The bike's back!!!!

Picked the bike up from Sydney this morning. Re-connected the battery and she turned over first go - ah those BMW's - just great. Took her over the Mike Owen's Motorcycles for a BIG service, and should have her back next week. Can't wait to go for a good ride . . . .

The final route

View Larger Map

Acknowledgements

The following people and organisations made our trip that much more memorable.
Thank you all for your service, hospitality and friendship.

Dave Milligan
Get Routed

Julie
Imorex Shipping Services

Dave and Julie made all the arrangements for the shipping of our bike from Sydney to the UK and back – fantastic service and great people.

Geoff & Elizabeth Harvey
The Grafton Guest House
13 Sea Rd
Felixstowe IP11 7LU

Put up with us before and after the trip whilst getting our bike from the docks in Felixstowe.

Ian Webber
BMW Ocean Plymouth
Longbride Rd
Plymouth PL6 8LD
UK

The guys at Ocean Plymouth were just terrific in getting us back on the road after the fuel pump packed it in.

Wolfgang Kober
Automobile Bavaria
Sos. Bucuresti-Ploiesti, nr 53A
013685 Bucuresi
Romania

Wolfgang flagged us down on the highway in Romania; took our photo and was putting a story about our trip in the Romania BMW magazine.

Fred Meier
BMW Motorrad Zentrum Munchen
Frankfurter Ring 29
80807 Munchen
Germany

Fred and the service guys arranged for us to jump the queue (150 bikes) and install fresh brake pads and a quick oil change – thanks heaps guys – great service and hospitality.

Simon Corcoran
VISALINK
15A/21 Sabre Drive
Port Melbourne VIC 3207

Simon and his team arranged our Ukraine & Russian visas before leaving Australia – great service at the right price.

Gareth Evans
Flight Centre
Shop CL11 Canberra Centre
Canberra ACT 2601

Gareth organised our flights with Korean Air from Sydney to London via and overnight stop in Seoul.

www.speedferries.com
Crossing from Dover to France and back – very cheap and great service.

Ross Pengilly
International Police Association (NSW Section)

Ross made the necessary introductions via the IPA network and put us in contact with members in Hungary.

Ida Havasi
International Police Association - Hungary Section

Ida gave us a tour of the Hungarian Parliament building and Police Headquarters.

Vitaliy Laptev
Pavel Nizkin

We met Vitaliv and Pavel in a hotel in the Ukraine. They were on their way to race in a WRC rally.

Alexander Pincevschii

Met Alexander at a roadside café somewhere in the Ukrainian outback and he shared his cut lunch with us.

Igor Broyde

Igor and his friend Andrew (the Cossack) collared us in a hotel in the Ukraine and poured vodka down our throats for the night – we were very sick little puppies the next morning!

Nangijala Osipova
Moscow, Russia

A member of the Horizons Community – she was kind enough to meet us on the outskirts of Moscow and escorted us into the city – no small feat in peak hour with 6 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic!

Sidenko Artem

We met Sidenko at the Russian border; he helped us fill in the Russian paperwork to get us through the border crossing – thanks mate – without him we would have taken 6 hours to get into Russia, as it was it only took 20 minutes.

Ivan
Fort MFG Motorcycle Company
Gluhoozerskoye St, 18H
192019 St Petersburg
Russia

Also the home of: Rolling Anarchy MCC
http://www.rollinganarchy.com/index_eng.html

Ivan and the guys at Rolling Anarchy MCC allowed us to stay at their clubhouse in St Petersburg for a few days after we couldn’t find any accommodation in town – fantastic hosts – appreciate the hospitality guys.

Dmitry
Alexander Lysenko (Sacha)

Dmitry and Sacha were our Moscow hosts and took us to areas of the city we would not have found on our own – they fed and watered us – two really special people and now our great friends – oh those Russians!

Carmen Olteanu (Curator)
National Police Museum
187 Calea Domneasca
Targaviste
Romania

Carmen gave us an escorted tour around the largest and oldest Police museum in the world.

Bogdan Chifan
Suceava, Romania

Mihai Dumitru
Bucuresti, Romania

Andrei Preda
Bucuresti, Romania

Very special thanks to our Romanian friends, Chif, Mihai and Andrei, and not to forget the guys from Seawolves MC and Bukowina MC – our time in Romania was made extra special having known these guys.

Antonio & Laura Lamanna
Grosseto, Italy

Our new friends in Tuscany – soon to be residents of Townsville. They took us into their home and made us feel like one of the family – very extra special people, and now our great friends.

Marta Bockowska

Marta is nearly one of the family (Mat’s girlfriend’s sister).

Horizons Unlimited (motorcycle traveller’s website)
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com

Finally, our friends in Australia who, throughout our journey sent us emails and SMS messages of support.

Last but not least, Mum and Derek who put up with us at the end of our adventure before we came home; also, Michael’s cousins and extended family and friends in North Wales.

Petrol/milage stats

Distance travelled: 18,415.00 Km
Petrol: 996.14 Lts
Km/Lt: 18.49
Total cost: $2,232.47
Average cost per lt: $2.25

The trip home

We returned the bike to the Imorex depot in Felixstowe after giving it a steam clean and stripped her down ready for the trip home. It's going to be sitting on the docks for another 4 weeks before it leaves on a 'slow boat to Sydney'. Should get it back by the middle of October.

Stripping the bike down
All packed and ready to go

After leaving the bike in Felixstowe, we caught the train to Heathrow at 1pm on Friday. The plane left at 9.30pm for Sydney via Seoul; arriving in Sydney about 6.30am on Sunday; then the bus to Canberra, getting us home about 1pm on Sunday afternoon - absolutely stuffed!

