Horizons Unlimited
Motorcycle Travellers'
e-zine
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Are you a TRAVELLER? Are you interested in running
the gauntlet in Bolivia, the Den of the Bear, the scary streets of Guatemala
City, typhoons in Japan, escaping from the cops in Uzbekistan, nuclear testing
in Dalbindin, honeymoon rides in the Andes, a big blue wolfpack in France,
the first RTW Motorcycle Challenge and much more...? |
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The Second Annual Horizons Unlimited UK Travellers Meeting,July 12-14, 2002 was a huge success if you hadn't already heard. There were some 100 people attending plus six presenters. Details and more pictures here. Held at The Black Horse Inn in Derbyshire, UK over the weekend, with slide shows both Friday and Saturday night. Presenters included Chris Scott, Adventure Motorcycling Handbook, Chris Bright (London to Cairo and Cape Town), Austin Vince (Terra Circa's experiences in Siberia and Russia), Karim Hussain (desert biking in North Africa), Paul Pratt (the Pan-American Highway leg of his RTW trip in the 60s), and Cynthia Milton (UK to the Taj Mahal and back in 6 weeks.)
A Big Thanks to Glynn Roberts and Chris Bright for organizing this very successful event, and even more so for volunteering to do it all over again next year! We are already planning next years event, and there may have to be a limitation on numbers, so stay tuned, we'll let you know the details as soon as possible. Event location and approximate date is expected to remain the same. We were at the BMWMOA First International Rally in Trenton, Ontario, Canada the same weekend, where we met with a lot of great HU folks, including Juan Carlos and Gerardo Ibarra from the Valle de Bravo, Mexico HU Community, John and Jean Ferris from Nevada, Carl and Sue-Yin Santora from Ohio, Chris Guilbert from Ottawa, Ramey and Cynthia Peticolas-Stroud from Oregon, George and Ann Ladd from New York, Bill Shaw, Ed George, Tim Haven, Mark Moors, Jay Green, Stephen Moore, and many more. In fact, when we looked out of our tent we were overwhelmed at the number of fellow motorcycle travellers. Funny how so many of them were on BMW's ;-)
Raising the HU Flag in Trenton! We did a couple of presentations, one on our trip around the world, and the second on "How you can do it too", both of which were great fun, with lots of questions coming from an enthusiastic crowd. I was told later by the events organiser that ours were the two best-attended presentations of all. So the "long distance travel" idea is growing in the US and Canada, great news! We made some great connections, some of which you may notice in this issue, and others which will come in the future. We will definitely be bringing some very interesting things to your attention in the future! From the rally we continued to New Brunswick, Cape Breton Island and Halifax, Nova Scotia, finishing our cross-Canada trip in only three weeks, including 5 days off for the rally and a couple of others to visit family on the way. For those thinking of doing something similar on a vacation - 7,500km across Canada is too far in two weeks if you plan on seeing anything. We ended up shipping the bike back from Halifax, while we caught a plane home, and right back into the website and this newsletter. So if you're wondering why the newsletter is late this month, now you know! What's in this Issue?There are stories from intrepid travellers in Russia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Japan, Uzbekistan, Peru, Pakistan, Chile, Alaska, India, Mexico and many others. A few of our regulars haven't reported in this month, you know who you are! Some of you are clearly goofing off, so get back on the road and write us! We Want Your Travel Story!You'll get a lot more readers here than in some obscure corner of the web. There are plenty of new stories in the Travellers Stories section, the new Movable Type Blogging software is getting a workout. Have a look! Don't forget you can post your story there too, it's easy, and the price is right. And you can do it from anywhere on the road at any internet cafe, no software required. To see how it looks, see Ken and Carol Duvals' stories. If you don't have a web site (or you're tired of maintaining your own), click here for more info and to request a 'blog' of your own! Please submit news reports, web links etc. to us for inclusion in this newsletter. We try to link to your website if you have one. And if you don't have a website, we can help. This is a free service for travellers everywhere, both on the road and (temporarily;-) off. Your support is greatly appreciated.
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Plan where to be when!If you know of any events of interest to travellers, send me a note. XI JÕGEVATREFF, Kuremaa, Estonia, (165 kilometres from Tallinn), August 1-4, 2002Price of ~25 EUR includes admission to the Motor-Summer Festival in Põltsamaa, breakfast in Sunday morning, camping place, sauna, music groups in three evenings, competitions for prizes and other events within the Programme. Services: beach, saunas, bars, points of sale, beer and food tents, etc. Note: Striptease starting at 12.00 PM. Sounds like a party! For further details, check out their website in many languages (click on the UK flag for English, then on Events Calendar 2002). Allroad Tour, Finnish Lapland, 3-10 August 2002,Allroad Tour is a special route ride ridden in Finnish Lapland. It is focused on heavy touring enduros. More info. Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Sturgis South Dakota, USA, August 5-11, 2002,The biggest rally there is, primarily Harley's and cruisers, but interesting. 2002 Alcan 5000 Rally, August 14 - 22, 2002, Washington State USA to Alaska, YT and to Jasper"For those people who cannot RTW but want a fun rally to participate in for two weeks." This is the first year for Motorcycles! Big Dog Ride 2002, Colorado, USA, August 14-15,"Not for the poseur or beginner, this event is known as 'the world's highest, toughest BMW motorcycle ride,' and is limited to BMW GS models (including F650, HPN and prototypes). Entrants for 2002 include ISDT qualifiers, veteran BIG DOG riders and Paris-Dakar BMW factory rider Jimmy Lewis. Participation is limited, with veteran BIG DOGS getting priority for entry. Information here, Woof, Woof." BMW Club (South Africa) Central's Annual Gathering is at the Wild Coast Sun from the 15th to the 18th August, 2002."Everyone is welcome, you don't have to be a club member to attend. Club Central have arranged a three night package (includes dinner, bed, breakfast - contact Club Central for More info on this)." The Buckride Rally, Offroad Touring Club, Norway, 15-18 August 2002,"...In the heart of Jotunheimen in the central part of southern Norway. Jotunheimen is among the most beautiful parts in our country and consists of Norway's highest mountains, national parks, forests, wild rivers and great motorcycle roads." "6TH EAR" (European Airhead-riders Rendezvous) Sept. 2nd to 6th,Gîte in Sospel in the south of France, same as last year. "Sospel is situated some 50km north of Menton and the bottom of Col de Turini and only a few clicks away from Col de Tende. To keep it personal places are limited, so if you want to join contact me as soon as possible. Helmut" Motorrad Reise Treffen Gieboldehausen in Gieboldehausen, southeast of Hanover, Germany, 6 - 8 September 2002A great travellers meeting, well worth attending. Book early, attendance is limited. Details in English and German "Intermot 2002" is being held in Munich between
18 - 22 September 2002.
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There's a new Suzuki V-Strom DL1000 list worth looking at if you're interested in this new adventure tourer possibility, lots of info and discussion.
GET YOUR WEB SITE LISTED in the LINKS section by listing Horizons Unlimited on YOUR web site, let me know you've done it by mailing me a link to the page, and you may get listed here in the next newsletter and on the Horizons Unlimited web site Links page. To make it easy for you, we even have our logo and link code here!
All sites will be considered for listing, but must be a MOTORCYCLE or TRAVEL site, useful or of interest in some way to travellers.
Links will be rotated regularly as needed.
There are many 'Helpful People' listed on the Links page, a huge thanks to all of them. How about you? Or you can join a Community, or start your own!
"Try M.D. Boxer Repair, (562) 688-3821. He is in Long Beach, CA. And is a tranny expert best of all he is less than ½ the cost of a dealer."
"Like quite a few overlanders I talked to I was pretty disappointed by the service at Yut's. While he is undoubtedly a lovely guy, and has helped a few of us out a great deal, the service is very hit and miss. And pricey. He is extremely disinterested in overlanders. As he put it to one 'I don't want to be on your web site, I have enough business'. I would recommend him for those on old BMW's, about which he knows a great deal. But make sure he does the work, as the young guys there (who do nearly everything) are trained to the usual asian standards, i.e., not at all. For some reason he has become The Overlander Bike Shop, something he neither wants nor deserves."
in other words somewhere there isn't a large number of shops? (Also of course any shop that specialises in travellers equipment and repairs is of interest.) But we're particularly looking for those rare items, good repair shops in South America, Africa and Asia etc. Please post your info in the Repair shops around the world Forum on the HUBB.
