Where the fcuk is Bomaderry?? No 13 (The last)

Distance from Stockers: 25,018 kms
Distance form home: 57,568 kms
Top speed: 164 kph (Russia)



" Hoping to ride it till the wheels fall off & burn, & the sun peels the paint & the seat cover fades"
Bob Dylan, via Paul Rooney.


A wet road. A slippery concrete gutter. Max speed 2kph. Down like a brick and tile glider. An ambulance to hospital, a few fractured and dislocated bones in my foot. It helps when you are travelling with a Paramedic. A two hour operation, nine days in a Japanese prison (hospital) $7,500 later and a business class air ticket home, what lessons have I learnt. Probably none! Fcuk me!!! What a bastard!!!! Thank Christ for my travel insurance. Crutches for 6 weeks and off the bike for 3 fcuking months. What a bastard. That's the end of this little trip. I suppose it was a good thing I did not do it in Mongolia or Eastern Russia.

The boys from "Hovel 8" came to see me a couple of times before they all headed to Vietnam via Bangkok, Kim went as well. See them in Sydney next year, Anton in 2 years. The hospital and staff were great. My favourite was Chi, 24 years old and 38 kilos wringing wet. And she was on a diet! Took 8 of them to lift me on to my bed the first day! Fcuk it, I had to come home 4 months early.

Half my family met me at the airport in Sydney. Why, were they worried about about me? Don't they know I am the man they couldn't root, shoot or electrocute? And were the fcuk is Bombaderry? About 140 or so kms south of Sydney, my little sister and brother-in-law live there, (just down the road from Dave Grey), they are trying to kill me with kindness. Tanyia has lent me a car. A bit sad when your niece has a spare car that is better than your own was! How good is that!! Sydney is nice this time of year, but then I hear, so is Vancouver.


On the first day, God created the Heavens, the Earth, and the Oxley Highway. But He wasn't happy. His Kingswood would sway through the corners, crawl up the hills and use heaps of juice.

On the second day, God created the Honda step-through. He enjoyed the wind in His hair (He hadn't created helmets then), and it was fun to ride and used bugger all fuel, but it still crawled up the hills.

So on the third day, God created the Honda Four, and it flew up the hills. With four-into-ones, it sounded okay, it never broke down, but the corners remained a problem. Yet he had tasted power, and craved for more.

Thus on the fourth day, He added two more cylinders and so created adrenalin. His insurance premium doubled and it cost a fortune to service. He also created fear (His hair turned white) and the cliche "Enough is enough".

On the fifth day, God blew a couple of joints with Willie G and created the Harley-Davidson. He'd cruise the hills in top gear and pick up heaps of babes. He got off on the note. But it was too heavy, broke down a lot and handled like the Kingswood.

Then on the sixth day, He made the Bonneville. It still attracted the girls and it sounded good, too. This bike was light and for the first time, corners were fun. It handled! God was stoked. But the vibration pained His arse, it wanted for power and He ran out of petrol every 100 miles. He wasn't happy, but shit he was close.

So finally, on the seventh day, God produced a motorcycle with the speed of the Honda, the torque of the Harley and the handling of the Triumph. He could afford the fuel, tune it himself, pick up chicks and still blow off Ducatis through the corners.

He called his bike, "Rooney Special", and He was happy.


Does it get any better? I think, just a little.

Chris.
17th October 2008.

ps. One operation turned into two. Six weeks on crutches turned into four months. Three months off the bike turned into six months. Eight months off work, thank Christ for Sydney Ferries.

Who ever heardof Sakhlin Island? No 12

The Iron Tigers of Vladivostok. Max and Mikhael and the boys. Both Mikhael and Max are former Marine Engineers and Max even has green hair. How good are they. Mikhael grew up in Tynda and tells me he was only allowed to walk to school when the temperature was above minus 50 degrees!! My time with them has been fantastic. It is probably every Riders dream is to live in a bike shop. Been there, done that. A few days on the piss and telling lies with Neva, Ron, Yens and Tom. A couple of kilos of hard shell prawns. Many kilometres of walking around Vlad. Time to get outa here. I am off to Khabarovsk to meet Kim , Scotty and a couple of German guys,(Matthias, Honda Transalp, and Stefan, Honda Africa Twin, we had met them in Ulaan Bataar at the Oasis ) and ride to Japan with them. Neva and Ron's bikes are going to Sydney by ship, as soon as the arrangements are done they will fly home. Be home before the weekend. They had not been able to do The Road of Bones either. Rivers still to high, to fast and to cold. They rode the newer road, the Kolmya Highway. 3,000 km in 5 days, good going.