We're currently culling the photos (815 in total) and 5 hours of video. Once we've reviewed everything, we'll post a final epilogue.

But for now; thanks to everyone who made this trip possible and especially to those folks we met along the way who made it more memorable; and also our new friends.

We're home

Got back today. Update shortly.

Coming home

We're leaving North Wales tomorrow morning and taking a couple of days to get to Felixstowe via the Cotswolds and Stratford-Upon-Avon. The bike get crated on Thursday and we catch the train to Heathrow on Friday morning for the long trip home. We'll be back in Canberra on Sunday.

Gathering of the Clan

Saturday night at the Village Inn in Llanfairfechan found the cousins of the Tharme family get together for a drink.

Michael, Malcolm, Ruth & Derek (back: Tony, Mum & John)

?, Lesley, Michael, Tony & Ruth

Ruth, Michael & Jillian

Ruth & Michael

Michael, Malcolm & Barry
Michael, Roy & ?
Tony, Michael, John & Malcolm

Michael & ?

Colleen's birthday

Mum and Derek took us out for Colleen's birthday and we were joined by my cousin Ruth and her husband Malcolm and friends Lindsay and Malcolm.

Photos from North Wales

Snowdonia
Caernarfon Castle
Derek, Michael and Mum
Scyhnant Pass looking down to Penmaenmawr
My Great Great Gran's pub, the Fairy Glen
Menai Bridge
Us

Best fish & chip cafe in Wales

Thanks Donna and Danny for the best fish and chips we've had.
Enochs Fish & Chips
146 Conwy Road
Llandudno Junction
North WalesLL31 9DU

Photos of Scotland trip

Colleen soaking up the Heeeland sun!
When bikers die, they don't go to heaven - they go to the Scottish Highlands to play!
Signpost at John O'Groats

Our country estate ;)
William Wallace Memorial
Edinburgh Castle

Michael and Sandy
More Heeeelands
Rob Roy's Grave
Stirling Castle

Isle of Skye
All loaded up
Bridge over the water to Skye
The Loch of Scotland (notice the shape - looks like Scotland)

Finally made it from Lands End to John O'Groats
The Heeeelands
More Heeeelands
One of the Lochs on the way to Skye

Trip to Scotland

18-19 July 2008 – Left North Wales and travelled to the Lakes District and stayed the night in Windemere – rained all day! Next morning was raining and very windy and be headed north, bypassing Glasgow and headed to Lock Lomond. Into the heeelands and some great winding roads and fantastic scenery. On to Loch Ness to find nessy; Urquart Castle, the Commando Memorial and Fort William.
By Monday 21 July the weather fined up, sunny and warm with lots of blue sky; more great roads as we wound our way up the east coast to John O’Groats where we camped for the night.
We then headed west along the north coast of Scotland on some verrry narrow and winding roads; through some more amazing countryside. More great camping sites along the way till we came down the west coast and headed towards the Isle of Skye.
Spent a day on Skye and camped the night. Then headed back to the highlands and Glencoe where we camped again besides a nice little river. We then headed towards Edinburgh and splurged out spending the night in the Mecure Hotel in the centre of town. On the way to Edinburgh we stopped at the William Wallace memorial and also Rob Roy McGregor’s grave.
Got on the turps with two mad Scotsmen (Mikey and Gerry) in a little pub in Edinburgh and woke up with headaches!
Nearly forgot about the piper (Sandy) we met on the way to Glencoe. He played Waltzing Matilda on the pipes for us (got it on video) – nearly as mad as Billy Connolly – and I think he could have taught Billy a few more swear words!
After Edinburgh we headed to the Yorkshire Dales – nothing but incredibly winding roads with lots of bikes with guys with their knees on the ground! Camped in the Dales the night then headed back to Mum’s in North Wales.

Commando Memorial

Urquart Castle

Our camping spot at John O'Groats

Back at Mum's

We've been to The Lakes District; through Scotland to John O'Groats; across the top through the highlands; the Isle of Skye; and the Dales. We're back at Mum's till next week getting ready for the trip home.
Will update with photos in the next couple of days . . .

Photos of North Wales

' Llanfair PG' for short - the longest named railway station in the world!
Michael and his Mum
Penmaenmawr taken from the Great Orm
Hard to see - but a dozen or more wind turbines a few kilometers off the coast, just standing in the middle of the sea!

More photos

The Matterhorn
French/Australian 1st WW memorial at Villiers
Land's End
Glastonbury Tor

We're in Wales

After leaving Plymouth we travelled down the coast to Cornwall and Lands End, then headed north to Glastonbury where we stayed in the pub in the centre of town for a couple of days. Climbed the Tor (puff, puff).

View from Glastonbury Tor.

The Tor.

We then headed north crossing into South Wales near Cardiff and then through the Snowdonia National Park.

The Welsh countryside
Michael in Wales
Welsh sheep with tails!

We're currently in Colwyn Bay with Michael's Mum and Derek for the rest of the week. Going back to Penmaenmawr (where Michael spent his first 8 years before coming to Australia) later this week to try and find anyone that knows him!

We'll be leaving for Scotland next Friday for a week to get to John O'Groates (and another sticker for the panniers)!

Catch-Up photos

Lands End - the start to John O'Groats.

Broken 'Bessie'.

Couldn't resist it (Burley, in the New Forest area of Sussex).

The 'beach' at Bognor Regis!!!!!

All fixed

Bikes fixed thanks to the guys at Ocean BMW in Plymouth - the rain shorted out a relay in the fuel pump. Getting new shoes tomorrow morning after the rain has passed - hate riding in the wet on new rubber - like skating on ice!
Should be on our way late tomorrow morning - heading towards Land's End for a sticker for the panniers - thn eventually we'll get to John O Groates for another.
Photos later when we can get a proper computer - not the tv in the hotel room!!!

