[TJ06]

DAILY UPDATES

IRAN

To be honest, I was scared and anxious as hell. All the planning in the world didn’t prepare me for the actual moment I had to step on the ship and finally get going. It was time to prove my mettle and after wishing farewell to those who came to see me off at Port Khalid in Sharjah, I took a deep breath, yes, that deep breath and pinched myself to make sure all this was indeed happening for real.

The journey from UAE to Iran was better than I expected. The ferry was comfortable and different from what I had imagined. The whole experience was similar to my childhood days when we used to travel on trains in India. To my surprise, the crew served some really delicious dinner that I gobbled up with much delight. The port was chaotic and the ferry was crowded but there was a method to this madness. Also, the authorities took my passport away on the pretext of ‘further checking’ and promptly returned it around 30 minutes later with the immigration entry stamp for Iran.

To my horror, I was informed that the customs department was closed as we were late and that led me to lose a whole day and my entire plan was delayed the moment I landed in Iran. I wasn’t expecting a surprise like this so early into my trip but what could I do?! Meanwhile, I called a friend who offered to host me for the night and I caught up on some much needed sleep which was impossible to do on the ferry thanks to happy and loud Iranians returning home for vacation.

The next morning, I arrived at the customs office at 8am and the whole ordeal was a bit frustrating. It took me half a day to get the bike out of the port. Each time I thought ‘that’s it’, I was asked to get another stamp from another department and the drama never ended. Finally, by 3pm, this ordeal came to a close and I headed back to my friends place to pack my bags.

So, being two days behind schedule, I decided to head out the same day and ride through the night to make up on lost time. I left Bandar Abbas by around 7pm and planned to reach Yazd 12 hours later. Riding at night in Iran had its own risk but I had to do it. En route I was greeted with some really friendly cops and the military was very welcoming and cheered me up. On finding out I’m an Indian, the cops danced to some Bollywood music and told me to give their regards to Amitabh Bachchan! Iran was friendlier and hospitable than I had imagined.

Reaching Yazd was not a big deal as the roads were good and I maintained a decent average speed. I decided to ride from Yazd to Karaj at night as well to make up on lost time. I decided to avoid bigger cities and take the bypass roads to avoid traffic. Avoiding cities was an advantage, no doubt, but I also experienced a more authentic Iran this way. There smaller cities with their undiluted culture really touched me in an indescribable way and I couldn’t help but think of an opportunity to come back to Iran and explore more of this country. I had another day of smooth riding and reached Karaj by 3am and hit the bed at a local motel.

I left from Karaj by 11am the same day and headed straight for Karaj, the border with Turkey. It looks like I managed to cover up on all the lost time by riding at night and here onwards I hope I’m able to stick to my plan as border crossings are expected to be a bit more relaxed with less formalities as I enter Europe.

On the way to karaj


These guys offered me sheesha and how could i ever refuse


A view of the morning rush in Karaj



FIRST BORDER CROSSING - IRAN/TURKEY

Riding in Iran has been an amazing experience, one that I will cherish for a lifetime. After spending three days in this peaceful and beautiful country I was all set to cross into Turkey. People in Iran go overboard with their hospitality and I was expecting the same welcoming gestures from everyone I would meet on this ride.

After clearing customs in Iran and riding for over 600 kilometres each on two consecutive nights, I was a bit exhausted. The first night I rode from Bander Abbas to Yazd (680kms) and the second night was a 600kms ride from Yazd to Karaj, which is adjacent to Tehran.

After riding from Tabriz to Erzurum and hoping to get back on track with my schedule, I met with another speed bump at the Turkish border. I lost three hours at the Turkish border due to an adhoc requirement to scan the motorcycle. However the officials at the border posts were polite and helpful and the process was smooth albeit a bit long. Exiting Iran was another story altogether as everything requires a handling charge.

Another thing that struck me immediately was the dramatic change in terrain in these two countries. I rode to Ankara/Samsun soon after I crossed the border and the intention is to save a day in turkey, so I can have an extra day in Romania.

I entered Turkey on the 7th of July. I started riding from Tabriz (Iran) on 7th morning aiming to cross into Turkey and reach at Erzurum, which is 300 kms inland from the Turkish border. I reached checkpoint at Iran border and headed straight to the carnet-stamping desk. Luckily for me, there was an agent who agreed to get the paperwork sorted for a small handling charge that I was happy to pay him in order to get back on the road as quickly as possible. So that was Iran for me!