 My bloody alternator spat the dummy again on the way to Khabarovsk, stopped at Luchegorsk to charge the battery. Left an hour later, battery charged and my belly full. Typical Russian hospitality, tea, biscuits and presents. No charge. Unbelievable. I had arranged to meet Den at the fruit shop we had shared a watermellon at two weeks before. I arrived early, the fruitshop man remembered me. I feasted on peachs, grapes and oranges, left with a watermellon, all no charge!! Met the boys and all the local Bikers in Khabarovsk. Fantastic blokes and girls again. Marina, Dens, Mrs Dens and The 'Doc', all great. My alternator was re-wound and now charges like there is no tomorrow. I only want the bloody thing to last another 3,000kms as I plan to update it in the U.S. I should have trusted my own judgement and had the bloody thing re-wound the first time I had trouble with it.
>
> The Poms and the Germans had rented an apartment in Khabarovsk. They have named it 'The Hovel' rent is 3,000Rb per week. About$AUD120. I have never, ever seen a stairwell so filthy. And fcuking stink!! The boys had to disinfect the floor before they could roll their sleeping mats out! The water in the shower is so hot it is unuseable.All the other tenants have their own toilet seat to use, we do not. The feel of cold porcelain on my arse in the morning does not do it for me! But, it is central and cheap and I have enjoyed my time there. This is a great city. Very cosmopolitian and clean. The local bikers meet every night at a beer tent by the river and drink and talk bikes until late, then ride, as a group, through the city at high speed.
>
> Vanino is about 600km from Khabarovsk, about 300km of dirt. Not like that shitty old road from Chitta, mostly a good surface, magnificient mountains, rivers great corners, some 20 or 30 kph sections, several river crossings and many, many, rickety old timber bridges. We camped by a beautiful lake. Some ducks flew overhead, we heard shots, ducks plumeted to the ground. A car load of hunters came along, gave us 2 ducks, still warm and the biggest salmon I have ever seen. We swam in the lake, cooked 1' thick salmon steaks on the fire and drank vodka. I couldn't eat any more.The best fish I have ever tasted!!!! In Australia when we camp we do not have to take the fish guts and things several hundred metres from camp so the bears don't smell them and raid the camp. We are lucky.I was washing my socks in the lake, wearing my boxer shorts, when the mossies came to town. Fcuk me. I had at least 30 bites on each leg. On my face , in my hair, every bloody where. Never, ever seen mossies this thick. Bastards! We couldn't break camp until 11 am, the heaviest dew in history. We were still wearing our mossie nets at 10.30 in the morning. I had to have a crap. The biggest of bites, right on my arse! Talk about itch. One of the boys got a bite on the family jewels! Met yet another Russian Biker, met his mother as well, she gave us all the fruit we could eat and carry. Once again we could not pay.
>
> We picked up another rider, Anton, a Czech on a BMW R1150GS Adventure. A top young bloke, speaks 6 languages includeing Russian and Japanese. Eventually made it to Vanino. This is travelling at a great pace.　We talk a lot, laugh a lot and take time to smell the roses. Six totally different blokes, we all get on well. Life is good!! A ferry to Sakhlin Island, the oldest, slowest (15kph), dirtiest vessel ever built. The Captain and crew should have been ashamed of themselves. It took 6 hours to buy the tickets, 3 different offices and we each had to sign our name 21 fcuking times! Only for an inter island ferry trip, not to leave the country! They put goods train waggons and trucks on the boat. And 6 bikes. The crossing was 20 hours and we had an 8 berth cabin, down in the bloody bilges. It stank and was covered in grafity. We called it 'Hovel 2'. A fcuking mess. The weather was great and the beer was cold. Not all bad.
>
> A bloke on Sakhlin Island took us to the best campsite of my trip. A fast flowing river, heaps of salmon, and no mossies. The track in was muddy, I dumped it in a bloody mud hole on the way out, caught on video as well! Rode some magnificient tracks, many mud holes and many, many river crossings, eventually found one that stopped us. To deep, to fast and the rocks were to big. And damned near freezing as well. We all got our boots wet when Kim's bike cut out in a deep patch on one crossing.Turned back and rode into Korsakov on the black. Yuri, found us and took us home. We drank vodka, ate salmon eggs by the kilo, and all sorts of other things his wife, Olga, served us.Took our minds off the dead body we had found. All slept on his lounge room floor. In bed at 1am, up at 6am to catch the ferry to Japan. Yuri escorted us out of town. Russian bikers are the best. On Sakhalin we were treated like minor celebs again.
>
> As far as we can make out, there has been less than 40 people who have ridden right across Russia, through Vanino to Sakhlin Island. Four years ago the road did not exist past Chitta, everone had to go by train, as did Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor, who we found out had two 4 wheel drives and two Kamaz all wheel drive trucks when they did The Road of Bones. Thats what happens with a $7,000,000 budget for a 3 month trip.
>
> The biggest surprise about Russia has been how bloody fantastic the people are. They are incredible. My first night in Russia a Biker (Misha) looks after me, treats me like I am his brother, my last night in Russia another Biker (Yuri) looks after me and treats me like I am his brother. Any Russian Biker, anytime is welcome in my house. I am sad at leaving Russia and will be back.
>
> This section of the trip has been hard. between the 6 of us we have fallen off 43 times and have lost a total of 48 kilos. We all have different bikes, and all think ours is the best oneto do the trip on. We are all correct. Some people are to parenoid about their choice of bike, their tyres and the weight. You could do it on a Honda Postie or a Fireblade if you took plenty of time. If I had my time again I would still use the Rooney and Mitas EO7 tyres.
>
> The Ferry to Japan is a shock. Modern, clean, on time and fast (30kph) I love Japan. I did not think I would like it as much as I do. We rode over on the Ferry with Takaoki, a Japanes biker on a 1200GS, silver, my favourite colour as well. He had been riding the tracks on Sakhalin Island. A former RWT. Takaoki helped us through the Customs and Immigration and found us a place to stay, a Bikers Rest and only $6/night. Staying for 3 nights.How good is that. $5 for a bottle of red, and not to foul either. I went for a haircut and beard trim. Wouldn't let me pay. Down to the Onsan (bath house) every day. Brilliant. The Japanese girls also ride pushbikes a lot. It is good for their backsides as well.
>
> Stefan and Mattheaus rode away. Then there were 4. We left to tour Hokkaido. Could not beleive the brilliant scenary. Rodes are a motorcyclist's dream. The Japanese, as have the Norweigans, perfected the constant radius corner. Little traffic and almost no traffic Police. The Rooney loves the hills and corners. Met Kim, a lovely British girl, in Saporro, she took us to a bar and got us drunk, met her Japanese friend Ayumi, lovely kids. What a night. Scottie went his own way. Then there were 3. Anton. Kim and I rode some great roads. We wild camped, went to Onsans most days and drank gallons of the $5 French and Italian red wine. We judge the success of an evening by the number of bottles of red we have consumed, 3 being a normal night and 7 being a belter! The Japanese have to be the best drivers in the world. This is Bikeing at its best. Three blokes, no hidden agendas and magnificient roads. One mountain pass was so good we rode it 3 times! Wild camped by a lake, sitting in a pool on the edge of the lake, up to our necks in hot artesian water, no one for miles. That night was a '7'.
>
> Another Ferry to Honshu. The Japanese Moto GP is on. We want to go but he roads are to good, to many fantastic temples, to many great camp sites. Fcuking stunning!!! Fcuk the Moto GP. Casey didn't win any way. We only ride one motorway, expensive and dull. We all rated one mountain pass and that nights campsite as equal to any thing, any where in the world. The red is not so cheap or good quality on Honshu, so we are back to Russian Vodka. Life is a bitch. Eventually make it to Tokyo.
>
> I like Tokyo. We are in Chiba, about 40 kms from the city centre. And 2 more makes 5, we are sharing a $100/night Hotel room with Stefan and Matthias while we arrange for Kim and I to ship ourselves and bikes to Vancouver, the Krauts to Bangkok and Anton also to Bangkok after another month in Japan. We all sleep on the floor, Japanese style. The room is so crowded one has to sleep in the hallway. Wouldn't have it any other way. I am sorry to be leaving Japan. Eventually able to pick up a new Amex card, after 7 or so weeks without any cards. Still no fcuking Visa card though. Bastards. I think you all might get to meet the Big Pom and the 2 Krauts in Aus next year. Yes, I will be sending them around the country for free beds and food. Things are a bit slow today as last night was a 9.5. The way I feel today, we don't have much to look forward to with Californian red wine. What happened to Alaska, Japan was to good to leave, it will wait for another trip.Scottie seems to have dropped of the face of the planet.
>
> I think this is as good as it gets.
>
> Chris.
> 4th October 2008.

