Those Pesky Americans

Two years in the planning, nine years in my head and only two months before departure I discover that the good ol' yanks are having their Labor Day celebrations on Monday 1st September, my long time proposed departure date from Anchorage. Getting anything achieved - save the purchase of a burger and large fries, of course - will be very difficult. Getting a motorbike cleared from Alaskan Customs and Excise will be completely futile! Those pesky Americans! Two years well spent then!

BIG BIRD appearing at Bergen Airport!!

Breaking news just in:

BIG BIRD appearing at Bergen Airport Thurs 26th June 08 - 1 night only - back by public demand

He will be arriving into Flesland at 18:05 and leaving again at 19:40 so you'd better be quick. It is rumoured that Matt will be laden with a dazzling array of top quality waterproof Gore Tex Motorcycle apparel from prestigous marques such as Hein Gericke, Armani, Bewise & BMW Mottrad! Such items will be given out to anybody that bears a startling resemblance to Boris Becker!

by Matt Cowing
Brackley Herald & Post
Weds 25th June 2008

A Mini Adventure

The weekend of 2nd and 4th May was quite like any other. It started at Bergen airport at 1835 on the Friday evening. A Norwegian Air flight delivered me in good time to London Stanstead where I made a train connection at 2020 to Peterborough. Here I was whisked off in a swanky but compact Japenese sedan by Georgina to somewhere I still cannot place on a map! The next morning I was once again back at the station for the 0946 train to Newcastle. From one city to another as it was onward without pause to Sunderland and the suburb of Parklane. A taxi from here delivered me to Georgina and Keith’s palacial gaff in Seaham. In the garage was the object of my travels: a 2007 XT660R! I wolfed down some homemade soup (thanks, Gina) before astriding the Yammy for Royal Quays, North Shields. The Queen of Scandinavia departed at 1900 and docked into Bergen at 2300 the following day. A measely 6 kms on the bike and I was home at 2330, 55 hours after I departed. Rock ’n’ Roll! Muchos thankos to Georgina and Keith for their assistance this weekend - awesome.

What's blue & shiny?

The Blue Wonder - born Monday 14th April 2008. Miles 000009.

I covered 70 miles on B roads on a sunny Monday afternoon after picking it up from On yer Bike http://www.onyerbike.net/. So much fun to ride on the roads. It soaks up the bumps, turns and brakes well and has enough grunt even on only using 3/4 throttle whilst breaking her in gently! Not tried wheelies yet, but that'll come. Can't wait to ride it again and wish I could have ridden it to Norway.

Bike & rider both well.
Matt

This blog almost feels like a homage to Xt660s everywhere! The fine looking vehicle to the left has now been sold and the funds moved to the UK. Amazingly, given the current exchange rate of 9.9 Noggie Kroners to the Great British Pound, I could've bought two British Xt660Rs for the same price as one Norwegian XT660X. Luncay? You don't know the half of it if you don't live in Norway. I've also recently purchased the Hepco & Becker pannier rack mounts, some hand guards and a tank bag. The pieces of the jigsaw are coming together nicely.

Hello troopers. Finally the bike has been purchased. For the first time in my life I own two motorcycles simultaneously: a Yamaha XT660X and and a Yamaha XT660R. The former is up for sale but the latter is most definately not. The XT660R, pictured, became my steed yesterday, Wednesday 9th April, care of Motorbiking in Dorset. It is hoped, at the very least, that this vehicle will propel me unhindered and problem free through 28000km of the America's finest asphalt and gravel. The idea is now to get the bike to Norway in early May, fit the Heidi Klum like panniers and test the whole set up this summer ready for departure.

That boy Matthew went and got married, the crazy fool. Saturday 22nd March was the big day and I wish him and Emily all the best. They must be matched as she's letting him go away for 3 months in their first year of marraige. Crazy!

I'm now the proud owner of some sexy Hepco & Becker panniers. German engineering never failed to impress me - just look at Heidi Klum - so these were the obvious choice.

Not cheap mind you, but if you're going to drive these sort of distances you may as well look good doing it.

When Robbie Keane singled out Dimitar Berbatov to give him a nice long warm hug after the Carling Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon I don't think I've ever come closer to shedding a tear in a football match!

Tickets are booked! Upon checking my bank statement my initial impression was that Expedia.co.uk had kindly debited only £10 for the privilige of flying me half way around the world. My joy was short lived as soon thereafter the remainder of the monies subsequently evaporated from my bank account. So this is the plan of attack for Matt and I:

Outward Bound
Stuart Departs
Saturday 30th August at 1545 from London, Heathrow
Stuart Arrives
Sunday 31st August at 0130 in Anchorage

Inward Bound
Stuart & Matt Departs
Thursday 25th December at 1415 from Buenos Aires
Stuart & Matt Arrive
Friday 26th December at 0715 in London

There's a whole host of other activities that need to be addressed now but, rest-assured, we will keep you well up-to-date.

Well here it is. Day one of TransAmericas is finally offical as the Blog becomes a reality. That's about the only thing that is reality though, as we have no bikes yet, no tickets of any description and nothing has been purchased. But we're full of beans, we know where we're going and we know we want to get there, it's just that the final destination is approximately 28000 kms away!