He left Scotland with a packed bag, a tent and a Honda Crosstourer Highlander. Here's how he got on...
In early april I decided to take a break from my stresses of march and go find some solace...
First, the bike, I chose the Crosstourer Highlander. A big old trusty thing, but how would I cope sat on it for 4,000 miles in ten days... ?
I finished work and fired down to dover, caught the first ferry over and then pressed on into france. The first night was spent sat in a field bivvy bag out and got some sleep as I was very, very tired from today's journey. Then it was up early the next day for a 5am start to begin my travels to Cannes. I was heading to Monaco but got tired again!
So, Cannes...hmmmm, not what I expected at all. In all honesty it was quite disappointing and made me very uneasy that night, so instead of sleeping on the beach I moved back inland to a truck stop where on a bike, you really are safe and sound.
Before I knew it, it was morning again and I was back on the bike, on my way to Nice. Along the way I managed to find a campsite and put up my little tent and relaxed for an hour or so before heading out for some shopping for food and drink.
Over the next few days I decided to run up and down the coast visiting places of interest to me, St. Tropez, Monaco, Menton, San Remo to name a few. As well as these know towns there were loads of little villages and out the way places. I came across some fantastic markets for food and little keepsakes. After seeing some beautiful scenery in France, I decided to move on to Italy and see what it's all about.
If i'm being honest I wasn't really impressed with the big cities, Milan was okay, but Torino turned out to be a bit of a hole. After a day or so I found myself chasing the sun and forgetting why I had came all this way. So I decided to go rough and head into the alps. I soon realised that this is what I should have done from day 1.
tIt has to be said that the alps from Italy over to geneva were incredible, with truly amazing scenery, with roads like you could only imagine. All i needed was some Matt Monro in my headphones and I was well away!
After a few days going over the back roads I never met a sole until my first almost fatal error of not looking at the road ahead... I found a car in the middle of the road looking at the same amazing view as me (a massive thank you to Honda for the ABS system on the bike). After applying the brakes both the front and back of the bike were chattering away and I came to a stop a few feet away from the car, any other bike would have dropped on its side and slid into the back of the car...
Moving on a few miles decided to fill up and have a break to take in some of the scenery, then back into it and deeper into the wilds of the back roads through the alps, until i run into an avalanche! 150 miles in and no way back as I didn't have enough fuel so I had to sit it out. There was no chance I could get the bike through as it's too big and heavy. With my shoulder still on the mend there was no way I was picking it up if it went over. Then finally, two curries, a BBQ, a litre of coffee, and 18 hours later a snow plough punched through and sent me on my merry way into Geneva.
I spent a couple more days touring the lake and the surrounds, then I continued on what I consider the best riding road in the world, the pass from Nyon to St. Serge. A road full of super bikes showing their skills up and down this pass! Needless to say the Crosstourer handled it very well and put a few of the 6's to shame, even with my luggage on!
Before I knew it I was back in France and had ended my time in a place called Troyes. A nice small town, a bit commercial but a great campsite and few local bars that are good enough to relax in.
The last day was spent heading into Paris, which is probably my favourite place in Europe. I love riding in paris, love the city and the sights. It's very busy and riding is a laugh a minute there.
Despite this being my favourite city, for some reason when ever I get to paris I just want to be home. This always happens on the return, it's like paris is just down the road and think I will just blast home and get some tea. So that's what I did. Paris to home non stop through the night and day, just stopping for coffee and petrol.
All in all it was a very good experience. The bike? Amazing. Me? A bit lonely sometimes but I always manage to make myself comfortable in everything I did and where I went.
Would I do the same trip again? Nope.
So, next trip for me? Not sure where... Arctic Circle in Norway? Mongolia? Any ideas would be appreciated...
We would like to thank John for sharing his experiences with us. Not only does it give us an insight into a great trip, but also shows us the skills and reliability of the Honda Crosstourer Highlander. A truly fantastic machine, and we recon that few could argue with that statement.
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