First Solo European Motorcycle Tour 2024 - 1. The Journey Begins

My first solo motorcycle tour through Europe, on my Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Explorer. The journey begins, travelling across the Netherlands down through Germany on mostly the autobahn to cover the distance and milage.
Doing motorcycle camping, staying at campsites along the route towards Austria for the three days it took me to reach my destination.
The GT Explorer was brilliant for a motorcycle tour, as the 30ltr fuel tank provided me with enough range as not to worry about the next fuel stop.

[@LivetMedMC]

Hi! Just found your channel and you’ve got +1 sub! Relaxing video with just enough info about the rout. Good job 👍

[@AManAstray]

Thanks, I appreciate it. Still trying to find a good balance between making something, entertaining and enjoying the ride for myself 😄 Thx G.

[@SteveM109r]

Just come cross your channel. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the series. Subscribed.

[@AManAstray]

@@SteveM109r thanks very much Steve. Several other videos in the series are up now, I'm just working on the last couple, detailing the end of the trip. Appreciate the comments. Thx G

[@ioandragulescu6063]

@5:43 ear plugs are the best, THE BEST. Camp sites, random accommodations with thin walls, you name it.

[@AManAstray]

Exactly. The weird thing was even though I crossed those train tracks to get into the campsite, there were no trains passing that afternoon and early evening. Being woken up by the noise in the early hours was a WTF moment, then then...oh ok a train. Fell back asleep...but then another 20min later. This continued for for several hours, every 20-30min but the ear plugs were good enough to mute the noise to let me stay asleep. thx G

[@mcentertainmentiom]

great vid! just starting my own channel as motorbike vlogger in the Isle of Man! hope to get on some cool trips for 2025!

[@AManAstray]

@@mcentertainmentiom thanks. I've uploaded a few more after this initial one. I was on YT for some time, only putting up videos for friends and family, but then changed the channel name and started uploading for a wider audience. If I had more time, the quality would improve...so we're all still learning. Enjoy creating those videos. Thx G

[@BMCMOTOUK]

Excellent video, I done Europe last year and I’m planning on doing it again next year. I learned so much on what not to do on my last trip so hopefully my next one will be better!

[@AManAstray]

Thanks very much. I agree, you always learn something when out of a motorcycle tour. Whether, that's brill and I'll be back again, to I'm never coming back to this town ever again. 😁 With myself, the first tour solo, without mates or family on the trip, I found it lonely to some extent, you've nobody to bounce ideas off or confirm it's the right direction to go... Now I've learnt that, my next trip, I'll feel less worried about it. Because in the end, it's just me making the decision, if it doesn't pan out......then it's called an adventure 🤣 Thanks again. Have a great trip next year. G

[@BMCMOTOUK]

@@AManAstrayabsolutely spot on there! We will be starting the planning soon for our 2025 trip and it looks like Italy could be on the cards and again we will take the Hull to Rotterdam ferry and take it from there. One thing is for sure, we’re doing hotels this time around lol

[@peterbullock7670]

If heading to the south of France most bike mags recommend route Napoleon n85. I personally prefer n75 from Grenoble to sisteron,where it meets back up with n85. You still get to ride the best bits of the route Napoleon. I prefer the sweepers 😊

[@paullygb]

Great video 👍

[@AManAstray]

Thanks very much

[@stephenwilliams1824]

Definitely stayed at some rough campsites in the EU. Some of the worst are those in the ‘Wald’. Or in the middle of nowhere. No bar or restaurant. MIles from a town or village.

[@AManAstray]

Hi Stephen Yep....from my perspective, I'm used to basic camping when I've done a few long hikes in my younger days and stayed on a mountain somewhere in the Lake District, so can go a day or two without facilities as long as I'm prepared. The campsites I used on this trip, were ok. (ish) Some better than others. The 1st one I didn't even notice the railway track next to the site...even though I crossed them on the way in. Duh! It was all a learning experience, the first time without any mates, no banter, no having a laugh etc....so it was a strange experience, left with my own thoughts. Thx G

[@stephenwilliams1824]

This year I used BeMoto travel insurance for my 6 week tour of the EU on the bike. It was around £165 all in for the midrange policy. I thought it was cheap albeit I would not fancy putting a claim in as these companies make life difficult. Just been quoted for next year with Voyager and a 6-week tour again and this was £307. Who did you use?

