The decided route (well, what it is now anyway)

So I said that the night before last I was supposed to finalise a rough idea of targets for each of the days having done "version 1" and had that breakdown rejected by the parents as containing too long days.

This evening I have come home with energy and actually achieved loads.

First of all I have taken the dining table apart and got that ready for taking to the storage this weekend. This took me a little while as the bolts are a bit awkward on a couple of the legs. I do have pictures but I'll keep those for another blog.

Since then I have broken the travelling down into sections, adding an extra day over "version 1" which is not such a dreadful thing (we're not in a race) and keeping each day to a manageable portion.

So here is my plan.

My basic assumptions are as follows

• We can do between 300 and 350 miles every day
• We want to stop near a service station (with a Travelodge (and some caches near)) every 
• We have to get across Romania in one day, which means being at Szeged at the end of a day
• We are avoiding toll roads

Day 1 - Sunday.

Blackpool to Birmingham (the parents house).

The first day of the trip we are only going to head towards my parents house in Birmingham. This will allow us to get used to driving in a convoy while on roads we know and without too many miles to achieve. They will also be able to get to their church and I can sort out any teething problems with the packing in a safe and easy location.

Day 2a - Monday.

Birmingham to Dover (209 miles).

Early Monday morning we will head off for real, making our way to the ferry at Dover before lunch time. I must admit to be having a few concerns about the M25 on a Monday morning, but we shall see.

Day 2b - Monday.

Calais to near Antwerp (126 miles).

Once off the ferry in Calais I want to get as many miles as I can away from the ferry, to ease the next days. We can rest on the ferry and then crack on as soon as we land.

Day 3 - Tuesday.

Near Antwerp to Wurzburg (323 miles).

The next three days are broken up very much with the idea of ending up nicely at Szeged. I have picked spots pretty randomly which make each day roughly even. It could be that we do more one day and less another.

Day 4 - Wednesday.

Wurzburg to Spratzern (320 miles)

As for the previous day our actual ending point for the day will depend on finding a service station or hotel. Finding rest points will be my next major task, based on these rough estimates of daily targets.

Day 5 - Thursday.

Spratzern to Szeged (286 miles)

The only firm decision (other than the ferry which is booked) is that we want to finish our day at or just past Szeged.

Day 6 - Friday.

Szeged to Sofia (401 miles)

This is our longest planned day, both in terms of mileage and also time as the roads in Romania are not as good as the rest of Europe, and the whole journey has been aimed at bringing us to this day as ready for it as possible. The end of the day will find us at the bridge and here we have to hope there are not queues.

Day 7 - Saturday.

Sofia to Kardjali (150 miles or 170 miles)

The last day of our drive will see me driving on roads which I know, and I am sure will be a very exciting day for me indeed. The two mileages under the picture are because if the snow is still on the ground I will not go through the mountain pass (as on the map) but continue along the main roads towards my destination. This decision will be made as we are approaching the turnoff.

So there you have it.

I have taken this route and put it into some fantastic software which purports to import directly into your Tom Tom or Garmin. This was REALLY easy to do as I followed the instructions given in the following link. http://www.meetup.com/motorcycle-4/messages/boards/thread/9598354. I have put this in an earlier blog too but here it is if you missed that one.

http://www.tyre.tk/ is really easy to use and the basic package is free (the best price) I am going to have a test run over the Christmas break with a route plotted using it so will report back but so far it looks good.