Broken down!

We're in Plymouth.The bike wouldn't start this morning after riding to Torquay yesterday in the torrential rain. Got the insurance company to get us a tow and brought us to the BM dealer in Plymouth. They'll look at the bike tomorrow, but said it looks like water got into the injectors and something has blown!!! Hopefully they can fix it tomorrow; which is going to be a very wet day according to the latest weather forcast; flood warnings etc. So we're hunkered down in the local Ibis Hotel for a couple of days to wait until the bike is fixed (and the weather clears).
We'll continue on our journey on Thursday morning (everything being equal!).

Back in the UK

Got wet travelling across France. Caught the ferry to Dover yesterday and headed west. Weather has turned nasty again and it's raining and blowing a gale. Not good riding down the road at a 45 degree angle against the wind!
We wimped out this morning and decided the hunker down in a B&B for another night to let the weather pass. Going to head towards Cornwall and Land's End tomorrow, then north towards Wales to see the family. (Mum: should be there in probably 4 or 5 days).

From Nice to somewhere!

We're leaving Nice tomorrow and heading northwest to try and dodge some nasty weather that is coming this way. We're heading cross country towards Le Mans then north; bypassing Paris for the coast.

Photos from Corsica and Nice

Strapping the bike to the side of the ferry
Corsica coast
Colleen in 30 degree heat in Nice
Beach at Nice

Photos from Italy

Antonio and Michael
Volterra
Laura and Colleen
Coast of Corsica

Catch-up

We're here on Corsica. The story so far...... Whilst we were in Germany we got an email from a guy called Antonio from Pisa who saw our blog and invited us down to pick our brains because he and his wife Laura were planning a trip to the eastern block countries. So, by the time we contacted him we were in Switzerland.
So, heading down through Switzerland and Austria on some of the most amazing roads we have riden on; we crossed over into Italy and down through the Italian Alps; more amazing roads.
Turns out Antonio is planning to move to Townsville with his Australian wife at the end of the year. Cut a long story short; we hit it off with these guys qnd stayed with them in their house in Grosetto (half way between Pisa and Rome). Antonio (on his GS) took us for a ride through the Tuscany countryside - nice country. He also suggested we take a side trip to Corsica. So leaving Tuscany we caught the ferry to Bastia on Corseca; We've travelled the length of the island and now in Ajjecio suning ourselves on the beach for 3 days. Heading on the ferry to Nice next Monday and from there, who knows!
To Antonio and Laura - can't thank you guys enough for your hospitality and friendship. It must be fate we met you both. Looking forward to catching up with you in Townsville next Autumn. Laura - get your man another bloody beer woman (in-house joke)!
Mum - should be back in the UK in around 2 weeks - more later.
Photos later when we can upload them on a proper computer.

We're now in Italy

From the cold at around 0 degrees, we road down the Italian side of the Alps into 33 degree heat! From Switzerland we entered the northern part of Italy to travel down to Pisa to see a friend. Again, some of the most amazing riding roads we've ever seen. We're camped just on the edge of Pisa for a few days then should be heading westish towards the Med etc.

More of the Alps

The Swiss Alps

Over the next few days we toured Austria, Leichtenstein and Switzerland. Lost count of the number of tunnels we went though (the longest was 15km); also heaps of high bridges. We went over a number of high passes including Fliielapass (2,383m) and Furkapass (2,436m). We also went for a 'walk' up to the top of Mt Titlis (3,020m) and the Matterhorn (3,800m).

Over the course of a couple of days, I ended up with a sore left hand - it was because I was waving at the hundred and thousands of bloody bikes on the road! Every biker in the alps must have been on holidays. The roads are the best I've ever riden; abslutely bloody awesome.

The Matterhorn

A quaint little mountain pass!

Heading for Munich

After we left Belin, we headed for Munich (to see the BMW production plant - I thought!). Anyway, on the way, I used the back brake (don't need to use it that often because of the ABS) and heard a grating noise. Stopped and saw the back pads had totally gone, worn down to the metal. Bloody hell! So, pulled over at a servo and put on the spare set I was carrying and headed for Munich seeing we had the address of the BMW workshop. Good time for a service and put a full new set of pads on. Photo below is the parking lot of the service area! Room for 150 bikes, the wirkshop at about 20 mechanics on duty and there were 25 separate service areas. Not having much faith (seeing the long line of bikes to be serviced - thought it would take a week!) we stolled up to the boss, flashed the pearly whites and told him we just came half way round the world and needed a service - no problem, jobs done in 90 minutes and were on our way again. Thanks Fred and the other guys who helped us out.

We then headed for Austria - first sight of snow on the mountains.

Our time in Berlin

Went sightseeing on Saturday, weather was a bit kinder, no rain, but cold. Toured the old wall, Hitler's Bunker, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and other sights. Strangest one was the bunker which is now under a car park for a block of residential flats! Not much of the old wall left.

The Gate
Checkpoint Charlie
Hitler's bunker somewhere under this car park
The original wall

Switzerland

Just a quick update: been to Munich, Austria, Lichtenstein, and now in Switzerland near St. Moritz. Heading south out of the snow! Will update later.

We're in Berlin

Made it to Berlin this morning in pouring rain (again) and freezing cold. Doing the city tour tomorrow. More later.

