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Horizons Unlimited
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| Are you a TRAVELLER? Are you interested in the kissing camels of Tan Tan, the religious police in Saudi, black-bottomed monsters in Tierra del Fuego, shotgun repairs in Madagascar, the Afro-Cuban All Stars in Mozambique, the ghastliest joy-sucking rat-pits on the planet, Kalashnikovs in Iran, beaten with sticks in Chita, instant death in Goa, dream rides in Colombia, Muscovite Hells Angels in Chile, adventure riding in eastern Siberia, and much more...? Then you're reading the right newsletter! |
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Administrivia On the Website: (All pages open in new window)Home
Page Every newsletter is permanently archived online. Back issues here.
errr, what's an RSS Feed? there's a great RSS guide here, or a more detailed one here, an RSS Q and A here. TIP: If you like to print the e-zine, in Outlook Express or Outlook go to View / Text size (or Font size) and select smallest. If you're reading this online, in IE select View / Text Size and set it to "smallest." Then print it. The smallest font size is just right for printing, and saves a lot of paper. Netscape, Mozilla and Opera etc. are similar.
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Welcome to the 56th Edition of the newsletter. Life has been pretty crazy the last while for us - in the last 8 months we've moved twice in London, and one move from Canada. It's embarrassing to admit that we had accumulated too much stuff while in Canada, so even after selling all appliances and furniture and filling up a storage locker in Canada, we still had too much stuff to fit into the flat we originally had found last summer. But everything is now in one place, the bike has arrived and we are finally getting settled in and mostly unpacked. We've also been working hard on upgrades to the site, and those who know about systems projects will not be surprised to learn that everything takes at least five times as long as your most pessimistic estimate! So I (Grant) am working hard on it, as well as keeping the site running as is, answering your e-mails and getting the 2006 Meetings organised. We've had several plaintive emails (like the one below) asking where's the newsletter, so decided to hold off on everything else and get an ezine issue out! From RTW travellers Peter and Kay Forwood: "Hi Grant and Susan, Missing the Ezine's here in Djibouti especially after just coming out of Somalia (Somaliland) and now waiting for parts and looking for a good read. Missing the ability to know where other travellers are in the world so we can perhaps meet up with them. Missing knowing what other travellers are now doing after we have met them on the road. Feeling all alone out here travelling. Where are the regular Ezine's I used to look forward to reading? Hoping they will return, Please, Please, Please! Peter and Kay" We're going to try and be much more regular this year, we know you want it! In order to do that, we're now getting some assistance with the editing. Peter Henshaw helped with this issue, and a certain mad Scotsman who wishes to remain nameless - thanks to both of you! Photo Contest 2006 for the 07 calendarWith the great success of last year's calendar and contest, we have decided to make it an annual event. So get your photos together, and start making some great new ones. If used in the calendar, you will receive a (small) portion of the proceeds. Details and signup to come. The 2006 calendar is of course still available - check it out and get your copy now, for some terrific travel inspiration! For those photographers whose work was featured, we'll be doing the accounting soon and will let you know what your share is of the sales to date. In Progress - "How to ride around the world" VideoMany of you who have attended our Travellers Meetings over the years, and at the meetings that Susan or I have been able to get to, have attended our 3 hour long "How-to" presentation. At last years UK Meeting, we had a videographer tape it for us. It's currently being edited, and will be available in June sometime. But in order to make it really interesting - we need some video from YOU! What we'll use is short, exciting clips, 10-60 seconds long or so, to intersperse all the yakking and boring stuff ;). The clips should be very high quality originals, not compressed. We don't expect to make enough money to pay for the clips, sorry - but you will get fame - or at least, credit on the DVD. Remember, motorcycle travel clips only, showing the bike and rider in exotic locales, preferably moving, or from-the-bike video clips, on and off-road. More details, and Submission info here, and we'll let you know where to send it. NOTE: We need it soon! The Horizons Unlimited Traveller's Meeting Video...presents an overview of the events and presentations of the 2005 Colorado Traveller's Meeting, in Buena Vista, Colorado. Narrated by Grant Johnson, this DVD provides the viewer with a sampling of the events from one of the nine Traveller's Meetings held around the world—perfect for anyone interested in learning about the benefits of attending a Traveller's Meeting, or learning more about long distance motorcycle travel.
