17 Aug - Departing Yahk BC for Calgary

Today went well. Overnight temps were cool and comfortable for sleeping. In the morning I woke up around 5am and packed my things. I had emptied my stove gas for the airplane, so I had no stove to boil water. I tried an “overnight cold soak” of my oatmeal without success — it was only oatmeal soup that morning (not good). Oh well, I learned something new.

The ride out was excellent. Southern BC is beautiful, crossing through wide open glacier valleys in between rocky peaks still showing signs of changing evident by expansive rock slide fields. Riding highway 3 through Fernie and then Crowsnest Pass was spectacular and I would love to return here again to stay and explore. I passed through a couple ski resort areas and then out into the open range of Alberta. The landscape flattens out quite a bit as you get out of the rockies. The wide open plains became quite boring. Several stretches of road went on for over 30 miles each, without any stops or civilization to mention. I did see some wildlife: some deer and a marmot or badger looking creature (not sure).

I timed my gas tank so that I would be nearly out of fuel upon arrival at the cargo terminal in Calgary. I came up just a little too short when I got there, so I reluctantly stopped at a gas station to purchase only 2 liters of fuel! It was a bit of a competition with myself, and I was annoyed that I didn’t hit the mark just right. No worries.

Delivering the bike to the Westjet cargo terminal at the Calgary airport was straightforward. I handed my papers to the front desk and they instructed me to ring the buzzer door on the warehouse next door. I waited for the guy to answer the door and he told me to pull up to door number 8. I had not yet unpacked and sorted the bike yet, so I found a shady spot to park and sorted my belongings to three categories: 1) carry-onto the plane, 2)checked on the plane, 3)stowed on the bike. After that was completed, I delivered the bike to the guy at door 8, disconnected the battery and handed over the keys. That was all--surprisingly simple. See you on the other side, bike!

I’m trying to avoid excessive international phone charges, so I’ve chosen to minimize or cut off my cellular data usage until I get to Europe and I can get a local cellular plan. That makes it a little tricky to get around Calgary, use Uber or look up businesses online. So I’ve reverted to the old fashioned method of asking real people what they know! What a novel idea! It feels refreshing to just walk down the street and look for a restaurant or market that you need without doing any previous research. So I asked the front desk at the shipping terminal and I retrieved a taxi to come pick me up and take me to my lodging for the night.

I booked a hostel I found (before I left home), and it’s just fine. There’s only 4 people here and I’ve barely seen anyone. Plus there’s free coffee and homemade blueberry waffles for breakfast!

My flight is at 7:30pm tomorrow, so I will spend the day resting and catching up on some to-do and preparation items: language learning podcasts to listen to on the plane, and route research for my first day on the ground in France and Germany. I love this stuff!
 

18 Aug - Flight Day

I woke up and made some instant coffee and had a couple toasted waffles that were surprising delicious. I spent the morning catching up with a nice guy from France who came in late. He’s on a one month tour to visit Banff and surrounding areas. Calgary is a popular launch point for international travelers who want to visit the Canadian Rockies. Turns out he has a small motorcycle too which he rides to work on occasion. We connected on Facebook.

I spent some time on the computer downloading iOverlander points of interest to my phone map as an offline backup for places where we have no service. That will be handy. I discovered you can use their website to download an entire country’s worth of GPX points and import into your favorite mapping app. In my case, I use OsmAnd Mapps and it works great for me.

I took a walk for lunch to the second Vietnamese restaurant near the hostel and had the best Bahn Mi pork sandwich I have ever had. Finally at 2:00pm, I made my way to the bus stop around the block where I could catch a ride to the airport for a mere $3.50 CAD. Beats a $20 Uber!

Checking into Calgary airport was a breeze. It was not busy and there was an abundance of staff at the international terminal to help me check my bag. Now I’m just along for the ride for the next 13 hours!
 

