700 KM in a day...

700 KM in a day and nothing to report.

700 KM of this crap.

Hot
Long
Straight
Boring

ARRRRRR!!!!

Zip Ties and Rocky Roads

So we set off from Sofia to go to Trigrad where my Bulgarian Mom lives. Via the route that I crashed on last year. We took a slightly different route to get there...found all of these wonderful public fountains along the way where Luke often replenished his thermos while I goofed off.

We were on some nice then not so nice twisties up in the forest and two BMW's roared by us...turns out Luke knows one of them so we stopped to take a break, they drank beer and fed the Hobbit.

The area is full of Gypsy's, here's one of their homes...now I know it looks abandoned but one of the men walked up to it after I took this photo.

Nature is pretty amazing...things can grow out of the harshest environments like sheer rock but when I saw a small christmas tree sticking up out of a huge pothole well I realized that some kind motorist that probably lost his rear axle from it decided to alert the unsuspecting next drivers.

Next stop; destiny. Now I decided to dedicate this ride to a colleague of mine Linda who is an inspiration both personally and professionally...Linda I did it and you can too.

Underground Goat Rodeo Adventure Posse look at this freaking "road"!!!

Now Luke explained as any good host/tour guide would that this 20 km off road trail is now a refuge for wildlife. How wonderful so the bears and other forest animals have a home, however he also explained that for the correct fee one can enter these areas and hunt. ?!?!?!?!

Yep big rocks, ruts, sand, sharp turns and soon a steep uphill...where the bumps were so big that I lost the right hard case.

So while Luke (bless his heart) went all the way back to find it, I decided to photograph bugs only slightly comforted by the fact that I have a 1 million volt stun gun that might, MIGHT just disorient a bear enough for me to run a little ahead of it.

So when Luke got back we zip tied the cases back on...

Back in the canyon of Trigrad...just beautiful here.That's a cave tunnel to get to the village.

We made it, reunited with Mama Zarka.

The villagers were making a homemade tomato sauce and jarring them.

Next it was time to lighten the load and dole out the gifts and the most important one was an American made pocket knife to my healer.

Where we ate first dinner.

Then second dinner....

Now I'm not complaining, Monique would say I ate like a linebacker but let me tell you that after these two meals all I could do was lay down.

Next morning we did it all over again, this was pretty cool, some kind of thick sweet syrup with baby pine cones in it.

This is a very old traditional house 

Next was pretty miserable, we had planned to cross into Greece for a while and catch the motorway but were turned back at the border because they could not allow a US passport through that station. It added 100km through some windy, low valley area that was hot as hell but we had a stop and goofed off with some cows.

After a few more hours of miserable riding about 30KM from the Turkish border we stopped for watermelon, it wasn't that good in terms of flavor but it still tasted devine!

Now these stork nests are everywhere and I finally photographed one with the bird in it.

Now came the white knuckle ride from hell. We stopped about 80 km from Istanbul to call Volkan who kindly offered his hospitality to us to tell him we would be late...then Luke suggested I take off and he would catch up with me. I got on the TEM and hit 120KMPH expecting him to pass me pretty soon. 

10km went by, no Luke.

Another 10km went by, still no Luke.

Finally got to 40KM from Istanbul and stopped to check my phone and he happened to call me. He was convinced he was in front of me, I thought differently. What made it so difficult was that I was stuck on the highway, I could not exit and with the trucks passing we could barely understand each other.

Finally 22KM from Istanbul, panic started to set in. I had no GPS, no way to reach Volkan's house and the traffic although Luke said was light seems pretty challenging to me.

Within 3 minutes of stopping 4 cop cars were surrounding me, all speaking Turkish, it was a freakin nightmare. Now it's dark too...

Get's better, we were finally reunited then I hit reserve on my gas tank, signaled Luke and continued to stick to him like industrial strength velcro. No gas stations so I finally ran out of gas and we were almost separated again. 

