Background story:
We are two Americans, in our mid-forties, empty-nesters, who are currently living and working in Germany. We both love to travel and when an opportunity came up last year to move here, we jumped on it.
Like most of you all, we still work. Although Europeans do have more vacation time, it is still difficult to break free and ride motorcycles for months on end. Someday, we will do this - I promise you! Until then, breaking free for three weeks will have to do.
We've planned this trip for some time. In fact, it has been in the light stages of planning since almost immediately after we arrived in Germany from last years Iceland trip (CHECK IT OUT HERE). Trying to fit all of the countries of the UK and Ireland into a 23-day vacation, including scheduling most of the ferries, did take some planning, but in the end it was worth it.
The "Left to Live" name of our journey was picked for two reasons:
1. The most obvious... This will be our first time we've ever riding on the LEFT side of the roadways. "Stay LEFT if you want TO LIVE!" We even went so far as to create a windscreen mounted, vinyl sticker to remind us of this.
2. We've only got a finite amount of time in this life. We have both decided that we would like to have memories instead of dreams and we both dream of exploring this tiny, blue dot we call Earth.
...So here goes! Here is a small preview from our 23-day motorcycle adventure around UK and Ireland:
Our planned route. The red and orange colors signify a day of travel. Normally, I don't like planning this much, but fitting so many miles (er, I mean km, no wait, I mean miles) into a three week trip requires planning.
The Union Jack
Castles
Cities
Sculptures
Ocean views
Architecture
UNESCO World Heritage sites
It took some planning but we even got to experience riding on the world famous TT Mountain Course on the Isle of Man.
Our route kept us close to the oceans and bays which offered limitless views to some of the best scenery in Europe.
We rode most days until right before sunset.
Places I never imaged I would travel as a kid.
Unique sculptures and artwork along the way.
Some incredible scenery to ride through! Even in England, with it's population density of 400 people per square km, we found wide open roads.
Landmarks. We tried to see as many landmarks or sites as we reasonably could while still riding 200-300 km per day.
There are nearly 23 million sheep in the UK. You're going to see some sheep on this trip.
Many churches and grave-sights all over UK and Ireland. This was taken at a cemetery near the TT Grandstand at Isle of Man.
Good eats! Both Chantil and I love Fish-n-Chips! It turns out we are in the right country for this!!
Our two mules - Both BMW G650GSs. The red one is mine and is named "Apache", and the white one is named (White) "Chocolate"
I printed stickers of the flags of countries (or crown dependencies) that we planned to visit. After we arrive, I place them on my mule's windscreen.
Just a "few" of the waypoints that we would like to see on our adventure...
. After setting up camp, the rain rolled in. It rained all night but fortunately let up in the early morning.