Re-cap on Russia for other travellers

Basically, ditto as per my previous post for the Ukraine. Petrol procedure the same; road signs and navigation the same. The TomTom this time didn't even show major roads - nothing; so the compass came in handy again.
I must have run about 7 or 8 red traffic lights. The bloody things are so old and dirty; it is hard to see them (usually hidden behind a bush or sign); they've never been cleaned, so it's hard to tell if they're on or what colour light is showing.
In all the time we were in the ukraine and Russia, we never got stopped by the cops - think that was amazing considering how many people told us to be ready to hand out $5 bills!. I even got a $100 US dollars in $5 bills to be ready - now I can change them for Euros!
I think I found the car drivers in Russia to be extremely polite and biker-aware than any other country we passed through - which was a bonus considering we were using a compass to navigate and wasn't concentrating that much on the traffic, but which way to go!
All the crap you hear about the Russian Mafia is just that! I recon we must have spoken to a few people who couldn't have been anything else - the theme is: you got to worry about the punks in the street; the mafia are into business and don't give a toss about tourists.
Finally, it would be helpfull if you could get a copy (in English) of the customs declaration form you need to bring a bike into the country (and also leave). We were luck to have someone at the border (entering Russia) help us filling the form out (it was all in Russian); but on the way out the customs guy handed us an English form. No real hassles crossing in or out of Russia. customs and border guards were courteous and very helpfull - once they saw we were aussies! And once again the comment - No! it's impossible, you came to see us all the way from Australia - I don't believe it!
All in all - we absolutely loved Russia - fantastic cities and even more fantastic people. Forget the communist/socialist/ political bullshit / or whatever - Russia is awesome. Anyone that is thinking of going, just do it. You'll never regret it; and you might even make some great new friends like we did. You know who you are - thank's heaps guys, we'll try and get back one day.

Our time in Warsaw

We spent today playing tourist and saw most of Warsaw including the Old Town, Jewish Ghetto, and lots of other historical sites. most of warsaw was destroyed in WWII, but the new buildings have been built in the old style. Also lots of new modern buildings. Very interesting history and pretty city; with friendly people.

Monument to Chopin

The Royal garden

Memorial to the Jews

The Old Town

We're going to stay a couple of days with Michael's son's girlfriend's sister and meet her mother; then we're heading for Berlin. From there, south to the BMW factory in Munich.

Few more pics

Me at the border
Stickers!
A beach in Latvia
An empty border post in Latvia

Estonia to Poland

We left Estonia (Tallinn) last Friday. Today (Sunday) we arrived in Warsaw - crossing Latvia and Lithuania (which weren't much to look at; nothing but flat open countryside with miles of fields). A couple of photos along the way:

Some images of St Petersburg

Tallin (Estonia)

Left St Petersburg for the Estonian border yesterday morning. The roads were woeful - one big pothole!. Crossed out of Russia in about 45 minutes with no problems. The TomTom came back on and we were able to navigate to our hotel in Tallin with no difficulty. We're staying in the Old City part of Tallin and went for a stroll this morning to find nothin but American and German tourists - thousands of them!
Some photos of the old city:

Leaving St Petersburg

We're leaving St Petersburg tomorrow morning (Thu 5 June) and travelling west towards Estonia. Photos of Peter when we have more time to post . . . .

Moscow to St Petersburg

It's Wednesday 4 June. We rode into St Petersburg yesterday afternoon and was met by a member of the Rolling Anarchy MC and escorted to their clubhouse where we spent last night. The ride out of Moscow was woefull; cold, rain and trucks; not to mention the million trucks on the road. It was a fine day when we left Moscow but a 100 km up the road it turned bad - temp dropped to about 8 degrees; it rained; the roads turned nasty (heaps of road works which required carefull navigation); and every truck in Russia was in our way (all blowing diesel fumes). We couldn't find a place to stay or camp; so kept on riding. We ended up 125km out of St Petersurg about 7pm that evening and fell on a service station which had a hotel attached; and crashed for the night.
The next day we headed out to St Petersburg about 9.30am and took us to about 3pm to cover the 125km; only to find the hotel we had chosen was full. Three other hotels in the near vicinity were all full (should of booked). We rang our contact with the local MC and they came to the rescue. Found us in town and escorted us to their clubhouse which has a bunkhouse; shower, toillet, and kitchen; not to mention the bar.
So, after a good nights sleep we're off to see the sights.

Ukraine to Russia

We left the Ukraine on Thursday 29 May. We got lost finding the border and ended up in the countryside close to the Russian border; and the Police found us! After much sign language to indicate we were lost, we got an escort to the right road. It took us an hour to get across the Ukraine side; then 1 1/2 hours to enter Russia - what a hassle! So much paperwork (all in Russian) and thanks to another biker that was also crossing, we got some help with the interpretations and filling out the forms.
It took us 2 days to get to Moscow; we stayed in a small hotel just across the Ukraine border. We were met on the outer ring road to Moscow by a contact from the HUBB (Nadejda). Thanks to her, we got a fast ride into the city and our hotel. We would never have navigated the roads without her. The traffic was unbelievable. Six lanes of crazy drivers, just about stand-still. and when they got moving - mad crazy unbelievable speeds. We used a small emergency type of lane on the left - only 1.2 metres wide (the bike is about 1.1 metres! We travelled most of the ring road (about 50km in the emergency lane overtaking all the stationery cars in the adjacent 6 lanes!
SATURDAY 31 MAY 2008
We made contact with friends from Rolling Anarchy who met us later in the day. The morning was spent braving the Metro and finding our way into the city. Walked around the Kremlin and saw Lenin in his tomb! Strolling down some of the major streets surrounding the Kremlin and inner cuty area.
We were picked up at our hotel later that day by Sasha and Dimitri and treated to to tour of the major sights around the city. After, we went to a favourite biker's meeting palce and met some of the locals and had a fine dinner.
On our return to the car, Sasha found it missing! It had been towed away. No problem, a few words with the local cops and some directions, Sasha's car was retrieved a few minutes later; at no cost!
All in all, a fantastic day seeing Moscow - a city as large as the ACT, but with 12 million people - all crazy, but heaps of fun!

