There and Back Again

Saturday 11th October 2014

In the morning I walk back to the depot. I decide that enough is enough with this tyre, so they locate and collect a new tyre, fit it, and by 11am I am back on the road again. Axa pick up the tab for everything except the cost of the new tyre (a Michelin Pilot 4 for €130). Good service.

I ride rapidly on the highways as far as Charleroi and treat myself to a last night of comfort in the airport Best Western.

Sun 12 October 2014

After the excellent breakfast you always get in a Best Western I ride the final few hundred kilometres and go through the Tunnel sous la Manche at 11am.

I call in to see Jake and Val in London for lunch and am finally back home in Yorkshire at 5:30pm, 31 days and 11 hours from the start of this tour.

It seems I took no photos on these last two days. I guess I just wanted to get home as quickly as possible! So after my final reflections I'll include some of my favourite shots from the tour.

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Trip statistics:

Total distance ridden - 8,505 miles
Total time moving - 158 hours
Average speed - 54 mph
Highest speed - 123 mph
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And final reflections:

I've been home for a week now and have had time to think about some of the amazing sights and some of the lessons I have learned from this fantastic tour.

For starters punctured tyres will be replaced at the first opportunity on future trips. It's just not worth the hassle. And a compressor will accompany me on all future bike tours.

I also now know that I prefer riding alone, or maybe just leading one mate who doesn't mind following me (I'm talking about you Mick). I'm just not happy as tail-end Charlie!

I learnt a long time ago that when you see somewhere that looks interesting you must stop and investigate it. It is unlikely that the chance will arise again and you will always regret not going to have a look-see.
And while riding the vast high plains and rolling hills of Turkey was pretty epic I really prefer the winding and looping challenge of Alpine roads. Not to mention nights where you don't get bitten to death in crummy accommodation. Getting a bit too old for that.

As so often happens the most stunning memories come from unexpected places and events. The best place I visited was the astonishing Mount Nemrut with its extraordinary thrones and toppled heads. This place was suggested to me by my cousin Liam, another serial traveller like myself. But I had no idea what to expect when we set off up the narrow block-paved road early one morning and rode up to the summit.

The balloon flight at dawn in Cappadocia was pretty memorable, though having been to the region before I knew what to expect.

The monasteries of Meteora came as a complete surprise. I'd never heard of the place before and had no idea what to expect when we decided to visit there. Like Nemrut, how and why those places were built is still a bit of a mystery.

And finally, having avoided most of France over the years, probably due to good old Anglo-Saxon prejudices, I now just love the stark beauty and empty roads of the Maritime Alps and will definitely be visiting there again. The same goes for Greece.

I've spent a lot of time in Turkey and I love the food, the friendliness, courtesy and respect shown to the foreign traveller, and the free tea offered at every filling station!

But it is not a great country for motorcycling. Driving standards belie the courtesy standards you receive in every other situation in Turkey. Turks become very different animals when they get behind the wheel. At times it is challenging, at other times it is downright scary driving in Turkey. Public transport options are so good I reckon trains, planes, coaches and boats are the way to get around this great country.