Trans US then Europe - 1200 GS

Who	Cindy Lewellen ~ email
Profession	Freelance advertising business affairs
Born 1967	Nationality American
Previous travel experience	North America, Europe, UK, Iceland, Asia SE Asia, Australia, Northern Africa, Mexico, Caribbean, Panama
Previous bike travels	Weekend and day trips; Bend, OR, to San Francisco

This trip	Across the US then Central, Eastern and Southern Europe (17 countries total)
Departure date	August, 2005
Number in group	2
Trip duration	Nine weeks
Distance covered	13,000 miles
Cost of trip (not incl. bike)	A lot

Best day	From Martigny, Switzerland, to Claviere, Italy (six passes, the Mont Blanc tunnel, numerous twisties and hairpins and incredible views)
Worst/ hardest day	Heavy rains and flooding from Munich past Innsbruck
Favourite place	Slovenia, Croatia, the Alps and Dolomites
Biggest headache	Tolls. And border crossings in Eastern Europe
Biggest mistake	Not going to Morocco
Most pleasant surprise	Me (and my butt) excited to get back on the bike every day
Any illness	None
Other trips planned	South America and Africa someday
One travel tip	Choose travel companion carefully

Bike Model	BMW R 1200 GS
Age/ mileage on departure	7 months 1,000 miles
Modifications	Custom low gel seat, PIAA 510 lamps, Touratech crash bars and headlight protector
Mods you wish you'd done	None, unless I could make it lighter
Type of baggage	Touratech tank bag; Hepco & Becker 37 and 43 liter aluminum boxes; Ortlieb waterproof duffle
Tyres used	Metzeler Tourance stock tires Replaced same ones in Patras, Greece
Number of punctures	None

Bike's weak point	Heavy large for small turns manuevers and off-roading
Bike's strong point	Power, higher speed turns, comfort
Bike problems	Broke two oil seal caps on forks
Number of accidents	None but several near-misses
Same bike again?	For a similar mostly on-road trip, yes. For serious off-roading, no
One biking tip	-