Next you add a couple of pals -- guys who have both the time and the wherewithal to leave their work and family life behind for three weeks to see the world by touring through Europe.
Then you must have three wonderful wives who all say, "Go for it -- it sounds like a guys' trip."
Next comes the planning stage -- flights, accommodations, trains, planes and motorcycles.
Then once it's all booked you wait and dream about the adventure of the upcoming trip.
Gary Peruzinni is from Scottsdale, Ariz., Brian Norrie is from Calgary. We are all Honda Gold Wing pals and Brian and I are neighbours at our condo in Chandler, Ariz. This trip was the first overseas for both gents and my fourth venture across the big pond.
Last fall we started talking about a unique trip made available through a group called Edelweiss Motorcycle Tours in Austria. Among other tours around the world they host a seven day riding tour called the Best of Europe through southern Germany, northern France and then from Switzerland to Austria with a blink at tiny Liechtenstein.
We chose that one.
We were to join several other riders from around the world including Brazil, Chile, Taiwan and the United States. One other Canadian couple joined us from Hanna, Alta..
The ride was spectacular and we enjoyed five full sunny days with the temperature averaging 25-28 C, one foggy morning and one chilly morning as we left the top of the mountain hideaway in Austria.
We travelled through some of the most beautiful towns, villages and areas you can possibly imagine and the beauty was totally enhanced with the fresh air and thrill of doing it on two-wheels.
Most riders were on BMWs, while one great and fun couple from San Francisco did it on a Harley. We had two great hosts and one organizer in a truck. Jenn (speaks at least five languages fluently), Sigg (from Austria) and George (specialty was handling our luggage so that it was waiting in our rooms each day as we arrived -- and picnics) guided us through the entire process and were tremendous tour guides, offering tidbits of history when we pulled in to the various attractions, parks, castles and churches.
Prior to the trip Gary decided to go a few weeks early and enjoyed visits to Paris, London and Prague.
His first blog said it all -- "I sure wish I had come to London before now. I've been here one day and I already know that I want to come back."
Brian and I visited London post-ride, and although we had a touch of home sickness during the visit, we crammed in three days of incredible experiences and enjoyed one of the true cities in the world that has earned the title "world-class" as they get ready for the Summer Olympics in 2012.
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
During the ride we hit the "motorway" (Autobahn) in southern Germany and it has quite the system. First off there's no passing on the right side, which is a blessing. The right hand lane is reserved for slower traffic, trucks, buses, etc.
The middle lane is for the normal flow of traffic -at regular speed limit of 120 km/h to 130 km/h.
The left lane is where the legend of the Autobahn lives. It flies. Cars can really open it up and you have to watch very carefully as they approach you from the back extremely fast with the full expectation that you will get out of the way. Along the motorway at no time did we see a police car nor any photo radar.
Most of the riding was on what we would call secondary highways and, later, paths. The beauty of this is that we got to see the small towns and villages in these stunningly beautiful countries instead of being stuck in the major metropolises.
Riding was set up so that we had several breaks during the day and most were spent in gorgeous countryside settings where we got to see castles, churches, private car collections, lakes, waterfalls --as well as meet and chat in very broken English with the locals. It's all part of the adventure playing charades as you try to order food from a menu that has zero English and a waiter/waitress who also doesn't understand a word you're saying.
Along the way the Tres Amigos gave out our signature pins that were designed and provided to us by Brian Norrie. It was absolutely amazing to see the reaction to these when we handed them to the recipients. On one occasion it even resulted in an upgrade at a hotel as I got my own room to help get over a vicious cold, flu and earache in Munich.
We stopped there to see the legendary Oktoberfest and weren't disappointed.
They tell us six million peoome in for this extended party and, man, do they party. They make the Calary Stampede look like a little shindig compared to this huge event. Ambulances were heard nonstop picking up guests who over imbibed.
There were far too many highlights along the trip for me to comment on -- and nothing beats being there -- but the two major memories will stay with me forever are:
* The Black Forest. It's named that because the trees are very tall and grow very close to each other. You only get to see the odd bit of sunshine when it breaks through in certain areas or at the reststops. We rode on an extremely thin roadway with hundreds and hundreds of twisties which was a gentle reminder that you'd better be a damn good motorcycle rider to not only do these roads properly but manipulate in a group riders' style while staying tight to your lanes so as not to get hit by oncoming traffic or the near-expert riders who pass YOU going uphill on these tight lanes.
On one stop we enjoyed the real Black Forest cake.
*The run from Switzerland through Austria. The day started out in pure fog and it was a wet fog meaning we had to sweep off our visors every 10 seconds or so.
After about an hour in this we came around a corner and were on the side of a mountain filled with Bavarian style homes virtually hanging on a cliff. Many were Swiss farms where the cows are climbing the valley walls. Of note, a great number of these homes (which are about 100 years old) featured solar power on their roofs. Plus, we rode by many giant wind harvesting propellers much like what you see in southern Alberta.
The ride was the most scenic thing you can imagine -on a path almost at the top of the Alps that was literally only about eight to 10 feet wide. No guard rails. At the least it was two miles to the bottom. Cars passing you on the left while aggressive bikers pass from behind ... it's chilling!
After our trip we decided to enjoy a few days in Germany and enjoyed:
* Therme, the most magnificent water park you can imagine. About five times larger than West Edmonton Malls waterpark with a "clothing-optional" (nude) area. The Europeans really have no qualms about dropping their gear and suntanning nude. Us - ah, not so much!
* The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart -a tribute to the legendary Ferdinand Porsche who invented the car "because nobody else made one that I liked."
* The Mercedes Museum, also in Stuttgart, huge and impressive with vehicles going back to the late 1800s.) You could spend a day there and see some of the earliest modes of two and four wheel transportation ever invented.
