Nice one
Off to Iran, at last
- Thread starter simondippenhall
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A fascinating and inspiring ride report. Thanks for sharing
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As sure as night follows day, 'culture shock' awaits! Safe travels over the last leg, Simon....
The real deal... fascinating stuff!
Thanks all and thanks Jim for introducing me to the pubs of Mainz.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Because the immediate question was
Gelibolu to where?
I was seriously considering riding to Igoumenitsa or Durres (Albania) and taking a boat to Bari. From a weather map perspective that seems not a bad idea.
However reports on these ferries are not all unalloyed joy and there was also rain fire at for that night. The prospect of queueing in the rain to take a delayed Kate night ferry complete with slippery metal ramps did cause me to reflect.
So I ride North from Gelibolu studying the skies. And when I got to my decision point of Kesan
I just kept going North, toward Edirne, intending to brave the rain and enjoy the independence of 'no fixed schedule'. Part of my decision was that I have been so free that I did not want to have to fit into a ferry company schedule.
My ride was the beginning of a passage through Autumn countryside which was to continue (albeit unphotographed) all the way to England over the coming days.
I crossed Bulgaria (between 10 and 2pm) but kept on going as the expected rain did not materialise. (My plan had been to down tools as soon as it started raining and stay in either Plovdiv or Sofia).
That afternoon I ended up in Nis, Serbia, and again chose the luxury of Art Loft hotel - well worth the 35€ including a lavish breakfast. I had done 700 Kms, many in very high crosswinds, so decided to treat myself.
Dinner in Nis - I succumb to the temptations of the West
It also gave me a chance to revisit Niš citadel where what do I find - another mosque!
And an intriguing statue whose history I know not - but no doubt the UKGSer cognoscenti will be along shortly
I was also intrigued by this medical sign - although it talks about 'stomato' it looks much more dental.
Somehow I had dodged rain again today and decided to set my sights for the Zagreb/Ljubljana area for the next stop.
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But I am getting ahead of myself. Because the immediate question was
Gelibolu to where?
I was seriously considering riding to Igoumenitsa or Durres (Albania) and taking a boat to Bari. From a weather map perspective that seems not a bad idea.
However reports on these ferries are not all unalloyed joy and there was also rain fire at for that night. The prospect of queueing in the rain to take a delayed Kate night ferry complete with slippery metal ramps did cause me to reflect.
So I ride North from Gelibolu studying the skies. And when I got to my decision point of Kesan
I just kept going North, toward Edirne, intending to brave the rain and enjoy the independence of 'no fixed schedule'. Part of my decision was that I have been so free that I did not want to have to fit into a ferry company schedule.
My ride was the beginning of a passage through Autumn countryside which was to continue (albeit unphotographed) all the way to England over the coming days.
I crossed Bulgaria (between 10 and 2pm) but kept on going as the expected rain did not materialise. (My plan had been to down tools as soon as it started raining and stay in either Plovdiv or Sofia).
That afternoon I ended up in Nis, Serbia, and again chose the luxury of Art Loft hotel - well worth the 35€ including a lavish breakfast. I had done 700 Kms, many in very high crosswinds, so decided to treat myself.
Dinner in Nis - I succumb to the temptations of the West
It also gave me a chance to revisit Niš citadel where what do I find - another mosque!
And an intriguing statue whose history I know not - but no doubt the UKGSer cognoscenti will be along shortly
I was also intrigued by this medical sign - although it talks about 'stomato' it looks much more dental.
Somehow I had dodged rain again today and decided to set my sights for the Zagreb/Ljubljana area for the next stop.
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I started the next day slightly grumpily (despite the excellent breakfast ) as some Greek touring motorist had parked his car outside the hotel right up against my leaning bike so I could hardly get it upright. He now has a souvenir if Nis in the form of the imprint of a boxer cylinder in his bumper 
but in the process of extracting the bike I forgot to take off the rarely used D lock so had an exciting moment or two but fortunately no damage done other than to self-esteem of hardened world traveller!
I made good progress all day, again unexpectedly no rain, and despite having to buy vignettes for Slovenia and (because I was really moving) Austria too. Despite the vignettes I still had to pay car-sized rolls of €6.50 a pop to go through 2 long tunnels. I was glad that yesterday the Bulgarians had the right approach and didn't bother motorcyclists with such trivia as vignettes.
I revised my destination, realising I would make it to Villach by 5, and found a fuel station with wifi and used booking.com to secure a pricey but interesting old hotel in the centre of town.
An old family picture of the hotel
I like a hotel which tells elderly bikers like me clearly where we need to go to park our bikes:
I shared the large garage with a nice Mercedes.
A picture of the sons of the hotel family during the war. A lot of history I suspect lined the photo gallery walls of Hotel Mosser
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but in the process of extracting the bike I forgot to take off the rarely used D lock so had an exciting moment or two but fortunately no damage done other than to self-esteem of hardened world traveller!I made good progress all day, again unexpectedly no rain, and despite having to buy vignettes for Slovenia and (because I was really moving) Austria too. Despite the vignettes I still had to pay car-sized rolls of €6.50 a pop to go through 2 long tunnels. I was glad that yesterday the Bulgarians had the right approach and didn't bother motorcyclists with such trivia as vignettes.
