Suitable routes for late autumn/winter departure from Europe

[metal machine]

Hello everyone.

I'm preparing my overland trip and am looking to depart from the UK later in year, probably end of October at the earliest. Because of the colder, wet weather in Europe at that time of year, I thought I'd ask for some advice on trip and route planning.

Since Europe is on my doorstep and I can visit any time, I thought it would be best to get through it quickly, or skip altogether and go straight to one of the other continents in search of more reasonable weather. I am assuming Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia (the stans) and Canada/North USA will be too cold and tricky this time of year (although maybe the deep south USA and south-west could be doable?). Main options seem to be:

1. ride southern Europe/Med coast (or ship/ferry) to Greece, then go through Turkey, Iran (visa permitting), and on into southern/SE Asia, then down to Australia

2. ship to southern USA (e.g. Florida) or Mexico (although I'm reluctant to ship there direct due to the language barrier) then head down Central and South America.

3. ride/ferry to North Africa then head down to South Africa.

I'd then look to ship over to another continent and head north, to get back into the northern hemisphere in spring/summer 2015.

My preferred route before I got delayed, was the Mediterranean coast, Balkans, Turkey, Iran, Asia, Australia then ship to South America. However I don't want to be on hill/mountain routes in <5C conditions right at the start of my trip - even if it's doable, it won't be much fun, especially with a loaded bike. I wanted to either avoid Africa or leave it to last, as I have no dirt-riding experience, prefer sealed roads, and will probably be on a normal road bike.

I'd like to ask for advice on the pros and cons of each route, given my intended departure date. I'll be going solo, packing light, and taking it easy. I'm not particularly bothered by security risks, although I'd aim to avoid actual warzones like parts of Syria, eastern Ukraine etc. The main issue is to route around excessively cold/wet/tricky conditions at that time of year.