Riding in the Middle East - its not all fun in the sun!!

So what is it like riding a bike day in, day out, between 4 to 12 hours per day with temperatures between 30 and low 40s?

The riding kit I wear is the following:

- Leather boots with sports socks
- Cordura pants with plastic hip/knee pads and one air vent on each leg
- Cordura jacket with plastic elbow/shoulder/back pads, one air vent on each arm and two chest vents
- Boardies
- Singlet
- Gloves
- Helmet
- A camel back to enable hydration when riding

I pack the bike wearing boardies and singlet and put the kit on as the last task. As soon as the kit is on, I start sweating (its 30 by 9am) and I jump on the bike for the breeze to cool me. After an hour, I feel the beads of sweat run from my head all the way down to my toes.

The bike is so wide (due to oversize petrol tank) and the windshield not much shorter than me, so most of the wind is blocked. A great way to cool down is to stand up while riding, I can stand up comfortably up to 100km/h and the wind through my kit feels great - So through all towns I stand.

The heat has caused a couple of problems. Sitting down for hours when I am sweating so much has caused a heat rash on my bum so standing is a great way to stop the boardies sticking to me. Feet are like prunes at the end of the day, which has obviously caused a skin issues.

It is going to be consistently low to mid 40s in Jordan and Iran, I think I will be riding at 6am and late at night with a lunchtime siesta.

I have thought about removing some kit but you never know when you are going to stack.

Turkey - part 1

Back in Turkey after 8 years, Istanbul was great fun and I visited a few sites I missed last time. Onto Ankara for bike service, Iran visa and Uzbekistan visa. Ankara reminded me of a USA city, with dual lane divided roads everywhere, overpasses/underpasses and no U-turns allowed - not good for visiters, especially me because the U-turn is my signature move in new cities!

Ankara tasks complete I drove down the center of Turkey across wheat fields, over mountains, through gorges - it is a land of contrast. The petrol cost is the highest so far with a 25% tax, I assume the tax is to build new roads. 8 years ago there were only highways around Istanbul, now there are highways and tunnels everywhere, small towns are being linked with roads straight through mountains and pine forests.

I look forward to travelling eastern Turkey after Syria.

40 days on the road

Istanbul - goodbye Europe

Its great feeling to have left Europe - major milestone. To be in the Near East feels like the journey begins and in a week I will be in Syria, which I am looking forward too.

Bulgaria - wrong impression!

After my first afternoon in Sofia I was left dispondant after taking 3 hours to find accomodation and many people telling me to watch my bike and one person told me to ride straight to Istanbul.

So having left Sofia I travelled accross southern Bulgaria to the Black Sea. I had a fantastic time, locals were always friendly and helpful, I felt safe and had fun riding through the mountains to the clear waters of the Black Sea. The south is covered but thick green forest and alpine medows - worth a visit.

Lesson learned....make my own impression!!

Lonliness - what does it mean?

I have been on the road for 5 weeks now and I am starting to feel lonely. I am busy, planning my way home, riding the bike, reading one of my many books, sight seeing and talking to all sorts of people. I actually have a mental list of the things I need to do and feel I don't have enough time.

I have been talking to various people, from locals at restaurants, shops and campgrounds. Others travelling on the back roads - mainly push bike tourers, but I am missing banter, debates, someone confirming I am right ;-) ..... basically the fun that you have travelling with mates.

Tomatoes - they describe a changing world

The quality of tomatoes in London supermarkets have always disappointed me compared with the quality in Italy. The vine ripened organic tomatoes are an improvement but not alot of flavor. I put this down to living in a big city and the convenience of supermarkets.

As I have travelled east from London, the fresh produce markets have increased in numbers, where they are common place on the side of every major road or town, especially in Bulgaria. The stalls are small and many, selling local grown produce. The supermarkets in small towns do not sell fresh produce therefore you shop in multiple places - this what Mum did when I was growing up.

I dropped into a new massive Metro (8 times the size of Clapham Sainsbury or Sandy Safeway) to get coffee and Muesli. Needing help with understanding coffee quality, I ended up spending half an hour discussing and taste testing tomatoes with the English speaking Manager.

The new Metro store is the first of the new format in Bulgaria, which focuses on quality of produce, from Italian coffee, live fish in tanks, and tomatos from a single producer. Families come weekly to buy all their food for the week.

This has left me thinking, What will happen to the small producing farmers as countries adopt western supermarkets??

An hour closer to home

The last two days I have been intrigued that daylight is starting earlier, after 5am, and getting darker earlier, just after 8pm. Thinking practically, this makes sense as I am moving east towards Istanbul. This morning my mobile phone time was one hour forward from my watch - European Eastern Standard time starts in Bulgaria (I thought it started at Turkey).

