Denmark?..........If I'm lucky!

[TigerKing]

Folks,
I've been wanting to do some long tours for a while and am finally off on a just under 2 week tour across Holland and Northern Germany to Denmark, and back.

The only slight hesitation/fly in the ointment is the problem I've been having recently with my clutch, Triumph believe after the 4th air bleed and a slave cylinder replacement they have now fixed it, we'll soon find out. 
Denmark?..........If I'm lucky!
I've double checked my roadside recovery cover!

So next Thursday (August 4th) I'll be heading off to Brentwood where a visiting Ozzie friend will pick up her rental at SuperBikeHire/Rental in Brentwood, then off to the ferry port of Harwich where we'll meet a mate of mine from North Dorset and catch the ferry next morning.

Should miss all the motorways and major roads and I've built in time for more leisurely riding days and sightseeing days with 2 days in Copenhagen and 2 days in Bremen.  Got a couple of very small ferry boat crossings in as well which should be fun, 1 across the Elbe and the other across the Baltic coming back from Denmark in to Germany.
I should have managed to paste a copy of the route below.

If I get any decent photo's I'll remember to share a few here.

Auf Wiedersehen Pet.    (thats all the non English I know.   Oh apart from "Dos Cerveza pour favour":)

[HockleyBoy]

Nice, should be a good trip and the weather looks pretty good for you. Enjoy!

[Nick Calne]

Awesome! Keep us posted.

[ghulst]

I saw about your clutch excitement in your other message. If you are still passing NL, let me know.

[TigerKing]

Well, what a trip, I used the bikers trip planning app Calimoto and it found the most fantastic routes across Holland, Northern Germany and Holland, and back.  Holland was the real gem for riding roads and the biggest surprise for me as I had thought it'd be flat and open all the way.  Well it was flat but it was beautiful, wooded and we spent a whole first day off the ferry riding around small hamlet type places with water everywhere.  Road services in general were very good with perhaps Germany having a few more of the less good roads.  Spent a rest day as tourists in Copenhagen and Bremen, both stunning cities.  Whilst the total distance travelled was only around 2500 miles in 13-14 days, the Calimoto app really does find the back bike twisty and long weeping curve roads and more of the sedate speed zones, so a 150 mile day might actually take all day ie 8-9 hours with coffee stops and stuff.
It was a brilliant and landmark trip, the 'bike trip' bug is truly embedded in me now and this happily coincides with my forthcoming March 2023 retirement.
I chose good but not overly expensive hotels, I'd budgeted for £150 a night max and we were mostly always under that but probably made up for any savings by enjoying the great beers and food a bit too much.
The only thing I'd look at more closely next trip is the ferry, the trip from Harwich to Hook of Holland is 8-9 hours and if I could swim the 50-60 miles, that would've been quicker.  However, landing in HoH is actually a good jump off point for that part of Europe.
I particularly loved the very many short 5-10 minute ferry crossings we ran in to as Calimoto and unforeseen Road Closures had us crossing the Elbe and god knows what other rivers many times which added to the adventures.  Some of these ferry's you have to pay 2 euros but most were free.

I'd do it all again tomorrow.

And oh yes, the clutch, it held until Copenhagen, then my Taunton Triumph dealer contacted the Copenhagen dealer (there are only 2x Triumph dealers in Denmark) to ask if they could bail me out, which they did without any hesitation, a few smiles, tour tales of their own, a free neck tube (Steven's MC Shop) and coffee thrown in with a smile and few jokes.

Love it.

[Lee337]

Sounds like a great trip. I'm semi retiring next May so thinking of getting out more. Not planning any non UK trips though.