"You can download a copy of the BMW repair / workshop manual here (50mb)
There is a general boxer (oilheads) maintenance (Non-BMW factory manual) pdf file here."
Submit your tips and questions here, anything goes! Got a great idea for travellers, found a new solution to a problem? Send it in! If you're having a problem, just ask, there's a lot of people with a ton of experience out there to help.
When you meet people on the road, and they haven't heard of this e-zine or the website, we'd appreciate it - and hope they would too! - if you get their names and email addresses and send it in to me, or better use the recommend form available on most all pages of the website.
Thanks, Grant
"Hello travellers, Does anybody have any first-hand experience with 1 World Travel Insurance, listed in the Medical Insurance section of this web page? I have sent them two e-mails with specific questions. They promise to reply within 24hrs but I haven't heard anything. I take this to be a bad sign about their organization. Any experience? Difficulty with claims? Any alternate agencies someone would like to recommend based on experience (for a US permanent resident)? Thanks" Arne Bomblies
"Which border should I take to enter Sudan from Chad? My plan is to go from Mongoro to Zalingei, this is about 200 kms south of El Geneina. From there I go to Nyala and then El Fasher. Any comments? Regards" Derek-Jan www.africa-expedition.org
"Hi all Looking at doing a trip to Central America and was wondering where is the best airport to fly the bike to and also what type of cost is involved to get it there and back. The bike should weigh in about 220kgs. Thanks" Julio
Plenty more questions and answers on the HU Bulletin Board! We've over 1600 registered users on the Board, which I think is pretty amazing, and gives a huge resource of knowledge and experience to help you with anything you might need to know.
"Our exit from Turkmenistan was considerably less gruelling and time-consuming than our entrance, only the 'jobs worth' squaddie on the barrier insisted on his superior (who was obviously on the khasi) examining the passports after everyone else, making us wait in the 40C scorching sun. And then into no-man's land for 1km, during which time we psyched ourselves up for the next battle, our guidebook warning us of dodgy officials. As usual we could not have been more surprised. No extortion nor 'taxes' from the Kalashnikov wielding guards, a complete and friendly passage throughout. They didn't even want to sell us any bike insurance, advising that it was worthless anyway."
"did find out a number to check on KKH status - and thought I'd pass it on. It's a number in Pakistan (00 92 51) 921 2760 or 920 2766."
"I have been hearing all those horrifying stories about the procedure on entering Egypt, about 6-8 hours of nightmares and got, naturally, ready for that. Instead, as I was riding off the ferry, tidily dressed man in white uniform walked to me, traffic police man, and asked me to wait for him in front of his office, on the other side of the port. He showed up within a minute and started clearing the documents with me. In 45 minutes (!) I was leaving the port. Unbelievable efficient!"
More details in the border entry pages in a couple of weeks. ed.
"There is an Automobile Association starting up in Nepal. They are allowed to extend carnets upon approval of the originating country (be aware, that this might be a different and maybe a difficult act depending on each countries AA). In my case some emails where sent from the AA in New Zealand and the AIT in Swiss. The rest was a quick and easy fill in of the carnet. Kumar Koirala and his Personal Assistant Subas Shrestha are very helpful and friendly. Additionally the location - Pokhara, the AA is situated is one of the travel destinations in Nepal anyway. Contact: Automobile Association of Nepal, Regional Police Office, Pokhara, Nepal Tel: ++977-614-21088 Fax: ++977-61-27899 E-mail"
"We've just returned our carnets to the AA (issued last year) and they have told us that they no longer issue or renew carnets - they suggested the RAC instead." Harvey & Lisa
"I've been stuck for 20 days now in Mongolia waiting for a cardan/driveshaft for my R100gs 1990 coming from Germany, that is not available at the moment - I would appreciate your advice : what do you do when something like this happen, when you have to wait for spare parts ?
I decided to be helped by German people working here, one is mechanic at Mercedes Benz dealer in Ulam Bator. So they asked for the parts in Germany to some friends. These friends went to some dealers, the parts were not available at the dealers so the dealers asked to the main office in Munchen: but it's been already 3 weeks and the parts are not available yet in Germany. Then, i decided 4 days ago to check myself on the BMW official website, emailed BMW worldwide, for emergency delivery, no reply at the moment."
28 July:
"my driveshaft should be in ub tomorrow, so 4 weeks waiting... should leave the day after tomorrow from Mongolia to central Asia via Russia."
This thread brought up some interesting points from several people:
"I am currently waiting for a new driveshaft (for my 100GS)direct from Germany too. I have been advised that it will arrive on 23.7.02.If it appears then I will post again to let you know."
He posted again on the 23rd: "my driveshaft arrives tomorrow!! Hope things work out for you.Can you speak Mongolian yet!?? Bailey."
"For future reference, these are excellent
sources of parts:
Motobins Tel. +44 (0)1775 680881/680580, Fax: +44 (0)1775 680860
Motorworks +44 (0) 1484 353600 or 0845 458 0077 (local rate) or fax us on +44 (0) 1484 353604 "
Sometimes getting parts from BMW dealers can be problematic - if they don't have it and BMW doesn't, that's the end of it. You wait. There are many other sources of supply for BMW parts, mostly in the UK, that are very good at sourcing new and used parts. Another one in the UK is James Sherlock. They are all very experienced at shipping parts all over the world. I buy parts from Motobins and ship them to myself in Canada as a normal thing - it's actually cheaper than buying from my local dealer, even paying the shipping and taxes!
Wouldn't YOU like to know all about the border you're approaching - what it should cost, paperwork required, 'tips' needed, and who to talk to, etc.?
When you cross ANY border, take some notes, and pass them on to us. Thanks!
The Shipping page on the site is HUGE! It can be reached directly or from the Shipping link on the Trip Planning page.
If you have any information to contribute, there is a form at the bottom of the page which you can submit and we will put it on the page. Thanks!
The Foreign Office in London's Travel Advice Unit advises against all travel to all sorts of places. Check out the listing before you start!
The US State Department has issued travel advisories, information and/or warnings.
" 'Hello, Thank you, Beer, Toilet, and Good-bye' were the only Russian words I knew as I entered the Den of the Bear. Those six words, plus the friendliness of the Russian people, proved to me again how universal the language of motorcycling is around the world.
I had a one-month tourist visa and outbound fixed airline ticket from Vladivostok, so was on a quick schedule of three weeks to get across the huge expanse of Russia. I also had nearly 20 hours of daylight (late June to late July) each day, so was often able to do 500-1,000 kilometers per day.
Shunning a GPS, I soon learned to depend on directions from local people when I could not find, or read, the Russian road signs, so my vocabulary expanded quickly.
The Russian people were very friendly. I was the first American motorcycle traveler many of them had met, and they were very interested in my perceptions of their country and culture. When they wanted their picture taken with me I was happy to share the frame with them, especially when they were pretty ladies!
The main road across Russia was about 8,000 kilometers in length, with some interesting bumpy, gravel sections, but nothing worse than on my Indian Reservation back in Montana. 42 miles of gravel, numerous potholes, and a few car/truck parts lying in the road kept me from getting bored. About 20 kilometers east of Moscow the road became about the same for the rest of the trip east, except for the area around Lake Baikal, where I found some minor twisties.
I met several other motorcycle travelers along the way, one of them being Arthur Zawodney from Poland, on his first 'round the world' ride. He had fled Poland on a Lambretta motor scooter in the early 1960's with his wife and everything they could pack on the back. His dream was to make a RTW ride, starting in Poland and returning. At 69 years of age he was smiling all the way across Russia, living his dream, headed next to North America.
Arthur Zawodney, shown here with his Yamaha SR 500, proving age is no reason to slow down by starting his first ride around the globe after retiring from a successful business career.
In Moscow I was interviewed by a Russian motorcycle magazine (MOTO). The journalist, Vladimir Zyablov, owned a motorcycle accessory business and was an avid motorcyclist. The magazine knew this trip was my 4th motorcycle ride around the globe and was interested in my opinions on motorcycles, Russian motorcyclists and Russia in general. Zyablov and I had communicated on and off for two years, and he knew several of my friends who had earlier ridden through Russia. He also introduced me to the world of Russian motorcycle clubs, a culture and society quiet different from others around the world.
