July 04, 2010 GMT - Looking for Labrador
I seem to have left some unfinished business as I haven't actually managed to get Thelma home from Mongolia. So at the end of June (in fact shortly after the UK HU meet which was a great success) I flew...
December 28, 2009 GMT - Merry Belated Christmas
Christmas greetings to all those reading the blog around the world - it is still holidays here and i have to apologise for not sending this out earlier but I have been in an internet black spot (my parents' house)...
December 18, 2009 GMT - Even in England It's Cold
I'm finally home (or at least for the moment). I've arrived back to find Arctic style weather conditions and to discover that the airline have lost my bag. This is a bit of a problem as it means I only...
December 12, 2009 GMT - Confused????
I've had a couple of emails from Confused of Camberley asking where on earth I am heading and what has happened to Thelma. One minute I'm bike travelling around Japan, the next I'm on a KLR in Guatemala and then...
December 11, 2009 GMT - The Long Goodbye
I had an unreasonably early morning call to get to the airport, after a late night eating turkish borek. I was flying out via Seattle to catch up with friends there, but as I was delayed 24 hours by order...
December 06, 2009 GMT - Iceland in December
Having acquired somewhat of a reputation for poor seasonal choice of destinations - Siberia in October and Death Valley in August both spring to mind, I managed to go one better and head to Iceland in December with the promise...
December 06, 2009 GMT - Leaving LA
Unbelievably, snow has appeared on the hills around LA and the locals are all in shock at this Siberian-style weather, I feel it may be a sign that it's time for me to leave town. Unfortunately though, Thelma has still...
December 05, 2009 GMT - Old Friends
At the weekend, Ricardo Rocco got in touch, we'd last met on a five day off-road rally in Ecuador a few years ago, he is in town for a week and we met up at the Long Beach International Motorcycle...
December 01, 2009 GMT - Pina coladas and the Caribbean
A gruelling 18 hour bus ride had taken me from the Guatemalan border up to the beautiful beaches of the Yucatan. Stumbling out of the bus station (still with bike helmet tucked under my arm), I jumped on a ferry...
November 25, 2009 GMT - Farewell to Savas
Having travelled over 2500 miles with Savas and Gullu it was time to say farewell as I walked back across the border into Mexico with my bike helmet in hand. We had learnt quite a bit from each other, I've...
November 24, 2009 GMT - Border Duplicity
Due to a message I received from my shipping agent, we had to suddenly get a move on and dash for the border out of Mexico. This involved two days of hard riding through mountains and across the hot plains,...
November 21, 2009 GMT - The Princess and the Pea
We have been travelling across Mexico at quite a pace since leaving PV and all is not well. The bike's name may well be Gullu/Rosie but it's not as rosy as my backside. As originally suspected when I did my...
November 20, 2009 GMT - Travelling as a Duo
After a great five days in Puerto Vallarta, we left this morning, waved off by Janet (who has agreed to ride again with me next year - she is now 70!), Bruce and the latest Travels with Thelma fans- Lana...
November 19, 2009 GMT - Heading to Acapulco
We have now managed to travel 1300 miles without falling out (or off). He has learnt quickly that : Tiffany tired is not good Tiffany hungry is not good and Tiffany tired AND hungry must be avoided at all costs....
November 18, 2009 GMT - Mongolian Mayhem Became Mexican Mayhem
The plan was that I spend the two to three weeks whilst waiting for Thelma's ship to reach LA, visiting friends in the west of the States. However, having recovered from jet lag and Korean poisoning I met some of...
November 13, 2009 GMT - Baja: Bikini and Balaclava
I've travelled through extremes of temperatures on this journey but none more so than the other day in Baja California, Mexico. Although I had packed light for the trip down from LA, I had included my cashmere stuff from Mongolia...
November 03, 2009 GMT - Leaving Japan
I took Thelma to the shipper's warehouse, this involved a ride through Tokyo's finest traffic jams. Lane filtering alongside the scooter boys and generally being first away at the lights meant I got through in just one and a half...
October 28, 2009 GMT - Getting Naked with the Neighbours
Japan is an interesting country with some intriguing contradictions. For example it is not OK to cough in public and definitely not OK to blow your nose in public- a bit tricky for me as I arrived with a cold...
October 17, 2009 GMT - How did I end up in Japan?
I've had a few emails asking me what has happened that I have ended up in Japan when I was only supposed to be going to Mongolia and then heading directly home. Well, I haven't managed to lose my way...
