Vaufi
Pack Dog
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2006
- Messages
- 223
- Reaction score
- 138
- Location
- Munich, the beer capital
- Bike
- BMW F700GS
Since we're battling with the Corona virus - and I suppose Africa will follow suit - I suppose all who have planned a trip to Europe will have to wait for quite a while until borders will be open again for travellers 
So I'll try to compensate this with a RR on an off-road trip in Portugal last year. Since most dirt roads in central Europe are closed for public vehicles Touratech has done some research on backroads in several European countries. More information here: https://www.adventurecountrytracks.com/about/
Portugal, May 2019
Munich 2018. At the Motorbike show Touratech (TT) offers flyers about off-road tracks in Portugal titled „Adventure Country Tracks“ (ACT ). Definitely something of interest, so I grab one of them to take a closer look.
Some months later, while leafing the TT parts catalogue, this flyer pops up again and this time I check the web site of ACT. Mhhh, very interesting! Apparently some TT guys and Portuguese locals have explored the back-roads for a logical route north to south through the mountains along the Portuguese-Spanish border. Clearly off the beaten track! A video trailer on the web does the rest, and I decide to have a go at it. My friend Bodo, who accompanied me in Southern Africa back in 2006, immediately votes to join in.
The main handicap (besides our age – Bodo is 81 and I'm 71) is the weight of our bikes. His is a 1150 ADV (275 kg) and my fully kitted R80GS weighs around 250 kg. So, after selling my trusty Beemer in exchange for a 200 kg F650GS twin, Bodo decides to get a small twin as well.
A week after Easter we load the bikes on a trailer and buzz off southwards. The time was perfect. After the first warm Spring days the weather had turned cold again in Munich with rain and snow. Whereas in Portugal the weather forecast predicted pleasant temperatures around 20 – 30°C. Perfect bike weather!
Of course trailering the bikes is much more comfortable than riding down through cold and rainy Germany and France. As expected, only when crossing the border to Spain did the rain stop.
Fortunately we can leave the VW bus and trailer on a campsite in northern Portugal. So the next morning sees us off on the ACT trail.
So I'll try to compensate this with a RR on an off-road trip in Portugal last year. Since most dirt roads in central Europe are closed for public vehicles Touratech has done some research on backroads in several European countries. More information here: https://www.adventurecountrytracks.com/about/
Portugal, May 2019
Munich 2018. At the Motorbike show Touratech (TT) offers flyers about off-road tracks in Portugal titled „Adventure Country Tracks“ (ACT ). Definitely something of interest, so I grab one of them to take a closer look.
Some months later, while leafing the TT parts catalogue, this flyer pops up again and this time I check the web site of ACT. Mhhh, very interesting! Apparently some TT guys and Portuguese locals have explored the back-roads for a logical route north to south through the mountains along the Portuguese-Spanish border. Clearly off the beaten track! A video trailer on the web does the rest, and I decide to have a go at it. My friend Bodo, who accompanied me in Southern Africa back in 2006, immediately votes to join in.
The main handicap (besides our age – Bodo is 81 and I'm 71) is the weight of our bikes. His is a 1150 ADV (275 kg) and my fully kitted R80GS weighs around 250 kg. So, after selling my trusty Beemer in exchange for a 200 kg F650GS twin, Bodo decides to get a small twin as well.
A week after Easter we load the bikes on a trailer and buzz off southwards. The time was perfect. After the first warm Spring days the weather had turned cold again in Munich with rain and snow. Whereas in Portugal the weather forecast predicted pleasant temperatures around 20 – 30°C. Perfect bike weather!
Of course trailering the bikes is much more comfortable than riding down through cold and rainy Germany and France. As expected, only when crossing the border to Spain did the rain stop.
Fortunately we can leave the VW bus and trailer on a campsite in northern Portugal. So the next morning sees us off on the ACT trail.
