Day Ten - Time to go home, Italy to UK in a day

I have rested well for the last two days, so the plan is to get home in one day, I am still in Northern Italy, its a long way, I could take motorway all the way, but I have some unfinished business in the Alps called "The Furka Pass"

I enjoy a luxury breakfast at my 4* hotel and get on the road at 9am and very soon I enter the Italian Alps


The temperature drops quickly to 14c as I climb, and for the first time in 9 days I have to zip up the air vents in my jacket, and actually put on the heated bar grips. Its August 2nd yet there is still a little un-melted snow around.
To reach the Furka Pass I have to go over the Simplon pass so I get two Alpine passes for the price of one. This is real motorcycle country and there are lots of big bikes on the road.


The views are stunning, I'm not certain but the could be the tip of the Eiger in the background.
At last I see the Furka Pass, a slim ribbon of tarmac clinging to the side of the mountain. The photo does not do it justice this was a really steep mountain side towering high into the sky above me.
I'm getting near the summit and am already above the clouds.
And finally I'm there at the summit, almost 8,000 feet above sea level
Its been a fantastic ride, but now I've got some serious miles to put in if I want to get home, I get down the mountain heading for Andermatt, I really don't want to go through the St Gotthard tunnel (which is just over 15 miles long) so I take to the old road before getting back on the motorway, I get through Basel and out of Switzerland into Germany and really push on to cover the miles, before cutting back into France towards Calais.
On the German Autobahn the bike indicated just over 140 mph, the Sat Nav shows 137 mph, not bad for a fully loaded tourer with a fairing the size of a barn door.

I ride throughout the day and into the night, stopping only for fuel and food, then back through the Eurotunnel and home, I get home at 1:15 am having covered 833 miles today and have been riding for 16 hours.

Its been a totally amazing 10 days, and through careful planning I don't feel like its only been riding endless motorways, I've touched new countries and cultures and have been completely blown away by the friendliness and hospitality shown to me by complete strangers.

Its been the longest and most exciting bike trip I've ever done and I am already planning my next one. In 3 months time my family are moving from UK to New York State for a 3 year work related posting, so look out USA here I come.

Day Nine - Ancona

For most of the day I am still on the ferry heading to Ancona, the cabin is comfortable and I get plenty of rest.We dock at Ancona at 3pm and I head North, I don't have a destination in mind only to eat into the distance to get home. At about 6pm I head for the nearest large town and find a real gem, Verbania, right on the shore of Lake Maggiore. It sounds more like a name of a town in a futuristic film, but this town is real old style European class.
Its the first week of the Summer holiday season and I try a few hotels but they are all booked up, eventually I get a room in a 4* hotel overlooking the lake. Its expensive but if I can get home in one day I wont have to find a hotel tomorrow.
Lake Maggiore

Day Eight - Athens and ferry back to Italy

My ferry arrives in Athens harbour and we are sent out into the Athens rush hour traffic just before 08:00. I stop for fuel, checking first that I can use my Visa card and am told OK no problem, so I fill up, when its time to pay the guy behind the counter says no Visa cards I complain and the two guys erupt into a very vocal argument in Greek, luckily I have enough cash to pay in Euro's and leave them arguing.

The roads in Athens are so slippery in the dry I see several locals easily spinning up the rear tyre in 2nd gear just off the throttle just for fun.

First stop look out for the Acropolis, even with the Sat Nav I get a little lost, I find a good place to park and get some breakfast.

Even at this time in the morning there are a lot of tourists.
Its my first visit to the Parthenon, one of Europe's Iconic structures and it looks magnificent in the morning sun.

There are lots of other items of interest to see
I spend quite a bit of time on the Acropolis and soon its time to move on, next destination is about 30 min South West of Athens, The Corinth Canal. So I hop on the Toll Motorway and am soon there.


The canal is 6.3 kilometre in length and was was started by the Roman Emperor Nero in 68 AD, he actually launched the excavation, personally breaking the ground with a pickaxe and removing the first basket-load of soil. The Roman workforce, consisted of 6,000 slaves but was abandoned when Nero died.


There were several other attempts to finish it, but it was finally completed in 1893. Its quite narrow and only one ship at a time can use it.



After that I head further West, crossing a far newer structure, the Rio-Antirio bridge, the worlds longest cable-stayed "suspended" deck bridge.

I've had a busy morning so I stop for lunch in a small town by the coast
I negotiate lunch with the waitress's broken English and order "a plate of mixed things" turns out to be delicious.
After lunch I have time for a swim, then off to Patras for my ferry that leaves at 18:00.

Day Seven - Ephesus and Ferry to Athens

The local village near Küçükkuyu.
After breakfast I head South around Izmir which seemed to have most major roads being rebuilt and little in the way of detours, thank goodness for my Garmin Zumo 400 that has been faultless for the entire journey.