When I arrived in Habarosk I was 'captured' by the Lynx of Amur Motorcycle Club. They took me to their clubhouse, made a dinner evening of my arrival and introduced me to their motorcycle world, Russia style. In this photo Arthur Zawodney showed me how friendly they were to him.
Upon reaching Vladivostok I had to solve the problem of getting my motorcycle out of Russia via air cargo. Luckily I connected with a company that made crates, whose owner spoke English, and whose crate-maker owned a Yamaha 500. Together we got the bike taken apart, boxed, and shipped. Details can be found on my website at www.horizonsunlimited.com/gregfrazier under 'What's New - Russia,' (real soon now!) as the process became an adventure in the Ozone Of Missing Motorcycles, and one of the main reasons I refuse in the future to ship motorcycles, by air or boat, across water. I would rather fit my motorcycle with pontoons and a paddle wheel, than ship it over the water.
Three weeks across Russia was how long it took to reach Vladivostok after entering from Latvia. This completes a major leg of my fourth 'round the world ride with a huge smile.
The final leg of this ride around the world will be 'Back In The USA.' If everything goes as planned I should soon be back to my home in the Big Horn Mountains of Montana."
Check out Greg's website on Horizons Unlimited for great pics and stories.
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"On our way out from La Paz (sur) this morning, the gas station attendant suggested we take a different route out of the city -- up and over the mountain, rather than through the city as there could be trouble with demonstrations (The Taxi and mini-bus drivers were on strike, to protest for a raise in rates).
It was a pretty beat-up cobblestone road, but the views north to the city were spectacular!
Near the top (it took 20 minutes of zig-zagging) we came into contact with about 7 police motorcycles, all in combat gear with passengers carrying some pretty mean-looking rifles. They were laughing as we passed, so I stopped them and asked to take their photo (while Erin rode ahead). We had a good 'ol laugh, then proceeded up the windy road.
Just before the top, there appeared to be an avalanche -- but instead of the rocks rolling down the side of the mountain, they were flying through the air and were landing all around the bikes. People on the ledge above were trying to pelt us with soft-ball sized rocks! I pulled down the front of my helmet and zipped past the last few police. The passenger/sharp-shooter on the back of each of the other bikes were pointing upward, but not firing. As we came to the last switch-back, I was in the middle of the pack -- not a place to be when the police around you are actually targets. As we came up the final incline, we saw Erin pulled over, about 50 meters short of the roadblock. The police rode right into the middle of the group (we followed), and then they dispersed from the bikes.
They started to yell at the crowd to move back, and we waited a moment. All of a sudden a rock was thrown at one of the police, and we heard a thump, as they began to fire smoke grenades. A quick twist of the grip, and we zig-zagged through the thin crowd near us. I looked back to see a rush of about 200 people throwing rocks at the police, as more smoke grenades and rubber bullets were fired.
Digging out from a roadblock
... We came to a bigger gathering near the edge of La Paz, and slowed down as we neared. A man waved his arms for us to stop, so we did. He said the road was blocked, and we must turn around. All of a sudden, we're surrounded by a group of about 200 more civilians, who start rocking the bikes. The leader comes over and tells the others to calm down, and tells me we must turn around -- I would if I could, but we were surrounded. He says we have to pay a tax, but I didn't answer him. Some men around Erin told her that gas prices were too high, and she said she agreed. That seemed to please them, so they agreed we could pass. Before we could go, however, the leader said we must accept a whipping (he was holding a fan-belt from his car). I leaned forward, and presented my back. He gave me 2 sharp lashes before I hit the gas and pulled away -- little did he know we have back protectors in our jackets, so I barely even noticed he made contact!
We crossed our last pass over 4,000 meters (4,520) I think for the last time on the trip. The weather here in Cochabamba is much warmer (2,500 meters), and it's nice to be out of the cold.
Just returned to La Paz Bolivia where we will spend our 4th (of 6) wedding anniversary (July 28) on the road. Erin & Chris Ratay"
Still having fun after all these years!
Ed. Happy Anniversary, Erin and Chris, and many more happy ones on the road!
"More big cities and crazed drivers... There was an immediate improvement in the roads as I entered Guatemala, and I headed straight to ‘Guate’ ( Guatemala City ) along a road choked with trucks and aggressive car drivers. Despite the numerous police controls, I’ve never seen so much blind corner passing in all my days....
Guate is one mother of a city, divided into zones comprised of Avenidas and block numbers. Sounds simple, but navigation was definitely an issue. After I unpacked I ventured out for some food around 8.30pm, finding myself walking along dark, desolate and scary streets. Definitely not a place to walk around at night.
Walking back from an unpalatable plate of combination fried rice I walked past a young guy lying on the footpath with his head in a box, no sooner had I walked past him than I realised he was walking behind me. I mustered one of my ‘don't fornicate with me’ expressions looking back at him, and he turned the corner. It was nice to find the hotel again I can tell you.
The only reason for stopping in the city was to replace my worn out MT21 rear tyre, and Guate was reportedly the cheapest place to do so. After purchasing a Bridgestone Trailblazer I can tell you tyres are definitely better priced in South America. I got the tyre fitted by Andy Young, a former bike racer who acts a knight in shining armour for bikers coming through. His workshop is for cars, but he dropped what he was doing to give me a hand, and all I could do was buy him a burger and fries for lunch. People like Andy are just awesome."
Ed. Check out Jeremy's blog on Horizons Unlimited!
"With the help of our friends Hugo and Yuko we pick our bikes from the port. Without them it would be impossible because a few people speak English and we cannot read Japanese. Arrigato!
People are queued up behind a yellow line on the platform at the Tokyo subway. Exactly on time the metro arrives and stops exactly at the yellow line. Japanese get out and in without pushing each other. Smoothly like a machine. Everything is under control.
On the streets it seems that also everything must be controlled. There are so many traffic signs and traffic lights to guide the on going stream of cars and motorbikes. For us it's too much and we get confused by all the signs. To make it worse, shops, restaurants, gambling houses and petrol stations try to get your attention by bright colored flashing lights. The streets look like a big disco... And the people, it's so crowded. Mega stores filled with the latest electronic equipment, like vacuum cleaners that tells you when to change your filter, refrigerators that beep when your beer is old, heated toilet seats and much more. Petrol stations where the fuel hoses drop out the ceiling, just to save space on the floor. Every inch is used in Tokyo. We wanna get out of this place....
In the Fuji go-ko area we find our peace and calmness again. Touring around the five lakes that surround Mt. Fuji. Just beautiful. We pack our daypacks and start to climb Mt. Fuji. We start at 22.00 hours and the first stage is easy and the track gently ascents. Then we get to a steep, rocky part where we need hands and feet to climb up. This part is especially difficult because it is still dark. We pass the 8th station at 3450 m. and it gets cold. We take a break and put on some extra clothes. When we look in the valley we see the little lights from Fujiyoshida city, like stars at a bright night. At 03.00 we reach the snow. Now it gets slippery and dangerous. But the first sunbeams light our way to the summit. At 04.10 we reach the top at 3776 m. We are at Japan's highest point, Fuji-san. A few minutes later we see the sun rising and colors the sky gold. It's breathtaking.
... At the Suzuki company in Hamamatsu is Mr. Hiroyuki already waiting for us. With a deep bow he welcomes us. He gives us a tour around the Suzuki museum. After the tour we ask for some spares but the answer is simple and direct: 'NO, we don't give parts to travellers'. 'We don't have the facilities to help you'. Well, this is a disappointment. And when Udo want to starts his 'Suzi' she doesn't want to start. She's disappointed too...
Hokkaido is the second largest island of Japan. Here we see many Japanese bikers. It is their holiday paradise, many, empty curvy roads in a green landscape dotted with lakes and volcanoes. And it never rains here... Since we arrived on Hokkaido we had five days of rains and now we are caught by a typhoon. Cold rain hits our face and it hurts. The wind tries to push us of the road and in some curves it feels that we are blown backwards. This you don't want to experience on a bike.
