Eurotunnel

Well now safely on the Eurotunnel, bit the bullet and paid the extra as opposed to taking the ferry to Dover. Got another drenching between Antwerp and Gent, had to empty my 'waterproof socks' in Bruge and swop them for plastic bags and dry socks. Barring any major disasters I should get back as planned to meet the kids from school this afternoon which will be a surprise for them as they aren't expecting me until at least Friday evening. I made the decision to gun it home on Tuesday when in eastern Poland, I could have headed south to Slovakia but speaking to Gus on the phone he told me he was going to make a special calendar that would tell him how many days it was until he saw me (obviously he will be in the shit if there is no calendar and I rode the thick end of 1800 miles to see it!).

The last 19 days have been a bit of a whirlwind, it seems longer than that ago that we battled the gale force winds on the way to Newcastle to catch the ferry to Norway.

Notable highlights, Pulpit Rock in Norway, the second and third day riding through Norway, fantastic scenery and technically challenging roads. Arriving at the Arctic Circle, gravel tracks in Finland, the whole experience crossing the border into Russia, the shocking roads (or lack of), the shocking driving and the chaos that was driving into St Petersburg!

Disappointing not to go through Kaliningrad 'just for the hell of it' and sorry I didn't get to Slovakia or Austria, its unlikely I will get the opportunity to undertake a trip like this again in the foreseeable future due to family and work commitments but hey not everyone can say they have ridden their motorbike to Russia!

Hats off to Will, for someone who has only been riding for less than 12 months to take on some of the riding conditions that we experienced and still stay on two wheels takes some doing, especially on a big lump of German metal that has all the agility of an elephant!

I think we have all learnt a lot about each other - perhaps too much! :-) we met some great people along the way and at the time of writing haven't had any major problems with the bikes considering the hammering that they have taken! No trouble to speak of anywhere with the exception of the minor squirmish in Finland. We didn't get ripped off (knowingly) and we didn't have to bribe anyone!

TeekondBELGIUM is now TeekondFRANCE and in about 35 mins should be TeekondENGLAND!

Mike
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