OFL

What a difference a day makes. There is a song in there somewhere. Woke up to a drizzle and skies that looked like it would not let up. With an unsatisfying breakfast to match the hotel itself, I took off in the rain in a bit of a funk. Something to do with the weather and the trip coming to an end, I suppose. The mountains were left behind within an hour, as was the rain, but not before it had seeped through my semi-waterproofs. Overall I was lucky as to how little bad weather I encountered on the trip. I planned on being back at the bike shop by 3:30pm and that was exactly when I arrived. No need for a time difference to save me, but otherwise it was all in the spirit of ... read more

Today was a day that every motorcyclist dreams about. If your idea of heaven leans more towards alpine settings that tropical islands then you were in heaven. Crossing through the center of Slovenia and the slightly western side of Austria I decided Slovenia was heaven and Austria were for those who had committed only one or two minor indiscretions in their lifetimes. It had rained over night and there was now a mixture of sun and clouds with that freshness that seems to last all day. Being Sunday it was quite out. Funny thing on trips like this days have no meaning, yet Sunday still holds something special. Perhaps it is to ride without guilt (some of us feel guilty if we are not working all the time). Guilt free and amidst the most amazing ... read more

I think what attracts me to these crazy trips is the element of survival. I made it to my sister’s wedding - the mission; now the trick is getting back unscathed. Along the way there are complexities to test those survival instincts. All sounds a bit dramatic I suppose, but that is how it feels. Today’s complexities have to do with how far to travel and how to deal with money and gas. Today was a trip covering three countries. Heading west out of Bulgaria, into and across Serbia and then into Croatia to its most western part, the city of Zagreb. A lesson in this kind of travel is have more Euros. Before I left home and I was sifting through my large bag of foreign currency and coins (don’t ask me why we keep ... read more

As they used to say of the roach motel “you can check in but you cant check out.” In Istanbul it seems it is easier to check out than check in. After a few days to orient myself to the place and the fact my sister lives in the western suburbs and I was heading west, it was a breeze compared to the arrival nightmare. So I was off across the peninsula that effectively connects Europe to Asia in the south. The waters of the Sea of Marmara were off to the left. Almost an inland sea it connects to the Agean Sea which then connects to the Mediteranean. I never did (or have) seen the Black Sea which was somewhere off to the right and somehow registers as a big disappointment. Don’t ask me why. ... read more

The road here was superb a six lane highway with very little traffic. Already hot at 9am with temperatures sitting around 33C expected today and for days to come. The land is flat with the usual sunflowers and grain agriculture in places. All went well until I approached Istanbul and the traffic began to build. Then the nightmare began. There were some rain showers just to mix things up, but I seemed to dry almost immediately. It turns out the GPS completely screwed me up for reasons I have yet to establish. I literally gave up trying to find my sisters place. At one point I got stuck in a very narrow street with a van unloading stuff and with no one in sight; having a Turkish coffee somewhere no doubt. Clearly a very vibrant place, ... read more

How you would ever get out of these Eastern European cities before the days of GPS I will never know. What saved me at the beginning of the day let me down later on after the battery ran out and I went around in circles in SE Bulgaria. You can cross Bulgaria in ½ a tank of BMW gas if you don’t get lost. The roads were better here for the most part and blessedly less traffic. It was Sunday, but I am certain there is less in any case. The roads were fast and with a funny rough texture that made me think of skin rash, but I put that thought aside. The other blessing in Bulgaria is that large towns had by-passes and so I only skirted around Sliven and Yambol on my ... read more

Woke to a completely blue sky and felt immediate relief. Breakfast was an interesting affair. Unlike the usual buffet style I was given a menu. In broken English the waiter suggested an omelet. Not being much of an omelet person I asked for bread cheese and some tomato. Out arrived a platter that would serve at least 4. Was something lost in translation? It was hard to tell since I was the only one in the dining room not eating an omelet. How much would this cost was my biggest concern. While eating, to my relief another similar platter came out for another single traveler. With relief I managed to finish a little less than half. Riding continued to be very challenging today. After about 8 hours on the road I am just plain exhausted ... read more

Budapest to Cluj-Napoca, Romania 490Km Well today had it all. Spotted hookers in the lay-by (adds some meaning to the term - lay-by that is, not hooker), then wanting to give up and go home, then an hour later elation riding through Zaleu amid rolling hills and singing “The Hills are Alight…” and then being exposed on the top of a bare hill with cell towers in a lightening storm. Fortunately, all I suffered was a complete soaking through my semi-waterproofs I suppose this is what it is all about but it was a grueling day on the road no question. I had an enormous breakfast as usual. This serves three purposes a) it saves money since it is usually included in the room; b) time change makes it seem like dinner-time; c) It lasts me ... read more

I guess this is going to be a one country per day trip - Today it is Hungry - a repeat of National Lampoon’s vacation. The good thing about Hungry is there is less traffic, but all in all this has not been a pleasurable riding trip thus far; too much traffic and too much need to weave back and forth from the overtaking lanes. I also continue to have trouble with the traffic indicators on the BMW. It is not just intuitive to me to have a right and left signal but have a separate lever on the right to turn them both off. Other bikes I have had always press the same indicator to turn off the signal. Dare I say I am getting too old to change my ways. At least the slow ... read more

Frankfurt to Linz 552km It is going to be hard not to make lots of comparisons to last years ride in Western Australia and I won’t even try not to. Start with the bike. In Perth it was an Ocker with a couple of bikes in his back shed who explained everything about the bike so fast that with jet lag I never got any of it. In Frankfurt we have a major bike dealer including a host of spanking new BMWs and an owner who speaks in precise English and reminds me of Burkhard (1-2 of you will know what I mean). The bikes reflected their respective environs as well. Oldish 100,000km version (Oz) verses newer 24,000km version (Germany). The fact that one of the side bags had an Australian flag (must be coincidence surely) ... read more