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Richard and Jude's travels continued. 34,687 km, 25 countries, 186 days. After leaving the South Tyrol region of Italy we had a one night stop just south of Stuttgart before a marathon 800km ride to Calais via Luxembourg and Belgium, trying to avoid thunder storms, and then hopped on the Eurotunnel train to Folkestone. Once in England we had another 5 hour ride to meet my father at my favorite pub “The Boat at Erbistock” on the banks of the river Dee for a few celebration drinks. What a ride it’s been! Not sure if we want to stop but it will be great to stay put for a while knowing we don’t have to plan the next days route and book the nights accommodation and it will be great to catch up with other friends and family. Thanks to everybody for all their support and words of encouragement, it is much appreciated. Jude has been absolutely amazing on the trip. She has not only endured being on the back of the bike, not something I would like to do, which is no easy task, but Jude embraced it and not once complained about my riding! Our bike performed flawlessly. Not a single issue, fault, puncture or breakage despite being 2up, fully loaded on some pretty horrendous roads over a long distance in extremes of weather. During our journey we have been trying to raise awareness of the amazing work Black Dog Ride and Mental Health Motorbike do in supporting people with Mental Health issues, they truly do excellent work and it would be appreciated if you just check out their websites in case you come across somebody in need of their services. As part of this Winston, the Black Dog mascot, has accompanied us on our whole journey and has endured more than we have. He is looking a quite grey now, as both of us are as well. https://www.blackdogride.org.au https://mhmotorbike.com What next? We plan to keep the bike in Europe for a while so we can explore more of the wonderful places we have not yet visited then who knows after that? Richard & Jude Richard and Jude's travels continued... After a couple of days checking the beautiful city of Kotor out with great swimming in the clear and warm waters of the Adriatic it was time to head into Croatia. Departing Kotor early in the morning to try and cross the border before it got too busy we were ushered through without a check or stamp in the passport, skipping a massive queue of cars and trucks. Nice. It is peak season in Europe with prices and lack of accommodation availability to match so we are back to Camping but we were lucky enough to find a campsite on the coast which had its own great restaurant, bar and more swimming available. After another 2 nights camping in northern Croatia we headed to Bovec in northern Slovenia, again camping, and to ride their many wonderful roads and the particularly breathtaking road up to the Mangart Saddle, which is on the border with Italy. Onward then to Fleres on the border between Italy and Austria for a bit more hiking in the mountains of the South Tyrol region. We are ticking off the countries at a rapid rate now. Richard and Jude #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike Richard and Jude's travel continued We continued riding north on the “Crown of Montenegro” panoramic road and over the Tara Canyon, second deepest in Europe and third deepest in the world, to join the “Ring of Durmitor” an 85 kilometre loop through the Durmitor national park (UNESCO heritage site) where you get to experience some of the most majestic, dramatic and varied scenery on our trip. Climbing up to 2000 mts through dense pine and hardwood forest on a single track road, with deep cliffs on one side, crossing a treeless high plateau moorland and then riding past the rocky massif Durmitor that gives the park its name. I won’t begin to try and explain it because I cannot do it justice. Just go there if you can. After many WOW moments during the 6hr ride we ended the day at a little Homestay where we were greeted by free beer and wine in the fridge and a local eatery a short walk away. Laundry was done, electronics were charged and we relived the great day with a cold one, or two and slept very well, no doubt with smiles on our faces. The following day we headed to the city of Kotor on the Adriatic coast for a couple of days before we head off to Croatia and beyond. Richard and Jude #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike Richard and Jude's travels continued.. The lure of Montenegro was strong. From everything we had read it ticked many of our boxes: great riding roads, spectacular scenery, swimming and much more. Departing the shores of lake Ohrid in Albania on some good but busy roads and through the Capital Tirana to the border with Montenegro. It was a very hot ride. Temperatures were in the high 30s and there was lots of stopping in the traffic in the towns we passed through, so we were looking forward to a destination. Skipping past the queue of the border crossing into Montenegro we were once again waved through without a passport stamp or a single check. It seems that an Australian passport and motorcycle might be a bit too much hassle for them. After stopping off at the first town in Montenegro to get a much needed drink and some Euros from the ATM we arrived at of first nights accommodation on the banks of the Morca river in a deep canyon. The temp outside was a blistering 37c so we dumped our stuff in the room and went for a swim in the clear mountain river. Very refreshing. Prices for accommodation have been rising quickly since we left Georgia, exacerbated by summer holiday season. Where once we could easily get a good Homestay or hotel within our AU$50/£25 a night budget we are finding it hard to do now. The following day we headed north on our first day riding the “Crown of Montenegro” panoramic road (see video) which takes you through the most scenic areas of this wonderful country with deep gorges, pine forests and mountain passes, interesting villages with great cafes. Our accommodation for the evening was a small wooden chalet (which still blew our budget) outside of the town of Mojkovac, walking into town for our evening refreshment and meal, beer costing €2 and each meal €7 in a low end restaurant. On our return walk we spotted a wild tortoise on the side of the track leading to the cabin and were yet again befriended by another dog who stayed with us at the cabin for the rest of the evening. Next: More riding the Crown of Montenegro and the spectacular “Ring of Durmitor” an absolute must see. Richard and Jude #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike Richard and Jude's travels continued... After a wonderful week in Greece we headed for the Border with Albania, choosing to cross at a very small rural station hoping that it would be less busy but also we wanted to ride on one of Albania’s famous biking roads: the SH75. The border crossing was as we hoped and there were no other vehicles, chatted with the Greek officials for a while and were introduced to their ginger cat. Yes it was that quiet. It was a similar experience on the Albanian side, minus the cat. The SH75 is a tight winding road that climbs up through pine forest to the Albanian hinterlands with spectacular views. It was known for its poor condition but now most of it has recently been repaved and although narrow is an excellent ride despite the close encounter- see video. We finished the day at a Homestay in the small town of Lin on the edge of lake Ohrid where we swam in its warm waters and sampled the local ale and fish. Next: Montenegro Richard and Jude #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike Richard and Jude's travels continued... The crossing into Greece from Türkiye took a bit longer than normal due to a massive traffic jam on both sides. Normally we bikers can jump to the front of the queue but it was just gridlocked. A pack of bikes from Italy joined us and we chatted until things got moving. Being July it is high tourist season in Greece and summer at its hottest so it seemed like the best time to visit the mountains with no crowds, cooler temperatures and lower prices than the coastal regions. We stayed about a week in the Ionniana and Pindus mountain region in the North of the country visiting mountain villages, hiking to natural spring pools in the Vikos gorge with lots of swimming, day excursions on the bike with twisting mountain roads and generally soaking up the wonderful relaxing atmosphere of this region. We are loving Greece Albania next stop… Richard & Jude #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike
Richard and Jude's travels continued...