Final images of Moscow

The skyline from our hotel
Man on a horse!
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
Red Square

Even more images of Moscow

WWII tank
More gold dones
Our frineds Sasha and Dimitri
Memorial to concentration camp victims

More images of Moscow

Slaying the Serpent
The cathedral
Red Square

Images of Moscow

Moscow University
Boulevarde
Another gold dome
Goddess of Victory

Moscow!!!

We made it to Moscow late this afternoon - with a little (huuuge amount) help from a friend from the HUBB.
Will post more tomorrow after a sightseeing walk.
Here for 2 days then onto St Petersburg.
More later . . .

Images of Odessa

A strange little bridge where it appears lovers write or engrave their names onto locks and fix them to the railing; hundereds of them!

Tips for travellers in the Ukraine

Thought I'd document a few things that might be of help to other travellers:
Language: It would be extremely helpful if you can read a little crilic; just to be able to decipher the road signs, because they don't translate into what you would expect in english. Most people do not speak english; a few words if that. Sign language gets you by.
Roads: The highways between major town are quite good; usually 4 lane type freeways. Get off the main roads and they become narrow, potholed and bumpy, with very few advisory warning signs, especially approaching sharp corners/bends; so slow down. The roads in some of the older villages and especially in major towns are paved with granite cobblestones - they are extemely slippers, and combined with tram and railway tracks, it makes riding tricky.
Road signs and navigation: Road signs tend to spring up just before a turn and don't give you much time to prepare. The signs are mostly in crilic and again don't necessarily correspond with its english equivalent. The easiest way to get around is the road numbers; eg. E65, M05, etc. I have a TomTom Rider and the only roads that show are the main arterial roads with the road number. These tend to disappear when you enter a large city. The compass on the TomTom is the best way to navigate; also lokking at a road map attached to my tank bag. I found if I have a fair idea which direction I want to go and loosly follow the compass direction, we eventaully get there. When driving on a major road; stay in the right lane at all times; and make real sure it's clear before overtaking or using the left lane, because you never know when that Mercedes or V8 Audi will come out of nowhere at a million miles an hour.
Petrol stations: WOG or Lukoil are best and most reliable service stations to obtain petrol. All have 95 octane (green pump). The usual procedure is: the is usually a guy near the pumps; he will fill your tank. Get off the bike, open the filler cap, select the pump and put it into the tank. Either tell the guy how much you want (in money, and pull some out of your wallet and flash it in his face) or go to the cashier's window and hand over enough money to pay for what you want. The guy will fill your tank. If you've overestimated, you get a refund! Most stations don't take credit card. At the time of posting this, a litre of 95 octane is about 6.3 Ukraine thingamejigs (about AUS$1.50).
Miscellaneous: Smokes cost about AUS$1.50 a pack. Coffee is execptional and cheap. Don't drink tap water.
Cops: They are everwhere; especially approaching service stations. They mainly stop trucks. Most have small hand-held radar, and most drivers flash their lights to warm you. I've always stayed under the speed limits (not really sure what they are, but slower than the average car!) and haven't been stopped yet.
Money: most larger hotel take credit card and also have an ATM. Lots of bamks with ATM's. Most places only take cash. One Australian dollar is 4.4 Ukraine thingamejigs. Everything seems to be quite cheap; breakfast $5, coffee $1, smokes $1.50, big diner with glass of wine $25.
Hope this helps . . .

Goodbye Kiev - Hello Odessa!

Left Kiev this morning is pissing down rain; 9 degrees and cold; and every car and truck in the city were on the road blocking our way out! Managed to navigate our way ( using a compass) out of the city in 2 hours! Then onto the highway south to Odessa. 500km took us 9 hours!
Note for anyone coming this way from Horizons - The Black Sea Hostel in Odessa no longer exists - the building is being torn down. It took us an hour driving in circles around town after we got here to find it didn't exist - pissed off Fred!
We're staying at the Hotel Passage - very old Russian style, but great sprung beds!
Parked the bike on the footpath by the front door and flicked the security guard 50 thingamejigs to watch it for the night (about 10 bucks).
Off sightseeing tomorrow - so stay tuned for more photos.
Change of plan from here - decided to head north across the Ukraine and run directly towards Moscow - should take us 3 days after we leave; so will be Moscow by the weekend.

Memories of Kiev

We took a 5 hour stroll around the centre of Kiev and found lots of monuments and old buildings; the architecture is great. The city was not as busy as yesterday; and we didn't get lost. Photos are just a sample of what we saw.





We're off to Odessa tomorrow . . . .

Hello Kiev!

Last 2 days been an absolute bitch; thunder storms and difficulty finding somewhere to stay! Left Romania with no problems; took us 20 minutes to cross the border into the Ukraine - border guards very helpfull and cheery. The roads! Not B or C grade; but Z grade! I'm being too harsh - they were not that bad; very bumpy and full of pot holes - that was the freeway! Then it started to rain. The major town were a little difficult to navigate - can't read the road signs and went by the road number. The roadways in most town are paved with cobble stones; and with the rain, and trying to cross slippery railway and tram tracks - look out! But we made it ok. We stopped about 70km out of Kiev last night. We pushed on because we couldn't find any accomodation; not even anywhere decent to pitch the tent. It looked like we were going to go all the way; and knowing our luck the first hotel would have been the Hilton!. no matter, we found a great little place just of the highway; soaked to the skin, and having ridden 500km in 10 hours; we were stuffed.
We were having a beer on the deck of the hotel last night and saw something amazing. Four guys walked from the hotel to the car park. Went to the boot of a large black Audi and pulled out a long silver case. I immediatley thought; that looks like a sniper rifle case - and I was right. They pulled out this bloody huge snipper rife and all inspected it, looking through the sights, taking aim etc. They put it back; gave each other a manly hug and drove off in different cars!
The trip into Kiev; we thought would be an easy 70km ride - wrong!!! We ended up travelling 80km around town; on and off major freeways; down back streets; etc before finding a hotel. Col ran in and found it to be $400 a night - crap! Drive around for another half and hour, and find another hotel (just 50m from the first one we saw - didn't see it the first time) and booked in for the next 2 nights - a modest $120 a night, 4 star service!
So, we're finally in Kiev (no real idea where we really are) and going to try and see the sights tomorrow (after washing and trying to get our wet riding gear dry.
So far the only problem the Ukraine has posed, is trying to decipher the signs and navigate - thank goodness the compass works.