19 Aug - Arrival in France

Phew. Made it through to the other side after a 2 hour delay due to a jet bridge malfunction. We left at 11:00 pm arrived in Paris around 2:00pm local time. Stamping through immigration was easy, no questions asked. It's never been this easy. After a few short minutes to retrieve my checked bag, I was on to find a taxi to the cargo terminal.

The location of the cargo import terminal is a little complicated to access through a series of small roads and industrial areas that surround Charles-de-Gaulle airport. In fact, the GPS of the taxi driver was incorrect, so I ended up directing him myself from the back seat pointing my finger “Go left!”, “Go straight”, and on and on. …We both laughed about it; was a small adventure for both of us!

I found the correct location and followed the prescribed instructions that I received from MotorCycle Express. It was mostly straightforward , with the occasional fumbling with the language barrier. Turns out there was one other bike on the plane owned by a guy from California, so we went through the process together, shlepping our way around the building with our big bags full of motorcycle gear.

First was the front desk to check in, then to the customs office. It’s in another building a short walk away. There we provided our EU Green Card insurance card and the bike title for proof of insurance and ownership. Then we were instructed to return to the front office to pay the fee. 125 Euros paid and now we’re off to the warehouse for retrieval of the bikes!

In the warehouse I handed the 4 guys sitting around in the office my receipt, and they promptly went to pick the bike from the storage area. When they brought it around on a forklift, it was a relief to see. It was thoroughly strapped to a pallet with about 14 straps and looked like it survived the trip just fine. Unfortunately Ed (the other guy with the bike) had a damaged mirror. I had removed my mirrors and windscreen out of caution. Good call.

On the road! I’m free now, and the first order of business is food and gas! I pull up OsmAnd Maps on my phone and seek out a gas station and restaurant near to each other. The beauty of this app is no cell service required. Off I go!

I found a little casual restaurant that serves burgers and salads. I get a “Norvigenne” (Norwegian) salad which contains smoked salmon and avocado. Delicious.

I made my way back to the hotel which is near by. All of this is in close proximity to the airport, so I don’t have to go far. It’s a nice new micro-tel that was cheap but all I need. I get my room and crash. I slept for 4 hours then wake up at 1:30am, unable to sleep.

I’m ruminating on the bad stories I heard from the other guy on the planee today. He went through west Africa 5 years ago and experienced a fair bit of corruption and problems and he told me all about it. In reality it sounds like he didn't plan very thoroughly. I should remind myself that. Not really things I should worry about right now. A little local TV (late night TV here is interesting) and a phone call home to Andrea puts my mind at ease.
 

20 August - Paris to Heidelberg

Today was great. I woke up and had a quick breakfast at the hotel. Even the cheap hotel croissants in Paris are delicious. I planned my route and then took off into downtown Paris. What a blast. The air was cool and there wasn’t much traffic. I rode around the enormous circle around the Arc de Triumph, and then the Eiffel Tower. It was so nice to be able to run around on my own motorcycle. Moto parking in Paris is easy and plentiful (and seemingly free!).

I was also searching for an Orange cell phone store so I could get a local SIM card for my phone. I went to three places, because the first two were out of stock. I finally got a plan that works everywhere in Europe with more data than I have at home for only €40. I was set with a functional local cellular plan (much cheaper than international service from home) and I hit the road for Heidelberg.

The ride to Heidelberg was long and slightly boring, because I was short on time so I took the “A” roads (equivalent of the US interstate). The ride was easy despite a few toll booths that amounted to about €20 for the day.

I arrived in Heidelberg around 6:00pm. It's a quaint little town, and I zigzagged my way through the narrow streets to find my destination at KnopfTours. I found Mark and Renee sitting out in the back yard of the Knopf Tours compound. It's a walled and gated facility that contains a motorcycle repair shop, long term motorcycle storage, tour company, hotel, and campground all-in-one. It’s a really cool family run place.

We walk down the street for dinner with a couple new friends from Canada who are staying here too. They’re at the end of their one month tour of Scandinavia.