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Goodbye Siberia. The "Road of Bones" not this bloody time!!!! No. 11

Russia III

Distance from UK: 18,898 km
Distance from home: 51,417 km
Moving average: 69.6 kph
Max speed: 125 kph
Moving time: 66.41 hrs





Sadly, sadly sadly, left UB and the two Poms (Kim & Scott) behind. They are going to Vladivostok. Hopefully we will meet up in Central America. No problems with the 360km ride to the Russian border, about 5 or 6 hours at the border and we were in Russia again. Another magnificent campsite and onto Ulaan Ude. Fuel, food and money,not fcuking likely. Somehow I had lost my credit cards, or they had been stolen. Probably operator error. Phone calls to Tanyia, Bronwyn and anyone else in my family who was home on a Saturday afternoon. All cancelled. No problems as I have enough cash to carry on with.

Lake Baikal. Holds 20 percent of the worlds unfrozen fresh water, 623km long and over 1,600 meters deep. Incredible. Bought some vegies from a roadside stall, they gave us heaps and would only let us pay for a little. Camped in a forest by the lake, 27 km's of dirt, Neva's turn to dump it. Swam and bathed. Fantastic. Neva cooked an excellent meal. About to go to bed (early), when a Russian family, camped nearby, insisted we come over for a vodka. We left hours later after vodka, more fantastic food, and with Russian SAS caps and tee-shirts. Was that good or what. This joint was beautiful.

Passed through Ulaan Ude again, headed off towards Magadan. We are on the way. Not for long. The Rooney decides she does not want to charge the battery anymore. Back to Ulaan Ude. An expensive hotel. Do you know they have the largest sculpture in the world, of Lenin's head. Ron and I pull the alternator (after a couple of call to Paul Rooney), he finds a broken wire, repaired for about $8 and we are ready to go again. This repair lasts about 200km. Not charging again. We were out in the booneys, 400km from Chita, rode in on the battery. Found a bike mechanic, he did a brilliant job. The mechanic and his apprentice went away on their bike to borrow a smaller soldering iron. Back in 10 minutes they said. Walked in after 2 hours. Had been arrested by the Police for not having a numberplate. Their bike impounded. Can't see why. A lot of vehicles don't have them. Fixed the Rooney like new. He worked in the most shitty, mess of a workshop known to man. Not even electric light. Back to the Hotel about 11pm, in to bed without a feed. Left for Tynda the next morning. No problems, the Rooney charged like the light brigade.

There are abandoned buildings everywhere in Russia, left over from the Soviet era. We camped beside one. Fcuking mossies. We sat dinking our Vodka wearing Mossie nets. Looked like real drop kicks. Ron's mobile rings. We are miles from anywhere. They have good coverage all over Russia, indeed all over the third world. I can't get signal at Fort Denison, in the middle of Australia's biggest city. Why?? Four years ago the road east of Chita did not exist. You had to travel this section by train. In parts the road is good. At least 50 percent is shitty, gravel or sand. The road base they use is as big as a half house brick. The road always seems to be badly, sadly overdue to be graded, the wheel ruts are deep enough to loose a Honda step thru in, the mounds between high enough to give me a nose bleed, or they have just been graded, which is possibly worse. You can't tell what is underneath at all then. This is an evil, shitty, shitty fcuking heap of a road. To make things more interesting, about 1,000 new, or second hand passenger cars (and trucks) from Japan are delivered along this road most days. This is the quickest way to get the vehicles to the west of Russia. These blokes are paid by the job and the bastards drive them like they have stolen them. The vehicles have the front panels taped up with gaffer tape, sticking plaster, bubble wrap, anything that will keep the stone chips away. Some even tow another car on a very, very crude "A" frame. So you can buy a new Corolla in Western Russia that has only delivery Km's on it. They don't tell you it probably towed another Corolla or Camry over 3,000 kms of the worst road you can imagine! And jesus, you should see the dust!

Rode into Tynda, did some shopping and headed out without time for a breath. Found a magnificient lunch spot about 26 km from town. Our best lunch stop yet. A crystal clear flowing river, skinny dipping and bathing, did the washing and had a fantastic lunch. Fresh bread, salami, cheese, tomato and cucumber. I should have known this was to good to last. About to leave and I noticed the biggest break you could ever imagine in my frame. On the upright, just below the shocky mount. What a fcuker!! Back to Tynda, found a welder, ripped it apart. The rear subframe had broken as well and another crack had appeared in the frame. Welded up in no time. They would not take any money. Welded Neva's tank support as well. I did not have enough confidence in the repair to carry on towards Magadan, told the others to go on and I would head to Vladivostok. What a bastard!! We met Max, a local Biker and the local Kamaz truck dealer. Sells 60 new trucks a year, $44,000 for a new cab over bogie drive, rigid chassis, 280hp , 10.5 litre V8 and Euro 3 specs. Built like a brick shithouse. (all for Lowie and Lawrie) Max seems to have a network of people all over Tynda who report to him the minute any Adventure Tourers (or extreme tourists as we are called over here) arrive in town. He is not a fan of BMW frames as he has seen 3 broken and has never seen a Japanese frame even cracked. Max found us a hotel, let us park in his workshop and looked after us like we were kings. Next day poor old Neva could not move more than 10 paces from the throne. Ron and I went to Max's workshop. My front disc had the rattles, so we pulled it off and Max's main man welded, machined and whatever to make it like new. I am envious of someone with those skills. I am annoyed at the frame stuffing up. I have given it a hard time though. Thrown it away about 15 times in the last 4 years. God only knows what had happened to her before she came to live with me.

Sunday morning we parted, them for Magadan and me for bloody Vladivostok. I got about 250 km, out in the middle of no where, at a nothing of a place called Magdagachi, on my own, and the bloody frame brakes again. My motto has always been "bite off more than you can chew, then chew like all fcuk". Right now I was chewing like there was no tomorrow. I had to ride about 140 km at 30 kph to a place called Shimanovsk. Stayed in a dump of a Guestena and met the locals. They gave me beer, made feel welcome, showed me a carpark full of new Japanese cars that had rolled when the delivery drivers had fallen asleep, and in the morning they welded the bike, properly. I think the new repair will hold to hell and back.I was on that shitty old road by 10.30 the next morning. The carnage has to be seen to be believed. Trucks rolled over, some had there fuel tanks fall off, broken down vehicles every where. The number of punctures, amaxing. I put in a couple of big days, two nights wild camping. (the first on my own for the trip, actually the first ever) Camped in a field, out of sight of the road, fantastic sunset, reading my book and wearing the bloody mossy net. After dark I could hear and see the distant lights of the Trans Siberia Express off to my left and hear the new Toyotas getting their guts flogged out to my right. Do things get any better? Only if you are in the market for a Toyota!