As I physically pushed my bike in to the Turkish border, things started to move much faster. I got the insurance sorted (local insurance) and the bike and I are all clear to enter Turkey. However, within a few minutes, things took a U turn when I was politely asked by a customs offer to follow him to the scan facility. I reached a warehouse kind of place with a couple of kilometers long queue of trucks.

I had to strip everything off the bike, which was a tedious task. It took me nearly an hour to finish the scan, put everything back on and start riding into Turkey. The heavens decided to open up and the moment I left the border gates, I was greeted with heavy rains, and to my luck, I had my rain gear handy and put everything on quickly.

That evening I rode till 11 pm to arrive at Erzurum Renaissance Ski Hotel. This town is known to have temperatures of up to minus 30 degrees in winter. The view from the hotel was fantastic but I had no energy to stay up and spend some more time going around to place. I hit the sack immediately. The next morning I geared up to leave at 11 am, and in the hotel parking I bumped into the Turkish wrestling team for the 2012 London Olympics along with their coach. They were training at high altitude to build stamina. I mist admit they were a real nice and friendly bunch of people and I wish them all the best with their pursuit of Olympic medals.

I hit the road by 1pm and rode from Erzurum to Ankara, covering almost 200kms at one go before taking a break. The weather was amazing and the countryside got better with time as I got away from densely populated towns. On the way I was stopped by the traffic cops for speeding (I’m not sure if I was). However the cop pardoned me and let me go once he spoke to me and saw the motorcycle and the camera mounted on my helmet.

After riding for 12 hours I was roughly 200kms from Ankara and I stopped at motel to have dinner and decided to stay in the same hotel as riding beyond midnight was an unnecessary risk.

The morning I rode from the highway hotel to Istanbul. I got onto one of the major freeways and things started to look much better as the official speed limit went up to 120, while it was 90 on the old highway. On the way heavy rainfall slowed me down but I managed to reach Istanbul by 5pm that day. Since I got there early, I decided to walk around the city a bit and had some of the best Turkish coffee ever. Next stop, Bulgaria.

Istanbul, Turkey




Turkish Olympics Wrestling Team - Coach in the white cap!

[TJ06]

GERMANY

In my pursuit to make it to London in time – 14 days as planned earlier; I rode another long stretch through Germany and into France. I started from Munich at around 11am local time and rode 500kms to Metz – a small town on the way to Calais (France). The ride was smooth and it came as no surprise as there is hardly anything to complain about on German Autobahns. Certain sctions of the autobahns were derestricted and with no speed limits, some daredevils on Supersport motorcycles were just gunning it like it’s stolen. I maintained a steady 120kmph as I was in no hurry and with the panniers it isn’t really sensible to exceed the logical speed limit I had set in my mind. I stopped at two petrol stations to recharge myself and to refuel. I did manage to get some rain towards the end of the day but I was so used to riding in the rain that I hardly noticed it. I’m sure I’ll miss this wonderful weather and get back to the desert all grumpy.

I have started feeling a little depressed as I had just one more day to ride before I reached London. I had planned this is trip for over six months had planned for the past 6 months, and I was just 48 hours from completing it. I will have to adapt myself once again to wearing formal clothes after wearing nothing else but my riding gear and spending the whole day checking email and excel sheets instead of Google maps and my GPS device. I simply cannot imagine being at a desk for 10 hours a day after this ride. It will be really difficult to get back to the routine.

Anyway, so from Metz I headed to Calais where I planned to take the last train to Dover (UK). Next update will hopefully be my last and possibly the most depressing to write too!


FRANCE, UK

On 14th of July I woke up a bit sad. It was going to be my last bit of riding on this epic trip. I started very early, actually, it was the earliest I’d started riding on this trip. I was on the road, all geared up and ready to go by 6am. I started from Metz and the sun wasn’t really out yet. The first 200kms gave me the chill with the rain showing no signs of ceasing. I was shivering like a puppy and I could barely see anything beyond five meters. This horrible state of affair continued until I stopped some 200kms later to refuel.

By the time I refueled and grabbed a hot coffee, the sun was out and the ride from the fuel station to Calais was smooth yet cold. I arrived at Calais and was told that the rail is full so I quickly headed to the ferry. The whole process was so smooth and quick that I never realised when I was across the French border and on to the ferry. The ferry was supposed to start at 13.25 and to my astonishment, it started sailing at the stipulated time. The ferry ride was shorter than I expected. I was still used to the overnight ferry from UAE to Iran and by the time I finished lunch we were docking at Dover.

In UK I stayed with a friend who lives in Essex. I rode from the port to his place directly and the next day I headed to London. The ride from Dover to Essex was full of rain and I made it a point to avoid breaking any speed limits. I was excited but I didn’t want to ruin it at the last minute.

