'Round the World with an Italian Supermodel

I'd planned on heading to Nurburgring and then onto the Porsche Museum. Only one problem, I was dying--or at least genuinely felt like it. I try not to dwell on it, and ignore it as much as I can, but at this point the fever/infection that began nearly a year ago is still raging on. I've been on antibiotics non-stop since Dec. 4th, 2014, which are probably the only reason I'm still alive, but quality of life could stand some improvement. I can't remember the last day I woke up with any sort of enthusiasm. And as the day progresses I can't say things get any better (8-10 hour days on the road aren't helping). I feel fortunate I made it to Germany, but my fear is that if I screw around too much or don't press on, I'm going to get stuck in a hospital or have to ditch my bike and fly back to the U.S.

So I pressed on with the needle pointing North. At least if the .... hits the fan, I'll be able to get as far as possible into the unknown...unknown to me at least. The ...... up thing is that I figured I should do this trip while I'm still young because I don't want to have to plan a route based on the proximity of hospitals, but yet here I am feeling like I'm just clinging onto life. (For those just joining in: I had a root canal a couple days before I left the US last year. That led to an infection, came close to losing an eye, fluttered on the precipice of death in an emergency room on New Years day, had surgery and, well, ....'s still not right.)

Onward Denmark. Rode as far as I could. Unfortunately the northern part of Germany I ended up in was quite touristy and hotel prices were absurd ($300 a night....me thinks no thank you.)

Finally found a decent little place for about 1/3 the price and, fortunately, they had a room available. I'd originally tried to park right out my back window, but all that gravel was crazy soft. Not wanting to repeat my topple-over, I pushed my way out of the quicksand and found some hard earth just out of view.



I nabbed some epoxy and some grub at a local store, came back, hung my jacket and crashed out, feeling like I'd been poisoned.





Lying down was a huge relief. Some times the simple things, man....

I epoxied the .... out of my mirror, used up all of my duct tape securing it tightly and then woke up the next day to a solid, usable mirror.



Usable, that is, for about .5 km.



Back into the backpack it went. Of all places, Germany is NOT the place to not have a left-side mirror. But wouldn't be around much longer....had a date with a Ferry to Denmark.

Such an amazing story.

I sure hope you start to turn the corner with the infection and feel better. Thanks for the update. Be well.

+1 on the well wishes. Look after yourself and get better! Much easier to appreciate the journey when you're not feeling like crap.

Not good , severe infection/ tiredness= time to stop get health sorted then carry on the journey.

Antihero,

Just wanted to ask and make sure you are good. The last my app tracked you it placed you back near LA/Covina.

LOL wow your scaring me. I've been having this occuring toothache that keeps coming back for a day or two and then disappearing for a few months and then comes back. Im thinking I might have to have a root canal to get this to go away if its not my wisdom teeth causing it. But either way after reading your last post in Germany I will never consider getting a root canal. Thanks for the post Hero!

Chris--don't be afraid of root canals. But be very afraid of the recurring infection that keeps plaguing you. Get that knocked out ASAP.

So it was in Germany where this trip became a test of the fundamental philosophy I rely on for decision making. Figuring out what the hell we're going to do with our lives is a confusing pain in the ass. It can take hours/days/weeks just to figure out what bike to buy; trying to determine whether you should or should not quit a job as a machinist to concentrate full time on Cello lessons....well, point proven. Difficulty doesn't lie in taking a new path. The challenge is in making the decision. Once both are done (choosing and doing), there's a placid, brief period of solace. It's that quiet, calm space in between the trajectory of your old life and the trajectory of the new one filled with promise and hope. Each day on the road is like this (if you don't have a set plan). It's intoxicating.

But the 'secret' to a happy ....... life--whatever that is--is constant evaluation. Am I heading to where I think I want to be? Is it worth the effort? Can I head in two directions at once? Where am I deceiving myself? Are my feet bigger, did my shoes shrink or are these new cotton socks just way too thick? All good questions. But back to right around this time....I'm on a trajectory to go around the world. Numerous factors propelled me to this very moment, to where I am now--and will continue to propel me to where I'll end up. But it became clear in Germany that if I continued to do what I was doing I was going to die. And it would be an unpleasant death. Up until this point in the story, I was hoping I'd be healthier and healthier. But the reverse was true. Each day I'm more worn out than the one before. I have less energy, less enthusiasm, less hope. I feel as if there are no more healthy cells left in my body and with each day the numbers of them being crushed to death increase. It's a numbers game, I'm losing, and there's only one possible outcome.