DVD Highlights include: • Interviews with Grant Johnson (Horizons Unlimited), Chris & Erin Ratay (Ultimate Journey), and many others... Click here to view the trailer and to order.
How to contributeAs always, thanks to all our generous supporters for helping us to keep going. For those who haven't yet contributed, or haven't recently contributed, here's all the ways you can help! Become a Member - Support HU via PayPal Can't/Don't want to use electronic payment? Support HU via Snail Mail Start your planning with travel books at the Horizons Unlimited books page, and use the Amazon search function for your region to look for what you want. Don't forget to visit the Souk for sweatshirts, mugs, boxer shorts and much more. If you know anyone who should be advertising with us (anyone who sells motorcycles or motorcycle accessories, riding gear, camping equipment and clothing, transports motorcycles, organizes motorcycle tours, or has motorcycles to rent should be advertising), please let us know or send them to our Advertising page with your recommendation. It's our advertisers, sponsors and product sales that make it possible for us to make the website and e-zine available to you. We hope you'll check out their products and services and if you plan to buy these products, do it from our site or links. If you do use the services of one of our advertisers/supporters, we hope you'll let them know that you're buying from them because of their support for HU - and of course that they have a great product or service! :) AdministrationIf you've had problems receiving the e-zine due to spam filters or insufficient bandwidth, remember you can subscribe to the 'Notice' edition instead of the full HTML version. The Notice edition is a short, straight text message that contains a URL to bring you to the full text on the website. Because the Notice email is so small, it downloads in a flash, and leaves your mailbox uncluttered. Change to the Notice version here. We now have an Please submit news reports, web links etc. to us for inclusion in this newsletter. We try to link to your website if you have one. And if you don't have a website, we can help, and it won't cost you anything. This newsletter is provided as a complimentary service for travellers everywhere, both on the road and (temporarily of course ;-) off. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meetings 2006 - time to plan ahead!New meetings added this year! We now have a meeting organised for Belgium, September 8-10, and for 2007, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, January 13-14 2007, and southern France August 2007. Mark your new HU Calendar with the following dates:
Grant will definitely be at the Mexico, UK, Belgium, Portugal and 2007 France meetings, and possibly others. If you've been to one, you know why it's worth going! If you haven't been to one, why not? It's a great experience, different from any other motorcycle event, described as a "...uniquely typical travellers atmosphere that's an odd ball combination of mellow, and tail wagging enthusiasm." Make 2006 the year to get to one, two or more events and meet your fellow travellers! If you are planning on coming to one of the meetings, please register early. Also let us know if you'd like to show a few slides from one of your trips too - it doesn't have to be a fancy multimedia presentation, a few slides and a few words about the area is great. Length can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes. From Brian Coles, who presented at the HU UK 2005 meeting:
For the Saturday afternoon (for most meetings) we are also adding even more prepared seminars on all subjects, and looking for more volunteers to lead them. Tech subjects such as tire changing, travel prep on documentation, health, packing the bike and anything else anyone wants to talk about are all of interest. You don't need to be an expert, just have done it! Let us know if you can help! Volunteers for all meetings are needed, just a couple of hours of your time makes it all a lot easier - and fun - for all. You can volunteer a few hours of your time for any meeting here. Motorcycle Rentals for Mexico Meeting available! See the Mexico Meeting page for details.See the Meetings page for more details on all events. See you there! Grant and Susan. |
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Horizons Unlimited New Links...Too many to list! If you haven't checked out the Links page it's time you did - it's scary long, but it's a fascinating browse.
Get your website listed in the LINKS Sectionby listing Horizons Unlimited on YOUR web site, let me know you've done it by mailing me a link to the page, and you may get listed here in the next newsletter and on the Horizons Unlimited web site Links page. To make it easy for you, we even have our logo and link code here! All sites will be considered for listing, but must be a MOTORCYCLE or TRAVEL site, useful or of interest in some way to travellers. We reserve the right to refuse to link back.  Motorcycle Services MC Air Shipping, (uncrated) USA / Canada / Europe and other areas. Say "Horizons Unlimited" to get your discount on Shipping AND insurance! Documentation arranged too.
There are many 'Helpful People' listed on the Links page, a huge thanks to all of them. How about you? Or you can join a Community, or start your own!
Do you know of a good shop 'on the road,'...in other words, somewhere there isn't a large number of shops? (Also of course any shop that specializes in travellers equipment and repairs is of interest.) But we're particularly looking for those rare items, good repair shops in South America, Africa and Asia etc. Please post your info in the Repair shops around the world Forum on the HUBB. There are now 100 + shops listed in out - of - the - way places, from Abidjan to Ghana to Peru! Be sure to check out the HUBB "Repair shops around the world" forum if you need work done!
On the HUBB there has been a lot of discussion about the safety aspect in the Middle East lately, but it's not all bad news:"riztech" replied to the topic entitled - Syria: Nordic embassies burnt down "colesyboy! I am from Pakistan and if you travel to Pakistan either through KKH or simply from any airport, I guarantee you safety. No one is going to say anything to your girlfriend if she is Danish. She is not the one who printed those cartoons. Trust me you won't have any trouble in Pakistan except weather condition and adjustment with local food." From Nicholas Laing,"In May 2005 Johnny Raymond and I rode BMW 2100GS bikes from London to Vladivostok and then shipped them back to Moscow on
the Trans Siberian. We then drove them back to London. The trip took 32 days of fairly hard riding and we covered around 8,200 miles. When you meet people on the road, and they haven't heard of this e-zine or the website, we'd appreciate it (and hope they would too!) if you'd get their names and email addresses and send it in to me. Thanks, Grant Request for infoWouldn't YOU like to know all about the border you're approaching - what it should cost, paperwork required, 'tips' needed, and who to talk to, etc.? When you cross ANY border, take some notes, and pass them on to us. Thanks! ShippingThe Shipping page on the site is HUGE! It can be reached directly or from the Shipping link on the Trip Planning page. If you have any information to contribute, please go here, and register (or just login IF you have used this system before) and you can then submit your information. Thanks! Travel Advisories:The Foreign Office in London's Travel Advice Unit advises against travel to all sorts of places. Check out the listing before you start! The US State Department regularly issues updated travel advisories, information and/or warnings. |
Peter and Kay Forwood, Australia, around the world since 1996, in Saudi Arabia, Harley-Davidson,"Entering Saudi Arabia, riding the motorcycle, and with Kay as a pillion, we had been advised could be difficult, but apart from one officious officer things went smoothly. The bike again, with its covering of stickers and list of countries drew interest to our trip and turned around potential border problems to a smooth crossing. Very few, non Gulf registered vehicles cross into Saudi Arabia and it took 40 minutes, no special paperwork, just bike insurance, one month $US 37.00, all details entered into the border's computer system.
... The rules governing Saudi Arabia are different from almost all other countries. It doesn't mean that the laws enforce these rules but the 'religious police' do, or at least make people feel uncomfortable if they don't comply. Like many countries it has become more liberal, western, over the last few years, however a spate of bombing attacks and beheadings of westerners a couple of years ago by the more conservative nationals seems to have slowed that process. Nine westerners were killed in their housing compound in this region, not an isolated incident. News of these attacks rarely makes it to the media, so most news is spread word of mouth by those affected by the incident. It has resulted in most families, wives and children, leaving and many companies here not employing target nationalities of the U.S.A. and British or western looking people. A recent sharp crackdown and high security has prevented further attacks. Women are not allowed to drive vehicles in the country and are rarely seen alone without other women, children or their husbands.
Groups of single men cannot eat in the family section of restaurants and if accompanied by women can not sit in the single section. There are often separate lines for men and families in shops. So tonight our group of 19 men and one woman, Kay, rode along the corniche of Khobar and later ate at Chillies restaurant, in the family section, a rarity for the Harley riders as women aren't generally involved with motorcycles. The day was spent at the H-D workshop, a magnificent set up, modern and with all the specialized tools that we don't carry. We took advantage of the offer of a workbench and we worked together with Mohammad and Makram, the two mechanics, to replace wheel bearings, the inner primary bearing and many jack shaft parts. This area of the motorcycle had caused me problems in Russia and now with a bit of trained knowledge, the mechanics identified the main problem as the starter to jack shaft connector as the reason the starter would not retract. A steady group of spectators rolled past as we worked on the bike, photos, polite conversation, amid some tense repairs, food and coffee rolling through as frequently.