After a 'hard day' work on the bike it is time to relax. Like Japanese we do this in an 'onsen'. An onsen is a spa or mineral hot spring. In a little cabin you undress your self, take a bucket and walk to the bath. If you are a bit shy you can cover your private parts with a little towel. First you wash yourself. You sit down at the bath, take soap and ladle hot water over your body with the bucket. Then slowly ease yourself into the water, put the towel on your head and soak and relax. And in the event that you inadvertently fart, just say: 'Kyo tansan wa kitsui desu ne' (Carbonation is strong today, isn't it?)
'Carbonation is strong today, isn't it?'
Away from the big cities and built up areas it's great to ride your bike in Japan. Narrow, winding roads meander through deep green forests. Little picturesque villages with temple style roofs. Farmers that work in rice paddies. No influences of the hi-tech industry. Many times we see women dressed in traditional kimonos and there are many old castles and shrines. Although many castles were destroyed in the 17th century, there are still a few original castles to discover. In Matsumoto is an original castle built in the 16th century. The six store high wooden castle is built in contrasting black and white and has many beautiful details at the roof."
"Our first port of call is Bukhara, a city crammed full of historical buildings - mostly mosques, medressas and minarets. Our guidebook suggested that hotels would be grotty (no news there then) and the private hotels, aka B&Bs quite expensive for our 'budget'. However on approaching the old part of the city a cocky young 12 year old girl asked if we were looking for a hotel. Tentatively we said yes and I was dragged off to her home to inspect. Our room was a large 300 year old 'reception hall' with carved wooden beams holding up the ceiling and mosque-like tiling as coving. Sleeping arrangements were typical for the county - padded quilts on the carpeted floor. At 7 dollars each, including a respectable breakfast, we couldn't really complain and made this our base for 4 nights.
Staying here among a family provided us an ideal insight into Central Asian life. Our home consisted of 2 families and was typically female dominated, with the men away in Moscow on 'biznez' for months on end. This left the women running the household. Our hostess seemed to have countless sisters who visited with all their offspring. The whole house's water needs were provided for using one tap located in the courtyard. The oldest boy's single chore was to fill up buckets and an oil drum, the contents of which would be used for every conceivable purpose, including 'flushing' the newly concreted hole-in-the-ground toilet, and 'bathing' in their equally new hamam - no shower or bath.
... Road signs in these countries are virtually non-existent even for major towns, if you do spot one it's rusted and illegible. So we tend to rely on the GPS and a rather large-scaled map of Central Asia. We knew what town we wanted to aim for in the hills, most of the time we could make educated guesses, but there's always someone hanging around to ask if in doubt, including policemen who would usually respond 'Oh I don't know, I only do traffic'. On this particular occasion no-one expressed surprise by where we were heading for until a policeman waved at us apparently to slow down. We discovered soon afterwards that he actually meant stop. He chased us down in his Lada some 3km out of town. We tried our usual pleasantries but he just demanded our passports and 'karta' map, distinctly telling us that we would not be going any further. Simon showed him our standard map, since we had learnt how that usually brings a look of awe to most men, but that wasn't good enough. We were to follow him back to the police station. Oh well, something else for the newsletter I thought.
Simon is having the book thrown at him. We have wandered too near to the Tajik border and the officer thinks we should be travelling with an official map indicating an allowed route, similar to that in Turkmenbashiland. Because of our circuitous route it seems we missed the police checkpoint that would have turned us back. He jokes that we will have to spend the night in jail, so Simon suggests that he phones the British Embassy, he immediately retracts his joke. We know that the map is not required but it takes him quite a few phone calls to get it confirmed.
Once this is established he says that he needs to organise a police escort to make sure we leave the area, however all available personnel are watching (maybe marshalling) a non-FIFA football match. Four hours after the start of the incident we are called out to the bike and the officer asks for the Russian dictionary - a book that no-one so far had known how to use. He points out a word to Simon who reads out 'apology', with this our passports are handed back. Asking no questions we tog up and leave unescorted, completely gobsmacked that a police officer has apologised to us. He orders us though to head straight back to the main Samarkand to Tashkent road, however at 8pm it's now getting dark and we always avoid riding in the dark for many obvious reasons. We both agree the best option is to rough camp as soon as we can't be seen. Turning off the lights we take a small track off the road and set up camp in a wheat field behind a creaking combine harvester. Needless to say our night's sleep was restless."
Ed. Check out Simon and Georgie's new blog on Horizons Unlimited!
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"The Pakistani border staff were pleased to see us. With their tourist trade decimated, it seemed that our presence on a big red motorbike heartily cheered their day. We headed into the country and at the first two towns we came to, asked about hotels. This caused hoots of laughter and indications to continue on our way. Mid afternoon we arrived in a town called Dalbindin. The temperature was close to 50ºC (120ºF) and having ridden for over 8 hours we had had enough. Fortunately the town had a good size hotel so we put the bike to bed and went for a stroll. As we wondered around town, our presence caused penetrating stares and 'freeze-frame' scenarios in which conversations halted and cups of tea were held motionless midway to gaping mouths. We'd got used to being the centre of attention but this extreme scrutiny made us both a little uncomfortable to say the least! That evening we were joined by a local teacher who was most keen to tell us about US Airforce movements in the area, night-time drug smuggling and how nuclear testing had caused the ambient temperature to rise - something that appeared not to bother him too much!
... After six hours on the road, we found ourselves in a town called Zhob - totally out of our way! We sought local 'advice' about the road conditions and decided to press on north all the same. Following a very beautiful 100km mountain-pass ride, we crossed a province border to find ourselves on a practically unrideable rocky road - still 164km from the nearest town! Having confirmed as best we could that the road got no better and with only a couple of hours of daylight left, we decided to turn back. Although the ride back was scenic, constantly having to cross and re-cross rocky riverbeds for a second time soon became a complete pain. About 6pm, after 12 hours on the bike, we arrived back in Zhob and quickly located the hotel we had seen when we passed through earlier. However, the day's action was far from over! We had attracted a lot of local interest. Within 10 minutes, a plain clothed policeman arrived at our hotel door and we were 'escorted' to the local station. Apparently we were in Baluchistan, a restricted province and just 50km from Afghanistan! After an intense display of dumb-lost-tourist and a dexterous bout of brown-nosing, the policemen relaxed and we found ourselves drinking tea and chatting away with the station's entire compliment as if we were all life-long buddies. We were even offered an armed officer to guard us while in town!
Several hours later we rode into the mountains. The slow moving trucks had added a band of oil to the already slippery road. Tight turns with sheer drops, on a bike that feels like it's on a skid-pan did nothing to impress or reassure either of us and we slowed to little more than a snail's pace. That night we holed up in a small town called Fort Munro and enjoyed the high, cool mountain air.
... The day we left for India, we got to the border at 8am, only to discover that it didn't open until 10.30!! When it did open we were the only people going across, so the officials took their time and we enjoyed a cup of tea and a chat while they filled in ledgers and stamped our passports. But we were not out of the country yet. Sitting in customs, the official examined our carnet and announced that it had been wrongly processed by the border officials on our entry into the country. There was talk of sending us back to Iran. However, we knew very well that there was nothing wrong with the way the carnet had been completed - we've crossed enough borders to know by now - his offer to 'help' was clearly our prompt to supply 'baksheesh'. We sat there and innocently played along, pretending to misunderstand until he gave up and let us go!"
"Shipping from Melacca (Malaysia) is not possible anymore as the authorities decided from 2002 to use Melacca only for tourist purposes, so only passengers and no cargo anymore. There are two ports to ship from:
The agent was difficult and the prices and dates were changing all the time but finally after bargaining we agreed on RM 200 for the shipping and RM 50 handling fee per bike. But the shipping costs seem dependent of the captain and can change per boat.
We shipped 4 bikes (Gion Paulin of Switzerland, Jason Homewood of UK, Jeannette and me) and the bikes got loaded 3 pm. When we returned the next day at 11.30 am. We were told that the bikes couldn't get shipped as the boat was full (not knowing when the next possibility was). But after some discussion and advice from us how to re-arrange the loading all 4 bikes got on board and we saw the boat leaving all cargo neatly covered under plastic.
We took a taxi back to Melacca (RM 30). We took the afternoon ferry to Dumai and spend the night there. The next morning we went to the harbour Pelabuhan Ayan 4 kms. west from the ferry terminal where our bikes were already standing on solid ground (8.30 am.) in perfect shape. A lot of paperwork had to be done with Customs and the Police but at 11.30 am we were ready to enter Indonesia on motorbikes without any additional costs and/or recommendation letters.
