East is East. Europe is now a distant memory.

It`s official. I am no longer wandering the smooth tarmaced roads of the EU but the slightly bumbier roads of Turkey are just as inviting. Two nights ago I slept ın the border town of Erdine which used to be the capital of the Ottoman empire. I was one day late for the annual oil wrestling which annoyed me a little but nevermind. The town was small but full of interestıng sites.

This mosque ıs at the center of the town. It ıs consıdered the most beautıful mosque ın Turkey. And just as the call to prayer started I dropped my bıke on the ground ınfront of maybe 50 people! Not at all embarrassıng.

I only stayed here fr one day but ıt was worth stoppıng. There are not many sıtes but they make an obvıous change from what you see ın Europe.

I am ın Istanbul now stayıng ın the bıg apple hostel. It ıs very nıce even ıf ıt does lack aır condıtıonıng. Oh I should mentıon I forgot to put suntan lotıon on yesterday for the rıde to Istanbul. I would take a photo of my arms but I fear the flash would cause more damage! I am goıng to meet up wıth some people I met ın Belgrade and Bulgarıa later today. Its goıng to be nıce not havıng t go through the usual ıntroductıons. Meetıng new people ıs great but you do tend to repeat yourself alot.

Now for your vıewıng pleasure:


Ok these two guys were pure classıcs. These photos were taken at about 3 ın the afternoon. The guy ın hıs boxers has a story he wants to tell but he just kept on repeatıng the line 'the swedısh gırl' and 'amerıcan hıkers'. Yes there ıs a pıcture of a bus, yes I took ıt whıle rıdıng. Yes ıt does say KamılKoc..... And fınally the brıdge where Franz Ferdınand was shot startıng WW1

Another week another thousand miles!

you know, give or take the odd 100.

I am now in a place called Velko Tarnovo which is a small fort town outside of Sofia in Bulgaria. I probably should have posted something about Belgrade before this. And Sarajevo before that but I have been erm drunk I guess is the best excuse.

Sarajevo was definitely an eye opener. It is hard to think about war when we live in such complete safety in the UK but walking around the streets seeing grenade marks, bullet holes and blood stains really brings it home especially as it happened so recently. For those of you that don't know Sarajevo was kept under a complete siege for almost 4 years. The Serbian attackers took the high ground surrounding the city and literally bombarded it with immunity from retaliation. The effect on the city, even now 14 years on, is visible both visually on the streets and in the mentality of the people.

A quick switch now from the depressing to the more light hearted night scene of Belgrade seeing as Sarajevo has been documented by far better writers than me. Belgrade has this awesome three stage, every night concert inside a ruined castle. The atmosphere there was great and again the drink was cheap. Met some people that night who I am planning on seeing again in Istanbul if I make it on time.

Now like I said, I am in Bulgaria. My first night I spent in a hotel that cost 20 Euros and was by far the nicest room I have ever stayed in. My second night I haven't experienced yet but I will let you know in a couple of days how it goes!

More border trouble due to my green card, again waved off after handing over a smoke. For something so cheap (about 5p each over here) cigs carry alot of weight with border guards!

After a couple of nights here I am going to make a big push into turkey and Erdine. It'll be a hell of a ride but I need to get myself into gear if I want to get my visas before next year!

Just some photos in this one

My first campsite just outside Reimes in France














Mine and Barrys first sunset













Notre Dame Cathedral (stumbled across it by accident)













Some cool classic bikes in Zurich














View from my campsite in Zurich












Pushing over the tower because apparently holding it up is uncool...












What I am going to do to someone that says pushing the tower over is also uncool. Actually a statue in the Vatican museum.











Bet ya cant guess what this is













And another of the coliseum to prove I was there and not actually waiting to go onto BB!













and I dont know what this is but I am looking very thoughtful in it. It is in Rome again!












Tivel fountain in Rome. This was a really nice place to sit and relax in the shade while the rest of Rome boiled











The Vatican. I dont know what to say really. It didnt have any religious feelings for me but I was overwhelmed by the sheer size and beauty of it. I can understand why thousands flock there to catch a glimpse of the Pope. It definately has a sort of power to it but if it is of state or of God is another matter.







Some Spanish guys on the crossing with me from Pescara to Havar 4CATS Llancavor (I spelt that wrong) was their riding name. You cant see the fourth cat in this picture so it doesnt make much sense.









Thats it for now. I will upload the whole album at some point but with no comments. Too many photos. You can play guess the city or something.

Hello from Split!

Or Spalato as the Italians call it for reasons known only to them! I crossed from Rome to Pescara again avoiding the highway! Saved myself 13 Euros!!! This road was amazing though. I only wish I had my Hornet with me instead of the Transalp. I did about 160 miles in about 4 hours. Yes thats an average of 40mph. and this is why:

I teamed up with an Italian rider who knew the roads better and we took it in turns finding the best lines through corners and watching for oncoming traffic. It is far easier to follow than lead but leading is far more tiring as you have to move about on the bike more and pick lines with the best view of the road ahead. As you can see in the picture there are 3 hairpin corners within 1K of each other. It would not surprise me if there were quite a few biker deaths on that road each year!