At the outskirts of Khabarovosk I was pulled over by 2 local bikers, Den Taxist and his mate Greg. No english, so they rang their clubs moderator, Marina, she asked if I wanted somewhere to stay for a few days. No thanks have to keep going. (money is low) We swapped e-mail addreses and the boys guided me the 40 minutes to the other side of the city. We shared the biggest, sweetest and juiciest water mellon ever grown and I was on my way. They gave me phone numbers of Bikers in towns along the way in case I needed any help. Russian Bikers, no one else like them, anywhere!!

Into Vladivostok before lunch on Wednesday. Money was short. Found a Hotel and paid for 5 days. Nearly all my money gone. Rang American Express. No problem sir, your new card will be couried to your Hotel, arrives Monday. Pity, I can't get money out with my Amex card unless they have an office in town. The nearest one is Moscow. Rang Visa. What a fcuk up of a company. Many expensive calls to Visa in Australia. They have a toll free number. No good when you are in a country that does not have operator connected calls. Rang Louise and Sharon at the ever helpful Manly Warringah Credit Union. It turns out Visa will not (security risks) send me a new card to Russia. Sharon tells me to go to a Bank that takes Visa card and get an emergency cash advance. I try 8 banks. No fcuking way. Eventually I met Olga, 20 years old and a bank teller. She rates about 14/10 on the beauty scale and about 18/10 on the personality and intelligence scale! Olga makes calls to Moscow and some other Russian cities I have not heard of. No way buddy. She suggests Western Union. I go to the Australian Consulate. Vladimir, the boss there said go with Western Union. Sends me to their agent in the Aussie Government car. (Vladimir tells me an Aussie motorcyclist, Arthur Edwards, flew home to Adelaide last friday, with a broken leg, he threw it away in the gravel on the same section of road I have been bitching about. His bike is still at the Aussie Consulate) No problems, on the phone to Tanyia and Bronwyn and I have money the next day. Thank christ for family. Western Union, good service. Now I have money to buy food and beer and a bottle of Jacobs Creek Cab Sav. I have only been eating the free breaky at the Hotel and drinking water. It does us good to be broke for a short while. As long as it is only a fcuking short while!! No beer or Vodka for a few days probably did me good. I visited the Marina I can see from my room. The 3 best boats are all from Australia, a Rivieria 48, a Maritimo 60 and some flash 15m cat, also from Queensland. We are not doing to bad. I wait to many days at the frlash Hotel for my Amex card. I ring Australia a few times. They tell me to ring Moscow as the card will come from there. Moscow tells me it has to come from Australia. They tell me it will take 10 days. I politely tell them to fcuk off. What about the adds we all see on TV. They don't count if you are an"Extreme tourist"

As I ride the Rooney around Russain cities a funny thing happens. The noise or vibration from the bike sets off the occassional car alarm. In Vladivostok it happens an incredible amount of the time. Where ever I ride I leave behind a cacaphony of alarms. Am I gentle on the throttle so this does not happen? Not fcuking likely. My good mates Jens and Tom (from Germany) have arrived in town. I have moved to the Iron Tigers Motorcylcle Club with them . We are sleeping on the floor amongst many motorcycles and bike parts, drinking beer and vodka and eating salami, cheese, gherkins and onoins. Tellling many lies. And laughing. How good is that. It is like being young again and living with a bunch of Mates. Reminds me of The Kangaroo Edward Inn. There are about 100 bikes in this joint, many thousands of Roubles of parts, but they have given us a key and we come and go as we like.

Neva and Ron flew in tonight and early next week I will ride the 750km back up to Khabarovsk (and the local Bikers) and meet up with Kim and Scotty. We will probably ride to Vanino nd catch a ferry to Kholmsk on Sachalin Island and then ferry it to Wakkanai in Japan. Jens and Tom are taking the Trans Siberian back to Moscow.

No, it does not gat any better.

Chris.
28.08.08

Mongolia. The last motorcycle frontier???? No 10.

> Distance from Home:46512km
> Number of 'offs': About 12 or 13
> Mongolia max speed: 116 (on the dirt!)
> Mongolia moving average:45.3kph
> Mongolia moving time:46.5hrs
>
>
> The bike festival. Great. We were called to the stage on Saturday night, for a change we were modest and hid in the bar. Two german bikers (Africa Twin and BMW F650) turned up. Ron was up drinking vodka with them until 1.30am. His latest night drinking for 30 years! He surfaced on time in the morning, no sign of Tom and his mate though. We had been adopted by an extended Russian family. Three generations. They gave us food and presents and of course we drank vodka with them. Nicoli, the patriarch, was ex army, been to Chernobyl 3 times and was dying of cancer. They had a stretcher by the camp fire, so he missed out on none of the action. He walked up to our campsite and even came down to listen to the band. Our time for being minor celebrities was over, said goodbye to our 'family' and hit the road. What a weekend!!
>
> We rode for w few hundred km through the Altai Mountains, this is a big holiday camping destination for the Russians, people camped every where. Crossed our highest pass on this section of the trip, 2660 metres. Another fantastic camp and into Mongolia in the morning. We crossed the border atTsagaanuur, took about 7 hours, we were lucky, people had been camped there for two days as the border was closed on Sunday. I picked up a young English hitch hiker. You cannot cross the border on foot, so he needed a lift, it is about 20km to the Mongolian border. there was a group of 24 Dutch in 4x4's on a rally to Bejing, via the Gobi Desert to watch the Eclipse. their leader had given the Russian immigration people the shits, so we were let through in front of them. Saved us a few hours. They do not have roads in Mongolia. Only tracks. They do not have signs either. To make navigation harder, the silly bastards can have several towns in the same area with the same name. almost no one speaks English. The food is crap as well. So is this fcuking key board' And fcuking hot and dusty!!! The scenary is stunning and the people are sensational. (sorry Stockers) I love Mongolia and will come back. We dropped Ian (the backpacker) off at the first dusty little town. He wanted to buy a horse and ride across the joint!. Within 200 meters we were lost. Who cares. We didn't! Another magnificient campsite. Cooked a meal, drank vodka and told lies. Rab was right, it is bloody cold here at night. Next day we got lost big time. Had to return to our start point after 3 or so hours. A guy sold us a meal and some beer and gave us more directions. Made it clear we shouldn't go to the coal mine. No problems. Camped beside a river. Great. Kim dumped it big time in the morning, his first of three for the day. Decided to fit nobblies to the Pom's bikes on the side of the road. Four tyres changed in a little over 2 hours. Not bad. Some how we ended up at the coal mine. Another wrong turn. Westerners seldom go there, particularly those on bikes. After all it is a prohibeted area. The local kids were great. Someone gave us directions, over a 2,556 meter pass. It had rained, the track was muddy, there was snow on the ground. the track almost didn't exist I dumped it. I had fitted a new throttle cable in the UK. As a precaution. The bastard broke a couple of km later. Time to camp anyway. Another stunning campsite. Another stunning area to ride through. We stopped at a Bhuddist Chorten to take photos. A Mongolian family stopped to pray. Forced us to drink a bottle of vodka with them, before breakfast! A nomadic herder came up and gave us a big pile of cheese. Had to force him to take money. What sort of animal did the cheese and milk come from we don't know. I think it was horse. Bloody good old horse anyway. Vodka, cheese and biscuits for breakfast. Is there another way? Ron had never been pissed before 9am before. Rode down a good dirt track, cruised at 85kph. On to our first patch of sealed road for days. Found I was only doing 75kph. Went for a bath/swim in a cool, clean river. Neva's turn to dump it.
>
> We passed through Olgiy, Kovd, Ulaangom (Mongolia,s 2nd largest city),Tosonchengel, Kharkhorin and on to Ulaan Baatar. Took us 8 days to reach UB. Great tracks, shitty tracks and fcuking awefull tracks. Several passes over 2,55 metres. Heards of sheep, horses, goats, cows and camels. Mongolian horsemen everwhere. Magnificient. No tracks sometimes so we rode across country. Through rivers and creeks where there were not any proper crossings. The Rooney performed brilliantly. A good hard clay track. A sprinkling of sand. I was leading. Locked the front brake. Down like a bag of shit. Half hour to bend the handle bars back, tighten up the brake unions, use a rock to straighten the bark busters, etc, etc. Windscreen and headlight protectors gone. Cracked anither rocker cover. This screen was a prick of a thing anyway! Back on the track. Five or so km later. I am leading. Deep sand. Down like a brick and tile glider. Only thing hurt was my confidence. Belted a little bank as I hurtled out of control through the sand. Little bank has a big rock. Split my lovely panniers. Fcuking bastard. Cost me $US100 to have welded in UB. Fcuking burgler. Same day. Up out of a creek bed. No track. Off again. Some days we should all spend in bed!
>
> Made UB. 2.5 million in the country. Nearly 1 million in UB. A big, shitty, dusty city. In these countries the man- holes in the roads are cast iron. Cast iron is worth a lot of money. People in Russia, Kazhkstan and Mongolia steal them. Makes for exciting riding. We don,t ride at night. A days maintamance in UB. We had tyres air freighted from the UK. Fitted them, oil change, panniers welded, washing done. Ready for the road tomorrow. We have been staying at the Oasis Guest House. An apt name. Fantastic food. Cold beer. Very clean, helpful owners. Neva and I were interviewed for TV today. Bloody media groupies. Last night there was 28 motorcycles at teh Oasis, tonight more, plus a couple of pushies and the odd backpacker. Riders going in all directions. Fcuking great.
>
> What more can I say. It definately does not get any better than this.
>
> Chris.
> xx

From Russia, with love. Or the where the fcukarewe tour. No 9.

Russia 1.
Top Speed:137kph
Moving average: 72.3kph
Moving time: 52.54hours

Kazakhstan.
Top speed:128kph
Moving average:78.4kph
Moving time: 42.39hours

Distance from home: 43,817kms.

Norway's roads were a motorcyclists paradise. Beautifully smooth surfaces, magnificent grip in the dry and still plenty in the wet.(Did I mention it sometimes rained there?) Unlike the Greeks, who don't know what a constant radius corner is, the Norwegians have perfected them. The scenery was sensational. Speed limits of 80 and 90kph were rigidly enforced. Still plenty of fun. Finland's roads had a 100kph limit, long straights and nice flowing sweepers. The smooth surfaces were very wide.

We crossed into Russia at a little used border crossing that was not even on the map. Nor was the road to Murmansk! Fcuk me. The Russian roads didn't even have a surface on them! We could not believe it! They seem to be, as in India, in a state on constant work in progress. The lumps of blue metal were the biggest I have ever seen. If I had fallen off it would have hurt. After a while the road improved to become only bloody terrible. We met a Russian Motorcyclist, returning from Finland in his car. It turns out Mikhail Kraplya is a former Ship Master. now CEO of a Murmansk based shipping company and is the head honcho of the Murmansk Riders MC. A top bloke too. He escorted us the two hour ride into Murmansk, a good thing as it turned out as the road we had chosen was not even on the map and the GPS Euro map finished at the border. The road improved immeasurably to become only dammed lousy. Michael found us a hotel, sent us for showers and said to ring him when we were ready and we would go for a meal. Neva suggested we go somewhere close by. No problems.

We rang, Michael said he was 5 minutes away, told us to wait out the front. Ten or twenty bikes turned up. They passed around helmets, Gloria was lucky and got to travel in a sports car, Ron was on a cruiser, Neva on ZZR and I was on Michaels FJR1300. Fcuk me. They all took off like cats shot in the arse!!! We were doing 160kph through the city, lane splitting, the lot. I was scared the front was going to go into orbit when he took off from the lights. Neva's knees were up around her pilots ears. A girl, Lada, rides a Yamaha 600 and mixed it with the best of them. My knees were knocking like an old Russian single cylinder diesel and Neva's olive complexion had turned white. The harder she punched her rider in the back the faster he went. Ron just kept shaking his head and scratching his balls. More bikes turned up, well over 20 all together. After a top feed and a few beers we caught a taxi back. Next day Lada took us for a tour of the city and the surrounds. She drives her car a little like she rides her bike! She and her partner, Igor, are fantastic. We went to their clubhouse to change a tyre for Ron. What a setup. It was a long day. I found a bar and was drinking with my new best mate Kosta until 4am. Neva woke me at 7.30, and we had a long ride ahead. No sympathy either! A bit weird leaving a bar at 4am and it is still daylight.

