Ft.Lauderdale to Austin TX and the Left Coast.......

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Not really my favorite run across I-10 or even up through Fl for that matter,but getting north and west of the greater Ft.Lauderdale area is always good,especially from a safety standpoint,at least on a motorcycle anyway.
It's becoming more and more a free for all on S.Fl roads,the 360 mile stretch of I-95 didn't get the "Nations Most Dangerous Road" designation for nothing.


I was invited to stop in Pass Christian,Mississippi for night one of my trip by my friend Cecile,a sidecar rider and a really good amateur shutterbug.
It was technically Day 1 of my 2-3 yr Round the World trip,as i'm on my way over to the port of Long Beach CA to drop off the bike at the port to load onto a container ship bound for Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Interestingly,the town of Rotterdam get's it's name dating back to the year 1270 when a dam was built on the river Rotte.
I had intended to try to ship the bike to Portugal and then ride up through Spain,France,Belgium and then into the Netherlands,but since Portugal is nowhere as busy a port as Rotterdam,it would cost nearly twice as much and take about twice as long to get there.
As it stands,to ship a motorcycle Port to Port from Long Beach CA to Rotterdam in the Netherlands will cost you $495 for the shipping/freight charges to Rotterdam,then about another 350-400 Euros in Rotterdam to get the bike off the ship and to the gate or Freight Forwarders depot.So you should expect to pay about $1000-$1200.One other thing you must have to be able to ride the bike out of the port is the European Green Card Ins,which will run you about 25 Euros.You need this all over EU,your American Ins. does NOT allow you to drive or ride on European roads.
I will be documenting the whole process in detail,for myself and anyone who's thinking of shipping a bike to EU.It's really not that difficult or expensive.
One other option is Stefan Knopf at Knopftours in Germany.
Each year in March he ships a container of motorcycles over from Germany for Bike Week in Daytona,and then ships bikes back to Germany.This works out to be about the same price,but without all the hassle of the customs and paperwork,he takes care of all that.
I just wanted to do it all myself for the experience and also to see just how easy or dificult it really is.But if you just want to get it there and back,I would imagine Stefan's option would be the way to go.


Austin TX was on my travel itinerary to shoot the TeamRWB entry in the 2012 Austin City Marathon this year.

State Capitol building,Austin,TX.

TeamRWB,6:30am,State Capitol Bldg,Austin,TX,for the start of 
the 2012 Austin Marathon.


Team Red,White and Blue  is my "give back" organization of choice,and even though I don't get to give back as much as i'd like,I try to go to where they are having an event and provide some of my photography for them to use as they wish.It's not much,but until I can get to running a half marathon in a TeamRWB shirt(which I will try to do) my photography is all I have to give right now.I was also able to give Mike Erwin,the founder of TeamRWB,a money order for $425 from the sale of my WTHIM 2012 Round the World ride decals.
A very big thank you to all who have purchased them.
I still have about 300 sets available for sale for anyone still wishing to purchase them.

Larry Olsen,marketing director for TeamRWB and his daughter Annie,her first half marathon.Great job Annie.

Mike Erwin,founder of TeamRWB,bringing "Old Glory" over the finish line of the 2012 Austin marathon for Team Red,White and Blue.

Murph