I'm travelling on this trip with four friends - some old, some new. Two of my longtime friends read my blog from last year's adventure and were eager to know when the next one would be ... so here we are! Col and Brett are both ex-Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) mates.

I've known Brett for about 40 years. I was the best man at his wedding to Janine, and I'm the godfather to his daughter, Ashley. We’ve shared many hiking and motorcycling trips over the years, so you could say we're great mates. Imagine my shock when we breezed through check-in and immigration at Brisbane Airport, entered the lounge, and found the open bar - only for him to say the friendship-ending words: "I'm not drinking." We’re now sitting in different rows on our flight ... too late to uninvite him!

Sitting apart turned out to be a mistake, though. In my haste to greet my new seatmate - an older woman returning to Birmingham - I asked if she’d enjoyed her holiday in Australia. “Can’t wait to get home,” she replied. “Why?” I dared to ask. “Australians aren’t laid back, they’re horizontal,” she snorted with disdain. Cue the headphones.

Thankfully, dinner was served soon after. In a gesture of unity with Brett, I ordered water with my meal. If my mate’s not drinking before the ride, then I won’t either. Solidarity, brother! I glanced over to Brett - he’s ordered the Bolognese ... and a glass of wine! Bastard. Cue John Wick 4.

We landed in Dubai, where, thanks to Qantas’ reciprocal lounge rights, we entered the biggest guest lounge we’d ever seen. We spent two hours just exploring it! Onwards to Zurich on the second leg of the journey.

Col had already arrived in Mulhouse, having flown over a few days earlier to catch up with an ex-RAAF mate (they’re everywhere). We’ve been friends for about 20 years, and he’s the kind of guy whose company you can’t help but enjoy. It’s shaping up to be a great trip. We’re also hoping that Col, out of the goodness of his heart, will have our hired bikes unboxed and assembled before we get there. A true friend would, right?

We’ll also be meeting the fourth member of the group in Mulhouse. David is a North Carolinian I met during last year’s ride. He was the final rider from a group that had started a memorial journey for a friend. Unfortunately, COVID and other health issues had forced all the others to pull out or return home without completing the trip. David was the last man standing, with the solemn task of scattering Lou’s ashes along the way. To me, Dave is a legend, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with him over the next few weeks.

We’ll meet up with Stewart, a friend of David’s and another North Carolinian, in Orleans, about nine days into the ride. Stewart is the final member of the team, and since he’s the last to join, we’ll make fun of him! (We’ve met over Zoom, and Stewart seems like a great guy, but we’ll still make fun of him.)

The Emirates flight from Dubai to Zurich was uneventful, aside from the queue at Swiss immigration - just two officers on duty for the entire crowd. After collecting our bags, we headed to the SBB (Swiss Rail) office at the airport to buy our tickets for the 90-minute train ride to Mulhouse, our first French stop.

Hotel du Parc, where we’ll be staying, is just five hundred meters from Mulhouse station and the starting point of our EuroVelo 6 ride. Col was waiting for us with cold beers, and 10 minutes later, David arrived from Paris. All present and accounted for – the journey begins!

Heart

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