By the time I reached Essex I was depressed because the trip was over. It ended too soon if you ask me. It was short and quick because I didn’t really face any major issues throughout the ride and things went smoothly other than a few delays here and there. The Triumph Tiger 1050 behaved amazingly well and it, didn’t need anything more than fuel.

I have learnt a lot from this trip and now that this ride is over, I’m already planning my next big ride.For a passionate rider like me, there is nothing more rewarding and exhilarating than a ride like this and by the end of it all this was a trip of a lifetime for me personally.

France






Lovely welcome at EMC



Thank you everyone for your support.

Cheers
Farooq

[TJ06]

BULGARIA

On my way out of Turkey, I arrived at the border town of Edrim. It was a non-stop ride all the way from Istanbul. The Turkish border was super organised however they sent me to customs for scanning the bike that took an hour. Like the folks at the border with Iran, the officials at the Turkey-Bulgaria border were super polite and the officials were very helpful and not corrupt at all.

After finishing the formalities at the Turkish side I arrive at the Bulgarian side expecting corruption, rude officials, etc. However to my surprise the border crossing took just 15 min and I didn’t even have to get off the motorcycle. I crossed into Bulgaria, bought a vignett and started the ride to Ruse the border town just before entering Romania.

The GPS started acting up and the directions were very confusing. I think this was because the map on the GPS unit was an older version. It had an old map and the road signs showed newer motorways. I decided to follow the road signs to Ruse. The Bulgarian countryside was extremely beautiful and green. All I remember seeing was acres after acres of lush fields flanked by hills. I was a little tense because I had a feeling I was on the wrong road until I stopped at a village to ask for directions. The locals were extremely helpful and welcoming and couldn’t take their eyes off the motorcycle.

I finally arrived at Ruse at 9 pm local time and found myself a boutique hotel – Bistra and Galina. I took a quick shower and went strolling around the town. The landscape and the architecture was beautiful. There were people hanging around cafés and restaurants and even at 10.30 pm I spotted people killing the heat by sitting next to the city center fountain. I retired early hoping to hit the road early the next day. I would be crossing the famous Transfagarasan pass that is a favorite road among motorcyclists in this region.






ROMANIA, HUNGARY, AUSTRIA, GERMANY

The road to Transfagarasan pass was breath taking. I have been to some of the best passes in the Himalayas but the road to the top of Transfagarasan pass was very different from what I’ve experienced and I relished riding the huge Triumph Tiger 1050 up the twisties.

Having done with the Transfagarasan pass, I finished my day at a tourist town called Sibui. Here I met a group of 70 bikers here who were riding from Germany to Romania to do the Transfag-pass. I had a small conversation with a few of these riders and spoke to them about the work and the effort put in by Egyptian Food Bank. Since I was already super exhausted after the ride, I had a simple meal consisting of local Romanian cuisine and hit the bed.

The next morning I rode from Sibui to Hungary and my plan was to finish the day in Budapest. Needless to say, the border crossing was very simple and efficient. The border forces officers were extremely helpful and polite. Things started to get better and better as I entered the European Union. The fuel stations were cleaner, there was coffee and food available readily on the highways and the roads had higher speed limits. I took advantage of these higher speed limits and tried to make up for a day that I lost at the Transfag-pass. Sadly, I had to ride straight all the way to Budapest on the motorway and I skipped the scenic routes.

I found the traffic to be very organised,. The country was very clean and has some amazing long stretches of farms on both side of the highway, the smell of earth after a fresh shower was so damn nice, it was something I missed terribly in Dubai.

I cross my way into Austria in no time and found myself on the motorway to Venice; the idea was to end the day at a town called Linz as it is closer to the German border. I arrived at Linz and realized it was just is 4 pm, which gave me another five hours of broad daylight. After careful consideration, I decided to ride on and make it to Munich that was another 250kms from Linz. I decided to take a country-road rather than the motorway and en-route I also met a lot of motorcyclists enjoying the European summer.

I arrived at Munich by around 7pm and found a hotel to stay in the centre of the city. After a quick shower I headed out for a stroll and found out that I was staying right opposite Hard Rock café which happens to be my favourite hang out in Dubai so I went straight for it. I can’t describe the feeling of riding through almost three countries in a day and winding up having a nice steak with some good music playing in the background.

By the time you most of you would have read this, I would have entered France and would be on my way to a beautiful town called Reims.

Romania

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzhcQ...hannel&list=UL

Hungary

[TJ06]

Hello Fellas!

I've been compiling this travelogue in the "Assembly Line" section, so what you'll read below is my write-up after successfully completing the ride from Dubai to London in July 2012, despite this post having an earlier time-stamp.