At the moment we are at Lake Toba doing some R&R and start planning our route through Sumatra and the rest of Indonesia. All the best, Martin Rooiman"
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"The knot is tied. We had a great party. Achi was a stunningly beautiful bride. Ricardo Rocco Paz, around the world for peace rider, of Quito, came to be my witness. Erling Steen, of Norway, was passing through on his Honda XLR 650 and joined in the celebration. A CD with digital pix will be sent to MotorMark to put on our website. Punky and I are very happy to include Achi in our tour plans and welcome her as a wonderful new mate. Critter (the KLR650) is ready, Senor Frog (ex-navigator) and all of us are looking forward to our honeymoon ride.
... Just got back from a 10 day honeymoon ride to Bolivia. Saw a lot of desert, cold Pacific surf and twisties in the Andes mountains. We stayed 2 days in Puno, took a boat ride on Lake Titicaca to a floating island and bought a couple of mementos from the indigenous inhabitants. Spent 2 days in Arequipa and took pix of Misti Volcano and the beautiful surrounding snow covered mountains.
Achi did well. She had a few well deserved gripes. Her ass got tired and so did mine. I had a cold with a snotty nose and sore throat during the entire trip. We were forced to stay in a couple of cold crappy places without water, let alone hot showers and filthy bathrooms devoid of light, paper or water. They did bring some in a bucket. Had a little hassle exiting Peru at the border, but finally the Aduana chief let us through. Critter performed perfectly, but now needs new tires again. The route over the Andes was cold, but we had a favorable break in the really cold weather.
Punky quietly accepted the discomfort and continued to follow his master. I slowed down and was much more careful riding with Achi as passenger. A Volkswagen passing a slow truck came across into my lane, at the top of grade in a curve, forcing me to make a last second maneuver to avoid hitting the son-of-a-xxxxx. Ticked me off. Scared the shit out of Achi. The last half day was a little wet. All is well and we are very happy to be home and resting comfortably with some good memories of our first adventure together.
In late October we will continue the tour to Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego and the rest of South America. I hope life is at least half as good for y'all. No way it could be this good. Later, amigos. Punky & Lew & Achi 2 Americas Motopaseo Lima, Peru"
"I ran into a group of about 30 police, all on BMW's, in rural France. They were out with two instructors, finishing the 'proficiency' training that is required before they can be assigned to ride motorcycles. I was invited to ride along with them (they had a great 130 km long route laid out). Towards the end of the day, the chief instructor suggested that maybe I could lead the pack, and asked that I keep up a 'challenging' pace for the students. So - I wicked it out of there, scraping pegs in the corners and hitting 160 to 180 km/h on the straights through all the secondary and tertiary roads, with a pack of 30 cops following way behind me. I always slow right down to 40 or 50 when I go through villages (too many kids, dogs, pedestrians, etc.), but the cops would come ripping through the villages in one big wolfpack at Warp 7, with all their blue lights on, in order to catch up the distance they had lost to me during the rural riding. What a howl, it was the highlight of my trip. They bought me dinner at the end of the route.
oops.
... Had one minor accident this trip - I had stopped alongside a narrow road to take a picture, and the ground gave out under my right foot. The bike, all 400 kg of it, tumbled upside down into the very deep ditch at the side of the road. Some scratches and a broken mirror and windshield, but nothing serious. It took 6 people to get it out of the ditch, but I was able to ride it away."
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We left San Pedro de Atacama in Chile and our biker friends Liam McCabe and Frederic Valentin in the morning after a big cup of coca tea. Liam is also riding around the world on a bike and we have met on four continents - Istanbul, Goa, Melbourne and in San Pedro !!!!
... As a welcome to Bolivia it began to snow - rain and of course we got lost because we could hardly see the track. After maybe an hour we reached a military post and the guard told us which way to go to find the right track to Laguna Colorada. We used three maps but it took the rest of the day to find the only basic hotel at Laguna Colorada to get out of the freezing wind and rain. After this 180kms we were just ready to eat and sleep and could not answer all the questions from fellow travellers on their Jeep tours we met in the hotel.
We followed just the compass north thru the valleys on the sandy tracks. The snowcapped mountains around and the strange stone formations we could only enjoy when we stopped because riding in the sand was difficult and did not leave much time to look around. The freezing cold night we spend camping after we did about 100kms.
Riding on the salt lake - Salar de Uyuni - was fantastic, easy and we felt so free - so we went again the next day just for the fun of it.
In Puno we met the German/Austrian couple Carmen and Frank on two BMW's and decided to travel together. In Cusco we met Olivier Domenici, a French biker on a Honda Africa Twin, and Roberto a Spanish biker on a Yamaha XT again.
We are now nearly a week in Lima because we had to do a few things before we continue into the Amazonas area again. This time we want to load the bikes on boats in Pucallpa (Peru) to go to Manaus (Brazil) on the river Amazonas. Greetings and all the best to you, MIKA"
"I was in Dawson City working on my bike when Heidi (from Switzerland on a BMW 650 GS) turned up at the hostel, we got talking about where we were going. She was going to Inuvik and I to Prudhoe Bay Alaska, she said to me why don't I join her as she wants some company for the 700kms of gravel road up to and beyond the Arctic Circle, so here we are all 5 of us having a party in the midnight sun. The weather is good well sort of about 15c but wet now and again.
I must thank my now friends for life Susan and Grant Johnson for all their help and support over the last few weeks. I now have a side stand that works, something that KTM can't seem to make work, it took us all of one hour, a few other mods were done and they all work, so thanks Grant."
Later, from Homer, Alaska ...
"The young lady that I have met, Heidi (yes the one I went to Inuvik with), has asked if I would join her in her ride down to Tierra del Fuego. This has got me thinking, so I am going to return to the UK with the bike, go back to work for a while then fly back out to the US or Vancouver to continue on south with Heidi. I guess Heidi likes my Aunt Jemima pancakes, I say you can't have too much of a good thing. Cheers Andy"
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Looking for a travel book for someone special? Go to our Books pages, where we have listed some of the best motorcycle travel books, as well as a number of BMW books, general motorcycle books, and travel guides.
There's links to Amazon USA, Amazon UK, and Amazon Deutschland, so no matter where you are - Canadians and Aussies order from Amazon USA;-) you can order books at great prices, and we'll make a dollar or a pound or a Euro, which goes to supporting this e-zine.
