Now for some general details I missed in my timeline that regard, specifically, the perspective of a foreigner riding in Europe…

If I could do it again, I would not stay in Paris or any other major city. That was definitely the least enjoyable part of the trip. Unless you enjoy traffic where road rage is typical and parking, even when you’ve reserved it, is a nightmare, I do not suggest staying in Paris or any other big city really, unless that hostel has parking. Even then, be prepared for busy city riding with driving styles you may not like. In Venice, I stayed outside the city (rather than try to park at one of the few spots in Venice you can drive to) and took a bus in. This really was so much easier. So a big thing is to make sure you know where you can park if it’s a big city and your hostel doesn’t offer it, and consider how you’ll handle aggressive driving styles that may not match what you’re used to in the states. Otherwise, plan to stay outside the city and take public transport in. I was comfortable everywhere but Paris as far as driving styles, but parking is an issue in any big city, whether in Europe or the US, especially if you don’t know the language and can’t figure out how to pay at an unattended spot.

Speaking of gas… This is something to consider, especially if you’re taking back routes. The highways/autobahns are very good about telling you how many km to the next station, but back roads, unsurprisingly, aren’t. This was even more of a concern for me being on an old 1988 Suzuki intruder that still functioned on a reserve system and doesn’t have an empty light. I filled up every 100–120km, and that worked just fine. It’s better to be safe than stranded on the road in the middle of nowhere in a rural area where finding someone fluent in English is less likely. And while I had good phone service throughout most of Europe, even in rural areas, you cannot rely on your phone working, even with international plans. I had it stop working in Romania on the non-bike trip for no reason, and it never really resolved until I flew back to Belgium. It’s better to not put yourself in that situation if you can help it. So fill up often rather than pushing it to the last minute. Really, this is true in almost any unfamiliar area, international or not.

I stuck mostly to main roads, since I wanted to be a little more on the cautious side with it being my first big trip, it being in foreign countries, and not having a bike good for mountains with me. However, I did go through some back mountain roads in Slovenia and Austria and was fine, and in France, the most direct route to Switzerland was through back roads. You also may need to reroute in a traffic jam. So, be prepared for back roads even if you decide to stick mostly to highways. I can’t say which is better for a first time trip, but I’m glad I did it the way I did, with a mixture of both. Some highways are still amazing, while others are boring, and they do present fewer practical challenges. However, some back roads are great and provide scenery that’s unlikely from the highway (although it’s less pleasent if you get stuck behind a semi on a one lane road, of course). But just be prepared either way, and take the differences into account when deciding where to ride.

One thing you will see a lot in Europe is lane splitting. It is extremely common in most countries I rode through, although I’m not sure on the legalities. I was told it’s illegal in Germany and possibly other places, but that police usually don’t care. I personally chose to not do it, since I had trouble finding a reliable source on what was legal in various countries and what wasn’t. Also, if police do pull you over in some parts of Europe, they can demand full payment for the ticket in cash on the spot or can confiscate your vehicle. So to me, it’s just not worth dealing with the police as a foreigner if you don’t have to, so I carefully followed all traffic rules. But everyone has their own level of risk on that. I also was very careful to obey all traffic rules as much as possible. I quickly read through a Wikipedia page on German road signs before I left, and that really helped give me the basics of following road signs throughout Europe in general. Unlike the US, most signs have common sense pictures on them, so you can usually figure out the basics pretty fast even without knowing the words.

Border crossings were surprisingly uneventful. I never had my passport stamped or at all inspected, even when entering and leaving Switzerland. Many borders are completely unattended, and some were attended with no lines, and others had very long lines but they waved me through once I got to the border. That being said, I had all of my travel plans, ticket confirmations, directions (even though I didn’t fully stick to those routes) and reservations printed out ahead of time and kept organized in a folder along with my international driving permit, in case I were to be questioned. I didn’t need it, but I highly recommend organizing all your information, as it took away all stress at border crossings, knowing I could fully prove answers to any questions I was asked. I also had a backup of addresses and other information by doing this, if my GPS and/or phone were to fail. Things like this really helped me be more relaxed and confident doing this for the first time, and alone at that. On the subject of GPSes, I highly recommend having a GPS that you can see on your bike. Google maps is not always accurate, especially if you’re trying to just listen to it. Being able to see where I was at helped a lot and I was more quickly able to realize if the GPS was not working like I wanted. Google maps was a good backup though, especially in the city where the regular GPS seemed to make less sense.

