Five weeks to go my friend Andreas reminds me. I have my ferry tickets booked but otherwise am behind. Here is the danger. This is my third summer inhabiting the roads of northern Europe with Elsa. For the third time I will return to Bankeryd, Jonkoping, Sweden but this time to take my place as a full member of VMCK motorcycle club. It won't take me long to get my shit together, but I actually have to do it. Elsa is serviced and MOT'd. She needs new boots before I go. I don't want to get caught having to replace at Swedish prices. Better to sacrifice a little good tread in a trade off.
I met Andreas two years ago. His bicycle circumnavigation of the Baltic crossed the path of my solo motorcycle journey to North Cape, on the arctic coast of Norway. His trip was circular, mine was one way. There was that point on the map where place time, and two people coincide. It would happen many times in many places with many people. Travelling alone facilitates this. It is the good side of the coin that is also loneliness. We both broke our journeys in Gavle (Yevle) on the Swedish Bothnian coast to catch up on sleep and eating. I was starving in the saddle day upon day, as was he. Between sleeping and eating we explored the town together as tourists, and somewhere along the way we became friends. He is a good guy.
I'm weekending with Andreas in Germany en route to Sweden. This year I am taking the Hook of Holland crossing with Stena. Even with an extra day of miles, petrol, food and accommodation, I still save hundreds over the DFDS Esbjerg route. Stena are OK. More than OK actually. Their customer service is very nice indeed. Andreas is putting together an itinery including a brewery visit and a night out with the couch surfing club. More on that later. I'm thinking it's almost time to regrow the red beard. I'll leave this me behind and wear the confident explorer persona again. Time off from the mundane. Everyone should try it.
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