We spent a couple of days riding down to St Petersburg. At first the roads were incredibly bad, but gradually improved to range from excellent to a little shitty. We were only stopped by the cops once, it would have been easier for him to tell us what we were doing right than go through the long list of things we were doing wrong. A laugh, an apology, a shake of the hands and we were on our way without a fine or a bribe. Even the highway patrol are friendly in Russia. They have a big problem in this part of the world. The roads are built on perma frost and fall apart every summer. The maintenance costs must be horrific. Finland and Norway seem to have their act together in regards to road building, Russia has a long way to go. We left the Artic Circle, not having seen darkness for about two weeks. We shared a meal with another Master, Alex, he introduced us to drinking Vodka, Russian style. Straight out of a shot glass, maybe an apple juice or a little water as a chaser if it is a particularly rough Vodka. We have all adopted this Vodka drinking technique with gusto.

St Petesburg is a marvellous city. The buildings are stunning. It even gets dark for a while at night.They really loved Neva and have named everthing after her. The city is built on the Neva River, there is a Neva Bridge, a Neva Hotel, a Neva Road, a Niva car, even the bloody toilet paper brand is called Neva! A lot of good lines there and I wasn't game to use any. I think Australian women are the most beautiful in the world. Russian girls come a very close second. Russian girls subscribe to the theory of "If you've got it, flaunt it" I like this theory. The girls in Murmansk seem to have invented this theory and definately mastered it. The scenary was amazing!!

Further south from St Petersburg to Novgarod, Charlie had recommended it and what a city, has its own Kremlin, probably better then Moscow's. Next a few days in Moscow, also incredible, Red Square, The Kremlin, Lennin's Tomb, the lot. Teamed up with three Irish Harley riding boys, Dave, Sean and Frank. To many beers, to much food and to many laughs. I did not make it back to our hotel until midday the next day, shared Daves room. Great blokes, even if they rode Harley's!! Unfortunately Gloria's time with us was over, she flew to her and Ron's daughters in Hong Kong for R&R on the way home. Gloria was excellent to travel with. St Petersburg and Moscow are like any other big western city, many shops and a good variety of bike and car shops. There is plenty of money in Russia.

South east from Moscow to Kazakhstan via Samara and we are in the Steppes. Rabi told me the Steppes are in Mongolia. They start in south east russia. We spent about a week riding through Kazakhstan entering at Oral. The Steppes are vast, some parts reminding me on the Nullabor or Hay Plains. Ron recons if they ever get their act together they could flood the world with wheat.In a joint called Aqtobe we met a couple of British bikers, Scott Mitchell and Kim Moss on Yamaha XT600's. In spite of them being on Yamaha's, and being Poms, they are really, really top blokes and good fun. Are on the road for two years, hopefully we will ride together for a while. The Kazakhstani people surprised me by their openness and friendlyness, much like the Pakistani and Iranians. The Russians are a little reserved at first, their initial shyness gives way to them being very warm and open. Kazakhastan, like Russia, suffers from bad press. Both countries are a lot more advanced and with a better standard of living than I had thought. Although far from the city they are a both primitive. We see very few motorcycles, most we do see are Japanese, next to no Russian cycles.We got lost one day, ended up many hundreds of kms out of our way on extremely shitty roads ar tracks. Fantastic days ride though. Neva and Kim up ended their bikes in the mud. My mud riding experience has increased by 400%, still fcuk all though.Qostanay, Arqalyo, Esil and Astana (the newly built capital) Had the most fantastic pizza in Astana. Next day we had 13 shits and 8 showers/baths between us. Pavlodar, then to the border with Russia at Semey. The border formalities took 4 hours to get in to Kaxakhstan and 4.5 hours to get out. No hassles, just go with the flow. Finally, we are into Siberia.

We have adopted a bit of a routine, awake at 6am, on the road by 7.30, a meal around midday, find a river for a swim/bath in the late afternoon, buy a bottle of vodka and look for a campsite about 6 or 7 pm. All wild camping. Just find a field or forest out of view of the road. All beautiful in their own right. If there is some where to buy a meal we do, otherwise we cook up a storm. Fantastic.

Met 4 Aussies on bikes coming the other way, 3 DR650's and a KLR. The Kate MacMuun Gang. They had ridden from Vladivistoc, Neva was rapt to see another Aussie girl on a bike. She wanted her photo taken, I don't think she wanted to leave her. Something wrong with Ron, Scott, Kim and my company? Our first large Russian city this time around was Barnaul, we took a day off to give the bikes a bit of TLC. The hotel was great, did our laundry, ate good food, drank good beer and good vodka. The girls in Barnaul have the same philosphy as those in Murmansk. The locals very friendly and helpful. I liked it there.

We had been told of a Motorcycle Festival near a joint called Gorno Altaisk, about 250km from Barnaul on our route through the Altai Mountains to Mongolia. We would call it a bike rally. About 600 Russian motorcyclists camping in a magnificient forrest, beside a magnificient river. A brilliant band, events we don't see, like motorcycle engine throwing (5.5 mtres!!) Good food and beer. Vodka, bloody vodka. We cannot walk the lenght of the campsite without drinking many, many shots of vodka. Most lovely and smooth, some like cats piss. A lot of Russian made Ural motorcycles, heaps of Jawa and HHH 2 strokes, but mostly Japanese bikes of every description, like any rally at home. Only two other BMW's, both F650's, a GSPD and a Scarver. We are treated like minor celebrities. This is an exceptionaly beautiful area.

Tomorrow we head towards the border, Monday into Mongolia. I have been thinking. It definately does not get any better than this!!!

Take care,
Chris.
xxx

Cameron Donald is "The Man" No.8

Norway average speed: 68.4 kph
Norway max speed: 145 kph
Total distance from Home: That is another bloody story.
Average km/day since Stockers joint: 379.4 km's
No of hangovers: Nil for a long time
Total number of times stopped by the Police: 6 or 7


