Can I Ride a Solar Powered Scooter 1000 Miles, ITALY to BULGARIA? Ep. 1

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I’m riding a solar-powered electric moped 1,000 miles from Italy to Bulgaria, I tried towing a DIY solar trailer and relying only on portable solar panels to charge. This series documents my EV road trip, full of highs, lows, and real-time challenges — from solar charging and rainstorms to racing against time before my wife gives birth. Follow for a comedy mix of sustainable travel, off-grid adventure, and renewable energy in action.

#SolarTravel #ElectricMoped #EVAdventure #SustainableTravel #OffGridTravel #SolarCharging #ElectricRoadTrip #CleanEnergy #MopedAdventure #DIYTrailer #PortableSolarPanels #GreenEnergy #EuropeTrip

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does look like a pretty major storm. I’m very sorry. Thank you so much. What the heck? Where am I supposed to be? Bulgaria. Yes. Yes. Ah, I just didn’t believe it. Oh my goodness. This is too wild. My bike has fallen down the hill. Thank you so much. Hi, I’m Louis Cole and I’ve got a fascination with solar powered travel. Last year I tried to ride a solar powered moped 1,000 m across Europe and failed. This year I’m trying again from Italy to Bulgaria, attempting to pull my solar panels on a homemade experimental trailer. I’m delivering this moped to my father-in-law Cho who has recently moved from Italy to Bulgaria and I promised I’d get it to him. This time the stakes are way higher. My wife Ry is due to give birth in less than a month. So if anything happens, I am jumping on the next flight and I will be forced to abandon the mission. Here’s the ridiculous part. Before I can even start riding, I’ve got to build the trailer and drive 1,000 mi to the start line in Italy. I’ve got 24 hours. I have just started opening a package, and it is the trailer that I’m going to be towing my power bank and solar panels in. So, I’m going to construct this. It says it takes up to 80 kilos, but it doesn’t say what speed these tires are rated at. And that is what I need to figure out because I don’t want these blowing out on me on the trip. lot of fatting later, but I think I have the main frame of the trailer. [Music] [Music] Got a little portable tire inflator. [Music] I’ve got these hooks which are going to secure the solar panels from flying off the sides. [Music] I’m getting some advice from my dad on the structural stability of this trailer I’m building. Now, the main problem is we’ve calculated the solar panels are actually going to be heavier than this dumbbell. This is 24 kilos. So, we’re trying to strengthen right now this joint here, which was is just was very wobbly. [Music] Well, Louis’s paddles have arrived. This is the trailer that’s the back of the little bike. So, I put a board on top. [Music] Just love how floppy they are. So, we have one panel in place. Second panel, flexy panel. These can be layered on top of each other. [Music] Just trying to figure out the attachment here. Look at this at the back. There’s just no triangulation here. Ah, perfect. So, just got to do the top and uh same for the other side. Okay. I was supposed to have left 40 minutes ago. Let’s see if the solar panels fit in the back of the car. I haven’t actually been able to test it yet. So, grab a It’s going to be tight. Oh no. The extra length has kind of screwed us. This is a mental mental start to the trip. Okay, good. We’re on 93%. I’ve had to attach my uh trailer top, the wooden structure that my dad helped build to the roof of the Tesla cuz it didn’t fit in. Oh man. Right, we’re due to get there 1030. That’s too late. I cannot begin to tell you how mental today has been. I knew it would be. I basically threw everything I could possibly need in the car, including tools to fix things at the mood and stuff. Originally, the plan was my friend Justin was going to come and join for the drive down and then drive the car back again, doing a scenic detour through Europe, but unfortunately, it is impossible to ensure this car for an American visiting. So, yeah, that’s that kind of sucked. So, my dad has now offered to drive the car back. So, that is what is going to happen. I’m a little bit stressed to be honest. I’m literally like running through my head frantically hoping that I got everything. I’ve missed my ferry that I booked, but I’m allowed to catch the next ferry without having to pay anything. So, I’m hoping just scanning. Did I get my passport? Yes. Yeah. The hope was I didn’t have to put something on the roof because it it’s going to massively slow my range down. I was hoping just to get down there as fast as possible. But I might have to stop and charge an extra one or two times because of the the roof. So, it’s going to be a very long night. Should probably put some clothes on as well. I’m literally sweating now. Basically, I optimistically booked a train time to drive onto the train to go under the tunnel. the second last crossing of the day, which is like 10:24, which is in 50 minutes. Now, the check-in closes an hour before the train departs, which I didn’t realize when I booked, so I missed that one. The fair I bought allows me to cross one crossing before or after. The crossing after is actually the last crossing of the day, and it leaves at 11:18. The last possible time I can get