... One of the best ways to get a grip on a culture is simply to people watch. At the western style Dhahran Mall we sat in the food court over a cup of coffee, watching, as locals went about what they do. It was mid-day yet most of the shops were closed, their trading hours 9-12, then 4-9 pm. They also shut for a short period during prayer times, 20 to 30 minutes at sunset and again later in the evening. Restaurants stop serving or taking orders during this time, however patrons are generally allowed to continue eating their meals. All the women at the food court were in groups, many children, families, enjoying western fast foods, McDonalds, KFC and local generic equivalents. Dressed conservatively in black, with hair covered, many with just eye slits to see through but also many open faces. Men dressed in the white robe with traditional head dress. Children, until puberty, in western clothes. ... Our police shepherds had left us to the hotel yesterday afternoon, occasionally dropping by, and this morning we walked around an old ruined part of town alone which indicated they are not particularly concerned with safety issues in this area but have likely been instructed to ensure our steady progress through the region. ... We headed towards Medina, the town from where Muhammad conquered all of Arabia, and is now a Holy City. As such non Muslims are not permitted to enter, as with Mecca, and they must avoid the town by driving around the town along the signposted, "Road for Non Muslims".
Muhammad permitted all creeds to live in peace within the two cities and practised tolerance of other religions. Badr for the night. 330 km's, interesting road through the mountains, desert scenery. Wadi's with stone and mud brick ruins of previous cultures, now moved to more modern accommodation, dotted the landscape. Once our escort had gone we were allowed to wander the town alone and experience local people who would not normally approach us in the presence of police. A wealthy businessman invited us to his house for coffee, dates and tea. Kay entering the inner house with the women, John and I remained in the outer guest area. Dinner at a local restaurant where the proprietor refused payment from us, and gave us some fresh dates to take on our journey. We stayed in an old Sasco petrol station motel that had been closed due to the opening of a bypass highway nearby. They opened a couple of rooms for us for the night, the only accommodation in the area." Peter and Kay Forwood have travelled to over 163 countries during 10 years on the road. Horizons Unlimited is proud to host their complete RTW story and pictures here! Jeremiah St. Ours, USA, Alaska to Ushuaia, in Ushuaia, BMW F650GS (El Viento),"... I awoke to blood on my pillow—again. That made 3 nights in a row. Scarier yet, I didn't know where it was coming from. Before I could think about it further I was distracted by another gust that nearly tore the tin off my quarter's antique roof. I dragged my aching body out of bed into the frosty morning air and drew the curtain. In front of me, churning and seething with tsunami-like white caps—the Strait of Magellan.
For two days I'd been holed up in a flea-bag hotel in a small fishing village on the island of Tierra del Fuego. I was coughing blood, had a splitting headache, a sinus infection and inflamed throat, and felt like someone had stuck an ice pick in my right eardrum. In spite of my being only one day out from my journey's final destination on the island's southern tip, I could not ride. I hadn't planned on stopping here, so I arrived short of funds. With my illness the room was priority, lest I be forced to camp out in the cold, so I had to conserve. The first to go was food. Then water. And by the last morning I was reduced to conning a 7-year old out of a piece of bread. It happened something like this: She was watching cartoons in the hotel restaurant. I offered that Tom was always my favorite, she winced and said Jerry's MY favorite! Then—predictably—she said, ‘I know, you be Tom and I'll be Jerry.’ To which I replied, ‘OK, but Tom is sick and really hungry and would have much more energy to play if he only had a roll.’ Jerry ran to the kitchen to fetch it. I crawled downstairs the next morning to inquire about the weather. ‘Is the sky always this cloudy here,’ I asked the matronly hotelier as I gazed up at a sky full of black-bottomed monsters preparing to unleash? ‘And is it always this windy?’ She quickly glanced up with her eyes without moving her head, as though simply confirming what she already knew, and deadpanned, ‘It's not cloudy.’ She then added, ‘And it's not windy.’
Well, if this is a Good day, I don't want to be here when it's Bad. I'm sick as a dog with no medical care. I haven't enough money to buy a ferry ticket back to the mainland. I'm out of food and water. And with the Antarctic winter blowing in I'm out of time. I donned everything I owned and saddled up. A dirt road led 100 miles east towards the Argentine border where I arrived with less than two US dollars worth of Chilean pesos to my name. Good thing there were no tolls. Those vicious-looking clouds gave me a break, though rain pelted me intermittently and the wind honked as I skirted the Atlantic Ocean. As the extreme southern Andes rose up, the temperature dropped. Add to all of this the sick-chill factor, and I was Freezing. As dusk settled over Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, I rounded the final bend to my destination. It was beautiful, serene and altogether a fitting end to a journey that began eight months before on the north shore of Alaska. For more than 30 years I had dreamed of being right here, right now.
