the kit and the bike, and do other stuff. Avoid being the red-faced sweat fest trudging around in leathers (or worse, textiles), carrying a load of kit.
With that in mind, I packed my tent, walking boots and binoculars before heading for the west coast of Ireland - Sligo and Donegal specifically. Why? It sounded like the sort of place you'd see more oystercatchers on the beach than people, which in September turned out to be true.
First stop was Holyhead for the slow boat to Dublin. I was riding my trusty BMW Sertao - my go-to bike for trips these days. It's a Marmite sort of bike which defiantly stands out as the least desirable, least stylish and most unsuitable long-distance bike in the ferry queue. I'm usually less admired, more pitied by fellow riders. Nothing wrong with that, though the lack of overtaking urge (discovered when trying for a swift overtake on the A55) reminded me that single-cylinder biking does come with drawbacks.
This story is from the May 2022 edition of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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This story is from the May 2022 edition of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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