The Opportunity of a Lifetime Comes Up - Euro Road Trip

When opportunity knocks, you damn well better answer it.  Well, that's the way we feel at least.  

Two weeks from now we'll be riding BMW motorcycles through the Swiss Alps. This trip came together quickly, and wouldn't be possible without my job in the motorcycle industry and the friends I've made along the way.  Long story short, if you ever offer us a place to stay or a motorcycle to ride in your home country, you better be ready for us to take you up on it.  We're serious about this kind of thing and don't hesitate to reciprocate.

It all started with a business trip. My boss asked me to come along with him and the owner of the company to the annual distributors meeting.  I work for the U.S. distributor for an accessories company called Touratech. Touratech is based out of Niedereshach, Germany.  This meeting takes place around the same time Brayde and I are finally free from the busy season to take a nice two-week motorcycle trip.  I jokingly told Paul that this would get in the way of our vacation.  He said, "Well, fly Brayde over after the meetings and take your vacation then!"  DONE.  I don't know if he was joking or not, but before he could retract his offer, I was back at my computer booking plane tickets.

Next was the email to Touratech:  "Hey Martin, remember last month when you were visiting and said we were welcome to borrow motorcycles if we were ever in Germany??"  Fortunately, Touratech is like one big family, and there was no hesitation to set us loose in Europe with two of their fleet motorcycles.

Everything is set now.  After the distributors meeting, Brayde is flying into Cologne, and we're going to attend the Intermot motorcycle show for a day before beginning our vacation.

My best friend Ian and his wife Ebe both live in Berlin.  I have known Ian for most of my life and both of them are like family to me.  We couldn't possibly visit Germany and not spend a couple days with them.  Plus I know that they will show us a great time with plenty of good food and drink while we're there.  Check out their blog  "Back to Berlin... and Beyond" and their claim to fame on the show "House Hunters International" (Brayde and I can be spotted in the U.S. segment of the show which was filmed at our house.)

After a couple days of living it up in Berlin with Ian and Ebe, we'll fly back to Niedereschach, borrow a BMW R1200GS and F650GS-Twin from Touratech and begin a nine-day ride.  Martin from Touratech has sent us some ride ideas, and we have complete trust in his taste in motorcycle roads.  Hopefully, we'll have enough time, and the weather will cooperate, for us to ride a bit more than the roads on his route.  You never know with all the stops we'll be making in small villages for a cup of coffee if we'll put on the amount of miles in a day that we do here in the U.S. We don't have a set plan; we know where the good roads are but don't necessarily feel the need to stick to a planned route.  We'll play it by ear and choose our roads day-by-day like we usually do.  Stay tuned for more on our preparations for the trip.

-Matt

Martin's suggested route.