Taking shape

A good thing happened the other day - I asked my boss for 3 weeks off in April/May and he said - "OK!"

That's given me the impetus to start things moving again on the planning front. Dates are now almost set, and I will leave the UK on Monday, April 18th, 2011. This is the first day of the school Easter holidays, and as Easter is late next year, my 3 weeks away will also take in the May bank holiday, meaning that I will only have to take 12 days leave for the 3 weeks off. That means I'll have enough leave left for a family holiday later in the year.

My birthday is on 14th April, so I'm expecting SWMBO to arrange a surprise party on the following weekend + it's our wedding anniversary on the 16th, so am not expecting to be in a fit state to leave on Sunday 17th. Hence, leaving on 18th, by which time I should have recovered.

Also, by being away over the 2 week Easter break, SWMBO will only have 1 week when she has to get Nathan to school. A good result all round, although the weather is likely to be slightly colder.....

So, I said the dates are almost set - the only thing I need to do is get final sign-off from SWMBO, then I can book ferry tickets!!! Then there's no backing out.

As for the route, I've decided that East is the way to go, and provisionally, on arrival at Amsterdam I will head off across Holland and Germany stopping in Berlin, then on to Krakow in Poland, then make my way down across many of the former Soviet countries all the way to Istanbul in Turkey. Route back will take in Croatia, Vienna, and Prague along the way.

Still putting the detail together, but it's looking like around 4000miles in total. Should be do-able I think!

Time to departure: 170 days
Number of paydays to departure: 6
Money raised to date: Not enough (but getting there).

BTW, for those who haven't realised, SWMBO = Gillian, my better half.

Weekend at the BMF show

Well, I've just got back from a very enjoyable weekend in Peterborough at the BMF Show. I rode down on Friday, taking the long route over the North York Moors, and not really touching the A1. I came back yesterday via a stop at Lynsey's in Leeds. During the whole time I was away I didn't see a single drop of rain - very unusual!

In the tent next to me was a lad called Paul, and we got chatting. It turned out that he's spent time living in Poland, and knows a lot about Eastern Europe, and where to go. We spent a lot of time talking about my trip, which, by the end, went up to the Arctic Circle in Norway, across to Turkey, then over to Tunisia! It was a three continent ride, but alas would take too long - more than the 3 weeks I've got, to do it properly.

However, he had a lot of good advice, and places that I should visit, that I will be taking on board in my decision about what trip to take.

The BMF show itself was great with lots to do and see, and by camping on site you benefit from having access to the entertainment. On the Friday night there was a terrific Led Zep tribute band, and an awful comedy act, which went down very badly.

Saturday night saw a great 3-piece cover band whose name I forget. they were just young lads, but the guitarist/singer was very good. Top of the bill was Killer Queen - yes another tribute band. I was hoping for great things, but they were merely OK. They used too many backing tapes for my liking, and the Freddie Mercury wannabe has the most grating voice ever. He was very good at mincing about the stage though! Having said that, the crowd seem to like them, and I think they got better the more beer I drank!