Turkey to the UK

I moved pretty quickly once my new tyre (Michelin Anakee) was fitted to Mr Mule in Istanbul. Leaving Istanbull took 1.5 hrs of commuting on the busy highways that were choked full of local and international trucks. I rode to the Bulgarian border and camped at a dis-used 'pull-off' parking bay. The shelter and picnic tables were all intact but my guess was the water has run out and the park had not been used for a couple of years. The border crossing was busy but the process was efficient and went without any of the usual complications that I become used to in Central Asia and Russia.

By this stage of the adventure I had become complacent about stopping and looking at landscapes and people. Basically I was burnt out from travelling for 5 months and just looking foward to being back in an english speaking country. So getting through Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia only took several days. In Slovenia camping became a tad difficult because settlement patterns were becoming more dense and finding a quiet, secluded place away from locals took some time. I spent an hour one night riding through beautiful villages hoping for a hotel. There were bars everywhere but no accommodation. So I drove down the first available farm track onto a steep terraced cornfield and erected my tent right on dusk. Within minutes, a local couple wandered down wanting to know how and why I had chosen this place to camp suggesting that there may be wolves and foxes around at night. If there had been any 'native animals' in the vicinity I would have been more than welcome to share my precious space with them. The field was mowed grass with some steep slippery slopes. The Mule coped well as usual and I felt that this bike would go anywhere I asked of it.

After several beers in a local bar that night amongst rather large chested Slovenians I quietly slipped out and slept like a log hoping that wolves and foxes would keep me company.

The road just got better and the countryside more green and lush as |I headed from Slovenia into Austria and Italy. I chose a route via Innsbruck and through the north of the Italian (Tirol) Alps. Despite constant traffic the ride was stunning because of the views in all directions. By this time I was seeing many bikes all of which were dressed in their 'fancy-nancy' colour coordinated suits. Motorcycling here was a fashion statement and I never spotted any bikes that were more than 3 years old. Shedding the Conti TKC's tyres in Istanbul was a good move for riding through the Alps without knobby tyres was very enjoyable. Knobbies are great until they're half worn afterwhich time they begin wobbling and shaking at lower speeds.

I ended up 100 kms west of Innsbruck in a large Autobahn Hotel for the night feasting on my first western meal of weiner schnitzel and chips. Unfortunately I suffered some serious indigestion problems and ended up back in my room on the bed regretting my decision to pig out. The final day in Europe was a whopper for I made it clean through France to within 100 kms from Cherbourg where I had planned to catch the ferry to Poole in the UK. The little french hotel I stayed in was quaint and a fitting end to the greatest adventure of my life.

I met some BMW riders from Wales at the Ferry the next afternoon who thought that their trip to Spain and Portugal was pretty adventurous. Mike, Sharron, Jason, and daughter Caitlin had riden down there for several weeks. What a great way to have a family holiday I thought!

That night, I rode off the ferry at 11:00pm in the drizzling rain feeling elated that I had made it back to the UK. After nearly 35,000 kms in 5 months, the Mule had served me well and not given me one moment of grief throughout the entire adventure. Despite all of the concerns and suggestion of which bike I should take on this trip made by friends, I ignored the lot and chose a 17 year old (slightly modified) BMW R100R road bike. The various web-based chat channels in the US and UK have megabytes of discussion about what is the appropriate bike for these big adventure tours. The majority now ignore the old airheads beacuse of their age. But I have to say that ridden with respect and a will to get home the Airheads are still up there in terms of utility value, comfort and especially reliability.

The bike will be for sale after the 15th Sept in the UK. Enquiries can be made via: [email protected].

That night I had planned to stay with one of my great friends whom I toured with in Mongolia. Baz was a local 'blinky-bill'. On my way to his house near Poole, I was pulled over by a police patrol car. The driver approached me pointing at my tailight that apparently was not working. It was the first time I had ridden at night for virtually the entire trip. Moments later my mate jumps out of the patrol car giving me a big welcoming hug to the UK. It was so good being back in the UK and adjusting to other side of the road was immediately diificult after 5 months of right hand side riding. I spent two enjoyable days with Baz before riding up to Ruthin in North Wales to visit Tim another of my Mongolian companions. I took the back roads that seemed more direct rather than motorways not realising how long it would take to do 450 kms. Seven hours later I arrived after spending the last three hours in unpleasant rainy conditions. Tim and I haven't stopped talking since I arrived two days ago. He has posted a significant amount of our collective pics and stories about his experiences in Mongolia on the GSUser Forum website. Just click on the following link:

ttp://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199414

From Wales I am heading back to Northampton in central England for several weeks. The hype is over and I am now just cruising on a high knowing that the my dream of travelling in Russia and Central Asia on a bike are now complete. Many people that I met both before and during the trip expressed a desire to undertake such an adventure. Most will not do so. However I hope that this blog has given many of the readers a bit of an insite into my adventure and a chance to begin dreaming about their next trip. I get asked that question all the time for some bizzare reason. "Where are you going next?"

The answer is that I have promised myself to write a book first. So you will have to wait until the book is complete before getting any plans out of me. I have been a traveller at heart for most of my life. I have also riden bikes of some sort since I was 10 years old.

If you think this adventure should be published then say so and give me your encouragement.

I will continue the blog for as long as it takes to get you out on the road