The Dekatria Project - Great Britain 2012 & Greece 2013

[Dekatria]

Hi everyone!



My name's Greg, I'm from The Netherlands, 26 years of age and I'm currently in the process of realizing one of my lifelong dreams of visiting Greece. I took it upon myself to do this after getting through one of the darkest periods of my life (full story is at my website). It just seemed now or never, so I started lessons, got my license, and now I'm here, ready for the next phase.

The plan is to make a journey in 2013, which will bring me from my home through Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy to Greece. I fully realize though that this is not going to be some trip down to the supermarket, but needs serious training and preparation. For this, I plan to use the coming year.

In May 2012, I did a 700km testing trip to see how all the various equipment coped and in the summer of 2012, I crossed the North Sea to Great Britain to make a tour of the island. The Tour of Britain wasn't just to find out how the bike and I cope with longdistance touring, it was also partially due to my grandfather - it's been a dream of his to once see Scotland, but now that he's in his 80s he can't do it anymore. That seems the worst feeling in the world to me - wanting something only to realize it's too late. Therefore, I did the tour of GB also on his behalf.



The eventual trip to Greece will also incorporate a charity, namely the To Write Love On Her Arms foundation. They're a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing help and support to those dealing with depression, suicide, addiction or self-mutilation. In 2013, I plan to ride with a white helmet, and I'll ask everyone that I meet to write the thing or person they love most in their lives onto the helmet. Upon arrival back home, the helmet will hopefully have become a written map of the trip, and will subsequently be auctioned off. The proceeds will then go to TWLOHA.

Currently I'm busy with determing the way to and from Greece. If you have any suggestions on where to go or you want to tag along on the route, please feel free to post!

Be sure to checkout my website @ www.thirteenreasons.nl or on Facebook.

Thanks in advance!

[asterios25]

Thats a hard one... There's nothing relevant for sale on the net, I didn't even find anyone mentioning having seen something similar (that works, that is) and is sorta plug'n'play.

The simplest ( cheapskate ) way to do it is to get a seperate sound recording device, and honk or sth after you turn on both the camera and the mic, so as to be able to later on mix them together in your pc using the honk as a synchronisation aid.

Better yet, if you are a little aquainted with electronics basics, you can hack the camera open and splice a mic in the built-in mic line. I've seen a case where this method worked just fine, and one where it didn't - it actually failed big time. Though the second one was a 20$ shitty cam from fleabay.

Nothing else comes to mind atm.

What does, however, come to mind is lots of advice about the last part of your trip, Greece; scenic back roads, places worth visiting, places that arent on the map etc.

I dont visit the forums often , so if you yould like any info mail me at asterios25(at)hotmail.com

[Dekatria]

Thanks for your thoughts on this, Email is on the way!

[Wildman]

Originally Posted by Dekatria

... in the summer of 2012, I want to cross the North Sea to Great Britain to make a tour of the island. Not only is this to find out how the bike and I cope with these distances, it is also partially due to my grandfather - it's been a dream of his to once see Scotland, but now that he's in his 80s he can't do it anymore. That seems the worst feeling in the world to me - wanting something only to realize it's too late. Therefore, I'm doing the tour of GB also on his behalf...

Nice idea; he'll love the pics.

Let us know when you're coming.

[MaxF]

Originally Posted by Dekatria

I'll first start by smaller trips to the Ardennes and/or Germany, and in the summer of 2012, I want to cross the North Sea to Great Britain to make a tour of the island. Not only is this to find out how the bike and I cope with these distances, it is also partially due to my grandfather - it's been a dream of his to once see Scotland, but now that he's in his 80s he can't do it anymore. That seems the worst feeling in the world to me - wanting something only to realize it's too late. Therefore, I'm doing the tour of GB also on his behalf.

I plan on logging the trips through the use of a helmet camera, and that's where my first question lies - I feel that no travel video is a travel video without smart-ass commentary, but finding a helmet cam compatible to an external, in-helmet microphone seems nigh to impossible. I was wondering if anyone could help me with that.

Awesome, looking forward to your Scotland vids/ ride report. Have been all over Scotland as a kid with my family and always dreamt of going back there by bike.

As for the helmet cam: have a look at the Drift HD Stealth.... really good HD helmet cam with (if I remeber correctly) a plug for an external microphone (although you may have to also get this from the manufacturer). Check our youtube; I think some people are bike vlogging with this setup.

Greetings from Germany
Max

[Dekatria]

Thanks for the help everyone! I think the Drift camera is definitely worth looking into - I'll email Drift for further information.

When I get around the trips themselves, I'll make sure to post an accompanying thread in the Trip Reports section

[McRosog]

Sounds great. Whatever info you need about Greece, I 'd be happy to help!

[DoctorAbo]

Hi Greg, I went hrough your site and i liked the idea behind your trip. I also liked the "To Write Love On Her Arms" Org.
Since there is some time till dio hiliades dekatria (2013) suggest that you put here your intermediate trips and any news and photos regarding your target trip.This will keep the thread alive.

