Been meaning to write this for a while.
Last summer I went on my first big motorbike trip, from Nottingham to Marseilles on the south coast of France then back up again. Before I went I did a bit of research online and found some tips, but found myself not really connecting with a lot of it because most people who go touring seem to be into the whole “be prepared, be very prepared” thing. So here’s my thoughts on touring without 2 panniers and a tank bag, including things I wish I had taken and will next time.
- A decent backpack: backpacks are great because of their versatility. You can carry them around a hot town centre just as easily as you can wear them on the back of a sports tourer driving through a rainstorm, any half decent one will be comfy and (reasonably) waterproof. I have a Eurohike something like this one, and found I had just the right amount of space at 55l.
- A map (I would have taken GPS if I could afford it, but bear in mind whether you’ll be staying in hostels or not). The one I ended up with was bigger than I wanted it to be as it was a western europe and I was only thinking about France and Spain. The road resolution was just about right, but if I’d been exploring backroads I’d have gotten a france-specific one. Stopping at service stations, clomping in with all your gear and unfolding a huge map can be quite funny
- The required legal gear - spare headlights, first aid kit, blue EU sticker etc. The AA have all the info you need on this. Having said that, I’d guess your chances of being stopped and asked for this stuff are fairly low, so if you needed extra space I’m sure stuff like first aid kits could be left off and gamble with not encountering police/pleading the fifth.
- Wet weather gear. This is a must. You will be miserable if you get soaked through. I wore my winter jacket (fairly standard Alpine Star), leather bike pants and Alpine Star winter gloves. If I was biking in a time of year when rain was more likely I would have invested in the best weatherproof gloves I could find - as it was, I got caught in one day-long horrendous thunderstorm that soaked through every layer of clothing I had on, and cold, wet hands are by far the worst part of your body to be in that state.
- A pair of jeans, 2 t-shirts, a few of changes of socks and underwear. You’re a smelly biker, laundrettes are everywhere if you need to be particularly well presented for something.
- If you’re headed anywhere likely to be warm, a pair of shorts, sunglasses and a hat if your head & face burn easily or you have short hair. I bought sunnies and a hat in Marseilles so you could leave that till you get there, but shorts or swimming gear are going to be slightly harder to find. When I reached the coast all I wanted to do was jump in the sea as soon as possible to cool off, and not having anything to jump in with besides my underwear sucked.
- The usual “don’t leave the country without them” - wallet, phone, keys, passport, motoring docs (see the AA link).
And that is it. Next time I go touring I will be taking a tent because it’ll save me lots of money, particularly in western europe, but it’s entirely optional and budget dependent. Another option is to join Couch Surfing (haven’t tried this yet but met a guy who’d had loads of luck with it). Hostels are easy to stay in and although you need to be a member of HI or whatever you can join when you get there. Roughing it in a nice climate is never going to be too evil, colder/wetter climates are another matter.
The main thing to remember is you’re in it for the joy of being on the open road, and the less time you spend packing/unpacking/worrying/losing shit/having shit nicked, the more time you’ll have on the road enjoying hundreds of miles of foreign countryside rolling past you with nothing but the sun and wind and other bits of traffic to keep you company. You won’t regret touring, and if you’re anything like me, you won’t regret touring with the minimal of stuff either.
For inspiration on just how far you can get with a motorbike and very little else, I highly recommend the classic Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara. I’m sure if La Poderosa had been a ZZR, Che and his mate would have done the whole journey on it.
Shiny side up!