More Romanian photos

Cruising the back roads of Romania
Another ancient fortress
North country near the Ukraine border

Final photos of Romania

Kif and I swapping patches
An ancient monk's cave
The Danube Delta
Tulcea and the Danube at dusk
Michael's Romanian haircut

Leaving Romania

We're in a little town called Rudaiti in the north of Romania near the Ukraine border staying with a friend, Kif. He was kind enough to put us up for tonight and today took us for a ride in the countryside. Have some wonderful photos but will have to wait to upload them.
Heading into the Ukraine tomorrow morning. We're told it should be an easy crossing; maybe and hour at the most with the paperwork; then on to Kiev. Should take us 2 days to reach Kiev and we might splurge on a decent hotel to do some washing and have a soft bed (Michael's arse is getting flat and sore!)
We're sorry to be leaving Romania. It has been one of the most wonderful countries we have ever travelled through; and met the most friendly and welcoming people.
Much thanks to Kif and Mihai and Andrei for making our stay most enjoyable.
If you've never been to Romania; think about it - you don't know what you're missing!

Note for Kathie

Kathie, Soraya, Kate etc - please send us your home email address. We think the firewall at ABS is blocking our emails we have sent you in the last week.
Please send via Michael's email address (michaeltharme@msn.com)

We're in Tulcea

We're in Tulcea; the mouth of the Danube Delta. Going on a 6 hour river cruise tomorrow to the world heritage park. We don't know when we can next post because from here we're heading north along the Moldovian border to the Ukraine; should enter the Ukraine in 3 or 4 days and from there, a couple of days to Kiev (for chicken).

Few more pictures

Romanian Police Museum

Prince Vlad's stronghold in Targovista

Prince Vlad's family tree

Bucharest to Constanta

Sunday 18 May 2008
We're were escorted out of Bucharest by Mihai and his wife and rode the picturesque road east to Constanta via the ferry which borders Bulgaria. Very fantastic scenery and winding (bumpy) roads. When we arrived in Constanta Mihai found us a hotel and we dropped our bags off. We then road about 60km south to Vama Veche, a hippy type seaside town. We there met members of the Sea Wolves MC and had a very large but enjoyable lunch. We rode back to Constanta late that evening and slept for 12 hours!

The ferry across the Danube from Calarasi

We think this guy was the Pres of the Seawolves MC (he gave Colleen a Club t-shirt and me a stick-on patch for the bike)

Mihai and the Seawolves MC

Great day in Bucharest

Saturday 17 May 2008
After meeting Mihai, we took the bike to his service centre and gave it an oil change and general look over. We also attached a heat shield to the left hand pannier because everything inside was getting roasted by the heat from the exhaust. Works fine now. Saturday night we had diner with Mihai and his wife and later Andrei and Adriana took us for a drive around town in the evening looking at the Military Museum and Peoples House (Parliament).
Earlier that day we returned to Targovista to visit the Police Museum - well worth the trip. An extrordinary museum with exhibits dating back to early 1800's when the first Police were mercenaries from Turkey. Found a NSW Police Cap, but no badge (promised the curator we would try and send her one). We donated an AFP and NSW Police Patch which were immediately placed in a prominent position in the display.
Next door to the museum is a small castle which was inhabited by Prince Vlad - took a couple of photos and climbed the 6 million stairs to the top of the guard's watchtower!

Andrei and a couple of friends

The curator of the Romanian Police Museum.

Mihai and his wife.

Outside the House of the People.

We're in Bucharest

Made it. Will post more tomorrow when we're awake . . .
Saturday 17 May 2008:
Made it into Bucharest late yesterday afternoon; wet and tired. We crossed the Carpathians near Brasov and got caught in a thunderstorm with much lightening. The road was very poor; steep, winding with huge potholes that were filled with rain and it was difficult to see them and see how deep they were. Dodging trucks and horse drawn carts; great fun!
We stopped at Bran Castle and saw the home of Dracula; very well restored from 13th century. We attempted to ride over the Transfargas Pass however the road was blocked with snow and one of the best roads to ride on was bypassed. Have a look at the photo further down this blog on what we missed out on.
We tried to find a camping site or other accommodation yesterday after leaving Bran in Targoviste (the Police Museum); however we again got caught in a storm and had to navigate heavy traffic through the town, including flooded roads; so we kept going and made it all the way to Bucharest.
On arrival we phoned Andrei from the HUB and met him later at out hotel. (we booked in at the Ibis) We also bumped into another guy (Paul) riding an African Twin who stayed and had a beer with us last night. He and his wife will be joining us today for a ride back to Targoviste to see the museum; Mihal from the HUB is also coming along. Tonight Andrei and his mates are taking us on a night museum tour and ride around the city.