There's also links to search Amazon sites for all their products, books, CDs etc., and yes, we get a tiny piece of that too. We really appreciate it when you start your book search from our website! Thanks for the support! Book suggestions please!If you have a book or want a book that you think other travellers would be interested in please let me know and I'll put it on the site. Thanks, Grant A man is stranded on a desert island, all alone for ten years. One day, he sees a speck in the horizon. He thinks to himself, "It's not a ship." The speck gets a little closer and he thinks, "It's not a boat." The speck gets even closer and he thinks, "It's not a raft." Then, out of the surf comes this gorgeous blonde woman, wearing a wet suit and scuba gear. She comes up to the guy and she says, "How long has it been since you've had a cigarette?" "Ten years!" he says. She reaches over, unzips a waterproof pocket on her left sleeve and pulls out a pack of fresh cigarettes. He takes one, lights it, takes a long drag and says, "Man, oh man! Is that good!" Then she asks, "How long has it been since you've had a drink of whiskey?" He replies, "Ten years!" She reaches over, unzips her waterproof pocket on the right, pulls out a flask and gives it to him. He takes a long swig and says, "Wow, that's fantastic!" Then she starts unzipping this long zipper that runs down the front of her wet suit and she says to him, "And how long has it been since you've had some REAL fun?" And the man replies, "My God! Don't tell me you've got a motorcycle in there!" as Will Rogers (a brilliant, Oklahoma cowboy comic of the 1920's & 30's) stated so well: "Ain't no lack of simple solutions, only simple problems." "Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps
you make a living, the other helps you make a life." "I either want less corruption, or more chance
to participate in it." Read and heed the last one especially - it's a very good explanation for the bribery situation in many parts of the world - Grant On the HU UK 2002 Travellers Meeting"Hi Glynn, I've just returned from the Travellers Meeting and just wanted to write and thank you for organising and running this great weekend. It must have meant lots of hard work. The Friday night presentations were as entertaining as they were different, the beer excellent, the venue and camping location great. Above all, the people I talked to were the most welcoming, informative and open folk. At last I feel I have found a 'bike crowd' I can identify with and I'm certain that I have just made some more long term friends. Thanks again Glynn and well done." Jim Millington, UK "Hi Folks, here are the photos I took last weekend, they're not THAT impressive... but the weekend WAS! Thanks again for your organising efforts. Take care and mail me if you need anything, cheers again, P.S. If I pull off my desert rally next year maybe I can show you slides again..." Karim Hussain, UK "Hi Glynn, That was an excellent meeting. Well done to all those involved. Neil who arrived with me was well impressed and now has the travel bug too! He was particularly impressed by Paul Pratt and Austin Vince was just hilarious! Plus what about Karim, lucky or what? Excellent, can't wait till the next. Ride safe & have fun!!" Ross Cole, UK Grant, just got back from uk meet. Excellent time - probably 80 people - weather glorious, pub best venue, very friendly, landlords daughter mean cook and beautiful. Friday nite talks by Paul Pratt - an in depth recollection of some his adventures, Cynthia Milton - moonlight in Delhi and the highly entertaining Austin Vince - working on commission for a poncho manufacturer. Sat - sun hot, beer good, inspirational talks from Chris scott, Karim and Chris Bright. Left before gathering round fire expect a good nite had by all. Hope you are well - be proud of what you started." Gavin Bell "Just wanted to say thanks... the info I've gotten from your site has saved me a lot of trouble already, and I've only gone from NYC to Newfoundland to Vancouver. I'm on my way to Alaska this week, eventually to Ushuaia." Tim Corrigan, NYC "Important platform to stay in contact with the traveling mob on the road" Frank Bremer, Germany "It has been a pleasurable experience reading riding news from all over the world. Keep up the good work!" Amran Parimon, Malaysia "Thanks again for all the effort into this wealth-of-information-site! Your monthly E-zine reads like a gripping novel!" Bernard Voges, South Africa "Grant and Susan, what you have done for the motorcycle community has been nothing short of a miracle - keep up the great work and thanks for creating such a great forum for motorcycle travelers." Jeff and Linda Anspach, Oregon "I just saw your bike at Peddlers 2 in Dartmouth NS, came back to office and looked up your website, really cool and I think the travelling is everyone who owns a bikes dream. Wish I had of said Hi, be safe and enjoy our province." Claude Langley, Nova Scotia "What a wicked web we weave - I am not sure how I got here but I am glad that I did." Joseph Wuest, Illinois "Just a good bit of searching...now it is my favorite site!" Ben Zack, San Francisco, California "Great site!!!" Chris Schmid, Alexis Creek, BC "Thanks for all the hard work for creating this web site." David Brooks, Vancouver Help support your favorite website! Here's how!Please be assured that we will NOT under any circumstances, rent, lease, sell, or give out our mailing list, and/or your name and e-mail address, to anyone for whatever purpose. Your privacy is assured, and personally guaranteed. Grant Johnson Please note that you are receiving this newsletter because you have personally subscribed! We are 100% opt-in only. To subscribe or UNsubscribe to this newsletter. Reader commentsAll comments and suggestions are carefully read, and where possible will be acted on. Your help will make this a useful service for all travellers. Feel free to use the Bulletin Board for questions and suggestions. If you would like to advertise your product or service in this newsletter or on the website, please contact me at the above link. Ad rates are very reasonable. Details at this link.
ISSN 1703-1397 Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' Ezine - Copyright 1999-2002, Horizons Unlimited and Grant and Susan Johnson. All rights reserved. REDISTRIBUTION is allowed, indeed encouraged, but other than the following requirements, only with permission. You may forward copies of the Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' e-zine by forwarding it yourself by hand. You must forward the issue in its entirety, no fee may be involved. Please suggest they Subscribe! Legal gibberish disclaimer: (particularly for those in countries that have more lawyers in one town, just for instance, New York, not to name any names, than some whole countries, as another example, Japan. Again, not naming anybody specifically you understand) Recommendations are based on positive or negative experiences of somebody, somewhere. Your mileage (kilometrage if you insist) may vary. We are not responsible in any way for any product or service mentioned, and do not warrant any such mentioned product or service, and are not responsible for any bad things that may befall you. You are responsible for yourself! Act accordingly. We check all links and information given as close as possible to publication, and all info is correct as best we can determine at that time. |
This month, we're awarding prizes to Glynn Roberts and Chris Bright for their sterling (excuse the pun) efforts at organizing the HU UK 2002 Travellers Meeting, which from all reports was a smashing success! Glynn and Chris already know what their prize is - enjoy the t-shirts, guys! Marco Meier and Sibylle, Switzerland, in Russia, BMW F650 GS's"...We are a Swiss couple on two BMW F650 GS Dakars. We started our trip on 01.04.2002 and travelled easy through Turkey and landed in Sochi (ca. 10 Km nord from the Georgian border). The last 3 months we crossed Russia, visited the beautiful Altaj Mountains and had a longer break on the Lake Baikal. Now we arrived in Vladivostok and will take the ferry to Japan on the 29.07.02. There we will have a look, in which direction our trip will go."
Assume the ones in motorcycle jackets are Marco and Sibylle! Stefan Thiel, Germany, India to Germany, Royal Enfield Bullet,"Hi Grant! Thank you for your help. The welding of the rear wheel hub worked in the 3rd attempt and I made it from Adana to Antalya. But I think of getting a new rearwheelhub because driving is not that fun with the welded part. As far as I understand it the special welding of the aluminum greycast weakens the surrounding material so it can rip out again. And the first time it was so damn close to an accident. The spoke ripped out and the valve of the tube too. So I was with a flat tyre at 80/90kmh... not a fun experience... I will either get the part from Germany to Istanbul or will try to contact a dealer in Athens/Greece. Thank you for your help! Tiffany Coates, UK, Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia, in Alaska'Well I am still in Alaska and having a great time. I am planning on leaving Alaska on 23rd July and getting the ferry from Haines to Bellingham. Dead Horse was great - my friend Siobhan (she has now flown home) and I were treated like celebrities up there and really had a good time. The dirt track wasn't as bad as I had feared and in fact I think it was the roadworks that were the worst parts - they had either sprayed the roads or had just laid a load of sand-like stuff each time so they were a bit tricky. A few bear encounters, but I'll do a proper write up for the website in the next couple of days. best wishes Tiffany'
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Iris Heiremans and Trui Hanoulle, Belgium, 2nd overland to India, in Ladakh, India, on DR650SE's"Dear friends, yesterday we reached Leh !!! YESssssss, WE MADE IT, the bikes as well as the girls, the four of us in GOOD shape. Three hard days of riding but worth every minute of it. Ladakh is breathtaking, also literally (for a few days). You'll hear more of us later." Chris Bright, UK, Around the world, back home, but suddenly infamous, errr, famous! R100GS,"Just what i've been waiting for all my life!!!!! I'm just soooo goood!!!! from 2002 BMW R1150GS-Adventure brochure... the photoshoot was between Uyuni and Laguna Verde, august 2001, ...me in the clothing section. You can either ride a sexy bike and wear the sexy jacket, or you can look like the bald bloke in his scruffy jacket, with the scabby bike...
