Planning an Adventure

I guess it all started around Summertime 2004 with a throwaway "wouldn't it be cool to..." sort of conversation with my workmates. A motorcycle journey through Europe has certainly been something I've wanted to do for probably approaching 20 years. Not just a couple of weeks pootling around the South of France, sipping Pernod and catching a tan. No, I wanted the real deal. I wanted tents and sleeping bags, campfires and cold showers. I wanted big gnarly bikes. I wanted silly things like 5 or 6 countries in as many days. I wanted to just do it.

Steve Ward and I had worked together for around 3 years at the point that the idea was forming, and he'd had a little 125 Traily to get to and from work on for about a year or so. He thought the idea sounded cool and said he'd love to do something like that, to which I replied "Well, why don't you then?"

And that was it, the seed was sown. From then on the conversation always turned to a possible trip. I have to admit I didn't know how serious he was. In fact, I didn't really know how serious I was! However, here we are 9 months or so later and its 36 hours before departure!

It's that time now where we've done about as much as we reasonably can to prepare the bikes and to prepare ourselves. We're both desperate to get on the road. The last month since we left our full time jobs has been a very hectic month indeed. Constant chasing of parts suppliers for long overdue orders has raised the tension level and caused much undue worry and stress.

However, all that's behind us and the open road is ahead of us.

Rock and roll!

Robbie Barron