Great ride to Heysham, great Ferry trip to the Isle of Man, great weather also. As usual, Stockers came through and found us a bungalow at Union Mills. Shared our good Mate Damien's house. Sulby Straight, Balaugh Bridge, The Gooseneck. All the grouse view points. Even watched from the grandstand at the start/ finish line one day. Jeff Lowe had recommended it. All the tourist things, Laxley, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown and Lady Isabella. Watched in amazement as the Peel Lifeboat was launched and retrieved. Beers and St Hilliers Pear Ciders at The Railway Hotel, Sulby Glen Hotel, The Craig and for old times sake, Queens (several times), as well as all the pubs in Castletown. watched the 125 and 250 races at Castletown in the first ever TT races held there. Plenty of action on the Prom. Beers with Graham and Kaci. Coffee with Ashley, Jake and Jane. Bumped into Andy White (Strapz) and his girl. Met Lord Newman Sir Phillip John Newman-Perathoner, he rides a BSA 350 and has done India and Pakistan on it, just about to head to Norway. Good bloke as well. Took the Rooney for 4 or 5 laps of the 73km TT Course. Worked out I would have qualified on the front row for the 1926 Senior TT!! Four of my laps were aborted when the mountain was closed for accidents. Had a cup of tea, at last, with Mary Brett. Cameron Donald was the first Aussie to win a TT in 25 years. Then he won a second TT. Then he took a second place in the big race on Friday, would have won that as well only the bike developed a bad oil leak. Stockers took my photo with him. Balls the size of water melons. Rides for Dave Jefferies old team. Definitely the gun rider of the moment and a top young bloke, a good ambassador for the sport and for our country. And can that bastard ride!! And it was sunny most of the time. I would go to the TT every year if I could. Rum & Race Tour punters, eat your hearts out! A couple of beers at the pub at Heysham. Watched the races on TV. The pub was not the same without the Rum & Race Tour boys.

Ron and Gloria went to Scotland, I went back to Stockers and Jacquie's. Met Stuart Jenkinson, a mate of Stockers. He is in his 70's, leads Motorcycle Tours to Europe on his Vincent Black Knight. Immaculate condition and 748,000 miles on the clock. Stuart purchased it new in 1955 and it has only had 3 engine rebuilds. Original rear wheel bearings and paint. Fcuking amazing!! To Whitby Pub (Captain Cooks port) to watch 'Troy Bayliss' blow them away at a karaoke pub. Bat Out Of Hell again. Brings back memories. A bit unreal, sitting in Captain James Cook's living room, once again, watching videos of Stockers and his mate racing when they were young. Would Jimmy Cook have approved? The place is almost a shrine for Aussies.

Put 2 new Mitas E07's on the Rooney. The old ones had over 19,000 kms on them and still plenty of meat left. Not so popular here and none in the country, so Kevin from the importers, CGS Tyres, brought in 4 from Czechoslovakia for me, and had them delivered to a local dealer. Is that good service or what? The price, about $AUD400 for the 4 tyres. How good is that! Put my riding gear in the laundromat for the first time on the trip.

Stockers and I went to Scotland to the Bob Mac classic race meeting at East fortune. Ron and Gloria turned up as well. Magnificent setting, racing, company and bikes. Something unreal about watching David Hailwood do demonstration laps on a Honda 250/6. Made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. And the exhaust noise. Bloody music. Stockers and I talked at length to him. A bloody good bloke. Caught up with Stockers racing mates, Hartleport Dave & Angie, Doncaster Dave, Wally and Eddie. Good blokes, many beers, much red, to much Vodka and the odd bottle of bundy. One 4 am knock off, next night we were in bed early, about 1.30 am! Lindsay would have loved it again this year, the girl behind the bar asked after him.

Back to Jacquie and Stockers joint. Neva turned up with the worst case of jet lag anyone has ever seen. Took her a week to setle down. Changed the oils in the Rooney. The gearbox was meant to hold 800mls. Only had about 350mls. Fcuk the bike shop in Istanbul. Pulled the box out and took it to my new best Mate, Roger Bennett. (01422 835566 if you want your engine or gearbox rebuilt by the best in the UK) I had met him at the Lydden CRMC meeting. He dropped everything to re-build my gearbox in 3 hours. He is the Man. Does all the BMW Airhead race engines and gearboxes. The gearbox was ratshit. Probably wouldn't have made Magadan. Roger did not know what the problem was. Said the lack of oil would not have helped. Broke Karen's screen (the GPS) repairs would take 3 weeks and cost 130 pounds. Bought a new one $700. She is called Emily. Karen cost me $1,500 and we bought 5 to get them that cheap! Fcuk me. A fantastic meal at Martin and Leslie's and on to the boat from Newcastle to Stavanger in Norway. Cost about the same for a 20 hour trip, with a cabin, as it did for the 3 hour trip, without a reserved seat, from Heysham to Douglas on The Isle of Man. Problem is, the Aussies (Macquarie Bank) own The Isle of Man Steam Packet. And they want to run Sydney Ferries!!!!! What a fcuking joke.

An absolutely brilliant ride down to Evje to see Bec Williams and her boyfriend, Morton. Top chick, top bloke. Stayed two nights at Morton's parents Campground. Lovely people, cooked us a magnificient meal. Took us on a tour on the lake (an inland fiord) on the 'D S Bjoren', a steam ferry, built in 1866. Amazing! Rode for a few days up through Norway to the Artic circle. stayed at Geiranger. This is the Fiord where the cruise ships anchor for the day. Incredible to see three large cruise ships anchored in a little bay only 2 or 3 times the size of Sydney Cove. P & O's 'Arcadia' was there when we were, she is big. In Melbourne it rains a lot. In Saltburn By The Sea it rains a lot. Add the annual rain fall of these two places together, double it, multiply by six and you will get the weekly rainfall for Norway. And fckucking cold. But that is to be expected as you can almost see the North Pole! Rode past the amazing Jostedalsbreen Glacier to Trondheim and into the Artic Circle. Bloody cold. Went up as far as you can go and still stay on land, Nordkapp (North Cape) Santa Clause and the North Pole are the only things further north. Still incredibly amazing. Stayed in little cabins in the campgrounds, all very clean and about the same price as a tent site. But warm and dry! It does not get dark at all in this joint. We have not seen dark for days and days. Is that incredible or what? Saw many reindeer. Blitzen and Rudolph and the rest. Ate reindeer cooked many different ways. Even reindeer jerky. Norway is a place I will come back to. I can see why Troy Malcom, Justin Hovey and Mark Hebden keep coming to Norway.

Finland is a lot flatter. Many beautiful forests and rivers. Stayed at a really sensational campsite. Ate more reindeer in a fantactic log cabin. The roads in Norway were incredible for motorcycling. Even better than those in Tasmania. Finland had great roads and a more realstic speed limit. Crossed into Russia. What fcuking road!! Jesus! But does it get any better? I think not. And it still has not got dark!!

Troy Bayliss, Colin Stockdale. One and the same. No 7.