The heat goes up and I see 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on the air temp, before I left on this trip SimonDippenhall gave me quite a bit of very useful information after his amazing trip to the Red Sea, one of his gems was to carry a camel back, I had the thermal insulated model which kept the water cool and fitted in a back pocket in my BMW jacket, I kept it topped up. In the heat today I would get through 6 litres of cold water and that was barely enough, but it was a real life-saver.

The road surface can get very slick so you have to pick your path carefully.



My destination today was Ephesus near Selçuk. Ephesus has one of the largest collection of nearly complete ancient buildings in the world dating back to 550 BC. I could have easily have spent all day here and not seen everything.






The original communal toilets

But I am on a schedule and I have to leave sooner than I would have wanted to catch a ferry out of Turkey to the small Greek island of Chios.

I speed onto Cesme where I find my small ferry that will take me to Chios.

I meet this Italian couple who have been touring Turkey for the last 2 months. Thankfully he has excellent English but his girlfriend doesn't speak a word, so over a cold drink while we wait for our ferry we enthusiastically share experiences of our journeys, she just sulks, typical bikers.


It only has enough room for 3 cars and my bike.
The sea looks calm in the harbour but the wind has been blowing hard all day and the crossing is expected to be rough, so the crew insist I stay next to my bike for the 50 min voyage to keep it upright. At least they gave me a chair.

I get to Chios and wait for my overnight ferry that will leave at 22:00 and take me to Athens. I will really miss Turkey, I love the food, lifestyle, historical sites but most of all I found the people warm and very hospitable.

Day Six - Gallipoli & Troy

I had planned to get on the road early this morning but the weather had other ideas, as I woke to very heavy rain.

This morning I knew it was going to be difficult

• Wet, very slippery roads
• Flooding on the roads hiding big potholes
• Hot humid conditions while wearing a one piece oversuit in a city so little cooling air while riding along
• Suicide jockeys masquerading as Taxi drivers
• Rush hour in Istanbul

Once I got going I was fine, and actually started to enjoy the conditions.

As I was leaving Istanbul I pulled into a petrol station for fuel but they had run out, and stopped for a chat with this amazing character in German, now I know what Santa Claus does in the summer, goes touring Turkey on a BMW.
After riding together for a short way we parted company, I wanted to get off the dual carrigways and took the coast road south towards Gallipoli

Unfortunately the tarmac soon disappeared and I did the next 15 miles on a dirt track, who needs a GS anyway.
Thankfully the tarmac returned
I passed the town of Gallipoli and headed down the peninsular to the site of the Dardanelles Campaign. A disastrous First World War campaign that resulted in the loss of 336,000 men from both sides. Here is a Turkish memorial
Soon I see the British graves
Private Luck, aged 19. His luck ran out in a foreign land in a battle that could not be won. I am really starting to hate the futility of war.
The Australians and New Zealanders landed here, the attack on ANZAC beach in a huge blunder it was one of the few places for miles around that was overlooked by steep hills, which the Turks held.
This memorial records the events. You can clearly see the high ground just inland from the beach.


After the battle site I ride to Eceabet and take the 30 min ferry to Çanakkale. This narrow but strategic piece of water has been fought over by countless armies for centuries including Greek and Trojans, the Persian King Xerxes in 500 BC, then by Alexander the Great 330 BC and the Allies and the Turks in 1915.


After landing at Çanakkale I head South to the site of the Siege of Troy, there is not much to see other than a few ruined walls and the tourist board replica of the infamous horse.

Day Five - Istanbul

This morning I learn a large bomb went off last night in Istanbul killing 17 and injured 150, it was about 10 miles away and did not seem to be directed at tourists so I do not feel that threatened, but relatives at home always fear the worst so I call home to tell them not to worry.

Before breakfast I take a walk around the local neighbourhood.


This is the Sultan Ahmet III Fountain. Built in 1729, the fountain symbolises luxury, abundance and beauty. The Haghia Sophia can be seen behind it.Breakfast on the hotel roof terrace, the Blue Mosque is only a few hundred meters behind me and is clearly visible and audible during the call to prayer.

Breakfast consists of cheese, olives, yoghurt, hard boiled eggs, bread, honey, jam and tea from a large urn, coffee was not an option.
After breakfast I take a short taxi ride to the Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar) opened in 1461 and contains about 6,000 shops

Everyone seems to want to sell you a Persian carpet.



I have a chat with this guy, he's from Argentina and has been on the road travelling for six years and was on his third bike, he tells me some amazing tales, I'm in awe of such committed travellers. I gladly bought one of the tiny doll badges he was selling to contribute to his journey.
I go back to the hotel to change out of my shorts into long trousers so I can go inside the Blue Mosque, its amazing


I have lunch in a local street cafe, Mixed Kebab with Yoghurt, delicious and not too expensive.