I revised my destination, realising I would make it to Villach by 5, and found a fuel station with wifi and used booking.com to secure a pricey but interesting old hotel in the centre of town.
An old family picture of the hotel
I like a hotel which tells elderly bikers like me clearly where we need to go to park our bikes:
I shared the large garage with a nice Mercedes.
A picture of the sons of the hotel family during the war. A lot of history I suspect lined the photo gallery walls of Hotel Mosser
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Attachments
Having redlined the mosque counter on this trip I decided to add a few church photos in Villach - one above and this
Then I headed for the brauhaus opposite the hotel where my food arrived so fast (I had forgotten the speediness of these places ) that it preceded my local beer - first beer in 5 weeks!
At least the brauhaus was smoke free unlike my hotel bar which smelt like an ashtray - Austrian establishments seems to be rather liberal about smoking restrictions!
Whilst I was in the brauhaus an Austrian man came up and asked me something - it turned out he was asking me if I was someone he and his friends were due to meet because later this guy arrived
They clearly had little description of him other than 'bloke with beard' !
I git a message that evening from Drumacoon Lad of this parish (whose very witty ride report of his trip to Iran I commend to you all!) to say he was in Mainz, Germany if I fancied meeting up.
Turning to Googlemaps I saw that Mainz was about 800 Kms along a sensible route home so bingo! Ride and accommodation plan sorted for the next day. And I can give Jim back his Iran guide book he lent me!
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Then I headed for the brauhaus opposite the hotel where my food arrived so fast (I had forgotten the speediness of these places ) that it preceded my local beer - first beer in 5 weeks!
At least the brauhaus was smoke free unlike my hotel bar which smelt like an ashtray - Austrian establishments seems to be rather liberal about smoking restrictions!
Whilst I was in the brauhaus an Austrian man came up and asked me something - it turned out he was asking me if I was someone he and his friends were due to meet because later this guy arrived
They clearly had little description of him other than 'bloke with beard' !
I git a message that evening from Drumacoon Lad of this parish (whose very witty ride report of his trip to Iran I commend to you all!) to say he was in Mainz, Germany if I fancied meeting up.
Turning to Googlemaps I saw that Mainz was about 800 Kms along a sensible route home so bingo! Ride and accommodation plan sorted for the next day. And I can give Jim back his Iran guide book he lent me!
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Villach to Mainz
At breakfast I quizzed the waiter about conditions on the Akoine pass Nirth I would have to and that crisp autumn morning and he was confident all would be fine
I think you can just see the wiggly valley leading North of Villach via Spiddal an see Drau and on to Salzburg.
The sky was blue and conditions great
But the first hour or so were sooo cold.....then I realised I had plugged my heated jacket in the wrong way. Once the central heating was in the works took on a much better mien!
Schloss something or other
Today was autobahn all the way but sufficiently winding to make it interesting. However as I ride North I realised this was Friday afternoon and lots of people were in the move (including into each other as I saw some spectacularly written off cars which had passed me at speed earlier on!)
I had told Jim that I would be in Mainz by 5 and indeed I was. But I must have filtered for at least 59 Kms of the 850-900 that I did that day - certainly keeps you alert. I know filtering is verboten in Deutschland but fortunately there were none of the idiots I have seen before who consciously try to block your path!
So I manage to ride straight to the front door of the Mainz Ibis which seems to be Him's home from home and an soon parked safely underground.
Mainz scenes (other than the Irish pub which was heaving and too lively to photograph !)
There was a festival underway
Impressive church door
Sadly the church, which has stained glass windows by Chagall, was closed - so I have promised myself another trip to the very agreeable city of Mainz to visit it properly
Statue of soldier
.
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At breakfast I quizzed the waiter about conditions on the Akoine pass Nirth I would have to and that crisp autumn morning and he was confident all would be fine
I think you can just see the wiggly valley leading North of Villach via Spiddal an see Drau and on to Salzburg.
The sky was blue and conditions great
But the first hour or so were sooo cold.....then I realised I had plugged my heated jacket in the wrong way. Once the central heating was in the works took on a much better mien!
Schloss something or other
Today was autobahn all the way but sufficiently winding to make it interesting. However as I ride North I realised this was Friday afternoon and lots of people were in the move (including into each other as I saw some spectacularly written off cars which had passed me at speed earlier on!)
I had told Jim that I would be in Mainz by 5 and indeed I was. But I must have filtered for at least 59 Kms of the 850-900 that I did that day - certainly keeps you alert. I know filtering is verboten in Deutschland but fortunately there were none of the idiots I have seen before who consciously try to block your path!
So I manage to ride straight to the front door of the Mainz Ibis which seems to be Him's home from home and an soon parked safely underground.
Mainz scenes (other than the Irish pub which was heaving and too lively to photograph !)