Bran Castle

Still in Budapest

We met the IPA representative in front of Parliament House and got a guided tour. Didn't get to see the PM because the House was in session - we thought it not to be polite to disturb him . . . Got a tour of Police HQ and met some wonderfull people including the boss of the emergency comms section. Had a feed in the caffeteria and noticed that the secure offices had bars on the front door - I thought they were cells!

Me, Colleen and the IPA rep (Ida) in front of parliament House.

Me in front of Police HQ

We're in Budapest.

Left Prague this morning and went to see the Church of Bones in Kutna Hora then rode into Slovakia for 20 minutes and onto Hungary - 3 countries in one day! Arrived in Budapest late afternoon and found The Biker Camp (Benyovszky Moric utca 40) (http://www.bikercamp.hu). Host is Zsuzsanna - very nice lady - speaks little Australian! Unfortunately, no other biker in the place - we're looking forward to maybe meeting other travellers.

The Church of Bones.

Our camp site at Bikercamp.

We're in Prague

Picked the bike up - all ok - set off for Dover last Tuesday. Crossed on the SpeedFerry in 55 minutes to France then headed north to Calais for the night.
Traveling on the wrong side of the road was very weird! First round-a-bout, nearly got wiped out by not looking LEFT. The motorways in Germany are awesome. Sitting on 130 cruising nicely and got overtaken by a Ferrari doing 200+.
Met Paul M in Germany and parted company 5 hours later! Didn't realize he was on such a tight schedule of 600-800km per day. O well, as the saying goes.
Spent last night in a quaint little village somewhere near Alfeld in Germany.
Made it to Prague today and spent 3 hours riding in circles around the inner city trying to find accommodation. Should have gone straight to the information center, shouldn't we?
Tomorrow we have a day in Prague doing the tourist thing. Then head east to Kuta Hora and the Church of Bones.
Stay tuned . . . .

Day 2 in Prague:

Secure parking in the hotel - straight thru the lobby!

Ready to go!

Picked up the passports with Ukraine and Russian visa today. Bags are packed. We leave Canberra on Friday morning.

Alternate route

The trip is going to be very flexible. If we don't get to Kazakhstan, we might get down to Spain. We'll wait and see what's in store when we get there . . .

2 weeks to go

Still waiting on the passports to come back. Got a good exchange rate on Euros and Pounds. Picking up the airline tickets next week. We've only got to pack and then we're off . . . .

Getting close

We've booked everything. Managed to get cheap train tickets from London to Felixstowe (reduced from 40 pounds to 6 pounds each). Hotel at Heathrow also booked and also the Guest House in Felixstowe. We're just waiting for our passports to come back with the Ukraine and Russian visas.
Getting itchy feet - we just want to get going . . . .

The planning stage

Using on-line maps like Google and Windows Live, I planned the rough route taking us across Western Europe into the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, then on to the Ukraine and into Russia, then Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

I researched visa requirements and found the Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia all needed ‘invitations’ before submitting an application for a visa; and it wasn’t cheap! I ended up using Visalink who processed all the paperwork.

The next step was to find how I could ship the bike from Australia to the UK. I came across Get Routed, an Australian company run by Dave Milligan from Melbourne. The company ships motorcycles in special containers to the UK. They also handle all Customs and Quarantine paperwork together with insurance. They have now started to ship to the USA, so the Americas adventure will be made a lot easier in a couple of years.

Getting to the UK was made easy by the guys at Flight Centre. Gareth Evans in the Canberra office arranged Korean Air via an overnighter in Seoul.

Apart from some fine tuning of the route; the only other thing was to prepare the bike and our traveling gear. Mike Owen and the mechanics from Mike Owen Motorcycles in Canberra came to the rescue; adding some needed accessories and servicing. Lachlan Campbell, the Australian distributor of Jesse Panniers supplied the panniers and top box. Most of our traveling clothing and camping equipment was purchased from Mountain Designs.

How it all started

A couple of years ago I travelled to Nepal on a six week expedition through the eastern region near Kanchenjunga. The expedition organised by Jamie McGuinness of Project Himalaya included the north and south base camps of Kanchenjunga; Jannu base camp; and some rarely climbed 6000+m peaks!

The expedition was a combination of two groups: six trekkers and eight expedition members. We all planned to trek to Kanchenjunga Base Camp, then the trekkers were to return whilst the expedition team went further into the wilds climbing a number of 6000m peaks and exploring some unknown territory towards the Tibet border. As it turned out, only two expedition members were able to continue after reaching Base Camp and everyone else returned on the planned route with the trekkers.

Unfortunately my trip was cut short due to me collapsing due to altitude sickness 100m short of my goal at Pangpema. Our Sherpas brought me back down to Lhonak where I spent the next two days recovering. It was decided I could not physically climb over the 5,800 pass north west of Kanchenjunga and I joined our trekking team and headed back down. The remaining 6 members of the expedition team spent the night at Pangpema and only two members were able to join Jammie in climbing higher; the rest descended and came back with me - very disappointing; but hey, we all survived!

The Kanchenjunga region offers some of the best trekking and exploring in Nepal. The region is unspoilt; and many areas are still unexplored. It offers an outstanding cultural insight into the people, flora and fauna of the region. The sight of Kanchenjunga, seen from Pangpema (the north base camp) is unforgettable, as is the north face of Jannu, Wedge Peak and Mera. Kanchenjunga is the third highest mountain on the planet but unlike Everest and K2, the trek to its base camps has been strangely neglected. It has not yet been fully commercialised and few organisations offer trekking/climbing packages for tourists.

Nepal is the most wonderful country in the world and most amazing people, especially the Sherpas and porters who assisted us throughout our journey. If you have time, read my blog of the expedition.