The trip started from Dubai on 1st July and ended in London on 14th. below you will find the updates that i was posting on my website and fb page. for pictures, please visit facebook.com/bikersbeyondborders or motorcyclingme.com, videos are available on youtube channel - bikersbeyondborders

Here is the itinerary for those of you who requested more details -

ITINERARY

I will board a ferry from Sharjah to BanderAbbas. Will spend 5 days in Iran riding from bander abbas, shiraz, Esfahan,Tabriz and finally into turkey via bazargan border.

I will ride for four days in turkey, with over night stops in Erzurum, Samsun and Istanbul.

From Istanbul i ride into Bulgaria. I plan to ride across the country before stopping at the last border town of Ruse. This town Borders with Romania.

The next day i cross into Romania and ride until the border town of Arad.

From Arad I cross into Hungary and cross over into Austria. I stop in Graz. the next day and stop in Innsbruck, then ride to Berne in Switzerland. This is also an overnight stop. The next day is Berne to Calais. Which is the last town in France. And then the final leg of the journey from Calais to London via the tube.

The average distance covered wil be 500 kms every day. However a couple of days will be covering around 800 kms.


PREP

I've been working on the plan for 6 months roughly. Although the actual execution was started two months back. This involves all the visas needed for the trip, route planing, carnet, feedback from riders who've travelled on this route in the recent past, preparing the bike, equipment etc. I will go thorough the details on these if there is interst.

Last minute checks on the Tiger 1050. The mechanic from Duseja Moto, official Triumph dealers in the UAE.

[Jignesh]

Hello TJ06,

9 Countries, 8000+ Kms & 2 weeks on road is simply awesome. If time permits, can you also update the forum on the preparations you have done for this trip?

I believe there would be a lot of documentation, visa & permit process involved.

Thanks,

[zeemmee]

Mashallah Mashallah Farook bhai, keep up the good work!!!.

9 countries, 8000 kms aprox in the two weeks that's quite a drive.

Hope to see you soon with the TJ on a night drive, Hope its still with you or have you sold it?

[Rehaan]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[mempheS.D]

TJ06 - "What are you made up of, man?" This is one helluvan accomplishment. From the way I read it, I think you had a pleasant trip with not too many hurdles except the usual tantrums at border checkposts. But, how did you manage to get away at those borders? Do you speak Arabic? If yes, I can understand.

Once again, KUDOS.

Did you ride back to Dubai?

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

Wait a minute! This thread was confusing. The rider has already accomplished the trip

And it confuses me too! The date when the Post was started is on 12th June and the rider says he had done the ride between 1st and 14th July??? How is it possible?

Anyways, dates in no way compromise the quality, quantity and the effort which went in to this wonder ful road trip!

[download2live]

I think the trip is already completed and he will be posting the whole thing in sections.

Nice trip. Me so jealous.

[ninjatalli]

Wow.


And to think, I used to be happy at my inter-state trips. This is so awesome. Do please share the planning you had done for border passing and visa access.

And please, please put up a map picture on the distance/route traveled. One can not understand the importance of the achievement you have done!

Without any doubt, rated 5 stars. Heck, if there were more stars allowed, I'd easily rate it that high.



Edit: Attached a map based on the details given by you in the first post



And again, the first thing that comes to my mind when I see this route is only one word.


Wow!

[black12rr]

Lovely write up . So do you ride back to dubai or stay in london itself ?

[athanedar]

Great intercontinental ride !! Just WOW !!
From what I had heard the borders of Turkey, Iran, Bulgaria are not friendly at all. But you were able to get through with not much trouble. Kudos to you.
However the mystery of time stamp is puzzling me too.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ObsessedByFIAT

And it confuses me too! The date when the Post was started is on 12th June and the rider says he had done the ride between 1st and 14th July??? How is it possible?

Originally Posted by athanedar

However the mystery of time stamp is puzzling me too.

I believe he created the thread in the assembly line with empty/place-holder posts in June, and later added the info/pictures in July/August after completing the trip.

The timestamp shown on the posts at the top is the one when the post was created, however the timestamp at the bottom of the posts shows when it was last edited.

[TJ06]

Here is the answer to the puzzle -

I started the thread in June, the ride was scheduled to begin on 1st July. The Mods recommended that I work on the thread in assembly line until I have updated a few trip reports to ensure that the travelogue doesnt get lost in the "all the best" messages.

During the trip I was not able to post, hence I finished the write up after the trip and then the thread was moved from assembly line to travelogue.

Cheers
Farooq