Had to siphon gas out of his bike to mine...on the side of the freeway.

I think we finally made it to Volkan's house by 11pm. We did everything I didn't want to do

1. ride through Istanbul

2. do it after a long day of riding

3. do it in the dark

But we made it.

 

And his 5 month old girl

We ate a feast prepared by his lovely wife and then tried to sleep a sweat drenched night....I've just been woken up by the prayer reminder to wakey wakey to eat before sunrise, Ramadan you know!

Over The Limit

Thank God I was early....one bag to check in with all my gear; boots, knee pads, jacket, pants, armor, side hard cases, frame, cot, tent (had to move the stakes to the checked bag, deadly weapon you know....I could if provoked sufficiently (which I was by the Indian woman sitting in the seat in front of me on my first of 3 flights) stake someone down to the cabin floor.

The bad news; 68 lbs (18 over the limit) the even worst news $150 excess weight fee. Luckily the helpful check in person suggested I check one of the hard cases as my second bag for $55 instead. Yes, I was that annoying person who hogs time at the check in desk to the ire of all waiting in the Disneyland line behind me.

Visa credit card beginning to trickle blood...

I had fun with the poor folks at the security checkpoint screening. I watched carefully the face of the woman tasked with viewing my assortment of tools, tent poles and helmet through the X-ray machine. It was a odd look that conveyed "you've got to be kidding" and "no way in hell".

After a grueling 2nd flight I landed in Paris and to ease the cramped neck and residual sharp pain under my left shoulder blade from last week's riding (thanks Paul and Andy) I found this Thai woman with a grip like the Rancor from Return of the Jedi.

Then I found a real Cafe Au Lait and the most awesome bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne ever. It comes in it's own insulated sleeve. The croissant was blessedly greasy and crumbled nicely on my black shirt.

Last flight to Sofia...where I passed rather quickly through customs and saw Luke's smiling face which was only  slightly less exhilarating than seeing my luggage make it.

As we left the airport we drove through the Gypsy quarter where horses roam freely 

and apparently children too.

This is the driveway to Luke's house...

Tomorrow we leave for Trigrad and that fateful road where I crashed last year. I'm going to enjoy myself the way I was meant to and will take some great photos. Then on to the village where my shoulded got put back into place by a kind soul and fed stuffed peppers to die for by my Bulgarian Mama Zarka!

Turkey, here I come!

Bought 2nd BMW F650 Funduro in Sofia Bulgaria $1450 CHECK

No I didn't insist it be red but happy it turned out that way.

Bought repairs, tires and gear for the bike $700 CHECK

That last one is a seat cushion that saves you from getting serious monkey butt.

Bought RT plane ticket (SFO>SOF) $1422 CHECK

Bought travel insurance with astronomical pay outs and helicopter rescue option $150 CHECK

Bought SPOT personal GPS tracker to find me in the middle of nowhere so helicopter can get me out $50 CHECK

Annoying expensive annual contract required for SPOT to work $150 CHECK

The best part of this gizmo is that you can follow me real time on Google Maps!!!

Credit card bleeding profusely. CHECK

So the long wait is over. I returned last year from Eastern Europe a little banged up but completely head over heels in love with Istanbul and told everyone that I was, without a doubt, returning to Turkey the following year and it's official now.

The dates are August 11th-31st. The riding part will be about 2 weeks with possibly a week in Istanbul on the way back unless I get pinched between warring factions near the Iranian border.

Here is the general route

Sofia>Istanbul>Cappadocia>Van Lake> Ani> Trabzon>Samsun>Bozkurt>Zonguldak> Istanbul.

Generally the eastern and north black sea region.

We are fielding interest by locals to join us on a couple rider websites.

http://www.advrider.com

Great website for photos!

and a local site run by my new friend Akif on the East Coast.

http://www.moto-park.com

This time I made sure to book during hot weather, I'd rather be dripping sweat than chipping snow off my face shield. So I'll bring this bikini thanks to my friend AmyLuna who unfortunately won't make this trip.