One thing I hadn’t fully considered before I started is tolls. If you’re sticking to a lot of main roads, you likely will encounter toll roads. I don’t think I was ever on a toll road in Germany, but I spent about €40 in tolls in Italy, and anywhere in between in other countries. It varies widely, so be prepared for that, and have a lot of change to cover it in case the machine doesn’t take your card or bills.

Another thing to think about is laundry. It sounds simple, but having dry clothes is more important than you might think. I had it fairly well planned out which hostels had laundry and which didn’t, but it did still turn into a headache. The hostel I was planning to do my laundry at didn’t have great service, kept telling me it was full, and wouldn’t hold onto my clothes until I was empty. After trying to check at the desk again and standing there for a long time while someone else was being checked in, I gave up. I then tried to do it at a gas station that had laundry machines (yes, that’s a thing in the Netherlands!), but then the machine was broken. Thankfully the hostel I was at two days later did it, but took quite a while to return it. It all worked out, with some creative use of used clothes and then buying a few clothes as souvenirs when my only remaining ones got soaked. So do keep that kind of seemingly minor thing in mind. The smallest things can be a real headache. You want to pack light but think about how you’re using the laundry you have and when your next chance to wash it may be.

Also, prepare for weather. If it’s in Europe, it more than likely will eventually rain. Rain gear, including to cover my shoes, made my life so much easier. There was a day in Holland that I thought I wouldn’t need it (despite the looming clouds), and got soaked before I could pull over to put it on. It’s not fun shivering on a bike or having wet socks. It’s much more enjoyable when you can appreciate how pretty rain makes things, while staying fairly dry! I also made sure to have a first aid kit and supplies like tape and a tire pressure gauge. You don’t need to go crazy, but having the basics can come in handy. The power source for my GPS kept falling off, so the tape was very useful! I also packed light enough that I still had enough room in the saddle bags for random last minute purchases (like muscle relaxing spray when my wrist was screaming in pain from the way that bike’s handlebars are set up). You also may want a few small souvenirs. So pack what you need but don’t pack to the brim if you can help it. I did just fine with saddlebags and a backpack. Another thing to consider is what electronics you’re going to take and ensuring they’re dry. I took a GoPro, which I used less than I thought I would, a laptop (mostly to have a large source of energy in case I needed to charge my phone in an emergency), iPod, e-reader, and my phone of course. I might pack fewer electronics in the future, but it was nice knowing I had absolutely everything I needed. It’s something to think about either way.

Lastly, a few words on bike choice… This is where I should’ve interacted more with the station. I simply looked at the third party website to pick a bike and chose the cheapest one that had specs that indicated it could keep up on a freeway. The 1988 suzuki intruder 750 wasn’t a bad pick, and I really couldn’t have afforded more, but it probably would’ve been a good idea to at least talk to the Munich company about what they had and try to negotiate. Part of this oversight was that I originally didn’t realize I was working with a third party company. It wasn’t clear on the American site, and the emails I exchanged with their customer service reps didn’t explain this well. They made it clear they would charge a lot for changes, and so at that point, I figured this company just wasn’t easy to work with, but I’d already given them a deposit. I really didn’t realize it wasn’t the same company until I called the number they gave me for Munich a couple weeks beforehand, to say I’d be late, only to realize this cost extra money and wasn’t ideal. This again, wasn’t a big deal, and it all worked out. I worked with the bike I had, and worked around the lack of ability to change things (like I probably should’ve just packed my helmet rather than renting one), but I definitely made some novice mistakes. Since I am used to trips on my very uncomfortable 2009 cbr600rr, a 1988 Suzuki intruder 750 was actually very comfortable to me, except the strain on my wrist. And it was interesting learning how a cruiser, and an old one at that, handled, as I’d only ridden sportbikes before. But I would at least communicate a lot more directly next time. It was definitely was a first timer mistake to not communicate well with various companies, since I had never dealt with so many companies in different countries before or knew all the details of traveling between them. That is really the main thing I’d do differently (that and not stay in Paris!). But it was a minor thing, and nothing that in any way detracted from the trip. Really, when I think of how many pieces there were, between all the hostels, bike rental, road travel, the train, the combination with the subsequent car roadtrip to Romania, the packing, the hostel reservations, and all the other details, it’s amazing everything ended up going to plan, even when I’d prepared myself for it not going to plan at all. You could do this with a lot less planning, but the preparation made it go a lot smoother, and be more realistic considering the tight time constraints I was on with work.