A mixture of strong emotions overcame my ailing body. I was as excited to have achieved my goal as I was sad for having it behind me. I wanted to shout and I wanted cry. Instead, I did neither. I simply pulled El Viento off the road overlooking the harbor, slowly removed my right glove and carefully turned off the key. I closed my eyes in the silence, took a deep breath and exhaled. From this point forward, I'm homeward bound." Robert Bielesch, and Murray Castle, Canada, in Mexico, Central and South America,Robert - "The trip plan was conceived a few years ago, to round out my travels in South America. You see, I had been to South America twice before. I had been bitten. I had to return. Now, in 2006 the time has come to return to 'finish the trip'. The decision was made to ship to Santiago, Chile and ride back from there. Then, one day I received a phone call 'out of the blue'. Murray Castle, whom I had spoken to only once before, by telephone, several years ago, called me. Finally, in December 2004 I asked him if he was still interested. He was ecstatic. 'Yes of course', he responded. 'When do we leave?' I knew it was a big trip, but with Murray being added in it became even bigger. Even though he had volunteered that 'he didn't care where we went', I could not imagine any first time visitor to South America not visiting Nazca, Cusco or Machu Picchu. How could you say to your friends, 'I went to South America but I did not visit Peru?' I added in a tour through southern Peru which became another twenty-five days and 4,000 kms. The trip was getting longer. When the dust settled it was 180 days...6 months, fifteen (15) or more countries and 44,000 kms. Murray 'worked' to pay for his trip and I 'planned' to make it work. 'Father Time' kept ticking and soon it was time to leave. The plan was to start in Santiago, Chile and work north through Chile sharing time between the coast, the desert and the Andes. Then at Arica we would leave Chile and enter Peru to visit some of my favorite places from years past, as well as some new ones...Arequipa, the White City and Nazca, the home of the Nazca lines followed by a traverse of the Andes to Huancayo and Ayacucho, the former stronghold of the 'Shining Path'. Cuzco, Pisac, the Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu are but a few place names. Then onward to Lake Titicaca before dropping off of the Andes to return to Tacna and re-enter Chile. At Arica, Chile we would re-provision before assaulting the Andes again. Then pointing eastward we would cross the spectacular Paso Tambo Quemado (15,280 ft) within the remote and pristine National Park, Reserva Nacionale Las Vicunas. On leaving the park we would enter Bolivia.
Travelling northeastward we would traverse the remote and desolate Altiplano, heading for Tiahuanaco and La Paz. At La Paz we would hopefully obtain our visas for Paraguay and Brazil. Then still heading northeastward we would ride the 'Yungas Road', once coined ‘the most dangerous road in the world’, heading into the Brazilian Amazon. Pushing eastward, ever eastward we will work towards Trinidad where hopefully we can view the remnants of the 5,500 year old Paititi culture. Rising out of the Amazon we will ride the wonderful Bolivian Triangle bounded by Cochabamba, Sucre and Santa Cruz. We will exit Bolivia through the Jesuit Mission area and head for the Brazilian coast. In Rio de Janeiro we will be re-united with our wives after an absence of eighty (80) days. Then for five (5) weeks we will ride the ‘Best of Brazil’ before returning the wives to Rio for their 'norte' departure. We too will head north, but through Brazil, up to Belem, up the Amazon to Manaus and then ever northward to Venezuela. When Venezuela has sated us we will push onward through Central America and Mexico, the USA and finally home to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Only time will tell what happens, where we get to and how it all unfolds. Stay tuned for the real story of ‘South America Re-Visited’. The trip starts the end of March. ...Until we meet again... Robert"
