Open Road Biker

St. Paddy day weekend, man what a trip. This is one that the kids and future grandkids may hear about a few times over or maybe I should just try and suppress that memory….. nahhh. We were supposed to roll out at 12:00PM to catch a 8:00PM ferry on Friday right? Wrong, we didn’t roll until around 1:00PM and blasted down to Cherbourg, France to catch that ferry. At 85 and 95 miles an hour you would think you could cover 350 miles fairly quick right? Wrong, there seemed to be a toll booth every few miles but we did make it with some time to spare so we thought. After stopping for a few minutes overlooking the port from the hillside we cruised on down to the ferries and went inside to check in but the company we were using seemed to be closed. After a further inspection it seemed that the departure time was 6:00PM (it was around 7:00PM). Well thanks to some quick thinking on behalf of temporary Road Captain DZ we were ready to slip onto another ferry. It was a cargo ferry that wasn’t bad. The accommodations were adequate and the meals were good but have mercy we were on that thing until 3:00PM the next day. When we rolled off at the port in Rosslare, Ireland we were going to try and catch a parade in the nearby town of Wexford but it seemed that we were just moments late so we headed on up to Dublin to set up camp and then head into town for a little green beer. The camp site took a little while to find but by around 8:30-9:00PM we were headed into town (hell we were hungry by then too). After looking for somewhere to park (which took forever) we all decided on the Hard Rock Café and surprisingly we were able to get some beer and seated fairly quick. The food was o.k. but the beer was even better. Outside everything was crowded and every pub was standing room only. It took some work to belly up to the bars. We searched around and visited Thunder Road (a motorcycle themed restaurant) and then found a little upstairs pub where they were playing some live blues, it was just one guy playing a Dobro and another playing the Harmonica. We listened to a set and downed a few beers then decided to try our luck with another pub but they were all closing. I guess it was time to head back anyways, heck our morning ferry would leave at 8:00AM and that meant we had to be there at 7:00AM and get up much earlier. Everything from that point until we got to the ferry went off without a hitch but low and behold the ferry was late leaving (it is Sunday now and we are heading to England to visit Stonehenge). The boat leaves about 30 minutes late and we head out on our little 3 hour journey only to get close to port (Holyhead) and the captain announce that because of weather and mechanical troubles it will be 4 more hours before we can dock. So we head back out to sea and do big circles for 4 hours until they fix the bow thrusters and when we finally dock it is around 5:00 PM. No big deal if the weather holds out right? About an hour into the ride it starts a nice light sleeting which turns into a slushing and heavy snow. By 12:00 AM we had went around 180 miles and were cold to the bone and teetering on frostbite and hypothermia. We decided to call it a night, call off Stonehenge, and push on the next morning. We had made it as far as Birmingham and a little Holiday Inn Express but the good news is we all woke up with a new talent. Breakfast was continental style and quick. We headed out and brushed the snow off the rides and rolled on towards Dover and the chunnel (channel tunnel). Even though the traffic was heavy in places we still made decent time and it was a good day for riding (so far, so good). When getting close to the train that would take us over to Calais, France, we decided it was time for a meal so we found a little pub called The Butt of Sherry in the town of Hythe where we had a great meal and good beer. That was the best little place that we had eaten at the whole trip. Had a good time there but eventually we decided to saddle up again and head out. The train got us to Calais by 5:00PM and we headed home but found ourselves taking an hour detour. It only made the trip 3 1/2 hours instead of 2 and put me home around 8:30PM.

Monday night, 1030 miles (on the road, at sea?), and Dublin for St. Paddy’s day, what more could you ask for? It was an experience I will never forget and would love to do it again. Surely the next trip will go as planned right?
Check out the pictures at www.openroadbiker.com