Hello everyone.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hello metal machine and welcome,
I think you are right about heading east, it will be pretty cold in Turkey and Iran by the time you get there, early to mid September is a good time to head that way.
It is a good time to head to Africa, I am not sure about how open east Africa is, getting to Egypt might be a problem in itself but it is now possible to ride from Cairo to Cape Town almost all the way on tarmac.
Shipping to north or south America is an option, look at the shipping the bike section here for other people's experiences and recommendations if you decide on this option.

If you are thinking about shipping your bike try this group
International Motorcycle Shipping and Transport - Moto Freight
I had a long talk with them at the Donington HUBB meet this year and they seemed like a good group to use, although not used them myself..yet

Wayne

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Went from Europe to Oz with my GF over 6 years ago. We went Greece-Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India.

Depending on the year, you could hit bad weather almost anywhere at the end of October, but crossing eastern Turkey is the most critical part on that route, as it is quite mountaineous. For us, right about the end of Oct/beginning of Nov., is was just about tolerable in the daytime, but below freezing in the night time. It could have been a lot worse I think. Once we got to Iran, it quickly started to warm up a lot, even though nights still stayed cool (but not below freezing). End of October, winter will be near, but if you´re lucky it could still be fully do-able. It would be good to be flexible with your timing, so if it gets too cold, you could wait a few days so that it would hopefully warm up a bit again.

Without going into any detail at all, the West Africa route(s) will be fine, as will south and southeast Asia if you ship around the cold mountains to get there. Good time for Australia or New Zealand, too. The southern part of North America (southern USA plus Mexico) would be a good start, although rainy season is pronounced through Central America at that time. Another possibility would be to ship directly to the southern tier of South America, head south to Patagonia and then follow the weather north until you run out of road in Alaska. All depends on your budget, available time, and thirst for endless riding.

Language will be awkward at times, but it tends to work out in the end. Don't be dissuaded by minor irritations like potential flooding, winds, heat, insects, corrupt officials and/or prices for shipping. In the end it's all good--and all problematic.

Last note: don't even think about shipping to Mexico. Colombia, Argentina, Chile….yes. USA or Canada…yes. Once you've settled on a timeline and a route, contact the usual helpers for advice and practical assistance.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

If budget a concern, pick option #3. Head into Africa. That's easily a year of travel/exploration. Anytime you have to ship your bike ... it's a big expense and headache. Once in S. Africa you can work something out. Or sell off the bike, fly away, start over? Lots of options.

It's easy/fun getting from UK down to Morocco. I've done it ... spent lots of time in France/Spain/Portugal before crossing on Ferry. By November Morocco's Atlas mountains can get cold, and colder by December. Further South weather should be warm but not too hot.

Have fun!

Well, that was a quick set of replies, thanks!

So, it seems like there are a few obstacles but nothing that is clearly insane or impossible about any of those routes in winter, would that be correct? With isolated mountain areas like Eastern Turkey (or even Alps/Pyrenees ) I thought, if I get forced into a later departure and the weather is bad enough to be impassable (snow/ice etc), in the worst case I could pay a local to transport me and the bike in a 4x4/truck/van. How does that sound for a plan B?

I don´t think the Alps would present a huge problem in late October, because if passes are snowed in, you can normally use tunnels to cross the highest mountains. Pyrenees... from the UK, and heading towards Turkey, do you have to go to the Pyrenees?? Mountains in the Balkans could also get snow depending on the year, but if you´d follow the coast, my guess is it should be ok... and if not, then just take a boat from Italy to Greece.

For eastern Turkey, at that time of the year, my advice would be to have some flexibility on your schedule. You might have to wait for wintry weather to warm up, and how long this would take, is anyone´s guess. Your worst case scenario is, that it just simply won´t warm up until next Spring, so then you would have to figure out a way to transport your mc to the Iranian border (and maybe again on the other side of the border). It´s not very probable, but possible. That area has severe winters. Also I do remember seeing some news about roads in Central Iran getting totally snowed in, there were huge piles of crashed cars on the roadside, they most likely don´t have winter tyres, nevermind any clue, how to drive on snow&ice, or so it appeared to me! ... But this weather was rare enough to be on the international news, and it happened in late December, if my memory serves me well.

I suggest too an trip to cape town over the west. We did start this route at the November 2012.



You are soon enough now to optain the neccessary Visas and Paperwork, if you decide it soon

I guess our blog is a little time machine because we try to collect all travellers on the west from 2011 upwards, so that you can optain there recent and validated informations.

Trans-Africa

Soon you arrive marocco it is warm enough for bikers to be comfortable and it gets better with any kilometer to the south.

The Visas will costs you more than on other routes, but also if you take the critical ones as multiple entry, you dont spend more than 1500 USD (if you optain them at home).

After Angola there is no visa pressure anymore and you can drive more relaxed, enjoy the animals and parks. You will never forget such a trip

Surfy

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Trans-Africa over the west coast

Hi Metal, I'm looking at a similar departure date in 2015, how did you get on and what route did you take?
Cheers
Will