The trajectory of continuing will be fatal. So the decision to hit the 'escape' button isn't really much of a difficult decision at all. The difficulty is: when? How much time do I have left? I felt a huge swell of relief when considering curtain number one: .... the ferry. Head to Frankfurt, fly to NY. Check into hospital, as for double barreled IVs. Curtain number 2: Head north. Continue. The question we all have to consider when making any choice is whether or not the ultimate outcome will best suit the memories we wish to generate while alive.

Google arrow says it all:

My chain had started skipping sprocket teeth not too long ago. I enjoyed some rather irresponsible autobahn speeds (even though I wasn't on the actual autobahn) in Germany for about 100km after my last chain adjustment, but the ...... was slipping like mad by the time I landed in Denmark. Stopped in a remote rural area where I found a good chunk of rock to use as a hammer and tightened up the slack. Now, prior to leaving I ditched the stock 530 chain/sprockets and went with a DID/RK (I think) 520. A high quality aftermarket kit will usually outlast a stock chain by 50-100%. But I suspect the chain/sprocket warehouse I sourced my .... from was selling cheap ass knock-offs that hadn't been heat-treated because I've NEVER had a sprocket deform like this one. Pics of the POS to come.



But without the issue, I wouldn't have stopped out in this blissful eden.



Thought I might get some cell coverage in the city, but all I got was a modest backdrop for a few pics while the lady mowing the cemetery lawn looked on suspiciously.

Find a good medical centre with competent doctors and excellent nurse uniforms and take a short detour.

Whenever I land in a new country with a new currency, I tend to worry a bit. Not about starvation or exposure or whether or not I'll be sleeping under a park bench. GAS is the only thing I worry about--and the only thing I've had a problem with. I can get by without food, but I can't go anywhere without petrol! Denmark uses their own currency, and US Credit Cards don't often work at the pump. I went inside and, realizing I'd not studied the handful of phrases that I always study (and are all you really need to know), I just asked, "do you speak English?" to the cashier dude. There are few phrases he probably would find less offensive, as evidenced by the perfectly enunciated phonemes strung together in a way that sounded an awfully lot like "OF COURSE."

I can't remember what the protocol for gas was here...whether I paid first and came back to get change or if I used my card inside and went outside to pump gas. Doesn't matter. After a while you just don't give a .... about anything except the end result. How it should work, to whom you have to say what to, standard protocols....all nonsense. Just give me petrol and take your Kronos.



Cell phone service wasn't exactly functioning well, but I ended up finding myself outside of Copenhagen (thanks, signs!) at a modern-minimalist hotel with one room left. I was beat. Really, really, f'in run down, so this was a huge relief. I walked down to the last room (literally), opened my door and would have collapsed right there if it wasn't for the balcony overlooking a river.



I said something aloud....'holy ....' or the equivalent. I went out to the balcony, thinking it was the perfect place to spend a day or two while catching up on the ride report, getting some writing done, resting. I opened the door and a SWARM of mosquitos attacked. I darted back into the room, taking a mushroom cloud of insects with me and began to execute every last one of them as they latched onto my exposed skin.

....... crazy ass brobdignagian mosquitos.

Headed out to the grocery store. I had no GPS, so I tried to go in as straight of lines as possible. Did not work out too well. But I did find a grocery store. Well, I actually found two. The first one was jankey as ..... I gathered a few pathetic items in a basket, and made my way to the front. The line must have been 20 people long. One register open. I set my basket down, left, and--after getting a bit lost, found a pretty f'in nice place.



Not that it mattered much, as I would have been happy to eat unwashed insects. But some ramen and a healthy salad and I was set.






Ah yes....and I did find a landmark that was familiar enough to get me back to where I needed to be for the night.