Pescara is a really crappy town. It is a self styled beach town. The beaches are lovely but they are ruined by thousands of Italian tourists. You don't actually walk on the sand, just hop from sunbed to sunbed trying not to step on the people sitting on them. The road running from north to south along the town is basically: hotel, hotel, restaurant, hotel, bar, hotel, restaurant, petrol station, bar..... rinse and repeat for about 5 miles. Don't go unless you only like sunbathing and soggy pizza.

Still no way of uploading photos! You remember how long it took me with West Wales? I should be able to put some up tomorrow as someone is lending me her laptop. Did Barry's facebook page get setup btw?

From Pisa to Rome without tolls

Well they finally did it, they pissed me off charing me for tolls than for petrol so I decided to get from Pisa to Rome without using the toll roads. Did I get lost? yes! Did it take me twice as long as it would have using the toll roads? Yes! Were the roads full of potholes? Yes! Did I pay a single toll? HELL NO! The road I took was the SS1 and it is basically a costal road all the way south to Rome. I cant tell you how infuriating it is to travel for 6 hours in blistering heat with the cool seas of the med within a short jump. It is so hot that when I open my visor the wind hitting my face is hotter than if I keep the visor closed. Ive taken to riding without my jacket on, means I am getting an awesome tan on my arms and face. Might have to ride without the t-shirt to keep it even!

Arrived in Rome at about 4pm (without paying tolls) and found the hostel pretty quickly. Some guy gave me a free banana and kept on calling me champion. I think it was the only English word he knew. Everyone has been really friendly and helpful. Without GPS it is definately a good idea to ask directions. My map only shows motorways and "international" roads whatever they are.

Going to spend 3 days in Rome now before heading to Pescara and then crossing to Croatia.

ps. It is really scary arriving in a hostel by yourself. My immediate worry is that I wont meet anyone and I will spend the next few days sitting in silence. In times like that, when you are by yourself your mind really wanders. You start thinking stuff like "what if the whole trip is like this?" "can I cope with my own company for that long?" and then you hear someone speaking English and you introduce yourself. All those doubts disappear as you exchange stories and drink the night away!

A drink to random people and their random stories! If nothing else they are an excuse to get drunk but in reality they add to your story and you to theirs. There is great comradeship amongst travellers and it is something to savor!

first blood has been drawn.

Pretty uneventfull riding so far, just motorway miles mostly and the odd A road where the motorway hasnt been built

It is offical. M first accident happend today. Thats right, a god damn papercut. It hurt too!

Cant upload pictures because this PC has now USB and the keyboard is all messed up too so sorry for any spelling mistakes! In Zuich at the moment after spending a cold night just outside Reims the weather here is amazing and I am camping right on Lake Zurich.

Having a bit of trouble getting my mobile to charge from the cigarette lighter socket I had installed. For some reason it outright refuses to work even though it only needs a direct 12v feed into it. Stupid phone. Both my batteries are dead now! Camera battery is running low too but that isnt quite so essential at the moment

Just spending time sitting bzy the lake reading and wondering around town. "fanzone" is here for Euro 2008 so half the roads are closed. Makes getting lost very easy but I have been up into the surrounding mountains for a blast on the bike without the panniers weighing it down and the roads are great and the views even better.

My hayfever seems to be going too although my eyes are watering alot but the sun dries them pretty damn quick. Dont know what the temperature is but it is pretty hot. Dunno how I will survive in India!

One week to go!

First things first, can people please stop asking me where I am going. I was at a funeral the other day (RIP Chris) and everyone knew what I was doing and generally asked the same questons so here are the answers

Where are you going?
THERE ARE 195 COUNTRIES ON THIS PLANET AND I INTEND TO VISIT ALOT OF THEM. If I start listing them you're going to get bored after about 5!

so where are you going first?
England

ok so I like that people are interested or maybe they are just being polite but seriously after having answered these 2 questions about 20 times in one day I was a little bored!

aaaanyway, rant over, had my first set of vaccinations yesterday from a very nice nurse who scared the crap out of me by describing how the diseases I could get will kill me. (Detailed pictures of the Malaria virus bursting out of blood cells are not nice!) All my paperwork is basically sorted. Just waiting on some to come in the post now. Hopefully it will arrive before I leave.

I'm really ready to go now. The preparation stages for this trip are basically about preparing for the worst. Which means I have spent days looking at different ways I could die and different ways I could end up in jail. It is really depressing reading. Once I am on the road hopefully I will forget all this stuff.

A slightly worrying side note: riding back from London yesterday I had to stop every 50 miles because the seat was making my arse hurt!