European Road Trip

Found this on another scooter site. Very interesting article.

http://www.go-faster.com/SS100.html

Cheers,

Very interesting article...I seem to be following in his bike tracks, except that we now have motorways and very few border checkpoints. All the places bring fond memories.

No border checkpoints at all in Western Europe - I have to remind myself to take my passport when we ride to Sluis as it's over the border in Holland.
Quite recently we rode into France on a back road we passed through an abandoned border-post. It was very eerie.

I too found it very interesting.

Love the atmospere of the old black and white pics. Loved the bike gear too!

Thank's for sharing. If you sit and think about it, that must have been an amazing trip. The time, the places, and the machines. I really liked the two little boys looking on as they repaired the puncture. They probably went to bed dreaming about what they had seen.

After WW 2 food was rationed in the UK until 1952 so it was probably still a luxury for them to brew tea when they fancied it. All this shirt and tie wearing is rather strange too, and any clothes washing done en-route would have been tedious, all heavy cotton and wool clothing by the look of it Even getting their photographs developed after the tour would have taken a couple of weeks back then. I've seen photos of other bike tours from that era showing bikes being loaded by crane onto cross Channel steam ships, and the riders wearing a mixture of tweed jackets and army surplus.

Very interesting. And I think the Brits had currency restrictions at that time.

I didn't get to Europe until 1958----bike touring fun then---I had no money and often slept where I stopped. Sometimes gas could be problem as gas stations used to close for breaks. Lunch cheap bread and piece of meat, luxury soup at the train station.

And what may I ask was the purpose of your visit to Sluis, Mike O?

I remember making detours from Belgium when dashing back to the Channel ports for one reason only - and it wasn't to take photos of the undoubtedly pretty buildings and canal etc!

Coffee and toiletries - they're cheaper there.

I know what you're thinking - we have a s*x supermarket just up the road.