The bikes are with the shipping company, the Northern Lights ride is over. Contrary to our preconceptions this has turned out to be quite a hard leg of the worldbybike trip – primarily because of the length of the riding days we set ourselves. Our daily average hours riding turned out 20% more than other […]
The BMW Dakars have proved once again they are bulletproof – day after day of being flogged and not one moment’s hesitation from any of them. We’ve completed several major expedition rides on these bikes now and they have been just outstanding. Comfortable to spend all day on, strong enough to carry rider and luggage, […]
A dream come true for Chris, it would have been for Tony too if he’d not been called home, and MOD probably would have come on the Northern Lights Trip if he’d known a visit to the KTM factory was to be included. It was worth taking a day out to train down from Frankfurt […]
Our last act before leaving Eastern Europe, was to visit the wonderful city of Krakow and in particular the Jewish Quarter where soon after the Nazi’s invasion of Europe in 1939, Hitler’s Gestapo turned this area into a walled-in ghetto where the citizenry had to wear armbands, and were then removed to go to forced […]
I was working in the lab …. – or so begins the Monster Mash song. And that was the tune ringing in our ears as we rode into The Alps of Transylvania, en route to the famous castle of Vlad situated at Dram, deep in the heart of this territory nowadays part of Romania, but […]
Leaving Moldova for Romania we soon arrived in Iasi (pronounced Yash) where UNICEF had organised a couple of field visits for us. They’re always a highlight of these motorcycle trips and you get a unique perspective on the country you’re passing through. In this case our organised programme was interrupted because the area had […]
Another of these rebellious provinces who have held a referendum & declared independence, Transdneister is a breakaway slither of Moldova and we were told by border guards not to enter. But we found a farm track and did, spending an educational night in Tiraspol it’s capital. We paid a price for our curiosity – a […]
Our month traversing Russia from the Arctic to the Caspian has been a wonderful education. There is no doubt that this is a truly great nation with a history as epic as any, including China. And to come here, well after the fall of the ignominious experiment with Communism and see how the country […]
Well we have left the great nation now and have enjoyed it immensely – especially the massive difference between North and South Russia- both in terms of climate and ethnicity and friendliness of the people. But one thing has been consistent across the Motherland – and that is the bizarre behaviour of the road police. […]
You come riding into a town, pull over, get out your maps and try to sort out where there might be some accommodation. A guy pulls in beside you, has no English but gesticulates enthusiastically and we do manage to ascertain that he also has a motorbike. He implores us to follow him and […]
