been following
 

Been following for a while. Have really enjoyed the photos and commentary. Please keep it coming.
If you get to Central Asia look me up. Willing to help any way we can.

Mac

Hey thanks Mac!

We are done riding for 2016. We arrive back from Canada mid May 2017 and start heading east from Leipzig area. We should be in Kyrgyzstan by mid July give or take. Would love to meet up! Cheers Sara

It was a fun way to kill a few days waiting for the bike service. There are some nice views of the city at sun set.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5471/3...19eabe6b_b.jpgDresden-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5570/3...3cbfc6a6_b.jpgDresden-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5504/3...82e62106_b.jpgDresden-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5692/3...2d7c620d_b.jpgDresden-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5743/3...64ec0350_b.jpgDresden-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We headed back to BMW Leipzig and a promised all the work was done and the bikes were all ready to go. A big thank you for your excellent service work!


https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5756/3...7b782f22_b.jpgDresden-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We were lucky to have Gaila from Motosoul offer to store the bikes for us. We set them up in one of the garages at the Motosoul’s 17 th century castle or Schloss. We disconnected the batteries, covered them up and stored the riding gear.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5718/3...a4ab67d4_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-11-06 at 13.07.06 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5612/3...33fedb1d_b.jpgDresden-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5737/3...749efe39_b.jpgDresden-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Now to fly to Frankfurt and Madrid to drop off most of our gear and pick up the things we had stored there since last April. This included the equipment we had left there for the 900 + km walk we start this week from St. Jean Pied-de-Port France to Fisterra, Spain on the Camino de Santiago de Compostella. This will take us 6 weeks.

Our friend Antonio wanted to show us some things off the beaten track around Madrid. The first was a very unusual Cathedral.

“Justo Gallego Martínez (born 20 September 1925 in Mejorada del Campo) is a former monk who has been constructing a cathedral-like building on his own in the town of Mejorada del Campo in the Community of Madrid, Spain, since 1961. He has named the building Nuestra Señora del Pilar. It has neither any planning permissions, nor has it the benediction of any church authority.”

Elderly man spends 53 years building an incredible cathedral by hand | Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building

https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5462/3...6c9075d5_b.jpgMadrid Pre-Camino by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5580/3...8f111ce6_b.jpgMadrid Pre-Camino-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We then visited a nearby village that is getting set up for the annual bull fighting.


https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5661/3...6b953168_b.jpgMadrid Pre-Camino-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5674/3...5298c751_b.jpgMadrid Pre-Camino-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5568/3...c4b0bfd4_b.jpgMadrid Pre-Camino-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Sara’s very favourite summer refresher. Tinto de Verano

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinto_de_verano

https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5832/3...ab24b76a_b.jpgMadrid Pre-Camino-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

There is a hill top near the city centre of Madrid where people gather to admire the sunset.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5767/3...928aef03_b.jpgMadrid Pre-Camino-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Here in Spain all roads lead to Madrid not Rome!

https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5715/3...99f4d9e2_b.jpgMadrid Pre-Camino-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Summary April to September 2016- Some thought and reflections from the road.


Austria


Just amazing riding but at a steep price!


Grossglockner


https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8799/2...c9989b0d_b.jpgGlossglockner-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8747/2...47c4ce43_b.jpgGlossglockner-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr




Italy


We had a bit of a love and did not love for Italy. The country is very different from north to south. As you go south the nice riding terrain gets less and less, the amount of garbage and general disorder and disrepair increases, and the number of traffic rules adhered to drops precipitously. Stay in Tuscany and the stunning north. Riding the Dolomites is awe inspiring. We are glad we went to Sicily to see for ourselves, but would not recommend it for riding. In general the driving style of Italians becomes very draining. You constantly have one on your back tire, they pass dangerously, and drive at very high speed. Naples was the worst, where there is NO adherence to the rules of the road and absolutely no driver courtesy. It was sort of like being in a swarm of killer bees.