That afternoon I relax in a cafe people watching and drinking tea from a glass and smoking a Nargile (Hookah, Bubble Pipe). I am really getting to like Istanbul, its attacks your senses from all sides but in a nice way and the people are really very friendly, even if some of them are only trying to get you to buy a carpet.

On the streets the Police are clearly a bit jumpy after last nights bomb and are pulling people over and checking ID documents.

There was also a big bomb in Iraq killing many more people so the Istanbul bomb didn't get the headlines they were looking for, so I go to bed early as they might strike again to make the headlines they missed last night, tomorrow I ride into Asia.

Day Four - I arrive in Istanbul

I get up before breakfast and go for a walk around the hotel, and enjoy a early morning swim in the pool.

Early breakfast and on the road again, it's quite warm so I strap my jacket to the back of the bike until


The pace of life is clearly much slower here as I stop for a tortoise crossing the road.


Local road signs are in Greek
Then I arrive at Greece's border with Turkey

After an unbelieving 2 hours of hassle getting visa's and stamps etc I am finally allowed into Turkey.

A typical Turkish road, the hard shoulder at the side of the road is used by slow cars being overtaken or slow vehicles such as tractors, which could be travelling in either direction.

I also saw very fast car drivers use the hard shoulder to overtake lorries. The closer I get to Istanbul the more crazy the driving gets.

I had no problem using my UK credit card in Turkey at petrol stations and hotels.
Frequently when I stopped locals would come over for a friendly chat and take my photo and ask about my trip
End of the Toll motorway entering Istanbul, cost was only 2.3 Turkish Lire (about £1)

As I enter the city of Istanbul the driving gets more crazy. Its Sunday lunchtime and local families are cooking kebabs over hot coals in parks at the side of the road, smells fantastic.

Thanks to the additional detailed Turkey maps on my Sat Nav I find my hotel in Sultanahmet, interesting décor.

The location is great, very close to the fabulous Blue Mosque

I've been riding in high temperatures for four days and been pummelled by the road, so in attempt to "fight fire with fire" I immediately get changed and go for a Hammam (Turkish Bath).

Its an amazing experience, the incredible building has been used as a Hammam for over 400 years. First you swap your clothes for a towel then into a hot steam room to soften up, after 20 mins a massive scary hairy giant of a man in a towel grunts and calls you over to the large hot marble central massage slab and quickly goes to work on you, he gouges and pummels tired muscles until you cry for mercy.

Then its over to the side of the area, you sit next to a large marble sink and the big ugggh starts with masses of soapy bubbles the scrubs you down with a coarse scrubbing mitt followed by large buckets of water.

Then you sit in an extra hot section for another 30 mins before you can leave for fresh dry towels, then out into the lounge area for a glass or two of Turkish tea and relax.

When its all over I feel fantastic no aches or pains and the cleanest I been for some time.

That night I reflect on my journey so far, I've ridden from the North West to the South East of Europe. Tomorrow I will spend doing tourist things in Istanbul and the day after I will cross the Bosporus and into Asia.

Day Three - Greece

Dawn breaks and I can see the Albanian coast from my cabin window, my Sat Nav shows we are travelling at 54 Kilometres per hour.

A buffet breakfast at 7am

In the queue for breakfast I meet 3 German bikers on their way to Greece, unusually none of them speak English, luckily I haven't forgotten my German so we chat over a hearty breakfast.

In a classic German pincer movement they send one guy in first to get the best seats by the front windows, while they get breakfast, no wonder half of Europe fell to such tactics during the war.
Then its straight down to the bikes and into Greece.

I arrive in Greece at 9am, I got onto the Eurotunnel train at Folkstone two days ago just before 08:00 UK time and have travelled from UK to Greece in about 48 hours and am pretty pleased with my progress so far.

Then a long ride East, there is a new motorway being built but its not complete yet, sometimes I make great progress then other times I am diverted to narrow mountain roads.

To pass the time and alleviate the boredom of the motorways I experiment holding my camera up with one hand taking a few self portraits.




I arrive at my hotel in Maronia, Eastern Greece in good time and find an empty beach for a refreshing swim.

Day Two - 530 miles

On the road early heading South towards the Swiss Alps, instead of the motorway route through endless tunnels through the mountains, I detour part of the way onto the old St Gottard pass, a tight & twisty route paved with cobble stones with lots of gravel patches to catch out the unwary.

After the Alps I headed across Italy, past Milan, onto the port of Ancona where I would pick up my overnight ferry to Greece.

En route I diverted to the charming home village of the 7 times world champion MotoGP superstar Valentino Rossi and popped into the cafe for a cold drink.

The weather is scorching and my bike shows the air temperature on the motorway rise to 37c. Eventually I arrive at Ancona just after 4pm for my overnight ferry at 5pm.