It’s been 165 days since we departed Sydney, sometimes it’s seems like more, sometimes less but today we are heading out of Turkey into our next country Greece! But before we do so we had one dutiful Australian thing to do and that was to visit the ANZAC Gallipoli memorial. Before we caught the RORO ferry across the Dardanelles Strait and headed to ANZAC cove we checked out THE Trojan horse in Canakkale. Most Australians will know the significance of Gallipoli where thousands of Australians, New Zealanders, other commonwealth forces and Turks died during WWI. The battlefields remain protected and very well kept with the trenches still visible and the many graves of fallen soldiers from all nations are honored with the many memorial sites on this peninsular. It’s truly heart wrenching to see the ages of these young lads so many in their early twenties. Will humanity ever learn? The following is attributed to the Turkish Chief of Staff, Atatürk (Mustafa Kemal) of the conflict. Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well. #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike Richard and Judes travels continued.
After the adrenaline infused ride through the Kemaliye Canyon we continued on the gravel road which eventually turned to rough single lane tarmac and then on to another good, winding, country road that took us to Goreme and Uchisar in Cappadocia which has been on our “must visit” list. The area is know for its thousands of subterranean homes cut into the rocks, most are long abandoned but some of which are available to stay in. We were surprised to find that you can explore many of the abandoned homes on your own, wondering through the maze of tunnels, shafts and rooms and getting a sense of what it must have been like to live in one. Quite amazing really. The town of Goreme is a bit of tourist town for those seeking hot air balloon adventures with the overpriced bars, restaurants and souvenir shops but some of the outlying towns like Uchisar offer more a pleasant experience along with the unique rock architecture and a great place to watch the sun set with a cold beer. To take part in the daily hot air ballooning you have to be up at 4am with sunrise at just after 5am. So we were on the bike at 4:30am and headed out of town to where all the balloons congregate and watched the spectacle as their burner flames lit their vessels and the sky around them in their hundreds. As dawn broke the sky was peppered with the lantern like balloons drifting upwards above the unique landscape. A truly unforgettable experience. Richard and Jude. #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike Richard and Jude’s travels continued. Listed as one of the world‘s most dangerous roads, taking 132 years to build and has 38 tunnels this gravel track runs high above the upper Euphrates River in one of the top 5 deepest canyons of the world. We had stayed the night in the town of Kemaliye which is a few kilometers from the southern end of the Canyon, had an early breakfast and set off to ride this famous canyon. I was definitely nervous to ride this track. As one report said “one wrong move could see you plummeting 400 mts to the Euphrates River”. As much as I like a dirt road, riding a fully loaded GSA 2up weighing near half a tonne on gravel I don’t find easy. I have already had a couple of spills on gravel but the consequence of another on this road would not be good. The track starts off going through the first of the tunnels all of which are rough-hewn out of the mountain. Light in the tunnels is non existent and the track is rough with large rocks unseen. You then come out into the open with the Euphrates River to your right on a cliff edge only a few feet away. I tried to keep to the left of the track hoping no other vehicles would be coming the other way. We had one moment where we hit a patch of deep gravel. A large rock in front of the rear wheel stopped us in our tracks but I somehow managed to keep the bike upright. The bike would not budge so Jude got off and removed the rock and off we set again, our hearts racing. The tunnels along the track reduce the adrenalin rush being enclosed and are spectacular in themselves and have exits to the right that drop down to the river below and provide great viewing areas. Exiting the final tunnel we stopped to take in the wonderful view of the Canyon, this famous river and take some photos and were shortly joined by two other couples on their bikes, one from Poland and one from Romania. We had a good chat, exchanged stories, favorite spots and contact details. It’s always wonderful to meet fellow bikers along the way. What a ride! Likely the most spectacular section of road on our trip. Tonight we will be in Cappadocia, renowned for its subterranean settlements and hot air balloons….. Richard and Jude. #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike |