Everywhere Virtually

Well it’s only the end of Day 2, and its already been an eventful couple of days.

The departure from Touratech was somewhat surreal. Getting a send off from Austin Vince and a big crowd was a once in a lifetime experience. There are many riders out there that have written of their travels but it has to be said that Austin Vince and his merry band of men are at the pinnacle of that list. They are rightfully at the top for the sheer audacity of their adventures not to mention the sheer side splitting comedy. There is one thing that sets their projects apart from almost all others, and that’s the fact that they (too) seem to value the satisfaction of being the first to do something on a motorcycle.

I guess everybody gets what they want out of adventure biking films, but for me it’s the trailblazing spirit, the desire to do something that hasn’t been done before that makes a great adventure. Mondo Enduro and Terra Circa both set out to do what hadn’t been done before. That’s why they’re great. There were no trip reports to read to help them do the bits that no-one had done before. It was virgin motorcycle territory.

Somewhere under the channel	Arriving at the Chateau in Tongeren

Walters earlier trip, the Tokyo to London Project, shared the Vince philosophy in that way. Walter has said that If he is able to reach some (or all) of his objectives on this current project, then he hopes to build on that spirit. there are certainly plenty of interesting roads out there yet to be ridden. It’s harder and harder to do a trailblazing adventure biking trip, but there is still potential out there.

Day 2 began for both Walter and myself in our respective homes in London and Manchester. The plan was to meet at Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal about 10 am. As it happens, both of us were delayed (Walter had to search for papers in his self storage shed near Gatwick and I had traffic problems) and we met at about 12:00 before rolling “Sous La Manche” to Calais.

The delayed start to the day meant we were squeezed in terms of schedule as soon as we rolled off the tunnel at 2:30pm local time in France. We wound our way through the Flanders Fields around Ypres and Passchendale before realising we were far too late to make a 6pm dinner date in Tongeren on the other side of Belgium with Norbert and family. Norbert was a contact through Horizons Unlimited who I had written to of number of times but had never met. There was no other option – we had to hit the dreaded motorways for over 2 hours.

Breezing across the Belgian border	Meeting Stijn and friends at Norberts Chateau
The bikes home for the night, Chateau Motorrad :)	Norbert & Walter

Walter had also arranged to meet Stijn and friends, a couple of other Belgian guys planning a ride to Siberia, Mongolia and China for next year, and to meet his 8 year old son Michael – who lives in Holland – that evening. It was going to be a rushed evening and he had no idea how he would be able to link it all together.

Fortune favours the brave and the answer was apparent as we arrived at Norbert’s. He lived in an old Castle! Fantastic stuff. So thanks to the fantastic hospitality of Norbert, Francoise and Thierry, all things came to pass that evening in the Castle. After an evening speaking with Stijn and his friends, Walter and I spent the evening in the guesthouse with our motorcycles, while Michael and his mum spent the evening in the Castle itself.

Norbert's collection	1922 Royals Royce de Rothschild
Rolls Royce	BS 9397

A stressful day, and what was probably the longest day of the trip (about 500 km for Walter and probably 700 km for me) ended with dinner and wine in a fantastic castle. The Brothers Vince would have loved this one!