Was a bit of a rush this morning as I almost overslept, that is the 2 hours that I did sleep. Packed up this morning and headed off around 5am … weird photo I know 🙂
I hate the ride the Folkestone and this morning it was cold and foggy … at times I could barely see a thing. Made it just in time for the train and in no time we were in Calais.
Much better than to UK, or so I thought, a few miles out of Calais, exactly the same. Cold …. and lots of fog.
Stopped off at a petrol station for something to drink and a bus load of people arrived and looks like it was the first time they have seen a bike before, everyone stared at me and smiled. One french guy was really concerned that my shocks will give in .. not sure why he was so obsessed about it .. 🙂
As soon as I left, the sky opened and was sunshine all day around 21 degrees, lovely day, just a shame I was so tired !
Headed mostly motorway which is damn expensive by the way and now sleeping in Strasbourg. I plan to leave tomorrow morning early, heading to Italy.
The battery on the laptop is running low, so I better make this post quick ….
Will do a better post when the laptop is charged … going to bed now !
My African Expedition 
Maybe it was not the bike that fascinated them, but the South African flag?
Well done on finally setting off – looking forward to sharing the journey with you. Hope all goes well, and will pray for your safety.
Nice! To be honest i don’t think you could have chose a better bike for this kind of trip! The 800GS is one of my dream collection!
Congrats on completing day 1, I’m sure you’ll sleep well tonight. Maybe try keep us posted on the roads you taking when you hit southern Africa, maybe some of us could join you on the highways and show support.
Hey my maat bly dit gaan goed met jou trip. Dag een agter die rug nou kan jy uitsien na die res en al die avonture wat voorle. Sterkte en volg jou op die net
Bon voyage!
glad your first day went okay, won’t be long before you get into the routine, just make sure to enjoy the journey =)
I did Calais to Geneve in one sitting once. 7 hours. My ass hurt.
Good luck on the trip sir
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Big Earth Biking, Steve Hammersley, Colin, Dan Moore, Andre Els and others. Andre Els said: London to Cape Town : Day 1: http://wp.me/pz55M-6Y […]
Thanks for the comments …
[…] to South Africa. It has truly been one of the best things I have done in my life, my journey starts here in London back on 21 Sept 2010. One of the most popular videos is the one of Malawi, not sure why, but it has over 80,000 views […]