to Folkston where I’m crossing is 10:18. And if I miss that time window, uh, I literally have to wait till tomorrow morning, which will scupper all my plans. So, I’m currently driving safely but speedily towards the train station. Uh, and I’m currently going to get there 5 minutes late or 4 minutes late, so I’ve got to make up some time. There’s been a few road works, which has meant I’ve had to slow down. I’m currently going to get there two minutes late and I don’t know how strict they are, but I’m hoping to make up a tiny bit of time now. Um, can I make up enough? Oh, 1 minute. I forgot to be 1 minute late. Come on, baby. Surely, surely they’re going to let me in. Oh, wow. Oh, it’s not even manned. It’s It’s Yes, that is me. So, I don’t think it would have let me in 1 minute late cuz it’s computer, isn’t it? You arrived too late for your departure. Yes, I do want that. Cool. It’s automatically bumped me into the next one. We made it, baby. What a relief. Bonviage, Mr. Cole. Bon Vage. We have an absolute win. I was imagining arriving into France with 33% battery and having to find a supercharger, but they have superchargers here whilst I’m waiting for the train. And uh hopefully I’ll be able to charge the car all the way up and just hit the freaking road when we get to France, which is amazing cuz obviously the sooner we get there, the better. Here we go. This is the um don’t know if I had a chance to even show you, but this is the roof rack with the wooden frame that’s going to support and hold all of the solar panels. It’s a It’s a little bit overkill, I think, but we’ll see. We’ll see. But yeah, I’ve had to attach that to the roof rack. It’s going to reduce the range a little bit, but yeah, I’m excited. I can’t believe this is finally happening. Been counting down to this day. It is as chaotic as I imagined. Managed to get some little snacks. It’s got a little vegan sausage sandwich from Starbucks and overnight oats. I think we might have to go soon, so I didn’t get a ton of charge, but there’s definitely going to be one the other end. Just saw the board. My group number has been called. I got a nice 30% more charge on the Tesla, which is lovely. Hello. Good evening. Good evening. Just going to be doing a quick uh security check. Just going to swap your steering wheel and ask you a few questions. Sure. Yeah. Is this your vehicle? It is. Everything inside belong to you? Yeah. Any know of the firearms? No. No worries. It shouldn’t be too long. All right. Thanks. I’m looking with my route down to Praau. I literally just put it in. This is great news, guys. So, just put in Pring now. It’s got 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 eight charges getting me into prau at 6:40. But that’s great. That gives me a couple of hours to get the trailer set up, everything sorted, and um yeah, to head off. Okay, it looks like I’m going. Thanks. Thank you. This has been a fantastic experience so far. Here’s 11 because the train departs in 18 minutes. This is awesome. This is freaking awesome. I cannot remember the last time I did this. Honestly, a long time ago. [Music] We are in the train. This may be a completely alien concept to a lot of you watching. And trust me, it it is pretty crazy. It looks like hundreds of cars could go on this train. And it’s so much faster than the ferry. I think the absolute fastest ferry is like an hour and a half and this is 35 minutes and then we just chill and wait here and then drive off into France. I can feel the train going. I’m going to lounge and sleep for 35 minutes and then bang an energy drink and then hit the road. Don’t know if you can see this, but yeah, the train is going. That is wild, isn’t it? Okay, catch you in France. All right, I think I got a little nap then. Welcome to France. Yeah, we are in Calala. It is 1:00 a.m. and I’m starting my 19-hour drive. Right, first stop, 7 minutes to the Calala supercharger. Charge number two, just completed. I’m at 81% battery. [Music] Right, 3:00 a.m. pretty much on the dot. Stopping at charger number three with 6% battery. We still have our board. At one point I was like, “Is the door still on the roof?” Okay. I like these Tesla chargers with with the uh correct port for me cuz if they’ve only got this port, I need an adapter. We’re still in Northern France. So warm. I fear that as we go down to Italy and then head across like Croatia and stuff, it’s going to get very hot. Right, let’s try and have a little nap for 45 minutes. Hey Siri, set a timer for 45 minutes. It is 5:40. Sun is just rising. I still got 31 minutes to my next stop. Flagged hard. I think I’ve had three energy drinks since whenever I left and I leave. 8:00 p.m. last night. This uh scenery is amazing though. Just rolling fields, wind turbines. [Music] Wait, I am cooked. And that is it. There’s so many bug splattered on the windscreen. I’m very tired. Okay, in that hotel, I reckon I’ve actually lost count. Is this four or five? Yeah, I need to get the adapter on this. Okay, this working. [Music] Oh, I feel a little bit rested. 