Yep, that's Chris on the right... Cliff and Jenny Batley, UK, UK to New Zealand, in Europe"Well we are still at it although we have had major hassle with internet connections to send our e-mails but we are finding ways around this- have updated the site today - now includes Croatia, Bosnia, Yugoslavia ( Kosovo ) etc. Currently in Greece - enjoying a rest - off to Turkey in the next day or so heading for Istanbul. Probably going to book into Youth Hostel (us old gits!!!). Hoping to do our dive licences whilst in Marmaris / Bodrum. Worst days so far - Kosovo. Best days - the rest :-) Cliff & Jenny Batley" Falk Thümer and Reina Kasperowski, Germany, around the world, in Mexico, R100GSPD and Suzuki XF 650 Freewind,"Greetings from the jungle from Reina and Falk. We are in the south of Mexico and will enter Belize soon. We are fine but it's very hot here and the humidity is gonna kill us and the mosquitoes too. But that's the way it is when you are travelling in the rainy season. Now finally our homepage has changed, all the reports are in a understandable English and translated by Ch. Gonzales. The Mexican report will follow soon. So long -- Reina und Falk" Kevin and Julia Sanders, UK, Breaking the world record for transglobal motorcycling - 1 bike, 2 people, 4 continents, 12 countries, 20 days, on R1150GS,"Guinness has just officially confirmed the Globebusters fastest circumnavigation of the world by motorcycle as the New World Record. 19 days, 8 hours and 25 minutes. Very rarely is a new world record set that smashes the old record so convincingly. The new record cuts 12 1/2 days off the previous record. Even more extraordinary is that it ranks faster than the current car record - extraordinary because the car record has a team of three and rotate two drivers. The bike record demands one rider all the way." Chris and Simi, Belgium, in Bolivia,"The road from Santa Cruz to the Pantanal suppose to be hard life. Although it's not easy to get any info about it, people told us it has some very sandy stretches. We drive two-up and are quite heavy packed, for me it was not an option. We came down through Paraguay and Salta to Yacuiba. If you both drive a bike,you might be able to do it though... There is also a train from Santa Cruz to the border with Brasil which can take your bikes but a Paraguayan guy told me it's very expensive. There is one luggage carrier and if shared with other people the cost should be ok, if it's empty you have to pay for the whole thing,about 200us$... a little crazy I thought... Anyway, whatever you do,have a nice and save trip!" From Chris and Erin Ratay, USA, around the world, in Bolivia, two BMW F650s, on the same stretch:"The following is from a German friend who met 2 French guys who rode in from Brazil -- so, if the train doesn't pan out, we will go this way: 'From Santa Cruz drive north to Montero (paved), than northeast to San Ramon (very good road). From here take the road to San Javier. (Erin that is one of the mission towns you are interested in.) Follow the Mission circuit to San Rafael (very good and hard Tierra). But you know after rain Tierra turns to mud. Now go west To Torno and Las Petas (also good hard earth). Than follow the road northwest to Caceres (Brazil). Between Las Petas and Caceres exists a 50 km long part of sand. But only in very short parts soft and deep. Not like Tupiza-Uyuni. From Caseres there will not be any problem.'"
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By Bernard Voges, in South Africa"Hi Grant and Susan, I just want to send you this message to let you know that I saw Tjeert Klerk (from Holland) and Ingeborg Wannags (from Germany) about 250 km east of Cape Town in a town called Ladismith on Friday 12 July. They were heading for Cape Town. They left from Germany (I think?) and rode to Ghana, where they shipped their two Yamaha XTs (600 and a 660) to Durban. They have been enjoying the South African sunshine and hospitality for ten weeks when I spoke to them!
Tjeert Klerk and Ingeborg Wannags in South Africa Just yesterday I saw them near the famous Chapman's Peak in Hout Bay (30 km from Cape Town). I told them about Horizons Unlimited, the best traveller's site in the world, and was VERY surprised when they didn't know about it! I gave them your URL and they said they'd have a look when they get to Cape Town. Their URL is www.2001-earth-odyssey.com - unfortunately only in German, but it has some very useful detailed information of their trip (the North African leg so far). I hope they have or will contact you, as I have difficulty imagining any traveller going about his/her business without logging on to this awesome resource! Kind regards, Bernard Voges (very short distance traveller by comparison!) Cape Town, South Africa" Ed. Bernard, it doesn't matter how far you go, as long as you go! By Ron Durkin, Australia, June 5,"We had DE overlanders Ramona & Uver (on their KTM Adventurers) drop in for a few days last. 18 months into their 5 year journey. We also took them to meet Ken & Carol (Duval), fellow BMW Club, Off Centre members and for the last 4 years also world travellers. Ed. See Ken and Carol's stories here. Very interesting to hear their common perspectives. Sent them off by some of our better dirt roads following the great spine to Townsville. If you see them, say G'Day as they are great people." By Goose and Lucy, in Pakistan"Stefano (Mangini) had travelled down from China on a Yamaha Virago. It was giving him grief but looked more comfortable than the BMW."
"Meeting up with other bikers on the way to Fort Munro. Helen and Al stopped for a chat before continuing on their way to Quetta. They were riding from New Zealand to the UK."
By Chris and Erin Ratay, USA, around the world, in Peru and Bolivia, two BMW F650s,"Had brunch yesterday with Cory Rowden (Kiwi on XR650L), and Chris (Belgium on A.Twin heading to Alaska with his girlfriend, Simi ). Spent 3 days working on the bikes at Nosiglia Honda in La Paz - really great guys, and after 3 days of work (we did most) we got a bill for US$15 from them, plus US$15 from outside businesses (cutting valve shims and working on Erin's shock - yeah, pre-load died AGAIN). Liam McCabe and Catriona arrived from Copacabana, and we spent the afternoon/evening jabbering away. We've met up with Liam on 14 occasions on this trip, in 9 different countries and 3 continents. He's a good guy to run into, even if he is on a Red Wing!"
Liam McCabe and Catriona By Burak Cedetas, Turkey,"Hello Grant, Just by coincidence I met Uros and Metka (Uros Blazko and Metka Salehar, Slovenia, Moto Guzzi Quota 1100ES,) on their way to India here in Istanbul. We were at the toll gate on the Bosphorus Bridge and I recognized them when I saw the Moto Guzzi with Slovenian license plate. They are doing OK and will not spend time here in Turkey and aim for India via Iran and Pakistan." By Greg Frazier, in Russia"Guy I met on the road across Russia was Herbert Roelandt. He knew me from a Tesch meeting some years before." By Bruce Marshall, in New Zealand,"Have just bumped into Paul Ackland who, with his missus Jill onna back, is doing the big RTW on a fat-tanked GS, & is in NZ now . . . Will take them up-country for a look at the backblocks of 'Lord of the Ringsland' Richard & Rachel Kempster I caught up with a few months earlier, but unfortunately their moneybox ran dry so they hadda head back to the Ukranium before sampling my favourite backroads as native-guide..." By Jeff Anspach, Portland Oregon USA HU Community,"Hello Grant and Susan, We just had a wonderful visit from Tiberio and Paulina. Tiberio has been making his way from Medellin, Colombia up to the end of the road in Alaska. Paulina joined him in San Diego and they have been riding two up on Tiberio's '93 GS100. They were a lot of fun to hang out with for a couple days. I played hooky from work to give them the 10 cent tour of Portland. They were particularly fond of Portland Brewing Company's (my favorite microbrewery in Portland) German style Weiss Beer.
Jeff, baby Chase, Linda, Tiberio and Paulina Needless to say that Tiberio has had some major administrative hassles getting the appropriate visas for Central America and Mexico. He said that he had been worried about getting an extension for his visa in Mexico, which under normal circumstances, would have been timely and expensive. But, as luck would have it, the customs official was married to a Colombian and gladly approved the extension. Lucky for him the customs official was happily married... but then again how could he not be, after all, I've never met a Colombian I didn't like. Tibo also was reaching his goal of riding in the States for under US$30/day. Thankfully he has also met many other motorcyclists through the Horizons Unlimited Communities who have graciously opened their homes to him. It made me proud to be a member of the Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Community." Later, we also met Tiberio (finally!)"Tiberio Jaramillo, Mauricio and Clara from Medellin, Colombia, stopped by for lunch on their way to Alaska this week. They have had very good experiences and no hassles at any borders. Although Tiberio's tank bag and camera was stolen here in Vancouver, the only robbery of the trip so far (the shame of it!), they were very gracious and hold no grudges. They were travelling as a group of six, but the others are in more of a hurry due to commitments, so they have split up. Tiberio, Mauricio and Clara's plan is to go to Prudhoe Bay, then over to Inuvik, fly up to Tuk, then head south through the Rockies. Somewhere in the US they will either turn east or south depending on how their funds are holding up." "Bruno Blum, Switzerland, also dropped in for a visit in Richmond, Vancouver, between trips around BC and Alberta." Check out his new HU Blog for some great pics and stories (German only, but the translator works fine!)
Thanks!