So that means I am one more hour closer (7 hours to go) to home after 9,000 kms and one month on the road.

5 Star Accom all the way!

Thursday Night - €110
www.kempinski-sofia.com

Friday Night - €2.50
Hotel Copley

Bulgaria - watch yourself

I was a little nervous about crossing the border into Bulgaria but all went smoothly and painless. I arrived in Sofia after 6 hours of riding, mid 30s, soaked under riding gear and can't wait for a shower.

I was determined to stay in a hostel to meet other travellers. After story upon story of organised crime in Bulgaria, I had to have secure parking, slowly over 3 hours I went from Hostel, 2 star, 3 star..... and then 5 star hotel. Everyone I met, receptionists, ex-London copper, locals in the street admiring my bike all said watch your bike, if its not nailed down it will go!!

The bike has its advantages but not yesterday.

Macedonia - rating countries?

Macedonia is about the same size as Montenegro but not worth the visit if I hard limited holidays. This poses the question, comparing and rating countries?? Experience, people, landscape and cost?? There is no doubt that rating is on a personnel level, for me its important locals are open, honest and is not difficult to travel (5 years ago Egypt wore me out after 3 weeks).

So the big differential with Macedonia is the poverty - the difference between the have and have nots, there are lots of fancy European cars. Heaps of Gypsies, shanty towns, markets, modern shopping centers and the stench of burning rubbish dumps. From my perspective, it is something new, not scary but unknown?!? The bike enables me to get off the beaten track to places I would not have seen on public transport.

I am a relative wealthy westerner and to see people collecting plastic bottles, sifting through garbage, selling junk at 6am markets...its a different world and its part of Europe.

Kosovo - US is the best!!

I have spent one night in the independent Kosovo. Its is a very poor place and I am sure that half the GDP is from international assistance - KFOR (Italian and French troops), OCSE, UN, UNHCR. There are blue and white Landcruisers everywhere and a massive compound next to my hotel.

I drove across Kosovo from the East (crazy local drivers), houses and construction sites were flying the Kosovo and US flags. I had a chat to a couple of US Journalism students, on an exchange program, the US is credited for Kosovo's independence, so if your American, you are loved here, probably the only place outside the US!

Dodgy again

Never give up...knocked back once then try a different approach, I was not going to be ripped off again! At the Serbian(Kosovo) border, I once again had to buy a Green Card for the bike (liability insurance). The border guard wanted €80 and I could not speak to the insurance agent but had to go through the border guard - seems familiar.

Having been through this before, I turned around and drove back to the Montenegro border (to the amazement of the Monty border guards) and onto another border crossing with Kosovo, the insurance agent sold me a Green Card for Kosovo for €20 and off I drove to Pristina.

Montenegro - Small country that packs alot

Montenegro, what amazing natural beauty. I have spent the last four days there, two on the coast and two in the mountains. The coast, a little over developed, has clear Adriatic waters from which the mountains rise to 2000 meters and to 2500 meters on the Serbian border.

I joined the locals, who filled the beaches - I wondering if anyone works here? I day on the beach was great, some reading, sleeping and swimming.

The historic sites are way better preserved in Croatia but the wide open spaces of the mountains are breath taking. I spent two days in the mountains, running, walking and relaxing. The windy roads we so much fun on the bike but also not in good condition. They were so bumpy I was continuously bottoming out on the center stand - I am thinking of removing it??

Lifestyle change

In planning my trip home I knew I would have to change my indulgent food and wine life style. In some countries I would have no choice and in others I can't afford a bottle of wine every night. I planned to eat and drink well in France and Italy and from there to live a backpackers life style.

In reality, this maynot be possible, I am finding it incredibly hard to cut back on the good things in life. So then the plan is to only drink house wine and one course - this is not working. The house wines in the Balkens, needs alot more work, and when reviewing the menu I can't say no to something I have not tried.

I blame my family and friends for sharing together too many great meals and wines.

The lifestyle I have come to expect will have too wait one year!!!

Sarajevo

Sarajevo has been settled from prehistoric times but became a major city during the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Many religous groups, Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Judaism lived together for hundreds of years and continue today. The various religous places of worship still stand next to each other in the old town.

I followed the war Bosnian War, with the EU, UN politics from the comfort of Melbourne and the TV, but the real impact of the war has only just hit me. The stories about how people lived in Sarajevo, sniper alley, no power or runnning water, only food aid and burying the dead in local football fields and parks for a period of 4 years is mind numbing. After almost 15 years the majority of the city looks as it was and people have rebuilt their lives (to a degree) but from talking to people there is discontent with politics in this young democracy.

I only touched the surface but it has left an impact on me.