After experiencing ‘living outside the square’, I came back from Nepal with so much adrenaline in my blood; I started planning my next adventure; this time taking Colleen with me – so started the dream of riding a motorcycle across Europe and Russia.

Using the internet as my primary research tool, I came across the Horizons Unlimited website and forum. This website contains tales of adventure, terror and joy from travellers around the world together with very helpful hints and advice on how to travel around the world on a motorcycle. Various countries host annual meetings were travellers come together and swap advice and stories. My first one was in 2007 in the Victorian town of Tintaldra where I met some amazing people who had been there and done it. I came away inspired and ready to go. I also came across the documentary ‘Long Way Round’ made by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Borman. It was then I decided to follow part of their route across Europe and Russia. We originally started thinking about doing the Americas; but because my Mum lives in the UK, we decided to ride the Europe leg and see Mum along the way.

The bikes gone!!!!

Took the bike to Sydney yesterday and got her ready for the trip by sea to the UK. Next time I see her will be on 6 May when she comes out of the container at Felixstowe (hopefully in one piece).

The planned route

View Larger Map

3 months to go

The bike's been serviced (new rubber, oils, brake pads etc).
Gets shipped out of Sydney in 4 weeks.
Waiting on passports and visa to be returned (Ukraine & Russia).
Everything is booked and just waiting to go . . . . .

Looking forward to great roads in Romania!

Destinations

4/05/2008 - 6/05/2008 - UK
7/05/2008 - 9/05/2008 - France
9/05/2008 - 10/05/2008 - Germany
11/05/2008 - 13/05/2008 - Czech Republic
13/05/2008 - 14/05/2008 - Hungary
15/05/2008 - 27/05/2008 - Romania
28/05/2008 - 4/06/2008 - Ukraine
5/06/2008 - 7/06/2008 - Russia
8/06/2008 - 24/06/2008 - Kazakhstan
25/06/2008 - 12/07/2008 - Russia
13/07/2008 - 13/07/2008 - Estonia
14/07/2008 - 15/07/2008 - Latvia
15/07/2008 - 16/07/2008 - Lithuania
17/07/2008 - 19/07/2008 - Poland
20/07/2008 - 23/07/2008 - Germany
24/07/2008 - 26/07/2008 - Netherlands
27/07/2008 - 28/07/2008 - Belgium
29/07/2008 - 8/08/2008 - UK

Vaccinations

The following vaccinations are recommended for the regions we will be traveling in:
Cholera
Tetanus
Diphtheria
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Varicella (chicken pox)
Measles
Mumps
Rubella
Polio
Hepatitis A and B
Typhoid
Tuberculosis

Gear List

Michael:
1 light thermals (top & bottom)
3 pair jocks
3 polypropylene socks
3 heavy trekking socks
3 hankies
1 shirt with collar
1 medium weight high neck thermal top
2 T-shirts
Trekking pants
1 pair MX pants
1 pair shorts
Swimming costume
Motoline jacket and trousers
Windproof jacket
Beanie, balaclava, hat & mozzie net
Waterproof riding gloves
Light MX gloves
Riding boots
Sandals
Camelback
Head torch
Emergency knife
Sunglasses
Spare prescription glasses

Colleen:
1 light thermals (top & bottom)
3 pair nickers
3 bras
3 polypropylene socks
3 heavy trekking socks
3 hankies
1 shirt with collar
1 medium weight high neck thermal top
2 T-shirts
Trekking pants
1 pair shorts
1 pair jeans
Swimming costume
Motorcycle jacket and trousers
Windfleece jacket
Beanie, balaclava, hat & mozzie net
Waterproof riding gloves
Riding boots
Camelback
Sandals
Head torch
Emergency knife
Spare prescription glasses

House:
Tent (Eureka KT2)
Sleeping bag x 2
Thermarest & Pillow x 2

Cooking:
MSR stove, fuel bottle + pots
2 multi forks, 2 bowls & 2 cups
Wooden cooking spoon
Waterproof matches
Salt and pepper
Coffee,tea and dried milk
Cooking oil
Tin opener
3lt water bladder
Scrub sponge and dish cloth
Dehydrated soups & noodles
Tea, coffee, sugar & powdered milk
Plastic bags

Bike & accessories:
Tool kit + Spares
Oil
Tyre repair kit (gas and hand pump)
Jumper cables
Pressure gauge
Wheel lock and chain
Tie-downs
2 MSR Fuel bottles
Siphon tube
Driving light
Air horn
Tank bag
Jesse panniers and top box
TomTom Rider GPS
Helmets with Autocom
Bike cover

Toiletries
Toothbrush + toothpaste
Soap + body wash
Sunscreen + lip balm
Moisturiser
Razors
Insect repellent
Toilet paper
Germicide hand wash
Small mirror
Towelettes, cotton buds
2 medium towels + face washer
Nail clippers + file

Miscellaneous:
First aid kit + Prescription drugs + vitamins
Small back pack
Notebook, Maps, compass & pens
Sewing kit
Thermarest repair kit
Multi purpose Knife
Mobile phone and charger
Small torch
Spare AAA batteries
Clothes line
Dirty clothes bag
Playing cards + chess set
Candles

Photographic
Video camera + tapes
Digital camera
Mini tripod
Charger unit for Video and Digital cameras

Paperwork
2 x bum bags
Passports + photocopies
Identification photos
Drivers license (Austrian + Int)
Registration papers
Green card insurance
Memory stick with copies of all documents
Hold-up wallet (expired credit cards and cash)

The bike

BMW R1200GS.

Early planning

We're 12 months away from our next adventure.
This time we're riding our BMW 1200GS 22,000km half way round the world and back!
In later posts, I'll describe the route, the bike, gear list etc.
Stay tuned . . . .