Dirk Bachmann (New Zealand/Germany) around the world in stages since Feb. 2001, campaigning for UNICEF against polio, riding a BMW F650,"In August and September I will be joining my mate and colleague Juergen Homann in some more active riding. While he is currently travelling in Nepal I will be motorcycling from Los Angeles, CA - where I left my bike back in January - to Orlando, FL via the South West and then Boulder in Colorado. My partner Angelika Bergerhoff, new to the 'business', will be accompanying me. We will keep campaigning for UNICEF against polio (www.2-mad.com) and hopefully meet a few of the other bikers out there along the way. Cheers, d" Ian Clarke writes about a 'little trip' around the world,"I thought I should let you know about a little trip that I am doing with a few others. We're involved in the first Round the World Motorcycle Challenge. This involves 24 riders in eight teams travelling through USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Nepal, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Morocco, France and eventually back home. The proposed route in 25,000 miles approx. and will be completed in 95 days.... We start in New York leaving there 6th August 2002. There are a couple of sites to check out:
It should be a heck of a journey and worth a few stories... Just give me a shout if you want further information. Ian" Trans-Sahara Motorcycle Charity Expedition"During November and December 2002 Richard Leavold and Mike Brookes will attempt an unsupported charity expedition by motorcycle from the county of Norfolk in England, across the middle of the Sahara desert to Cotonou,in Benin West Africa. Their expedition, if successful will take them through France, Tunisia, Algeria, Niger, and Benin. All donations offered will be given equally to 'Medecins Sans Frontieres' and 'Oxfam'." Pan-American 2002, Fabien Mirabaud and Thomas Girodot and Aurélien Chardeau, France, NY to Tierra del Fuego, Honda Transalp's,"thanks a lot for the info for Sunrise, they gave me a very good quotation and have been very helpful! So here is the story for the trip: I will be driving from NY to Tierra de Fuego for about 6 months, starting on October 4th. We will be three French bikers: Thomas and Aurélien (the latter is actually only coming from Ecuador to Tierra de Fuego); the bikes are Honda Transalp from 93 and 94 (600cc). This a great trip that I am looking forward to experiment. We made this
website that
will be translated in English at the end of this week. I am shipping the bikes
from France (it was cheaper to buy the bikes in France and have them shipped
to the US rather than buying them in NYC; especially since there is very little
choice in NYC.) Here is a list of the countries we are crossing: 1. USA 2.
Mexique 3. Guatemala 4. El Salvador 5. Honduras 6. Nicaragua 7. Costa Rica
8. Panama 9. Ecuador 10. Pérou 11. Bolivie 12. Chili 13 -Argentine. Maarten Munnik, Netherlands, around the world, Honda Africa Twin,"In less than 2 weeks I'll be departing for a trip around the world. Unfortunately this means I can no longer offer travelers help and a place to stay in Holland... since I am not there. So... could you remove my name from the helpful people list? When I get back (could be a while ;-) I'll be happy to get on it again. I'll see you later (on the road or in Canada)" Well I guess that's a good excuse! :) I'm sure Maarten will be visiting a few Communities along the way, so say Hi! Speaking of Communities:I've had a couple of comments from Communities that not enough of you are dropping by for a visit! Remember that they are Communities, not just in case of a problem - they really do want to meet you! Lots of times they'll show you around town, or just provide a place to stay for the night - so start contacting them! Grant Peter and Kay Forwood, Australia, around the world since 1996, temporarily home in Australia, two-up on a Harley-Davidson,"We are just finishing the second half of trip eight, the eastern side of South America. All the countries on our wish list were visited, including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. It has been one of our most interesting and enjoyable three months, despite some unexpected occurrences. Both of us were struck by lightening in Guyana, while walking around in a dry thunderstorm. We had our first dropping of the motorcycle on asphalt, resulting in sore hips, grazes and four stitches to Kay's eyebrow. We were mugged at knifepoint on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro. We had to fly the motorcycle into South America from Panama, truck it to get through the mud in Guyana, put it into pirogues twice to cross rivers in French Guiana, and onto a few barges and regular ferries. Whilst impending problems caused us some concern and we needed a few minor repairs along the way the motorcycle has managed to get us to our final destination without requiring outside assistance. It has now visited 127 countries, 2/3rds of the 190 currently in the world. The odometer clicked over for the third time just as we are about to leave for home, 300,000 km's.
The Road Warrior We seem to have been constantly followed by our personal cloud, raining more than at any other time. Of course the Amazon was wet, and our two day trip across its mouth on a smallish wooden freight boat a highlight. The currencies of this region have suffered recently with the problems in Argentina which whilst sad for the residents has greatly enhanced our visit enabling us to stay in good hotels and eat in restaurants when we wished. The roads were excellent in the north, dreadful in Guyana, almost acceptable in Brazil and again excellent in the south. Some of the memorable highlights were, the leatherback turtles nesting in French Guiana, the Amazon and rainforests surrounding this area, Iguasu Falls, amazing beaches everywhere, excellent riding in the south, but the biggest surprise were the welcoming friendly people we met everywhere. From the police, customs, waitresses, hotel staff to the general public everyone seemed genuinely happy and friendly. Our total lack of the local languages didn't seem to be a problem as everyone seemed to have time for our bumbling explanations and hand gestures.
And a well-deserved rest! The next trip starts later this year in early September when we hope to head south to Ushuaia, the southern most tip of South America, then up the west coast through Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. In a perfect world we then hope to buy a small boat and take the motorcycle through the Caribbean islands and onto Florida before the Sturgis Rally in early August, and the 100th anniversary, Harley-Davidson rally in Milwaukee in late August 2003. There is still debate between Kay and I if that will be the end of the trip. We will probably not know ourselves till the end of the next section. Keep in touch and let us know what is happening in your part of the world. Peter and Kay Forwood" Ed. Peter and Kay have travelled to 127 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South America. Horizons Unlimited is proud to host all their stories on our site. Fantastic adventures and great pictures! Just a reminder to all, when you JOIN a Community in your area, send a note to the Community introducing yourself and suggesting a meeting for a beer or a ride or something. It's a good way of meeting like-minded individuals in your own town.
There are 156 Communities in 54 countries running already. A big thanks to all those who took the first step and established the Community in their area. Latest additions are Pemberton and Alexis Creek in British Columbia Canada, Viedma in Argentina on ruta 3 en route to Ushuaia, The Hague in the Netherlands, Asuncion in Paraguay, Trabzon in Turkey, Eureka California USA, and Caracas Venezuela! Thanks to all those who started these great new Communities! For details on how you can join, or use the Community to get information and help, or just meet people on the road or at home, go to the Community page. Send me some photos - with captions please - and a little text and you can have a web page about your Community! A few links to web pages about your area would be useful too. From Ed Mendes, in the new Philadelphia Community,"I just want to give everyone in the Philly area a heads up that we do have a HU node and welcome ya'll to it. Feel free to post any queries/questions you may have and we'll do our best to respond to them... Also, I'd like to commemorate the opening of this chapter with a little BBQ at my place if anybody is interested. Hope to hear from you soon and bonne route!" GPais would like to have a meeting in Portugal"What about a travellers meeting in PORTUGAL!! Great SUN, WINE and Sea Food waiting for you! I'd be pleased to receive everyone to a meeting..." Would YOU like to help, or go to the meeting? Check here and add your input! Communities:Have you thought about a 'Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers Meeting' in your Community area? Following the successful launch of the UK (2001 and 2002) and Canadian (2002) Travellers Meetings, I'd like to see at least one a year on every continent - I think there is enough interest, it's just a (small ;) matter of doing it! It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, just a get-together at an interesting location. Let me know what you think - we'll do all we can to support you and your Community. |
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I am working on a listing of people who have ridden around the world, as well as what I call 'significant journeys' e.g. the first across Africa. Any information you may have on this topic, please let me know. Preferably e-mail me direct. I currently have information on over 100 world travellers listed, but there are many more. See Bernd Tesch's page for more. Bernd lists around 245 long distance travellers. And there's at least 20 enroute to an around the world. Have YOU done it? Let me know! We hope you've enjoyed this issue, and do please let us know your thoughts. It's your newsletter, so tell us what you want to know about! It is not the unknown, but the fear of it, that prevents us from doing what we want...
Grant and Susan JohnsonLive the dream! at:
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Omega. 400 Watts. Light and heat for 1970-95 Boxers. YeeeHa!
The end of that greatest limitation of the air cooled Boxer, a small capacity
charging system!" 
