June 23, 2016

As I ride along through eastern Germany’s wind farms, I am feeling pangs of guilt. Interesting sights beckon from all around me: a castle on a hill, a church steeple in a small village, a narrow road through the trees alongside a river. I am trying hard to ignore them, but I’m not liking it.

I am not where I want to be. I am on the autobahn, and neither me nor the XT are particularly happy about it. But at times it is necessary to make up some time and distance. I tell myself that there will be time later to return and explore here. I hope I am right. I feel like the people I met in Latin America. The ones who ride the Pan American Highway day in and day out, with a singularly focus of getting to Ushuaia. They never see the amazing sights I saw: Semuc Champey, Cañon de Somoto, the beaches and jungles of Central America, Huascaran National Park in Peru. Only highway. It seemed a shame to me then, and it seems a shame now.

The last time I was in Germany, I was driving a rental car. The motorway or “Autobahn” experience is a bit different on a large motorcycle or a powerful car when compared to my XT250.

For those of you who haven’t had the experience, here’s a brief explanation:

Most of the motorways outside of the cities are two lanes in each direction. The right lane is typically signposted somewhere between 100 and 130kph (62 and 80 mph). The reality is that the right lane is full of “lorries” (big trucks) and their typical speed is between 80 and 90 kph (48 and 55 mph). The left lane is for passing only. (I am tempted to spin off here into a separate rant about Americans and their inability to grasp this concept, insisting on driving in the left lane, but I won’t. Yet.) The left lane is typically occupied by cars moving between 80 and 130 mph. As with most things German, it is a very structured and adhered-to system, and it works very, very well.

Moving into the left lane on the XT to pass a truck is like playing Frogger. It’s the equivalent of pulling out of your driveway directly into 60mph traffic. At 55mph, I have very little acceleration. It takes a while to get past the truck, and by the time I reach the front of the truck, I’m usually up to about 66mph, and it has taken about 15 to 20 seconds. In that same time, the Mercedes behind me doing 130mph has covered a little more than 3/4 of a mile.

Here’s what it takes to make a pass on a German motorway:

1. Look in the rear view mirror.
2. Look up.
3. Look in the rear view mirror again, as far away as you can see. Is there even a dot in the left lane or a glimmer that could be headlights a mile behind you? Because if there is, by the time you pull out and get even with the back bumper of the truck you are passing, there will be a guided missile with flashing headlights closing behind you and approaching so fast it will punt you down the freeway. 
4. When you think it is clear, downshift if you are doing less than 50mph, turn the throttle to the stop, pull out, and stay in the right edge of the left lane, because the car you didn’t see will pass you at 130mph whether you are in the lane or not, so give them enough room to do it safely and they will give you the courtesy of not blowing you into the truck in return. 
5. As soon as your rear wheel clears the front bumper of the truck pull back into the right lane, and hope the truck doesn’t suck you backwards (the truck won’t hit you, but it won’t be happy about having to slow down either). By this time, there will likely be a line of five or six cars behind you in the left lane, all trying to accelerate back to the 100+ mph they were doing before you wandered into their path like a deer in the headlights. 

It’s not always this bad, but there are a lot of trucks heading east with license plates from Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and more. And they are all going just slightly slower than I would like to go. 

As crazy as all of this may sound, it still feels much safer than the buses and trucks in Latin America.

I mentioned before that the only downside I have found to riding the 250 around the world is passing a line of trucks going up a mountain. Still true. And if you’re patient, and pass one or two trucks at a time, it’s really no big deal. 

It’s actually a bit funny, and ironic. Before I left Texas, I was apprehensive and hesitant to ride the XT on Interstate 10 between Houston and Austin, or Interstate 35 through Austin, often looking for alternative routes, not because I was looking for interesting scenery, but simply because I feared the lack of acceleration and speed limitations. Now, fifty thousand kilometers later, I wouldn’t think twice.

Just the same, droning along on the autobahn is not my idea of riding. It’s another reminder to get off the motorways and see the country. Unfortunately, I have to make up some ground this week to get to Poland, so I’m spending much more time than I care to on freeways. 

The countryside has turned to rolling forested hills in eastern Germany, and I’ve found a nice campsite on the edge of a lake for the night. The sun is out, not a cloud in the sky, and the temperature is up to 32 degrees C (a bit over 90F I think). 

Kelbra Lake.

I’m headed for Poland tomorrow. I must be close: the campground hands out a complimentary bottle of Schnapps with each campsite. 

Okay, one more:

I stopped at McDonald’s again today to use the free wifi, and yes, I actually ate lunch there. So, to paraphrase John Travolta from one of my favorite movies: “What do they call a Quarter Pounder in Germany?”