Solo Ride To Istanbul Day 1 - 800KM+ Journey Through France

I slept well at the ST Albans Guest House, but I think it’s because I was so exhausted from the prep this trip has taken. I woke up naturally at 5.30, panicking that I’d missed my ferry. I got up slowly at 6am, packed everything onto my bike and somehow still ended up running late. 

I had to make the choice of going to get petrol or boarding the ferry on time. So I chose to board the ferry on time, I’m sure there’ll be petrol in Calais! Luckily the ferry port was really quiet and it took less than ten minutes for me to be all checked in, stamped and on the ferry.

I chose DFDS this time and I was blown away by the level of professionalism when I entered the ferry. In previous experience through other sailing companies, I’m usually left to strap up the bike on my own - and ratchet straps can look overwhelming if you haven’t used them before!

But with DFDS, I was guided to a member of staff who was awaiting motorcycles. He guided me in position and strapped down my bike in a matter of seconds, and just like that I was on my way upstairs.

The sea today was very choppy, making it hard to walk on the ferry, but fortunately I had a spot in the premium lounge and it literally has everything there you could need.

So once my shopping in the tax free area was done, I relaxed in the lounge eating my way through their selection of baked goods.

Getting into Calais was easy - I only went on the wrong side of the road twice, a new personal best for me! HA… Jokes. 

I found the petrol station and topped up €100, as I’d remembered from before, it takes that amount and holds it until you’ve taken the petrol. But it kept declining, weird - I tried again, a few times, topping up another €100 every time. Then I noticed on my Monzo that it was declining because it wants €150 now, not €100! So the machine has held a total of €450 and I still haven’t got it back! :( It’ll most likely take a few days to return it.

I pulled in for my second fill up about 120 miles up the motorway. I stopped here for lunch (Pizza baguette) and to down a bottle of water, the pizza was really good! 

I met a group of bikers outside who were all on their way back to Belgium from Spain. We talked for a while about bike gear and the current weather and how to dress for it. He also compared me to Itchy Boots which I took as a HUGE compliment, what an adventurer she is! Check Noraly out if you haven't already.

Lots and lots of boring motorway miles later and I made it about 50 miles away from my destination, where I bumped into another group of bikers whilst filling up for a final time. These guys were camping 20 miles in my direction so said I could tag along on the motorway for a while which was fun! 

I finally made it to my hotel, as I pulled in a giant coach also followed, with about 50 people on board - so it was a race to get everything off my bike, run indoors - and quickly check in before anyone else could! LOL.

After that, I took a celebration selfie, 804km completed today!

Today’s journey from Calais to Basel

I tried ordering some food at the restaurant at the same time as checking in, but I had a very difficult time trying to explain to him that fish wasn’t vegetarian haha! In the end he said ‘okay, what about some tomato pasta’ - which sounded delicious. Well, it seems he was being quite literal - Here’s a photo XD and only €15

👁️👄👁️

What better way to end a day on motorways than room service? 

Anyway, for a motorway day it wasn’t too bad. My eyes are in agony now from focusing - but it was worth it.

So long and good night to day 2! 

If you’ve got 2 minutes go check out the fundraiser I’m hosting for Mental Health motorbikes, you can find the link here