Murray - "'So, what do you pack?' I asked Bob one day over girlie-man lattes. 'I've worked up some lists. I'll email you. But don't take everything you own, keep it simple.' Bob smiled like it was an inside joke. I didn't get it. Yet. Next day a MicroSoft ding on the laptop announced the arrival of a 9 page Complete Packing List , a 3 page Cost Estimate ($22,247 CAD), a 3 page line-by-line Trip Itinerary (Abancay to Cuzco, 1 day, 491 km), with 70 GPS routes to follow in the next email. I soberly scanned the lists, feeling a wee bit overwhelmed. Geez, I'll need two men and a boy to carry all this stuff! But to be fair, I was also impressed as hell. Bob is not a man to take things lightly - he'll be a damn good travelling companion. And besides, we toured the Arizona desert together February last year and got along great. ... So now that I have The Lists, what to put in, what to leave out? And what to do first? Well Murray, says I, let's start with Katie, 'cause that's more fun. Katie M needed some practical clothes, nothing fancy, for this wee jog will include a cruise down the Bolivar, not down the boulevard. So what does an Austrian 200 kg mama wear for a seven month trip in Latin America? Well, considering the journey would include pavement/gravel/sand/no road/passing through narrow doorways and ship hatches, the clothing would have to be, like practical shoes, less than stylin'. After some months dressing Katie in engine guards, high fenders, big Jesse panniers and other bulk I now have a bike that looks more like an Austrian extra in an B grade gladiator movie. Don't worry Arnold, your Terminator image is safe. And so are you no-fear teens that drop garage roofs with freestyle bicycles. The only thing I'm likely to drop is Katie. With departure date set for January 24, 2006, lists transmogrified into loaded panniers (luggage 43 kg), documents collected, GPS loaded, and I've been injected, inspected, rejected and all kinds of mean and nasty stuff, I'm ready to launch.
Murray slaving away in Santiago ... I like it here. Santiago is a city of 6 million within a Chilean population of around 15 million. This capital city is nestled, it appears to me, within a stone's throw of the Andes. The Pacific Ocean is an hour and a half drive to the west. Thirty degrees C in summer with pleasant shirt sleeve evenings; in winter it drops to 15C. Want snow? Then drive to it. It too is only an hour away. How civilized. Is this California?... For six weeks, my life is school from 9 to 1. Then homework, daily guided tours of local sites, and in the evening, more homework. So far I have studied 6 million words, know 200, can use 5 in a broken sentence. And while I slave away, my trusty companion, Katie M, sails merrily through the Panama Canal with 20 other of her spoked friends. No doubt sipping on drinks-with-umbrellas, all from under the shade of 10 peso Panama hats... By the 30th of marzo, our bikes should arrive in the port of Valparaiso and Bob flies in from the Great White North. We´ll collect our bikes and start the adventure up the Chilean coast, the northern target being Cuzco, Peru. There'll be time for another chapter before we ride off to glory, cheap wine and dazzling the locals with our sparkling spanglish..."Bob and Murray each have their own blogs on Horizons Unlimited, so you can follow their adventures! | ||||
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Our Omega system has solved the charging problems for 1970-95 Boxers with 400 Watts Output, and our
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Grant says: "it's a no-brainer, simply a must-do for all airheads"
Thanks!
"We left Mongolia fully expecting a rather boring ride to Vladivostok, we couldn't have been further off the mark. Crossing back into Russia, which only took 3 and a half hours we where on our way to Vlad but first we wanted to spend a night in Chita. For some reason the hotels always seem loathe to let us stay, silly us, imagine rocking up at a hotel and actually expecting a place to stay. In all of Russia hotel staff have been consistently rude and surly, we are sure there is a school of rudeness they attend.
Unfortunately Chita was also the place that Scott and Paddy got taken against their will and beaten with sticks after being made to strip down. A great bunch of blokes that spent an hour helping us find a hotel offered to take us all out that night, but Chris and I (being the oldest) decided to make the most of the hotel bed. Let me rephrase that, we wanted to sleep. So the boys went to a Russian banya, a sauna and massage, with sticks apparently. They claim they felt much better after this beating, hmmmm.
Crossing rivers in Mongolia
So off we went for a 1400km dirt road adventure across far eastern Siberia. We have had numerous warnings about bandits on this section, but didn't really take them all that seriously, an incident made us reconsider. Whilst riding along with Chris in front, a guy walked out of the bush seemingly intending to pull me up. No drama, except he was toting a machine gun and had 2 mates sitting in the bush with him. Upon seeing two more bikes, Scott and Paddy coming towards him, he changed tack and wandered back into the bush. We will never know if this was a holdup about to take place, but it makes for a good read doesn't it?
The road was taking its toll on the bikes, only 15 minutes after the near holdup my chain guard snapped and as Paddy pulled up to help I noticed a little problem with his bike, the Bloody Thing was on Fire, all sorted we were on our way again. Next day we only managed to ride 20ft before Scott's bike just wouldn't run, his flat tyre on the rear didn't help either. So off came the carburetor as the trucks flew by covering us in dust, just what you want when working on a carburetor, no matter though as it wasn't long till it started to rain, so we put up a tent and huddled in that with half his motor in there. Thankfully got it going again and I thought this would be boring.
Arriving in Vladivostok at the end of the trip
We finally made it back to glorious bitumen after 1500km of dirt, varying from smooth as a babies bottom to a dusty goat track and we spent a full day in Khabarovsk doing you guessed it, bike repairs, Scott's radiator has cracked. With Scott's bike going again we left for the last 2 days riding to Vlad, and then came the last days riding. And so it was at 5.30 pm, Wednesday, in brilliant sunshine we rode into Vladivostok after doing 25500klms from London, 4 months to the day of leaving Paddy's place in the Netherlands."
Ed. Congratulations guys on making it all the way to Vladivostok. For more great stories of the trip and photos, see their website.
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Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World
 by Ewan McGregor, and Charley Boorman Buy now! Just click the Amazon nearest you:
La Vuelta al Mundo por la Paz - Un Sueno que se hace Realidad,by Ricardo Rocco Paz, |
Russ Darr, USA, in Mexico, BMW R1200GS,"A friend on a R1150RT and I on a R1200GS, traveled from Seattle Washington, down Baja, crossed the Sea of Cortez on a ferry to attend the Horizons Unlimited meeting in Creel. Chihuahua. Mexico. Creel is located in the heart of the Sierra Madre and the jumping off spot to see the Copper Canyon area. This area is very scenic and has some truly great motorcycling roads. The pavement is tight and twisty. The off pavement roads are fantastic. What more could one ask for?
Thursday morning October 13, 2005, I left Creel and headed for El Paso, Texas. I planned to spend a few days in Denver to visit my children. At about 10:30 in the morning, 50 miles south of La Junta a red pickup passed doing about 80mph. I thought, oh boy, a rabbit. I picked up my speed to match the rabbit's. I looked up from the speedo and there is a vehicle stopped in the road in front of me. I was hard on the brakes and realized immediately there is no way I could stop before slamming into the stopped vehicle. My only chance is to swerve to the right. I almost made it. The front of the bike missed but the left aluminum bag caught the right rear corner of the vehicle. The next thing I remember is I am lying on my back and several people are around me looking down. I didn't want to move any part of my body and was sure both arms were broken... Now begins a saga of generosity, kindness and caring that I have never experienced in the USA... " Ed. For the whole story and lots of pics, see Russ' blog here on Horizons Unlimited. Bill and Becky, UK, RTW, in Goa, R1200 GS and F650 GS,"... Following the discovery of the Horizons Unlimited website a year ago, it was only a matter of time before 2riders-1dream became a reality. We are 2riders Becky and Bill who have been together now for five years and are two ordinary people who share the same dreams in life. Becky is a nurse in the UK and Bill a driving instructor. It all started about a year ago when after having a long day at work, we started talking about travelling and how much fun it would be on motorbikes. Becky had found the Horizons Unlimited website and it was then we realised that we could actually do it if we wanted. So then came the bikes, the house went up for sale in order to fund our trip and 2riders-1dream was born! ... Happy New Year to everyone back home. Well Christmas dinner just didn’t seem right without the cold weather outside. We met up with Simon, whom we had previously met in Iran and we all went out for Christmas dinner...The day began with cocktails before a fish dinner and giving everyone a little gift. This consisted of each member of the group being presented with a surprise present...the condition was that you had to model it for the evening.
Today we decided to... go to one of the many stall located by the roadside where you buy really fresh live chickens! Not knowing what to expect Becky choose the cutest one thinking it would be taken out of sight. But no, instant death it was to be and oh boy what a death. The stall holder grabbed the chicken and...its throat was slit...then the chicken moved and slipped out of her hands and into the jaws of a hungry dog! All hell broke loose then. The stall holder chased the dog up the road with a large knife in her hand...The dog having won the day she returned, and (a fresh chicken’s) throat was slit, head then feet removed, skinned and filleted...leaving Becky squealing as she was covered in blood from the chicken. The following morning the chicken was fed to the local cats as Becky dreamt that it was trying to get out of the fridge all night. We are now getting ready to continue our journey after relaxing for a few weeks in Goa and will be heading for Hampi." |
Book special just for Horizons Unlimited Readers!"Into the den of the Bear and the Lair of the Dragon on a Motorcycle" Werner Bausenhart has written several books on his travels around the world, and has offered them to HU readers at a great price. Tell him we sent you and get US$5.00 off the regular US$20 price! For details on his books see here. Contact Werner now via this link to get the deal. |
"Things just normalize after a while. I remember the other day we were driving down the Pan-American highway at 120km/h and we had to swerve to miss a guy on an over-loaded donkey hitting it with a stick to get it going faster. It was just a little donkey and the guy riding it had his legs dragging on the ground, and it was just normal... Liz and I don't even flinch when we come across a bunch of sheep, or goats or pigs or horses just wandering around on the road. I remember sitting at a cafe the other day, camera in hand, and this old man comes booting along on a home made three-wheeler that looked like it was built for a three-year-old. It was just one of the most ridiculous looking things I have ever seen, and we didn't even seem to notice, then Liz looked up at me and she said 'That's not normal.' We both took another look and then just sat there and laughed because it was normal."
Caleb fixing the bike
"We have an invitation from Faye and Andy, who live in Levin. The other travellers, Tanja, Christian, Elke and Arne stayed also with them and told us, we have to visit them, because they're so nice and lovely. And they are. We have a lot of fun with them and enjoy our stay with them very much. Both of them are motorcyclists, Andy owns even four motorbikes, Faye 'only' one. We go to a house warming party of a neighbour, the next day Tommy and Andy go for a ride, Rosa writes travelogues. Together with Faye and Andy we ride onto the beach and visit a neighbour of them, who moved an old house to his property with a truck. Because it was too big, they had to cut it into two parts! As we leave, Andy accompanies us to Masterton. There is a beautiful seaside village we visit - Castlepoint. There we stay overnight, but the motor camp is not cheap - 30 NZD for one night. So we leave the next day and take a beautiful country roads to Hastings. On the way we pass the longest place name of the world: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu."
Round Europe and Asia on a home-built Harley - full power to him!
"Saturday 11th Feb. Nice & early Marmite breakfast to try and miss the heat of the day... Had a high of 39 degrees yesterday on the thermometer (yes, oil cooler handy!) The No.17 road is a good surface (if only we had suspension)... Who's in a hurry, anyway? Must say the standard of driving is just below zero... Every bend you approach, get ready to stop, as there's probably, definitely two lorries or buses struggling it out, overtaking! Only one more thing... Never drive at night.. suicide's all I shall say! When we came down a couple of weeks before with the Land Rover, (there were) tractors on the motorway, no lights... oncoming vehicles in the fast lane - some with lights. And all trucks with no back lights whatsoever... only thing visible is the mandatory blue light shining up the beautifully painted back axle! Priorities! Arrived in Palolem,in the south of Goa, early afternoon... Straight into the sea for a warm dip. Fantastic!"
"Hi, I updated my web site which has much information. For example, accommodation, GPS, road condition, prices, border and so on especially in Africa.
Gorongosa Road, Mozambique
...In June, 2003, I crossed to Vladivostok, Russia from Fushiki, Japan on my Suzuki DR250, named Tetsuroh, which is the name of a traveler from a Japanese animation. I crossed the Eurasian Continent and the Western Sahara desert also... In May, 2004, I went back to Japan for a time, and in July, 2004 , I started my second stage around Africa from Ghana. I arrived at the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas, and now I travel north along the east side of Africa."
" Following our adventures in Bolivia we had been stuck in San Pedro de Atacama for over a week trying to procure anything that would serve as a temporary repair for our leaking petrol tank. We did the best we could and set off for La Serena with the tank still leaking but not as badly. Thanks to an email from Martin we knew we could get a permanent repair there. A third of the way down Chile, La Serena is a lovely Colonial city, marred by graffiti but saved by a good motorbike shop which for us makes up for anything.
As we rode to the bike shop we were assaulted by rude gestures and verbal abuse from three huge Russians in the back of a pickup with a broken down KTM. The gestures were aimed at our ailing Honda but we shouted back pointing out that at least our bike wasn’t in the back of
"This travelogue, illustrated with over 400 photos, follows their journey
through North and South America, West Africa, Europe and Asia."
