Guest contributor: Birds, Bees, and Beemers

I’m Gregg Hitchings, Andrew’s dad. Andrew, Matt (his older brother), and I have been blessed with the opportunity to enjoy many motorcycling adventures together. However, this ‘round the world thing’ was something that neither Matt or I, due to commitments and funding, could bite off in its entirety. In fact, at the start of Andrew’s RWB journey in February, Matt and I had no plans to cross the pond at all—we had recently hoped to join the leg from Alaska. My thought processes began changing during the three days of preparation spent by Andrew at our home prior to him riding for Toronto. It was a terrible thing to see…riding and camping gear strewn all over our living room floor as Andrew went through his trip checklist prior to final packing on Green. What made the sight so difficult to take in was knowing, unlike previous launches into the unknown, Matt’s adventure bike and mine would remain unpacked and Andrew would be leaving our home solo.

Thea, my very understanding wife, didn’t throw up barriers to the early exposure of our two sons to the joys of motorcycling, despite possessing a mother’s natural fears and concerns. Through the years while refining our motorcycling skills, Matt, Andrew and I have learned a little secret in the persuasion department which works both on their mother and Matt’s wife, Mary. Include them in your plans! That’s worked great in the past and has led to many great memories such as the five of us enjoying our BMWs on the pig trail of Arkansas and checking out Mayan ruins in Belize, to name a few.

In March, when Andrew proposed a week’s worth of motorcycling in Europe we knew the ladies couldn’t make the trip. Fortunately, they were very understanding and Matt and I received their blessing. Matt and I also both knew Andrew was changing his plans and itinerary for us…even to the point of seeing and covering ground he had done previously.

Andrew met Matt and me at the Budapest airport. We had no plans as to what direction we would take or even, for sure, the countries we would try to visit. We just knew we had lodging for the night and the ability to pick up two rented motorcycles the following day. A taxi ride to our lodging to drop off our helmets and other gear and it was off to the thermal bath houses of Budapest to take in one of the most popular local experiences. This time together, almost naked, gave us some time for trip planning. Now, back at home, I must admit an appreciation for soaking in hot water in a more private setting.

The following day we picked up our steeds for the next week. Matt’s 1200 GS fit him just fine as that is what he commands in The States. I also arranged for the model with which I’m most familiar and comfortable and packed up the F800 GS which was prepped and waiting. Three BMWs, outfitted, side bags locked and loaded, headed south toward Romania.

It would be difficult to rate my interests as to which is the greatest, but besides motorcycling, the birds and the bees have been near the top of the list since being a kid. Yes, I’m both a beekeeper and a birder, and these passions really peak when encountering new environments. Both my sons are well aware of these interests as they have tolerated them (mostly) their entire lives. It became clear to me, bringing up the rear on this journey and heading towards the Romanian border, that birding in Europe where I was completely unfamiliar with the species to be encountered, was going to be difficult at 120 kilometers an hour. Neither Matt or Andrew were interested in stopping every 15 minutes when a potential addition to my life list would present itself. I understood. We couldn’t spend our week like that and cover any ground at all. So, my birding was generally confined to early morning walks around our places of lodging or the hikes we would take in the gorgeous countryside when needing some time off the bikes. I soon devised the plan of taking as many photographs of different birds as possible, with the intent of using the pics to identify the species later. This worked well and I’ve got hundreds of photos to go through…probably on cold winter evenings. Still, it was possible to make some field identifications. Some of the more notable “lifers” for me were the Great Spotted Woodpecker, White-Throated Dipper, Rook, Hooded Crow, and the White Stork of baby delivery fame.

The White Stork

Rook and a Hooded Crow

Can someone help identify this bird? Spotted near the waterfalls of Plitvice Lakes National Park.

The beekeeper in me was enthralled by the amount of bee forage available to man’s most valuable insects in the countries we visited. We were at peak time for black locust flowering and in many areas these trees were the dominant species to be seen in the hedgerows and woodlots. A wonderfully sweet aroma would often grace our noses, something we may not have experienced in a car as we drove through these areas where locusts were sending out invitations to the bees. Often a line of these trees would border forty or fifty acres of buckwheat or even larger canola fields, also in bloom. As you might expect, these vast nectar sources were being tapped…groups of hundreds of colorful beehives were a sight to behold. Ah, to have such bee forage for my bees back in the foothills of the Missouri’s Ozarks!

Together, we made a great loop through eight countries. We found the border crossings to be an absolute breeze compared to those we’ve experienced in Central America. We saw some amazing country, ate great food, got chilly on high mountain passes and met some wonderfully friendly people…a few of whom with which we were actually able to communicate.