Wth regard to your trip i suggest that you examine the possibility of making it longer interms of time. 2 weeks might leave you with very few days in Greece considerng the back and forth trip.

[pip_muenster]

Moin.

Originally Posted by MaxF

As for the helmet cam: have a look at the Drift HD Stealth.... really good HD helmet cam with (if I remeber correctly) a plug for an external microphone (although you may have to also get this from the manufacturer).

Acc. to its manual, you can use a special external mic which is sold separately. Unfortunately, you can't close the dust cap with the mic connected. That's fine if the cam is fixed to a roll cage in a car, but calls for trouble on a bike.
All other cams I know have similar problems.

The VIO POV cams also allow for an external mic. Again, the dust cap can't be closed, but this system has the electronics separated from the lens. This way, you may be able to keep everything but the lens in a clean pocket. Oh, and they use a standard 3.5mm mic jack. www.vio-pov.com

Have fun!

[Dekatria]

Originally Posted by McRosog

Sounds great. Whatever info you need about Greece, I 'd be happy to help!

Actually, I'm curious to know about camping facilities in Greece. What are the do's and don'ts, and what is the standard cost?

Originally Posted by DoctorAbo

Hi Greg, I went hrough your site and i liked the idea behind your trip. I also liked the "To Write Love On Her Arms" Org.
Since there is some time till dio hiliades dekatria (2013) suggest that you put here your intermediate trips and any news and photos regarding your target trip.This will keep the thread alive.

Wth regard to your trip i suggest that you examine the possibility of making it longer interms of time. 2 weeks might leave you with very few days in Greece considerng the back and forth trip.

Glad you like the initiative! Time is actually not that big a problem for me - I was actually already thinking of making it a 3-week undertaking rather than 2-week. As far's the progress goes - the bike is currently hibernating, and in probably 6 weeks I'll wake it up again. This week, the first order goes out to Touratech for the first alterations to the Alp. When done, I'll make sure to get some pics in here

(I like your avatar by the way - the kid is actually supporting the very same footballclub I'm a fan of ;) )

Originally Posted by pip_muenster

Acc. to its manual, you can use a special external mic which is sold separately. Unfortunately, you can't close the dust cap with the mic connected. That's fine if the cam is fixed to a roll cage in a car, but calls for trouble on a bike.
All other cams I know have similar problems.

The VIO POV cams also allow for an external mic. Again, the dust cap can't be closed, but this system has the electronics separated from the lens. This way, you may be able to keep everything but the lens in a clean pocket. Oh, and they use a standard 3.5mm mic jack. www.vio-pov.com

Have fun!

Drift actually sells a silicon cap for the back of the HD170, enabling the setup to resist the elements with the external mic attached. Still, I'll be checking out the VIO

Thanks for your reactions guys!

[DoctorAbo]

Originally Posted by Dekatria

(I like your avatar by the way - the kid is actually supporting the very same footballclub I'm a fan of ;) )

This avatar has been chosen not because of the football team but becouse it shows how grown a 51 y.o. guy can be

[Dekatria]

Originally Posted by DoctorAbo

This avatar has been chosen not because of the football team but becouse it shows how grown a 51 y.o. guy can be

No problem, just thought it was a funny coincidence ;)

Panniers have been ordered from Touratech by the way. It's kind of funny how long it took for me to place the first order... it's almost sort of cold-feet-ish behavior, knowing that when the first shipment arrives there effectively is no way back. Then again, didn't come this far to back down

Decided to go with the Drift by the way.. it's nearly half the price of the VIO, and lends itself to be a digicam of sorts as well.

[Dekatria]

First clip & stuff is in, zoinks! it's in Dutch, but I subtitled it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSMz3EuP5Lw

Short introduction, with arrival of the first Touratech shipment. Two panniers with mounting systems and locks, and two straps with ratchets. Those big boxes make you wish you were a kid again

[zandesiro]

Leave the camera recording and forget the commentery.....

Enjoy the ride with your bike.....

Have a good trips if you need anything about Greece p.m. me....!
Your route is ok for visiting italy but you said that your goal is Greece and you visit only the half....
I suggest to design your return route from North greece and Balkans.....keep your "long way down" make a "New way up".

[Dekatria]

Originally Posted by zandesiro

Leave the camera recording and forget the commentery.....

I enjoy doing it, if it were just to have as a recollection of how things came to be... so forgive me if I'm not going listen

Your route is ok for visiting italy but you said that your goal is Greece and you visit only the half....
I suggest to design your return route from North greece and Balkans.....keep your "long way down" make a "New way up".

My goal is Greece yes, but I don't really need to visit entire Greece in one fell swoop. I plan to return there after this trip (maybe, as you suggested, through Croatia, Bosnia and the like), and I want to leave some places to visit in the future. The thing is, there indeed is alot in Italy that I want to see, but that doesn't mean that I find Greece less interesting

I'll send you a pm with some of the questions I have