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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 |