October 16, 2009 GMT - Land of the Rising Sun
Unusually for heading east we had to put our watches back two hours after leaving Russia- I'm still trying to work that one out. The main disadvantage is that I was wide awake at 5.00am on my first morning in...
October 13, 2009 GMT - Crossing the first part of the Pacific
On the good ship M/V Rus Majur, with its fine complement of unsmiling waitresses and sleazy truck drivers. It has been quite an experience. Women are few and far between on these boats and after a few vodkas, the truck...
October 10, 2009 GMT - I've reached Vladivostock
Which is a milestone destination as it marks the far eastern reach of the Eurasian landmass. I have been dipping my toes in the Pacific Ocean and soaking up the sunny weather and unbelievably blue skies above the city. It...
October 06, 2009 GMT - Still Shivering through Siberia
The days are chilly for riding and although I have an electric jacket and gloves- an essential in these sub-zero temperatures, one of the gloves is not working at all and so I am having to ride one-handed whilst sitting...
October 04, 2009 GMT - Shivering through Siberia
Having spent several days riding non-stop and camping I am currently over a thousand miles from the Mongolian border and staying in a flat in Magdagachy, with several Russians hanging over my shoulder as I attempt to update my blog,...
October 01, 2009 GMT - Leaving Mongolia
I picked it up from DHL, got it fitted- huge thanks to Tony, Ray and the guys at LandDrill, especially the electrician for all your help. Time for a final meal of dauphinoise poatatoes that I cooked at the hostel...
September 29, 2009 GMT - Street Children in UB
Yesterday I visited the Christina Noble Children's Foundation- a charity that I have been raising money for - it was a very sobering experience, meeting some of the children they help and hearing about what some of them have been...
September 28, 2009 GMT - Winter is Coming and I am still in Mongolia
The rotor has gone on the alternator- this had been recently repaired but has now gone again and so currently I am waiting for DHL's finest to deliver a replacement rotor to me as quickly as they can. I have...
September 25, 2009 GMT - Lost in the Gobi
I am 24 hours later getting back to UB than I expected as...I got lost in the Gobi, not a huge drama (OK it is half a million square miles of nothing), but I realised I had gone too far...
September 20, 2009 GMT - Sandstorms and Yaks
Two days of being chauffeured around in a trusty Russian jeep which was fine until I looked under the bonnet and noticed it was all held together with bits of wire (and I don't even know much about engines). Reminder...
September 16, 2009 GMT - Going on Safari
have searched the town and haven't been able to find any other bike travellers- or even any tourists except two, I was hoping to get info about the potential routes and roads(sandy tracks if I'm honest) ahead and I...
September 15, 2009 GMT - Destination: Gobi Desert
The mechanic has done a good job and Thelma is restored once more to the slightly battered condition she was in previously- with a bit of a cosmetic surgery job done on the windscreen. With my route being led by...
September 10, 2009 GMT - Retrieving Thelma and theArt of Marmot Smuggling
With Ian safely home in England, I could now turn my attention to Thelma who had been languishing in a shed in Eastern Mongolia for a week. Arrangements were made that I would go with the watchman from the Oasis...
September 07, 2009 GMT - Losing my Pillion
My guilt at feeling partially responsible for Ian's injury was eased a bit as I got up at the unearthly hour of 4.30am to accompany him to the airport this morning. He is coping well with his injury, although he...
September 02, 2009 GMT - Accident in Mongolia
As some of you will have heard, Ian's trip to Mongolia has not gone well. Two days into our trip heading East, I was riding when we hit a patch of mud which for some reason spun us out of...
August 27, 2009 GMT - Loitering in Ulaanbaatar
Well it's been several days of catching up on my sleep, having long conversations with the other travellers here (at one point there were five bikes at the hostel) and trying to eat as much Black Forest Gateau as possible...
August 22, 2009 GMT - Reached Mongolia
Utterly exhausted after an almost non-stop ride from Almaty (southern Kazakhstan) that has taken us two weeks. Feeling exhilarated to have reached Mongolia after three and a half months and even better to have met up with old friends whom...
August 20, 2009 GMT - Russia - the Cold Motherland
We had heard some horror stories about the Kazakh/Russian border, mostly from Mongol Rally competitors, who were giving dark warnings about seven hours spent just waiting in line etc. But in the event our fears were groundless, there was no...
August 19, 2009 GMT - Storms and Geiger Counters
We are now about 100kms from the Russian border- can't be too precise as we are off our mapped universe so it is a bit of guesswork from here on in. Not having northern Kazakhstan didn't seem such an issue...
August 13, 2009 GMT - Mongol Rally Hits Town as we Leave
We were ready to leave Almaty - having been helped a lot by Den and his bike workshop (www.2wheels.kz) as well as Fedor giving a hand with the front tyre - thanks guys. Two battered looking cars pulled up at...
August 09, 2009 GMT - Riding with Kazakhs
One ride out with the local bike club and my clean sheet with the Kazakh police is wiped out as we all got pulled over en masse. Not really surprising as some of them were riding extremely fast. I know...
August 04, 2009 GMT - Kazakhstan - Here We Come
It was hard but we finally made the break after several fantastic weeks. We followed a really picturesque valley road heading west away from Bishkek and with a couple of snow-covered 3000m mountain passes as a reminder of how cold...
August 01, 2009 GMT - Issyk Kul
A week of camping out at the lake has spoiled us- beautiful sandy beaches, clear turquoise water with no-one and not even any buildings in sight. We collected driftwood for camp fires at night, I must admit we were also...
July 25, 2009 GMT - Highlights from Kyrgyrstan
Horseriding for a day though the world's largest walnut forest on horses that had wooden saddles, not the most comfortable of rides with my notoriously bony backside. Riding some of the best roads I have been on - steep mountain...
July 15, 2009 GMT - Into Kyrgyrstan
We had a final couple of days in Tajikistan staying at the remote town of Murghab - a very bleak place where there is nothing green and all the food has to be imported as nothing grows. It was a...
July 13, 2009 GMT - High Altitude or was that Attitude Riding?
We had reunions and rough riding along the Afghan border, as we encountered other travellers we'd previously met and tackled tracks that were steep and narrow and which were covered in sandy gravel. Our loose front indicator went flying off...
July 03, 2009 GMT - Raging Rivers
We had heard that the route we were taking would be challenging and they weren't wrong. First it was incredibly hot as we followed the river with 1000 metre cliffs on either side and no greenery anywhere except the very...
June 30, 2009 GMT - Riccochet Routes
IN Dushanbe (Tajikistan capital) for several days as we waited for our visa extensions- a gentle lulling back to the comforts of civilisation such as running water, fridges with chilled drinks and the ultimate gastronomic high of a Lebanese restaurant...
June 25, 2009 GMT - From Desert to Snow
Korjand to Dushanbe Annie had thought things couldn't get much worse until she woke up the next morning and I issued her with a thermal balaclava, nearly losing one pillion rider to hypothermia in Armenia I don't want to risk...
June 22, 2009 GMT - A Pillion Rider's First Day
A traumatic start to Annie's journey with me and here is how it unfolded- Day One - only 30 mins later leaving the hotel than planned - the reception machine bounced back Annie's husband's credit card (nice gesture Terry, but...
June 20, 2009 GMT - Uzbekistan
I waved goodbye to Leon and his fridge, heading eastwards through Bukara and Samarkand- both as stunning as all the pictures and text suggest. I manged to arrive in Tashkent 12 hours before Ann's flight was due from London which...
June 17, 2009 GMT - Kazakh Desert Days
It was a hectic five days Five days without running water let alone electricity and internet and here is why... I collected my Kazakh visa in Baku, Azerbaijan then made a dash for the ferry and my luck was in...
June 04, 2009 GMT - Georgian Antics
What can I say? The wine is good (a bit of trial and error at first), the beer is very good and the people are very friendly. I have had my friend April with me - US diplomat who I...
May 23, 2009 GMT - Georgia and Giardia
Having gone quite quickly across Europe to make the ferry out of Odessa, I am now relaxing by the coast in Georgia. The ferry was fine, I had opted for the economy cabin which means sharing with three others -...
May 19, 2009 GMT - Mongolian Mayhem
It's been a while since I've hit the road - I was very ill (Stills Disease), in hospital for quite a while and then off my bike for a year , but I was one of the lucky ones and...
February 21, 2005 GMT - And then there was one....
Twenty four hours later and Tobi's bike went in the luggage compartment of a bus from Laayoune to Tangiers (about 1500 kms) he also took a bus, while I rode on through torrential rain - the frst rain I had...
February 10, 2005 GMT - Ethel to the Rescue
For several days now it has been Ethel to the rescue as first Tobi ran out of fuel and then got a puncture. Whilst the major event of the last 2 days is that he has broken his gearbox -...
February 07, 2005 GMT - Plan X
Plan X To rebuild the exploded battery in Nouakchott -as I had discovered that the replacement battery had turned out to be a dud and actually there are NO 12 volt batteries in this country. Loo and Gary (bike-riding friends...
February 03, 2005 GMT - Homeward-bound in Mauritania
I am in Nouakchott and the sand storms are blowing. it's like being in thick fog but more painful. Ethel and I limped into Mauritania from Mali -her suspension has gone - Ooooh yes, just 300 kms south of Timbuctoo...
January 26, 2005 GMT - I've reached Timbuctoo!!
We finally wearily rode into town last night at 10 pm having had to negotiate the final 70 kms in the dark due to having been delayed by various problems - my chain jumping off the sprocket at one point,...
January 22, 2005 GMT - Hot and Dusty in Mali
We got the Mali visas in Dakar and have been on the road for the last 4 days. The first 80 miles in Mali- from Kayes (for those of you with an atlas) were bloody hard, it took us 24...
January 18, 2005 GMT - In Senegal
Well, I have fairly quickly arrived in sub-Saharan Africa and all in one piece. I got here (Dakar) on my birthday which was also the day the Dakar Rally arrived in town and so we were weaving our way through...
January 04, 2005 GMT - Crossing Europe
I crossed France with three other GS bike riders I had met on the ferry - also members of the UK GS Club, I relaxed and sat back as their GPS systems guided us down avoiding motorways, a luxury for...
December 08, 2004 GMT - On the Road Again
I've been home for over a year now and so it is definitely time to get out and about once more... so, where to go this time, well, I still have a vivid memory of when I was twelve and...
March 15, 2004 GMT - What's new...
Well, having got used to life in one place and acting as an unofficial agony aunt to others either on the road or considering their travels. I am not actually heading far this year, my wrist healed well - though...
August 01, 2003 GMT - Home
A shipping agent was found and discarded at the last minute as they tried to double the price when I had reached the point of no return. But finally I had tracked down JJ Mari - shipper extraordinaire and also...
July 09, 2003 GMT - Shipping Blues
After searching the Horizons site and emailing various other travellers I know who have passed this way, I came to the sad conclusion that a) no-one had shipped home to Europe from here and b) I was going to have...
July 02, 2003 GMT - Danger on the Streets of Caracas
and I am not talking about the mad drivers -the Venezuelans manage to make the Brazillians look like good drivers. Caracas has a a somewhat unsavoury reputation as an unsafe city (even by South American standards) and I have been...
June 18, 2003 GMT - Venezuela, Land of Milk, Honey and...
...Cheap Petrol. Yes folks I have reached that oasis of good fuel that only costs 4 cents a litre, and once more Thelma is purring away - the fuel in Brazil was not good to her. Caracas is like Dodge...
June 11, 2003 GMT - Leaving Brazil
I set off from Manaus, after five days on the boat, riding with Ray (from Mexico) on his Harley Davidson - yes, it did look an odd combination, a BMW and a Harley travelling on the road north through the...
May 27, 2003 GMT - Up the Amazon
It was a relatively simple affair to get a ticket for the boat in Belem and the boat was much better than I expected - thank God I didnīt go for hammock class - similar to 3rd class trains in...
May 20, 2003 GMT - The top of Brazil
Here I am now in Belem after a 5500kms ride along the coastline of Brazil. It is hot and humid (well, what did I expect??), but it feels good to be here. The last two days on the road were...
May 01, 2003 GMT - Salvador
Time to relax and so I went to the beaches at Itacare - white sand, coconut palms, clear sea, good company and cocktails at sunset- bliss. Then, when I left I had a horrible day when my shock absorber fell...
April 24, 2003 GMT - Biker Celebrity Status
I reached Porto Seguro, where, by chance, there was a Bike Show - I was warmly welcomed as Star Guest - even though I did confess that I had no idea it was all taking place. I was in search...
April 19, 2003 GMT - The Girl from Ipanema reporting in...
Seeing Rio by bike was great - can`t go wrong if I just follow the beach roads up and down the city I thought - hmmmm, that was until Sunday when all of those beach roads become one way, which...
April 14, 2003 GMT - Leaving Sao Paulo
I was down to my final jaffa cake, I'd had four hours of Portuguese lessons (though the Brazillians still have a good snigger at my feeble attempts at their language), I had watched the Grand Prix on the telly -...