Until August 11th I'll be doing a lot of riding on the bike to get in shape for the trip so send any enthusiastic riders my way.

Austria - land of freezing rain & snow

So after 5 days in Buda Pest and my last night at a movie theater where they didn't sell popcorn but you could buy a banana I was ready to head on to Austria, my last stop and which came to be the scariest part of the trip...but let me talk of happier times.

I headed Southwest to a region where there is a large lake that most people from Budapest vacation to called Lake Balaton. This is the Ayers Rock of it.





See the fortified castle on the top left of the photo...and those dark ominous clouds? That's where I'm headed.

Here is a close up.


The back side of Ayers Rock


Stopped in a town called Bagot and found a cute inn. The lobby was full of drunk men...I was nervous but then again since Romania I've been nervous around groups of men.

They fed me well, I have to say that Hungary was the most disappointing in terms of food but here they made a honeyed chicken with onion rings, fried potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, peas, green beans...ah hell just put everything on the plate for the starving girl.


I pulled my bike into their garage and the cheerful (and drunk) man who helped is a hunter.


Next the next morning to cross over into Austria. These huge crosses are in every town.


The border

had no one there so I blew threw and it started to get cold and of course, raining...

Now there is a photo missing here....of HOOTERS in Graz. Yes, that's right. I saw the big orange Hooters sign (which said 'an American restaurant' underneath) and no I didn't stop. I was pretty tired, cold and wet and just wanted to get to Leoben.

I went through a 9km tunnel, it was blessedly warm inside.

There were these signs at the turn outs, slightly to the right was the distance left going north, in this case 8km.

I actually *gasp* bought plastic bags in Budapest and wrapped my feet in them hoping to stay dry....when I finally reached Leobon Austria, cold and miserable I got a hair dryer from the girl and it took 4 hours to dry the inside of my boots.


This was a cute town. Raining and cold. I walked most of it. Not a lot of people...so I went to the mall and found pineapple toothpaste!!! And a very nice girl in a cafe who spoke French so I could finally get a real hot chocolate milk. AHHHHH...


What I didn't know is that the worst part of the storm was to come. I was hoping to get some distance the next day but it was not to be. View of river from my room. It's 32 degrees so there's snow falling too.


You can see the snow capped peaks. In Europe everyone is in an uproar over the sudden dramatic change of weather. This is very unusual for this time of year.


This is the last shot I got out of my camera before it froze (on the inside of my jacket), it got a lot worst from this point on.



I made it another 60 or so km then stopped at a truck stop banging on all the truck drivers doors hoping to find someone to get me and my bike to Linz or possibly Prague. No luck.

This was one of the scariest rides of my life. I finally had Radek from Prague come get me with a van. It was just too dangerous. I sat in a big rig with a nice man from Serbia...we labored through language barriers to talk of Rakia, his bambinos and how smoking was bad for him.

So I am home now...safe and warm in 75 degree weather, jet lagged and doing tons of laundry to get the ashtray aroma out of everything. This trip was amazing, truly. It had its many moments of euphoria and extreme fear. Already planning the next trip to Turkey.

6-8 Hungarian boys - Essay by Nancy Girouard

6 to 8 Hungarian Boys with the bluest eyes...dedicated to my friend Tran Peoples

Essay by Nancy Girouard

I am no David Sedaris but be prepared nevertheless to laugh possibly with tears in your eyes.

After over one month of roaming the Eastern European countryside by motorbike like a rich gypsy it is time to reflect upon my experiences and lament my intense desire to wake up, just for once, in my own bed.

It's not that the food here is bad but something chemical perhaps calls to me from the cheese powder packet inside a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. Or perhaps it's the true homesickness that kicks in when I go to the bathroom to find sandpaper staring back at me.

But I digress.