2our drive to the exchanger. I was jamming out to the music so much that I missed my turning. So, thankfully I only added 5 minutes to the trip, but I’ve gone on a little detour to get back on the right road. I think I’m in the foothill of the Alps right now because it’s suddenly got very mountainous and the next charger after this one’s in Switzerland. So, I guess I’m like a couple of hours drive from Switzerland, which is fantastic. It’s kind of funny because this is basically 12 hours into my drive. That took me a week to do on the moped. Oh, yeah. That’s nice. Okay. Oh, got a little update. I stopped and slept. I didn’t hit the road. I saw a Burger King. Found out they have vegan burgers and decided why don’t I sleep for a few hours, have lunch, and then hit the road again. I do, however, need to get some water. And I need some wiper fluid because there’s so many bugs. Look, look at this as well. I don’t know if you can see that, but that is the front of the car. And then look, you see how many bugs have hit the the windscreen? It’s pretty mental. Until I get some wiper fluid, it’s not going to be nice views out the front, unfortunately. Okay, my new arrival time has updated to 12:46 at night. 46 minutes past midnight, which isn’t ideal, but we’re going to figure out a way. I think this first day or two of the plan, I had not factored in sleeping stupidly. This is the kind of tunnel that it would be deadly and impossible for me to do with my moped and trailer. Let’s hope we don’t have any mountain tunnels like this to go through. Wow, this is a long one. I think we’re kind of approaching the Swiss border, which is crazy. Okay, even though I am 36 minutes from the Charger, I had a look and the Charger is like in some random underground hotel or something. So, I’m going to stop at the service station and refresh myself. Oh, too much driving. I got my coffee. Back on the freaking road, baby. Oh, yeah. All right, we don’t have to stay long. It says we only have to stay here for 13 minutes. [Music] I’ve spoken to the guy who currently has the moped cuz Cho Cho Rya’s dad isn’t in Italy right now. He’s got the bike, but it’s inside the building or in in a courtyard or something. So, someone needs to access the bike when I get there. And currently, I’m not arriving till 1:30 in the morning, which it’s pretty late to expect him to be up. But I was chatting to Ryan and she’s like, “Oh, no. Don’t worry. They like Italians or southern Europeans don’t really have dinner till like 10:00 p.m. So, maybe he’s just a night owl.” But he seems pretty chill like that. He can let me in at 1:00 a.m. Three more charges to go. So, we are well over halfway. And this portion of the drive is it’s hard to describe. It’s just breathtaking. [Music] Okay, still 11 minutes to the next charger. It’s heavily raining and lightning. So, I’m going to see if I can catch any of the lightning cuz there was just like a big lightning bolt. I am glad I’m not in on the moped through this right now. I do have my rain overalls though for later in the week if I do have to do a rain day. All right, Tesla charger. Where are you at? I think Oh, I see a That’s just delicious. That is right. Let’s get out of the rain. Very loud thunder happening right now. Oh my goodness. The next stop after this, we’re in Italy, baby. We’re crossing into Italy now. Third country of this road trip. Welcome to Italy, baby. So, from leaving our house, it’s been 24 hours to get to the Italian border. We might have been able to make it there had I not had to sleep, but I’m not a robot. Okay, this is the second to last stop. It’s 9:30 and it’s 31° outside. That is very warm. The whole trip probably I’m going to be sleeping in my tent. 31° in the tent and then waking up in the morning get blasted by the sun. It’s something I didn’t really account for doing this trip again but further south in Europe. Wow. It was warm. It is warm. [Music] All right. Come on, baby. Right. Two more hours. We are so close. 13 minutes until we charge. And that charger is in Praau, which is the town which I’m picking the moped up from. So, I could probably be there sooner than one, but I want to leave the car with a bunch of battery for I don’t know if I’ve said, but my dad is going to come out, fly out, collect the car, and uh hopefully drive it back to the UK. So, I want to leave enough battery. Also, it’s going to be sitting for a few days, so I don’t want to drain the battery. So, you can select how much battery you want when you arrive, and I said I want 70%. So, let’s do that. All right. So, I managed to get the final charge in. I’m arriving now with 76% battery. I think this is it. I think this building here on the right is where the bike is. And I’m meeting a guy now who’s kindly stayed up to let me in. Okay, I think I’m here. That did take a while. So, was 12 28 hours of driving and I made it. So now I’ve probably got a couple of hours of getting the moped kit up, getting the trailer rigged up onto it, packing properly because I just threw everything in the car, getting a car set up for my dad’s pickup, and then heading off. So I might sleep a bit before heading off for like a couple of hours and then then hitting the road. Here she is. Amazing. I am now going to unload everything out of the car and start constructing the trailer, figuring out how to attach it to the bike. Hopefully this won’t take too long. This is going to be venting. This is going to be venting. It is 3:30 in the morning and I think I’ve attached the trailer to the bike. So, I’m going to give it a little test ride. [Music] It’s uh it’s It’s very bouncy. [Applause] [Music] That