April 05, 2003 GMT - Travelling without a bike
I have just had a fantastic month with my sister Abi and my nephew Claudio (aged 5 and my biggest fan). They arrived from England armed with family-sized bags of Salt and Vinegar Chipsticks and also 96 Jaffa Cakes (English...
March 04, 2003 GMT - Brazil
Finally Thelma was ready and I set off from Cordoba with just three and a half days to reach Sao Paulo - over 1500 miles away. I was in such a rush as my sister and nephew are flying out...
February 20, 2003 GMT - Stuck in Cordoba
Yes, a bit stuck as the simple (ish) engine stud helicoil job turned into a "Oooops, take a look at this rocker arm" - broken. So now I am trying to track down a replacement part here in Argentina. Any...
February 10, 2003 GMT - I made it
Standing at the end of the Pan American Highway, complete with bottle of champagne in hand - many thanks to Carlo from Germany on his BMW R80 G/S, who was very patient about taking the photo in between me...
February 10, 2003 GMT - Ushuaia
At last on 2nd February I arrived in Ushuaia - seven months and 18,259 miles after leaving Dead Horse. It felt fantastic to finally get here- particularly as this is also the end of my fifth and final continent. The...
January 14, 2003 GMT - 100 000 miles...
On the road - Ruta Cuarenta or Route 40 as it is known in English, near El Chalten in southern Patagonia, Thelma clocked up her 100 000 miles today - a great moment and luckily I had bumped into Lance...
January 12, 2003 GMT - Leaving Santiago
The month started with a welcome reunion with our second gear, Thelma and I had been coping without it since Quito - 4,000 miles and two months of travelling. I had quite got used to just kicking straight up into...
December 25, 2002 GMT - Catching up with today - gradually
Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year wherever you will be spending it. I am having a sunny Christmas down here in Santiago, Chile staying with friends and am planning to cook Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings....
November 30, 2002 GMT - Peru-Bolivia
Peruvian Police - a 'take no prisoners' attitude to fines/bribes was what I had heard from the other bikers - all of whom had been stung. So here I was having been pulled over on my first day in the...
October 31, 2002 GMT - Ecuador
The shipping from Panama, amazingly, went without a hitch and I even managed to clear Thelma through customs in one day, with help from Ralph and Maryanne (from Australia) who happened to be on their bike in Quito at the...
September 30, 2002 GMT - Central America
Leaving Guatemala we headed to Honduras and the beautifulCaribbean beaches where we sipped Pina Coladas and tried to remember the words to the Pina Colada song. We spent a couple of days on the volcanic island of Ometepe, skinny-dipping...
September 15, 2002 GMT - Guatemala
I was on my way to an airport again, as Maggie, who had crossed Africa with me was flying into Guatemala City from Ireland for a month of riding through Central America. She looked very relieved to see me waiting...
September 01, 2002 GMT - Entering Bandit Country...
Thelma was finally ready, one last evening at the George and Dragon for me and I was off - following the coast through Washington and Oregon - stunning coastline and a road that was made for bikes. The forest fires...
August 20, 2002 GMT - Seattle
With lots of fond farewells to my fellow passengers, I left the ferry, riding in convoy with the other bikes heading south - there had been a lot of persuading to join the majority of them who were heading to...
July 20, 2002 GMT - Alaska
A huge state with thousands of miles to travel in, glaciers, mountains, forests and the occasional town. Siobhan had her first experience of riding a fully-loaded BMW with two people on it, yes itīs heavy but itīs well-balanced. First we...
June 30, 2002 GMT - On the road
Vancouver was great, of course the air freight people had lost Thelma - apparently the pilot had taken one look at her and said she couldnīt go on his plane - and no I am not joking. After many phone...
June 23, 2002 GMT - Getting Ready to Go...
Setting off once more...but on my own this time as the friend who was hoping to travel with me couldnīt make it after all. Iīve always travelled two-up on Thelma and so it will be a very different experience to...
December 23, 2001 GMT - The Journey Ahead
The Journey Ahead
The 12,000 miles from Dead Horse, Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina will encompass a wide variety of stunning natural environments as well as taking us through some of the most dangerous regions of the world. The...
December 17, 2001 GMT - The Start 1997-2000
I originally set off with my friend, Becky Lincoln, for a simple trip to India, and now, five years later, I am on my fifth continent.
Here is how it happened...
Johnsons Trip
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