6-8 Hungarian boys. Truly. They do travel in packs of at least 4 (never have I seen less) and up to 10. Of course to even the odds, the girls travel in large numbers too. At first I worried, does this mean the streets of Budapest aren't safe? After having braved some long, dark and desolate streets after the opera at midnight I decided that this was not it.

Does this mean that they need someone to always have the torch burning so at all times a cigarette can be lit. No, cheap plastic bic lighters abound and they crush out one but not until the next is burning like the Olympian torch. Perhaps I long for a look of disdain when anyone even so much as thinks of lighting up...

Perhaps it is to have equal numbers for a match of pick up when said male band of brothers encounters giggling gaggle of sisters? Yes, I think that's it. One girl for every boy.

I live in an IKEA fun house. After snooping all over my apt, found the universally known “drawer of manuals”. Everything here was bought at IKEA, the furniture, TV & DVD player, washing machine and stove, heaters, rugs, sheets, light fixtures. I should think anyone wishing to stay here should be given an Allen wrench attached to the key ring. Heaven forbid you rattle the bed loose with your house guest who speaks no English.

Generally I find that when travelling abroad and faced with a menu in a language I cannot decipher, I find it relatively safe to ask the server what their favorite dish is...safe in the assumption that they know good food.

However after paying for two very expensive meals that were incredibly salty, I wondered if they had come to my apt to take salt from the only two bags of it in the pantry. I passed in front of Gundels, considered by most, the best restaurant in all of Hungary and laughed out loud as I passed thinking to myself, oh no, not again.

But do not despair. I finally had a great meal...and it came from a jar. Bolognaise sauce to be exact.

There are so many little luxuries that we have such as drying machines that make tigger look cute again. Quality soaps and detergents compared to the dollar store quality of the products here. Massive 64 oz bottles of conditioner and shampoo because let's face it, Americans waste.

But what makes a trip truly memorable?

Easy. The people.

Were it not for everyone I met, it would never have been as amazing as it has been. Taking a shower with a heated pot of water from the stove and a cup. Seeing men hauling through the house bags of hand picked grapes to a hand crank press.

Finding yourself crying from a pain level you have never experienced before being inflicted on you by a man old enough to be your grandfather without a word of English...and blessing his name and family the next day over the remarkable improvement in the mobility of your arm that you were ready to saw off.

Relaxing in the capability of exceptional hosts who take care of every detail and leave you wondering if they are mafia being so well connected and seeming to always know just the right person to fix things at border crossings.

Marveling at the probability of finding two people in a city of 15 million then later meeting one special person to show you that there is more to a baked potato than bacon, cheese, chives and sour cream.

Having the perfect traveling companions who are like a warm dry bed after hours of riding in the freezing rain.

Of all these experiences, the growing intensity of my dreams of my friends from San Francisco make waking up every morning a bit more difficult. It's people who bring us to tears and laughter and we are nothing without them. I can't wait to see you all...7 days and counting to some good champagne and macaroni and cheese. Amelie wine bar on Polk starting at 6pm Oct 17th until Nancy can't lay down without holding on to coin Dean Martin's favorite saying.

Should any of you wish to trace my final ride, it goes a little like this:

From Budapest, 100 KM SE to Kecskemet to see some horsemen and hopefully unload all the Rakia I have to drink. Unless it rains, as it's forecasted to which means I will skip that and head straight to the lake region of Hungary on my way to the Austrian border.

Veszprem then Balatonfured for some lakeside twisties and hopefully find a campground where no film crews are hiding.

Zalaegerszeg, say that 3 times fast...heading towards the Austrian border.

Graz then Leoben to find the hills alive with the sound of music.

Steyr, nearing the Czech border.

Then Cesky Krumlov, Hilary's favorite city (wait, I thought she hated cities...) Then Prague the 15^th eagerly packing, drinking their local champagne which as I mentioned before is quite good and wearing something NEW!