actually feels better cuz it’s more stable. Hold it. [Music] I’m getting there. The only problem is turning circle. This is going to hit this as soon as I try and turn. Also, it is 20 4. Honestly, I think that’s what [Music] it’s pretty crazy. Check it. Nine solar panels, 1,800 W of solar, 4,000 W hours of power banks, a spare set of batteries to the bike. This is going to be epic. Um, that’s not good to start the journey like that. Well, it took a lot longer getting the bike ready to go. So, I’ll go asleep ahead of the car. It’s looking very good. I think we’re ready to roll as soon as I wake up. But I might get like 2 or 3 hours sleep. I still need to figure out a route. But I think I’ll go and get some breakfast to start with and then yeah, figure out um which way to go. I’m about to depart. I’m just loading up the bike and going to head on my way to Sophia, Bulgaria. It’s about 1,000 miles and I have no idea whether my contraption is going to make it or not. Checky check. Checkity check yourself. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. It is 12:30. It’s definitely later than I had hoped. I had to run and get some sun cream because there’s a UV index of 9 right now. Sun cream and toothpaste is the main things I forgot. Hopefully we don’t get too cooked. This is coming together. Wow, this feels surreal. Thank you so much, Bloody. You’ve been a legend. Thank you so much. Thanks for looking after the bike and don’t worry the coffee. All right. Hopefully everything doesn’t fall off when I try and pull away. Okay. Okay. See you later. And after that you can send me some video. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve got to say that was a bit of a palava. Let’s hope that the trailer doesn’t collapse. Oh my goodness, guys. We’re going to have to take it so easy. Oh man. I’m actually following the same road I came in on over the mountains and I’ve been very nervous because a lot of the trip’s going to be flat. There’s mountains at the very beginning, a few in the middle and then lots at the end uh as we come into Bulgaria. But yeah, this first mountain range, which is day one, first leg of the trip is could be one of the most challenging parts. So, I’ve really jumped in the deep end here. I’ve been very nervous. I’m leaving. It’s just gone midday. I’m leaving probably 12 hours after I’d hoped. And I’ve just done some calculations. We need to really be getting into Sophia on the evening of the 10th, which gives me 9 days or 8 1/2 days really. And the calculation is that gives me a distance of 111 miles to try and cover each day, which could be doable considering we’ve got an extra set of batteries and tons of solar, but we’ll we’ll see after a couple of days. Oh yeah, the up the hill is not loving that. Oh, it’s nice to get a little bit of speed up just for to cool me down cuz it is a heat wave in Europe right now. Got to take it easy over any bumps. All right, 16 mph. First leg of the journey. It’s 45 mi. So, we should be able to do that in 3 hours and then possibly stop for some food and then just carry on. I think the trailer’s holding on. Okay. Oh, tractor. I’m liking this style of road, these very like scenic back roads much better than busy roads. I want these kind of roads the entire way. That would be my absolute dream. Can’t believe we’re doing it. Cannot believe we’re doing it. This is absolutely wild. This is incredibly picturesque. There’s lots of bouncing. Okay, the trailer is bouncing along. I feel like potentially we’ve slightly overloaded with the extra weight of the wood. I calculated in most of the weights of weight of things other than the big wooden box that we’ve got the panels in. I think I’m going to have about seven or eight hours of driving a day at this speed which I think works out well for me. I also feel like at this speed we can’t go too wrong with a trailer cuz the trailer’s designed to be pulled by a bicycle and this is definitely bicycle speeds. One thing as I was leaving this guy was like, “Oh, are you allowed to ride a trailer like that in Italy without putting your number plate on the back?” And I was like, “No idea. Probably not.” I guess we’ll see if if we get pulled over by the police today. Oh, the other thing I’ve got a few extra safety things I’m going to add to the trailer, including some flashing lights, some reflective tape, and some flags that can kind of like wave around to show people on there. Oh we’ve lost the We’ve lost something on the trailer. The wheel. The wheel. The wheel gone flat. Okay. What is going on, bro? Where have we lost it? the the wheels are like buckling. He said here that’s that all seems fine, right? That’s good. Where’s Where have we lost stability? I think I see what’s happening. This is This is rubbing against there. Yes, I see the rubber. We haven’t lost pressure in that tire. I was hoping to make it more than 2 mi before the wheels broke, but that didn’t happen. This wheel was doing like super floppy. I was like, “What the heck’s happened?” And it looks like the bearings I just saw these little ball bearings fall out. The bearings inside the wheel just broke. But yeah, I’ve jacked this up on a rock to have a look. And we are done. Zo, this is where we are. Literally on the side of the road. The wheel is completely broken. What the heck? What am I supposed to be?