Day 0 - Poconos to Frankfurt This is a blog about motorcycling in Eastern Europe (not sure whether you would include Turkey) so throw in plus Western Turkey. It starts in the Poconos in Pennsylvania, USA. Immediately this tells you something about the blog, and more to the point, the blogger. The point being it does not matter how much you travel there is always a sense of awe when one evening you are in the Treetop Lodge, in (sort of) new England, America and the next in Linz, Austria. Of course this is stretching it given time differences, treating plane travel time as warp speed and other omissions, but you get the point. Even the most jaded traveler cannot but be impressed by the contrast. One moment you are in a scene where the Great ... read more

Tue 1st of September 2009 Sydney I have always liked Sydney since the first time I visited with my parents in the late sixties. Over the years I have been back many times and yes the hustle and bustle has increased, but in some way the serenity bought by the bay has kept everything in check. And let us not forget it is one of the most beautiful harbor settings in the world. I took the train in from the airport and found a hybrid of the London Underground and the New York Subway - double decker train cars not reminiscent of either, but tiling, pipe fixtures, station names, shapes of tunnels all in keeping with one or other. When you step out at the Circular Quay station, at least coming from the airport, you are ... read more

Sun 30th of August 2009 Busselton to Perth ~ 200km After a flat white (coffee) at the café on the water where I had dinner the night before, and more importantly free internet so that I can keep you informed, I hit the road for the last time. There was certainly sadness about this, but as you will see later there is also the joy that goes with the desire to return to this wonderful country, particularly to areas of harsh outback beauty such as the Kimberley Ranges in NE of WA which I have yet to see. The ride up to Perth was pretty nondescript. Eucalypt forests giving way to rolling farmland, giving way to suburbia which has spread way to far along the WA coast thanks to new freeways and an electric rail link. ... read more

Fri 28th of August 2009 Carnamah to Pinjarra ~ 350km The thing about travelling is you always have good and bad days. In the future, when thinking back on the trip, you only remember the good days and the bad days serve no other purpose than to make the good days seem even better. Today was one of those bad days. It started well enough. I had spent a comfortable, smell free night in a cabin in the Carnamah caravan park. The cabin was meant to sleep four. It had an expansive, except for a sofa and TV, empty living room. The sofa was about 20 ft from a 13 inch TV set and there was an old electrical fire in the room that did not work. It had been superseded by one of those electronically ... read more

Wed 25th of August 2009 Newman to Meekatharra ~ 450km Today is a day about very large trucks and philosophy. Hey Australia is a place of contrasts so this seems reasonable. I realize when I awoke at 7:40 am, really late for me, it was because I was in a place of zero noise. I was in a wing of the Newman Hotel dedicated to backpackers, but I guess I was the only one in twenty rooms or so. Never saw another soul. Had the rec. room all to myself with endless supplies of those packets of instant coffee (I crave a good Starbucks) and on TV the Australian version of the Today Show (I crave the US Today Show even though I rarely watch it). I decided to continue to feed my fetish for all ... read more