My en-suite cabin is quite comfortable.

Not everyone has a cabin and many sleep on the corridor floors.

Day One - 585 miles

First day of the trip, early start, on the road at 05:30 I put in almost 1 hour before I stop on the M25 at Clacket Lane service station for a cooked breakfast.

En route I take a slight detour to see some of the cemeteries from the First World War. This one is know as Cabaret Rouge. All know the history of the "Great War" and the massive numbers of casualties, but to see the thousands of headstones and the names, regiment and ages of the fallen brings it home and I left there deeply moved.

There were many headstones of unknown dead simply inscribed; "A soldier from the Great War know unto God"

To put the number of casualties into some sort of perspective, the memorial wall in Washington, USA contains the names of 58,000 Americans who died in the Vietnam war. On 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the British army suffered 60,000 dead and wounded. Over the course of the following four months the total number of British casualties was 419,000.

The memorial cemetery at Thiepval

I head further South and arrive at my hotel in Basel, North Switzerland

Horizions Unlimited UK Meeting

Only a few weeks to go now, so as some additional preparation both mentally and materially I attended the Horizons Unlimited UK meeting at Ripley.

Grant Johnson's BMW has been around the world many times.

For those who don't know Horizons Unlimited and their amazing bulletin board or HUBB, it is a group of world adventure travellers, just skimming through the HUBB site you will see posts from guys on bikes and 4x4's in every corner of the world. So if I could pick up a little of their knowledge, it could only be a good thing.

I went for the weekend, what a well organised event, limited to the 1st 500 entrants, which sold out months ago, 3 seminar rooms running almost back to back events from Thursday midday to Sunday midday. This may sound like death by PowerPoint, but this was not the usual platitudes peddled at lesser events, and with such a variety of subjects and expert speakers with supporting photos I found it awe inspiring.

Although the "Preparing road kill" demo got a bit too real for some...

Preparation

A little over 3 weeks to go until I set off. I've finalised my route which will include riding from UK, overnight at Basel then down to Ancona, Italy, and a overnight ferry to Igoumenitsa, Greece. If all goes to plan I will be travelling the first 1,600 miles from UK to Greece in about 48 hours.

Then follow the Aegean coastline east a brief hotel stop and onto Istanbul for a two day stop, returning via the west coast of Turkey to the historic sites of Troy, Pergamon‎, Ruins of Ephesus and past Izmir to a ferry from Cesme to Chios then an overnight ferry to Athens taking in the Parthenon and the ruins of Delphi, then over the Rio-Antirio bridge and onto Patra for the ferry back to Ancona then home.

My trip will include 3 overnight ferries and 2 local ferries, a train under the English channel, 5 different hotels, and about 4,000 miles of road.

So far I've booked my return ferry from Ancona to Greece and the overnight ferry from Chios to Athens. As its peak tourist season I have also booked my hotel rooms in Greece & Turkey.

Equipment
Greece & Turkey in late July, so I am expecting very high temperatures to combat this I have been very careful with my choice of motorcycle clothing.

Hood kevlar jeans, much cooler than leather plus I have added knee and hip knox armour.


Helmet
I also wanted a open face helmet for better ventilation, there are quite a few cheap ones available, but as they say if you have a £20 head you buy a £20 helmet. I have destroyed a few helmets in my time so I know more than most that its false economy to skimp on a helmet, so I went for a Schuberth S1

This is a quality piece of kit, with a clear outer visor and a inner dark visor which you can quickly flick out of the way when entering tunnels. And has the added protection of a chin bar. Many years ago I was knocked off my bike at speed while wearing an open face lid, when I got to hospital I found I had broken my nose and taken quite a lot of surface skin off my nose, cheek and jaw, so a bit more protection is a well worth it.




I will use my old faithful BMW Rallye 2 jacket, it has plenty of body armour and lots of spare pockets to store vital bits and pieces and includes 6 zipped air vents, plus it has a purpose built, back pouch to store my insulated Camelbak drinking bag and even includes a cut-out to pass the drink tube through.



I am expecting a few 10 hour days in the saddle, riding in +40c so regular intake of fluids are a must.

Planning for the trip

Its 1st April 2008, the clocks have just gone onto summer time, the first buds of spring are on the trees, its itchy wheels time.

I had such a great trip last year, I want more of the same. My window of opportunity is the last week of July for 10 days. This time I want to go even further, I am planning to ride to the mysterious city of Istanbul, the gateway to Asia and the Silk Route.

Once again I will take the best touring motorcycle in the world, the BMW R1200 RT, from my experiences on last years trip the bike will earn its keep.

Currently I am using Google Maps as a route scratchpad (below is the planned route);

Click on the map below and zoom in to see route and itinerary.

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