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Putting in the rain…
Woke up way earlier than I wanted to and rode down to Queen Anne to see a SIFF movie. When I got out of the theatre, it had started pouring down. Seattle summers ftw! Since it was a mere 2 miles to get home, I decided to chance it anyway. I was wearing my riding jacket sans liners and no riding pants, so I knew that I wouldn’t escape unscathed. Predictably, traffic was bad as it always is when it rains. Between that and the myriad traffic lights, I soon had water trickling down into the tops of my boots. And yet, roaring up Melrose Ave seeing swathes of Seattle through the misting rain and my fogged up visor, I didn’t want to be anyplace but there.
I love this city and I love riding my bike through it.
stumbled across your web post in couchsurfing about your trip to Europe in August – went to your website and was surprised to see that you live in Seattle as well (I live up on Greenwood). Your trip to Europe looks like it will be a nice one with a nice route – I have been debating about doing something similar but flip your loop over to the east a bit.
What did you do about arranging for a motorcycle over there? Are you renting, borrowing, buying, or shipping?
I ride a maxi-scooter in town in Seattle and have a DL1000 for longer trips – slowly putting to much stuff on it with the dream of a longer trip – but with that when I get on a different continent debating if it might just be easier to buy a beater bike there (Australia or maybe a big scooter in Italy).
Nice website and have a great trip – Joel – PS I am amazed at with how many days it rains here at how few days I really get soaked by the time that I get to where I am going.. of course there was that sodden evening on heading north to Bremerton to try to catch a ferry Canal………
Thanks for commenting, Joel! I’m renting a motorcycle from a CSer who saw an earlier post and contacted me. :)
There were myriad complications when it came to registering a motorcycle in another country for a non-citizen, so I decided not to go that route. :|
though you already probably know this info – I thought that I would pass it along….
http://www.munnwerks.com/bmw/eurotips.html
“The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Lichtenstein and Switzerland all require the highway tax stickers now.” – I guess I was lucky I went through Switzerland very fast when I did it last time (a weekend jaunt from mid Germany to Venice to meet some friends).
Again -have a good trip
Joel
That’s a super-useful link, thank you! I’ve had a lot of questions at the back of my mind that were answered there!
So you have ridden/driven through some of those countries then?
I have a few comments on Jeff Munn’s explanations…
1. The “vignette” (sticker) in Switzerland actually costs 27.50€
2. The “major fine” for being stopped w/o is around 65€
3. “easy money bandwagon”… well, someone has to pay for the great roads we have over here, they don’t maintain themselves. mho
4. You can easily ride through Switzerland (and most other countries) w/o using highways. There is a greta infrastructure of toll-free roads, which are MUCH more fun
5. I have never been stopped or heard of anyone who has been stopped with a bike on the highway to check the vignette. Dosn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I have mine under the seat, btw.
6. stick to comment no.4
Thanks, Toby! :)
I’ll remember to stash the vignette away. So where can I usually buy these? Are they available online at all so that I can buy them in advance?
“easy money bandwagonâ€â€¦ well, someone has to pay for the great roads we have over here, they don’t maintain themselves. mho”
You know, that’s the first thing I think too when I hear people complain about taxes. It seems fair to me to tax the people who use the roads rather than everyone in the country, especially if there are alternatives to the main roads.
You can buy the vignette at every gas station in Switzerland and in other countries near the border. In Switzerland additionally at post offices, many garages etc. You can also get them directly at the border, if you cross it on a highway. (This is actually a good idea, if you do so, because the lane “w/o vignette” is usually very short, while the other one (w/ vignette) will trap you for hours.).
Ordering online is probably not a good idea, because of high shipping costs. Anyway, have a look here: http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/produkttexte.php?passid=5&lang=en
But seriously, just stay away from the highways. Switzerland is so small, you don’t need them.