[@AManAstray]

Hi Stephen How much? Hmmmm....that seems a lot. I used Carole Nash single trip travel insurance which was about ...(2 sec while I check) ...£48.62 Which countries are you going to. That may have something to do with it. Plus I wasn't classing as "sports" cover required as I wasn't going off road. Hope you find something cheaper that meets your needs. thx G

[@stephenwilliams1824]

@@AManAstray , France, Spain and Portugal next year. So will be 69 by then with high blood pressure. But as mentioned, it is for 6 weeks so it won’t break the bank. I need sunshine.

[@AManAstray]

@@stephenwilliams1824 good age. I'm in my late 50's so still with the 55-65 age group where insurance is average. 😁

[@drivinglessonswithdamo3085]

Hi, which SW Motech tank bank do you use? Apparently, some of them don’t fit that well on the Triumph. Thanks

[@AManAstray]

Hiya Damo Yeah, you're right. A lot of the popular tank bags don't look right or the bars push up against the bags. I bought the SW Motech Pro Micro tank bag. It's only 3-5 ltr but perfect for what I need it for. It's not too obtrusive so I can still see the TFT and easy to take on and off, but still overhangs the fuel tank a little. Hope that helps. Thx G

[@drivinglessonswithdamo3085]

@@AManAstray that’s what I thought, do you find it big enough for the essentials? Thanks for getting back to me

[@AManAstray]

In mine, I carry the power bank I want to charge off the bike, a side stand support puck, visor cleaner, a cloth, the padlock for the tank bag, spare ear plugs, the rain cover, and when I'm off the bike, I pop the sat nav in there too. (TomTom rider 450) I can also pop in the ferry tickets, and a credit card for the toll roads, but don't keep that in there all the time. All that without increasing its capacity to 5ltr. All that

[@fuglbird]

Remember to lube them regularly after a year or so. Otherwise they will stick when it rains and that's annoying when you are trying to get petrol into the tank.

[@davidmatthews3093]

Why the Autobahn? What a waste of an opportunity.

[@AManAstray]

@davidmatthews3093 Hi David. Yeah, if I had the time again. My initial thought was, get to the Bavaria as quickly as possible. I have some family in Munich and planned to visit. As it happens, there was a change of plan so didn't. In the end, were I to have taken the long way to Austria, I'd have run into the bad weather and wouldn't be able to do the mountain passes. Stelvio was it in the wet, as was Furka and Grimsel in the snow. 24/48 hours after I passed, they were blocked by snow. There's always next time to explore more of Germany. Thx G

[@andrewbrown7631]

If you'd taken a nice route I would've carried on watching

[@AManAstray]

Ok no problem. It's a means to an end. Austria, in my mind was the start of my trip. I've driven through Germany a few times, so this was to get to Austria where it's been nearly 40 years since I was last there

[@fuglbird]

It seems you were quite lucky with almost no traffic on the roads. Don't complain about a few road works. You can see where they are before starting out. If you absolutely want to complain: Just have your holiday in Britain. You may still see a car there now and then.

[@AManAstray]

There were a lot of diversions and road closures on this trip. I didn't film them all, but the most annoying was the B500. The north section was closed until October so I couldn't complete the whole route. Next time. 😁 Thanks for the comment G

[@johnmacdonald1878]

Camping in Europe doesn't look great.

[@AManAstray]

John, the campsites do improve.😁 On the journey down, I was selecting campsites in my location, depending on when I wanted to stop, i wasn't doing full research. It's whatever was on Google and do they have grass for a tent. In the end, it was just for one night so I wasn't too bothered. Thx G

[@fuglbird]

Camping in Europe can be great. You just need to know what to look for. And I'm not telling you. Just see what the British did to some of our Alpine passes by saying they are a "must". I've been motorcycle camping since 1978 and learned 3 things in my life: 1. Dont kiss and tell 2. Dont ride and tell 3. Don't camp and tell Why? Because three is a crowd.