So, the adventure begins!

After a slow start, struggling to fit everything in, I hit the road, and headed for the Channel Tunnel. In the queue, on the way, I got talking to some other bikers. Some Dutch bikers were on their way home from an amazing trip round Ireland, and an English guy who was working in Germany had come all the way back home to pick up his nice new bike. The main guy I was talking to had been on many amazing biking trips all over the world, some making my 3 month adventure seem positively short! He had many stories, but crucially, a tip on a hidden brewery pub I must visit in Bruges.

On arrival the other side, I took the direct route to Bruges, as there weren't exactly any nice twisty routes, and anyway, I wanted to spend a little time seeing the place! On arrival, the first lesson I learnt about motorbiking touring is the importance of packing carefully. If you don't you have to bring everything in, sort it, then put some back on the bike as there wasn't enough space in the room. Hopefully I will get the hang of this soon!

After getting changed and a quick shower (it only takes minimal movement in biking gear to overheat on a warm day), I headed into town. It's a really quaint historic town and I could have taken a million photos, but managed to restrain myself slightly. I wandered around taking in the sights, and hunting for food, but everywhere that had been recommended was closed today. I eventually reached the recommended brewery pub, but this was also closed. I eventually found a recommended and actually open place, and had some of the obligatory moules and frites and Belgian beer.

A good start, I felt - not a bad day one!