Are you dreaming of an amazing, thrilling adventure with you and your motorcycle as the hero? Motorcycle trips are becoming increasingly popular, but there are a few important things to keep in mind.
Many times it happens that we decide on the adventure of a lifetime completely spontaneously and we ride our motorcycle ahead, wherever our eyes may lead us. Such trips have their pros and cons. As the popular saying goes, each of us sometimes dreams to “drop everything and go to the Bieszczady Mountains”. The decision to break away from everyday life and go on a journey gives a great sense of freedom and sometimes that is all we need.
However, acting in this way we can be painfully disappointed, especially if we have no experience. Deciding on this type of expeditions in the holiday season, we can find out in the least opportune moment, that it is impossible to find accommodation and we will have to wait for a lonely night at a gas station or in another, less convenient place.
A poor night’s sleep in a wetsuit is not the biggest of our worries – because by leaving our motorcycle in an unguarded place and our belongings in plain sight, we seriously expose ourselves to theft or damage to the vehicle by wild animals nearby. What’s more, we may unknowingly turn onto a road where we can’t find any place to stop to eat or refuel our machine. This can very effectively spoil our dreams about the adventure of a lifetime.
The downside of spontaneous trips is lack of proper route preparation. So even if we think in advance about booking accommodation, we never know how our trip will go and whether we will manage to get to the chosen location before the end of the reception’s working hours. Is it worth risking so much when we have the latest technology at our disposal?
The simplest and easiest way to map your route is to use the free Google Maps program, which is installed by default on the vast majority of Android phones. Google’s product offers a rich variety of POI (Points of Interest), i.e. important and noteworthy places. We can find there not only tourist and historical attractions, but also accommodation, restaurants and gas stations.
However, not everyone likes Google navigation, the most frequent criticism concerns misleading or inappropriate voice announcements. A minus of the application is also the limitation of marking intermediate places on our route. If we plan a long trip, it is best to divide our expedition into daily stages.
Above all, we should remember that Google maps are created by the community and they often contain mistakes. If we want to avoid them, the best alternative can be purchasing a dedicated satellite navigation device. Then, we can be sure that maps have been professionally prepared and the way of displaying information and voice messages has been optimized to reduce the risk of confusing the road.
Such a navigation device will not consume battery power in a phone but most probably it will not have a headphone output. It is a big disadvantage when riding a motorcycle with a helmet on, so we can opt for an intermediate option, i.e. a paid application for a phone of a navigation producer – TomTom has one in its offer. It is also worth to pay attention to Here maps, which were very popular when they belonged to Nokia.
Going to another country it is worth before our journey to read about the local customs and habits in countries through which we will pass. Not all nations are as open as we are, and not everyone will show us the way or answer our questions. Sometimes our good intentions can be misconstrued and we can get into trouble or an unnecessary row.
In many countries there is still a belief that a motorcyclist is a criminal or someone from the dark side and you should stay away from such people. It’s also worth remembering to change your currency, as you won’t be able to pay with Polish zloty in any other country – euros or dollars will be the safest means of payment.
Deciding on a trip is always worth remembering about alternative routes and those that will help us in emergency situations. Of course none of us is able to predict what will happen on our way, but it’s worth having a plan B, and even plan C.
(photo: pixabay.com)