There was a festival underway
Impressive church door
Sadly the church, which has stained glass windows by Chagall, was closed - so I have promised myself another trip to the very agreeable city of Mainz to visit it properly
Statue of soldier
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But I make plans to head for Calais the next day, as darling spouse and the family dog await me
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The ride to Calais was pretty deadly dull as usual, especially the Holland/Belgium/France sections.
I discovered that few of the rest areas are still open so a certain amount of liquid management and leg crossing was required!
I would like to report that the return to England was trouble free but I had forgotten that this was the end of the half term so getting into the shuttle was tedious - but not half as tedious for me as the car drivers.
A holding pen was being operated and the signs warned of hours of delay - even once checked in the signs said it would take 49 minutes to get on the train.
Fortunately those restrictions do not apply to motorcyclists - or at least not this one! I found that with a smile and a wave I could bypass all this - and I made my way to the head of each queue and asked the motorist there if I could slip in. In each case they were happy to agree.
I get my personal queue at Calais
So the net result was that I got the 15h20 train which was so rammed there was only a bike-sized space for me at the end.
That just left the tedium of the M20 and the M25 - those bizarre roads where everyone drives in the right hand lanes as if they were still in France!
But safely home by 5, just beating the falling dusk
And the beard and road grime are soon gone!
Looking back, the trip was about 10,400 miles. The bike used about 0.75 litres of engine oil but apart from fuelling it (and fixing the GOS cradle) it needed no other attention.
In Mainz Jim (who is more mechanically minded) commented on how sweet the engine sounded and how well it started.
The tyres are still good with lots of tread although the rear tyre is down what squarer than I would like!
On the last day the GS and I completed our 100,000 Kms together so I think she deserves a good clean up shortly.
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I discovered that few of the rest areas are still open so a certain amount of liquid management and leg crossing was required!
I would like to report that the return to England was trouble free but I had forgotten that this was the end of the half term so getting into the shuttle was tedious - but not half as tedious for me as the car drivers.
A holding pen was being operated and the signs warned of hours of delay - even once checked in the signs said it would take 49 minutes to get on the train.
Fortunately those restrictions do not apply to motorcyclists - or at least not this one! I found that with a smile and a wave I could bypass all this - and I made my way to the head of each queue and asked the motorist there if I could slip in. In each case they were happy to agree.
I get my personal queue at Calais
So the net result was that I got the 15h20 train which was so rammed there was only a bike-sized space for me at the end.
That just left the tedium of the M20 and the M25 - those bizarre roads where everyone drives in the right hand lanes as if they were still in France!
But safely home by 5, just beating the falling dusk
And the beard and road grime are soon gone!
Looking back, the trip was about 10,400 miles. The bike used about 0.75 litres of engine oil but apart from fuelling it (and fixing the GOS cradle) it needed no other attention.
In Mainz Jim (who is more mechanically minded) commented on how sweet the engine sounded and how well it started.
The tyres are still good with lots of tread although the rear tyre is down what squarer than I would like!
On the last day the GS and I completed our 100,000 Kms together so I think she deserves a good clean up shortly.
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Final reflections
It didn't rain over the 6 weeks of the trip !!
The bike behaved impeccably.
People everywhere were very friendly and helpful. Emptying my tank bag I came across a couple of the many maps people drew me for directions in Iran
So thank you to all who helped including Drumacoon Lad and Petcul on this site. And the many I met on the road.
THE END (until the next adventure!)
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It didn't rain over the 6 weeks of the trip !!
The bike behaved impeccably.
People everywhere were very friendly and helpful. Emptying my tank bag I came across a couple of the many maps people drew me for directions in Iran
So thank you to all who helped including Drumacoon Lad and Petcul on this site. And the many I met on the road.
THE END (until the next adventure!)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Good one Simon, great trip, superb write up and photographs 
Now come the moments of inner brooding and restlessness and thoughts of ... "What next, how do I top that"
Thank you
Now come the moments of inner brooding and restlessness and thoughts of ... "What next, how do I top that"
Thank you
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Simon, Safely home - and never once, wet - amazing! Thanks for sharing the trip and experiences.....there are many thirsting for this and hopefully, you'll inspire more to emulate your determination. And well done GS1150!
Glad to see you home safe but I'll miss the daily updates
Brilliant RR Simon, thanks for taking the time to share
Brilliant RR Simon, thanks for taking the time to share
Glad to see you home safe but I'll miss the daily updates
Brilliant RR Simon, thanks for taking the time to share
What himself says Simon, a great report altogether. Thank you.
Thanks Aidan - such a compliment from an 1150 rider is much valued. Btw where did you park your bike during the Dublin marathon?
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...-avoid-a-motorbike-1.2848459?campaign_id=A100
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http://www.irishtimes.com/news/irel...-avoid-a-motorbike-1.2848459?campaign_id=A100
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Thanks for posting that Simon great stuff.
Welcome home - many thanks for an excellent and enlightening ride report.... I really enjoyed every post!
Sandtribe
Registered user
Simon - Thanks for this RR! Really interesting and very inspiring! 
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Simon, congratulations on a great ride and an excellent report. You have raised the bar. It was a pleasure to be associated in a tiny way and meet up on your last day.
