A plan was hatched earlier this year to combine two family holidays and a bike rally in Serres Greece, my brother enters a few rallies each year both here and in foreign lands on his KTM bikes, this year he took part in the Tuareg in Tunisia and the Serres rally raid. He drove his motorhome and trailer to the event catching the ferry from Venice to Greece for speed, we met him there, watched the last day of the rally, had a weekend together then set about bringing it home overland.
P.S. apologies for photo quality, most were taken with an Ipad or phone due to a packing oversight.
The rally was based in a five star hotel, spa and wedding venue
the hotel manager explained that he will look at any business opportunities during these difficult times, I don't know if the ground staff shared his views, or indeed the couple who married on the outside balcony the night before we arrived.
If you look in the background you can see some newly built houses that still require windows and doors, been that way for a good while apparently.
My brother normally peddles a 690 KTM but this had already given up the ghost before we arrived, so he was technically out of the rally, but unlike the Dakar rally if you have a spare bike you may continue but not feature in the results, twas a shame really because he posted a few top twenty finishes in a very competent field. Here at the start on a replacement 300 exc KTM, the marshals are way better looking than any I have seen in the U.K. rallies
The riders were directed by roadbook (a kind of rolling road on paper that spools forward on a gismo on your handlebars) rather than following coloured arrows, the rally was mainly on sand/rocks and a lot of hills were involved (see background)
It was a tad warm on the last day and the riders took shade where they could before the next stage.
Sooner than you would wish it was over, the organizers gave a little medal to Roger although his 690 broke, but it put a smile on his face.
The next morning folk were packing and leaving,
there were riders from all over Europe plus a few from further afield like south America, most were with rally support outfits like Patsy Quicks Desert Rose team but what impressed me were the guys who pack their rally bike up with all they need and travel by road to the rally like this bike from Switzerland, a brand new F800 adv, now looking very secondhand.
Or this guy from Portugal,(I think) Hardcore by any measure, rides to the rally, hauls a big KTM around a course more suited to 450 Enduro bikes, wins his class and sets off for home in shorts.
To be continued.
P.S. apologies for photo quality, most were taken with an Ipad or phone due to a packing oversight.
The rally was based in a five star hotel, spa and wedding venue
the hotel manager explained that he will look at any business opportunities during these difficult times, I don't know if the ground staff shared his views, or indeed the couple who married on the outside balcony the night before we arrived.
If you look in the background you can see some newly built houses that still require windows and doors, been that way for a good while apparently.
My brother normally peddles a 690 KTM but this had already given up the ghost before we arrived, so he was technically out of the rally, but unlike the Dakar rally if you have a spare bike you may continue but not feature in the results, twas a shame really because he posted a few top twenty finishes in a very competent field. Here at the start on a replacement 300 exc KTM, the marshals are way better looking than any I have seen in the U.K. rallies
The riders were directed by roadbook (a kind of rolling road on paper that spools forward on a gismo on your handlebars) rather than following coloured arrows, the rally was mainly on sand/rocks and a lot of hills were involved (see background)
It was a tad warm on the last day and the riders took shade where they could before the next stage.
Sooner than you would wish it was over, the organizers gave a little medal to Roger although his 690 broke, but it put a smile on his face.
The next morning folk were packing and leaving,
there were riders from all over Europe plus a few from further afield like south America, most were with rally support outfits like Patsy Quicks Desert Rose team but what impressed me were the guys who pack their rally bike up with all they need and travel by road to the rally like this bike from Switzerland, a brand new F800 adv, now looking very secondhand.
Or this guy from Portugal,(I think) Hardcore by any measure, rides to the rally, hauls a big KTM around a course more suited to 450 Enduro bikes, wins his class and sets off for home in shorts.
To be continued.
when my nephew fell off in front of me I knew I was at the limit of my abilities, I had the death grip thing going on with my hands, it felt too steep to turn round so I carried on and found Roger waiting for me, he showed me a way to some tarmac whilst he and his boys continued on. Somewhat relieved I stopped and took a pic, then it dawned on me that I was about to enter Bulgaria.
You do really appreciate how clever the Romans were, they march into an area build a huge bridge to get to a peninsular they regard as strategically important then build a walled outpost with entertainment facilities whilst the locals were living in shacks and caves.
the guard repeated his only two words of English "no problem" and as I am here to tell the tale I guess he was right, tad concerning mind.
Tirana is the capitol city and two thirds of Albania's population live there, its overpopulated, polluted, too busy and its very irritating if you find yourself there unnecessarily, not many pictures as we were trying to get back on route and running out of time. 