Health update:

I had surgery on Monday. I've exchanged one category of agony for another, but should be feeling better soon. The pints of disgusting alabaster liquid I've been blowing out of my nose (and into my helmet) every 20 minutes have now been replaced by projectiles of liver and dried kidney.

I'll just put the links to the disgusting--but fascinating--things that have been coming out of my head post-surgery now:

Disgusting picture number 1

Disgusting pic number 2

And, as I posted on Instagram, this one looks like a beautifully seared, miniature .2 oz filet mignon, but is really just a placenta-esque glob of mystery head meat.

MMMMMMMM

But back to the ride:

I've been avoiding cities for the most part. Not sure exactly why, but I suspect it has to do with the fact I've been on a very ragged edge. I woke up in Lyngby (thanks, Mart'n!) and, for the first time, could not move on. There was simply no way I could ride. I went to the front desk to extend my stay another night, but was crushed when the staff member gleefully informed me they had no rooms available - and I couldn't get a late checkout.

Deflated, I ate what I could in their breakfast lounge and returned to my room. Par for the course. Sweating, feverish, slumped over in bed, I stared out at the motionless mosquitos glued to the window. An hour or so went by, then my phone rang. The gleeful lady at the front desk got a cancellation. Nice. I was happy, as far as I could be. But I had to check out of my room and return a few hours later when the new one was available. Fine. I could deal with that vs. trying to find a new place.

So much for avoiding the city. To Copenhagen I went. Stopped for gas and heard some sort of gutteral awesome twin-motor sound. Turned around and holy ....:



It's a cool looking bike in a very utilitarian, chop-shop sort of way....but the sound. ......., eh--I simply never knew a BMW could sound like this thing. Way friggin' cool. Made me want one.

Copenhagen wasn't what I expected. Overall it was a very calm, quiet city with none of the oppressive congestion that ruins most other major European cities. Visual and auditory distraction was minimal. Kind of reminded me a bit of Dublin, actually. A bit run down, but not degradingly so. A place where age and history is preserved in a natural state of mild decomposition. A marked absence of advertising signs and banners adds a timeless, calm, undistracted feel to the streets. None-the-less, I found myself mousing around the outskirts of the city and ended up in, what best I could figure, was some sort of artist/nihilist collective by the sea.

Despite (or because of) my lethargy, it was liberating to ride without all of my earthly possessions saddled to my spine. You guys with ADV/Touring bikes have the advantage here. Though my bike is diminutive compared to a touring bike with storage, a lot of the freedom I gain from being on a lightweight, flickable machine offset by the anchorous gear attached to my body. But having left the bulk of items back at the hotel office, I felt freer than I'd been in a long time.



I wanted to stay. I've loved a lot of places in Europe, but Copenhagen was a city I could easily imagine living in. This area in particular. I believe I'd ignored some no trespassing signs and, being what it is, it wasn't very long before an older guy in a Volvo SUV pounced. Judging by his thinly restrained anger, I'm guessing he was the properties owner and, being the artist-collective it was--convinced himself he was sick of dealing with stupid ........ that comes from landlordship. But judging from the eager readiness with which he approached, accosted me, it's safe to say he secretly, thoroughly enjoyed his role of antagonist.

I assuaged his concerns with whatever I said, however I said it. Appeased, I was allowed to continue my loiterous ways.

The question we all have to consider when making any choice is whether or not the ultimate outcome will best suit the memories we wish to generate while alive.

Whatever you decide AH here's sincerely wishing you a complete recovery and that your health enables you to fulfill your dream experience. Dave

Was reading this and I thought of you .
The rules: Sports bike adventure travel | MCN

Montfort said:

The question we all have to consider when making any choice is whether or not the ultimate outcome will best suit the memories we wish to generate while alive.

Whatever you decide AH here's sincerely wishing you a complete recovery and that your health enables you to fulfill your dream experience. Dave

Click to expand...

Well put, Dave. And thanks for the well wishes, too!

Wilkson: Thanks for posting that article. I'd only seen his video, but it looks like I followed a lot of his advice without knowing it. Either that or once you head out you end up coming to a lot of the same conclusions through experience.