Northern Europe & Russia or USA?
 

I'm really keen to seek opinions.

Would like to do a three week trip away. I live in the UK but that is really not too much of an issue.

The question is should I go Northern Europe (Norway, Finland, St Petersburg, Moscow, Latvia etc etc France OR New York to San Francisco crossing through the middle of the USA? :confused1:

Any opinons or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Piers

well if you go to the states it will be expensive and alot of hassle to ship your own bike over for just 3 weeks, on the other hand it ain't going to be cheap hiring a bike for 3 weeks either...
norway, russia, baltic states are alot more accesable form the uk, on your own bike, tho scandinavia , europe is alot more expensive, especially now with the good $ - £ exchange rate...the weather too means a summer trip if you want to be reasonably dry and warm..tho all the other summer trippers will be on the road too.
basically go where you really want to go...but from the uk you can hop on a ferry or use the tunnel to get to europe any old time, the states requires a bit more time and effort.
have a good trip wherever you go!

Europe or the States.
 

Hi Piers,
Like yourself, I have been considering a trip of similar duration ( 3 or 4 weeks) and , like youself, have been considering various options. My three posible options were 1) Tour the States. 2) Ride from UK to Vladivostock then ferry to South Korea.3) Ship bike to South Korea and back. Option one has been put on the back burner for the time being. I think that the roads will be great in the States, professional assistance is never far away ( Visa talks !) emergency services in the states are efficient and similar standard to UK ( Medical insurance a must !) and most people in the States speak some loose form of English ( A great advantage !). However, for a first trip, the down side is the hassle and cost of getting your bike there and being able to ride it legally. I think the States is a trip for when my bike ( and me !) have been tried and tested somewhere else and my bank balance is somewhat healthier. I think I would want more than a month if I wanted to do the States. Too much aggro for three weeks.
Option two is more do-able in the time you have. Good thing about doing Europe and Russia ( from UK) is that, if things go wrong or you run out of time ( or cash ), you can always turn back and ride home ( or freight the bike home) without it turning into a financial disaster. Same goes for medical emergencies although don't expect the same level of care as you travel further East. There is HEAPS of info on the HUB about riding in Europe/Russia, including Maps, GPS tracks, friendly contact numbers, where to fill up, which roads are good, how much stuff costs etc etc. This trip would certainly be my first choice for a whole load of reasons although, again, I would want more time ..at least a month.
Option three is really an exercise in planning since all I would be doing is shipping my bike to Korea, paying the duty etc at the port then riding around on decent roads/ camping for a month. Could do the whole thing for around 2500GBP. Not really an adventure since I know Korea quite well but would like to do it more for personal reasons.
So, in short, I think you can see quite a lot of Europe and Russia in three weeks, it is not too costly, borders/visas not too difficult, plenty other people doing it if you like to meet up with other travellers, loads of info for planning and ( The BIGGY for me) there is something reassuring about knowing , wherever you are, you are not separated from Home Sweet Home by thousands of miles of Ocean.
As for me, I will be doing UK to Vladivostock on my '79 R80. If I don't have time to do the whole gig this year, I will do a kind of mini tour of Europe and a little piece of Russia and some of the Eastern European States which I deem to be safe at the time and leave the BIG Gig till next year.. Duration 3 to 4 weeks this year, maybe a couple of months next year.
Don't know if any of my comments will help you make the decision but just make the decision and do it.!
(P.S. Go where you don't need a Carnet. Unless you got loads of Cash)
Hope to be reading about your adventure soon.
Regards
Ian

Great advice and interesting reading. :thumbup1:

As for the US trip, I should have been a little more precise. I would be hiring a bike for this one.

Europe is just so close and I've been to most except Russia, just think the experience of the vast USA would be great.

Suppose you are right though, go where I want, but others experiences may seing it for me... :cursing:

Piers

US or Europe?
 

Piers, I will be shipping my bike to Germany in July to ride Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Kracow, Baltics, Moscow, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Bremen. We did a similar tour last year beginning in Belgium through Germany, Austria, Italy, Monocco, France, Andorra, Spain. Both trips took just under 3 weeks, so you can tell I love the idea of traveling through Europe. That being said, before I ever shipped the bike to Europe, we crossed the US 3 times, each time in about 2 1/2 weeks logging a total of about 14,000 miles. There's still lots to see that we missed. So, my suggestion to you is that both countries/continents are beautiful, and I'd probably start closer to home (as I did). BUT, if you want to come to the US, I'd be happy to make some recommendations on magnificient routes. By the way, we liked the southern, San Diego-Florida, and northern, Seattle/Canada-NY, crossings more than the San Fransisco-NY central routes. Theres' lots of great roads and sights to see! Jon (east coast near Washington, DC)