There is something extraordinary about time spent on the road.
Freedom. Exploration. Discovery. Camaraderie.
A sense of meditation, a source of serenity, and a unique engagement with the world.
Connections with new places, vistas, culinary experiences and people - that, and the simple joy of two wheels on the road, are ultimately what Rambling Café is all about.
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JOIN US ON OUR EUROPE TOUR
What is it that makes a road trip so alluring?
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Why do riders develop such a passion for their machines?
There is something intrinsically unsettling about riding a motorcycle. Connected to the world on only two small patches of rubber, unbalanced and unstable except when speed and momentum take hold and allow the bike to stay upright. It seems a contradiction: speed gives more control.
The balance between fear and focus, between physics and grace.
Beyond that, once the apprehension has been at least partially overcome, there is a refinement in the movement of the machine, the handling of its complexity and in making full use of its power.
The rider is in control of the landscape. On long straights it’s as if the world is turning beneath the bike, the destination less valuable than the ride itself.
There is the constant search for that perfect line through a corner - “finding the apex” is never the same. Streamlining entry and exit speeds, the precise pressure on the handlebars, the exact moment for the gear change, for breaking, for acceleration, the lean angle, the shifting of weight… all in an attempt to take just one corner with perfection.
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There is a refined elegance here. Is it too much to say it’s like ballet? Possibly. But the exhilaration from feeling at one with the bike and in control of the world cannot be overstated.
Whatever the bike, the acceleration, the speed, the vibration, the sound, the pendulum sway through a curve … it is all one magnificent realm.
These hours and days on the road are at once liberating, mesmerising, and captivating. The focussed control and acute concentration allow for a form of meditation and source of serenity. Despite the roar of the engine, or maybe assisted by it, the moment and the movement are entirely captivating. So much so, that all else is cleared from the mind and it’s impossible not to become one with the surrounding world. Too poetic? Or just… rambling…
Many of my own trips have started at a local café - wearing warm jackets against an early chill, a punchy coffee and a sweet pastry are enough to get the journey underway.
Of course lunch is the next destination, then dinner, then a night under a different roof.
Between those culinary waypoints the aim is to find the most thrilling roads, immersed in the most stunning vistas.
Here is that feeling of freedom, of exploration, of discovery, and connections with new places, experiences and people. That, and the simple joy of two wheels on the road, are ultimately what Rambling Café is all about.
This journey will take my wife and my daughter and me to the furthest extremities of mainland European Union. The first major checkpoint is the most northern point in Norway, followed by the most eastern point in Finland. Then begins the journey through Central Europe and then the Alps. That will take us through to the most western point in Portugal, and finally the most southern tip in Spain.
Along the way we’ll talk to local communities about what it is that makes their culture unique - whether it be local scenery, food, wine, or any other number of cultural wonders. We’ll get off the beaten track and find the locally cherished and more secretive locations, and delve as deeply as we can into personal encounters with the cultures we come across.
Please join us on this adventure – or connect with us on the way.