Tolmezzo


https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7082/2...f01c6ce8_b.jpgTrento by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr




Castel del Monte


https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7636/2...394a3e29_b.jpgCastel del Monte-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


Etna


https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7352/2...ea9e0739_b.jpgEtna-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Corsica


This small French Island is stunning. The narrow roads around the north cape are amazing.


https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7717/2...f225ab23_b.jpgCorsica-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7063/2...b1655139_b.jpgCorsica-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


Sardinia


This Italian island is also with the visit. We spent our time only on the north half and found some good routes on the coast and inland.




https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7483/2...379b5961_b.jpgSardinia-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7087/2...8baec2d0_b.jpgCala Ganon-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Albania


We would recommend this lovely country. Despite the ever-present trash. The people here are universally friendly and helpful. Most of the roads are in good condition, but the off road routes are definitely OFF OFF ROAD. It is really AN experience.


https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7343/2...c68cc58b_b.jpgBerat CC-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7407/2...b44280cc_b.jpgBerat CC-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7189/2...b33e4353_b.jpgAlbania by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7078/2...069141ca_b.jpgAlbania-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7476/2...57daa5be_b.jpgAlbania-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy Chanukkah!!!


https://c8.staticflickr.com/1/612/31...84c704a3_b.jpgChristmas Pic by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Greece

This was the birthplace of civilization and it shows. Great people and amazing food. We will be back to do some touring on the Greek islands. The riding here has lots of options both on the coast and inland, but the cultural sites are the attraction as well as the beaches.

Meteora

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7288/2...99d06656_b.jpgMeteora-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Delphi

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7326/2...5d829c07_b.jpgDelphi-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Quite a ride down a rock cliff to get this shot!

https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7353/2...6ba047d1_b.jpgAthens-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Macedonia

Expensive to get in, but very cheap once you are. There are very few thru roads. There are lots of 5 plus km roads up into the hills, but then mostly don’t connect thru to anything. The people are friendly, but the food is very disappointing. The capital is worth the surreal visit.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7384/2...34b4ac4a_b.jpgMacedonia by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Bulgaria

We just had a visit to Sophia, which was great as we got to go to Bumot, but we will be back next year to the mountains and the sea.

Bumot

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7068/2...979239d5_b.jpgBumot Visit-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Serbia

Again we will be back next year to the north. We just had on day crossing the south where the roads are flat, straight and crowded with traffic.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7302/2...b2ea85bf_b.jpgZalatibor-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Montenegro

Is a gem of hills, mountain and valleys. The riding here is very good. Durmitor park is not to be missed.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7399/2...61c93943_b.jpgMontenegro-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7103/2...3d3945c9_b.jpgMontenegro-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7603/2...f432ba52_b.jpgMontenegro-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Croatia.

Not much for riding here, but Dubrovnik is very nice. It really needs a boat to appreciate.

https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7610/2...0426fcb5_b.jpgDubrovnik by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7439/2...27a936ed_b.jpgCroatia-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


Bosnia
Again we were just here for a few days to check out some sights, but the 38 degree days sent us back to the coast.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7400/2...59bce87d_b.jpgBosnia-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Slovenia

This is a nice little country well with the visit. The riding is not epic, but the people are friendly, and this is a nice place for chilling out.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8757/2...63e07881_b.jpgLjubljana-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8798/2...d3514796_b.jpgLjubljana-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Hungary

The riding here is not much to speak of since it is mostly flat and farm land, but Budapest is incredible and again is a spot not to be missed.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8852/2...a049119e_b.jpgBudapest-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8817/2...b1b5aa4b_b.jpgBudapest-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8748/2...4a4d0723_b.jpgHungary by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


Romania


In a word disappointing or maybe it has just been so hyped up in our minds. There is just too much of bad roads packed with cars in between the few nice bits. I’d go here if it was on my way east, but not specifically even for the Transalpina and Transfagrasan. The capital is not worth a visit for sure.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8174/2...0fee2176_b.jpgRomania-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7789/2...86afbb94_b.jpgRomania-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr