Hi folks. I just realised that I've been a member of this great forum for over 4 years and I've never actually met another member in person. I've done several solo trips, but have started to think it would be good to organise something and ride with others.

I've been mainly around Europe, tried Spain, Some Italy,bits of Germany, Romania, Hungary, and Slovenia. I've posted before along the lines of : "does anyone fancy going to X" and some have shown interest, but without any specifics, that's as far as it got.

Just an idea :-

Could a part of the forum be used to formulate an idea for a tour. Decide a region, decide a month, decide accommodation, sights to see, then add members. Perhaps have the original organiser set parameters, maybe the organiser wants a total of no more than 4 bikes, or maybe he wants 30+ maybe he wants to arrange a tour of historic site, mountain passes, or a biker festival. It would be inspiration to a lot of people.

Thinking of the 100's of interested riders who probably pass through these pages, those who want to go to Europe or far flung places, but just don't get the planning, organisation, and booking done, there would be somewhere they could go here, and actually look through what was "available in June" or "heading to Croatia"..... and just join in ?

Organising even a small group of people to head off in the same direction at the same time and speed can be a nightmare, I have been on a couple of trips like that and they don't seem to go smoothly even among a group of friends who already know each other. Different ideas about how fast, far, when to stop and for how long can cause a lot of friction which is why I think this best left to professional tour companies who lay down the rules in advance, set out an itinery and are in charge.

I think you might have just been lucky!

As Mark says it can be a bit of a thankless task trying to get a bunch of people you've never met (and who may not have met each other) to gel together well enough to spend a couple of weeks in each other's company. If you're talking about touring in Europe (which with a couple of weeks would be about all you could do) I've noticed over the decades that Eurotravel has become a lot easier. Bikes have become bigger, faster and a lot more reliable so you don't need to group together for mutual mechanical support, the internet has made finding anything a lot easier (hotels, your way and what places are like to name but three) and the ubiquity of English maintains its onward march so reducing communication problems. A toothbrush, bank card and a phone is probably all the luggage you need for a short trip - and if you spend more than €20 on your hotel they'll probably give you a toothbrush. So people don't need each other like they used to.

Many years ago I went on one of Ken Craven's Mojacar trips. Ken (for those who don't know the name) was the go-to bike luggage man from (roughly) the 60's to the 80's and had a house in southern Spain. For a number of years he arranged an annual trip to the house along the lines you envisage - through the pages of Motorcycle Sport magazine he would invite people to join in. You'd pay and he'd arrange the ferry, overnight stops, bail etc. He suggested everybody travelled in small groups but beyond that you were free to arrange your daily route and who you travelled with.

A few months later a write-up of the trip would appear in the magazine and you'd read a (sanitised) version of who fell off / broke down / smashed up the hotel while drunk /got arrested etc. Because of his status in the bike world of the time Ken had the background, personality and "gravitas" to make these trips work but even he used to wonder why he did it. From my perspective it just seemed like a load of work for very little reward.

If I haven't put you off completely I'd suggest perhaps pitching the idea in person at something like the UK HUBB meeting and see what response you get. People would probably be more likely to commit if they've met you and thrown their ideas into the pot - and at least you'd be able to put a few faces to names. Next one's in June so maybe good for September?

My thoughts are much the same as above, but if you fancy having a go best of luck with it.

Why not try and arrange a mini meet?

May be also try posting on the FB page for HU too ?

But really I think the travellers seeking travellers section kind of does what you are suggesting.

A few years ago I decided to try travel with others. I eventually got two mates lined up who had been saying they will do a trip for years and then never doing it. Eventually they both said yes to a short 5 day trip to Scotland, their first trip. I was quite happy to sort some good routes as I had been several times. What I hadn't agreed to was to sort every single thing out. It was like travelling with a couple of kids that couldn't or wouldn't do anything! Neither of these guys were at all like this in daily life but as soon as a "motorcycle trip" started became totally dependant on me for some reason. It was quite a surprise to be honest and just shows how some can change when slightly out of there comfort zone just a few hundred miles from there home.

If I ever travel again with others it will most likely be with people I meet on the road, independent travellers. But for now I am more than happy to travel 2up with my wife or alone.

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Regards Tim

Learning my craft for the big stuff, it won't be long now and it's not that far anyway

Organising a group trip can be a daunting experience no matter how many people you are planning to take away. There are many things you will need to know as you progress and at STA Travel we like to make the process as easy and hassle free as possible.

Just remember that unless things have changed since I last asked STA travel insurance does not cover you for motorcycling.

I used to lead an offroad group around wales, some times with 17 people , and ....... the problems i had trying to get them to get going was a nightmare !.... so never again !

best to go with some one you know .. and enjoy !!

Ha,Ha - been there and done that. Back at the dawn of time (the 70's!) we did quite a few van / minibus trips round Europe with "paying passengers" - basically friends of friends of friends who wouldn't have gone on package tours with their parents but quite liked the idea of "adventure travel".

Our version (known informally as "Pisquick Tours") was rock bottom basic (and therefore cheap) but for many that just added to the attraction. There were also regular UK trips at Easter / bank holidays etc so dealing with people who'd sign up then change their minds a week before departure, or expect to be waited on hand and foot, or tried to take over half way through as they knew better, or wanted to go back "right now" half way through, or ran out of money, or couples who broke up mid trip was a normal expectation. The bike trips were so much easier.

Memory lane pics of some of the people on the trips -


(Innsbruck in winter. So long ago they hadn't invented colour pictures)


(Somewhere down the Adriatic coast)


(Somewhere on one of the Greek islands)


(South of France)

I still travel with a couple of people from those trips but age and cynicism would give me cause to reflect before I'd take on anything like it these days.