> Olimbiada. Aristotle was born on the hill above my Hotel. Walked around the pile of rocks that used to be his house. Alexander the Great's mother was born here. Enough culture for the trip. I don't know about Captain Ernie Stroud anymore. Saw a few Greek fishermen. None had hats like Ernie's so called 'Greek Fisherman's Hat'
>
> Long breakfast with my Pommie mates, Allan & Barbara, left Olimbiada to late, it was to be an easy ride to Igoumenitsa, via Thessaloniki and Ioannina. Famous last fcuking words. It pissed down pick handles for 560km of the 580km ride. I did not know it could rain while there was fog. Fog in the bloody tunnels as well. The fog disappeared, then the wind blew its guts out. What a bastard. I thought I had lost me nerve, I could not ride properly, sliding all over the joint. First gear around the hairpins. Would have been a great ride in the dry. I am told Greece's roads are famous for being incredibly slippery in the wet, bikes, cars & trucks all have the same trouble. Beer was $5 for a six pack at the wharf at Igoumenitsa. I bought a couple and handed them out to the motorcyclists as they arrived to wait for the ferry, they all needed them. I had bread, smoked meat of some description and cheese. Ended up a good little party, a Greek, an Italian, three Croats, a German and a few Dutch. They all had big trouble with the wet roads. Met the leftovers from an international Africa Twin/Veradero/Transalp rally. Had been 200 bikes in Greece for it.
>
> The number and size of the ferry fleet is incredible. Mine, 'Olympia Palace' was 214 m LOA and good for 31.6 knots I timed it at 53 kph with the GPS. 1912 pax and bloody hundreds of trucks and cars. It was in good nick (built in 2001) a very professional operation. Travelled with my new best Mate, Cosmos (Honda CBR600) Rode most of the way up to Monza with him. Bloody good bloke! On the boat from Greece to Ancona in Italy.
>
> Greece was fantastic. I had also forgotten how good Italy was. Got off the motorway, even paid the toll, first since Cambodia, and got hopelessly lost, just headed NW by the compass, many, many, many lovely little villages. They ride a lot of pushbikes in Italy. I think riding pushbikes is good for the girls backsides.
>
> Monza. Unbelievable!!!! World Superbikes. Unbelievable!!!!The prettiest campsite ever, (apart from Gloryvale) right on the track. 13 Aussies racing and I met or saw them all. My new, new best Mate, Paul Seaton, got me into the paddock all weekend. Talked at length to Chris Seaton, Brendan Roberts, Russel Holland and Gareth Jones. All great young blokes and fantastic riders. Saw Franki Chilli, Dr Costa, Davide Tardotzi and anyone else who was anyone. The best race meeting I have ever been to. Me, in the fcuking paddock/garages at Monza. All weekend. How good is that?
>
> A quick blast from Monza up to Bardonecchia to Steve and Julia's ski 'lodge'. Rained all the way. Bloody cold and it snowed at night. What a joint, what an area. Steve must have known I was on my way. He was in Australia. Julia treated me like a king. Rode through the Italian Alps, fantastic roads and scenery. Aosta, how good is that joint! Through the 11km long Mont Blanc tunnel into France. Exited the tunnel. Four men in uniform on the road, one with a large paper in his hand. French immigration? Not fcuking likely. Police. Speeding again, 86/70 in the tunnel. 'My speedo is a GPS and doesn't work in the tunnel Officer' Bad luck . Pay $200 cash, now, or you can spend the night with us. Had the Rooney's photo and the camera reading already printed. Couldn't eat this one. Welcome to France and have a nice day. Get fcuked.
>
> Spent a few days riding (slowly) through France. Radar camera's every where. Top roads and country side. Camping, wine, cheese. salami, ham, beer all cheap and quality. Natives friendly. Through Switzerland briefly, French Alps, Swiss Alps. No borders anymore, one currency, how simple.
>
> Caught a Tassi Cat from Boulogne to Dover. She was the 'Speed One', Ex 'HMAS Jarvis Bay', 85 metres, 200 cars and 800 passengers. On the bridge most of the way across. Much traffic, 2 nm vis and 30 plus knots. Talked wages and conditions. We are not over paid. To Lydden Park race circuit to watch Stockers and 250 of his closest mates race their classic race bikes. Met Stockers at the gate. His van full with his race bike, beer, red wine and Jacquie must have spent all week cooking. He had 'Advance Australia Fair' at full blast on the CD. Sang the Anthem as we drove down to the track. What a couple of wankers. These guys, and girls do not show any respect, mercy or consideration for the age and value of their machines. One race had in excess of $200,00 in the value of the 4 bikes on the front row of the grid. The Rooney was awarded a bottle of champange for best bike of the meeting and me a trophy for solo rider of the meeting. A TV interview and I made the 6pm news. Signed my first autograph. Felt like a bit of a fraud actually. What have Stockers and Troy Bayliss got in common? Both did well in their first race and had a DNF in their last race. The best race meeting I have ever been to!!
>
> Up to Warwick to Toc and Sue's for a couple of days. As usual, Sue tried to kill me with kindness. Good to see Debbie and Louise as well. Toc took me to the Coventry Transport Museum. The Poms do fantastic museums. Saw Charlie Borman's R1150GS Adventure. I don't feel so bad about by bike and riding gear being putrid after seeing Charlie's.He probably had a team to wash the bike and do his laundry as well. Down to London by bus a couple of times to get Russian, Kazakhastan and Mongolian visa's. All done in three days. Caught up with Ron and Gloria, played tourist and did visa's together. Drank beer and crashed for the night on their Hotel room floor.
>
> How long can this sunny weather last? Rode up the Brotton (near Whitby) to Stockers and Jacquies place. Broke a throttle cable on the way. The Rooneys first breakdown. I had replaced the cable in Bankok as a precaution, they don't make them in Thailand like at home. As I jury rigged a length of string to the left hand carbie a lot of cars slowed down to watch the action. They don't seem keen on leaving a safe distance from the car in front. You guessed it, an almighty arse ender. three cars stuffed. Cars locking up and sliding everywhere. On the Rooney and outer there! Stockers has all the gear and we will make up three new ones and go for a ride tomorrow. Went to a party with Kat and met her new guy, Dave. Must be a good bloke as he rides a bike. Down to Felixtowe to pick up Ron and Gloria's bike. A little bit of TLC lavished on the Rooney and we are ready to to to the Isle of Man for the TT tomorrow. Stockers is coming too. Do things get any better?
>
> Try this : www.brainsweb.co.uk/uploads/the-wrong-bike.wmv Thanks Ian. Bails will have my photos sorted out on photo bucket in a couple of days. Check them out. http://www.photobucket.com/ and cowper_photos I think you click on Cowper RTW trip.
>
> Take care,
> Chris.