Turkey and Back Again

The Journey Out

The Journey Home

1^st June - 23^rd June 2006.
UK, France, Germany, Austria, Hungry, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, UK
a total of 5,786 miles using 124.75 Gallons of fuel averaging 46.38 MPG
or if you work in metric 561.39 litres of fuel averaging 10.31 LPG

In 2005 a message was posted on the FJR Forum by "Murf" asking if anyone was up for a trip to Turkey and back in 2006.
Of course me and Wendy were up for it and once we had spoken to Murf & Aileen it was clear it had been an ambition of theirs
for some time to ride to southern Turkey but the journey was too perilous to attempt alone so the planning started. Other people
committed to join the ride and at one time the party was to comprise 7 bikes and 10 persons with an 11th joining us in Turkey.
But people soon dropped out leaving a more manageable group of 4 bikes and 7 people.

Day 13 Tue - leave villa to Selcuk 175 miles

Of course it rained didn't it but it soon dried up.

Baggy Wendy and I took a detour back to Marmaris to pick up our Passports - Cheers Irgren (Oskar)

We rode back up the hill which as you can see the road surface has become more ride-able to meet up with
Murf, Aileen Mary and Jum who had gone on ahead.

Today we were riding at a sedate pace up to now averaging 40mph which was a little frustrating...

We found a nice relaxing place on the lake for lunch... close to Bafa Gölu

We cracked on again maintaining the lazy pace Murf had adopted.

At one point we were down to 20mph and unbelievably we were overtaken by an overloaded quarry truck
and to add insult to injury we were travelling up hill at the time lol I ate dust for a while.
(this was beginning to stress me after 5 days of not ridding I was rearing to go)

We continued for the rest of the day at this pace.

I was glad to get to the hotel after the slowest and most frustrating days riding of the trip for me.

But the Hotel and the town more than made up for it...

Day 14 Wed - Leave Selcuk for Chanakalade 260 miles

Jim in a timewarp.

A view of the press doing their business

5***** hotel Manager who looked after us in style (Shame he rode a BMW) but a great host.

TV interviews on the balcony...

No trip would not be the same without a photo of Wendy eating a profiterole

Day 15 Thu - Chanakalade to Pefkochori(Halkidiki) Greece 320 miles

A tough days riding today it didn't look so far on the map and the route was complex - not everyone trusts SatNav...
A little animosity crept in at the end of this day as I disagreed to a schedule change which would have resulted in a two night stop here.

Sometimes there is a bit of a squeeze at borders lol...

Excuse me are we on the right road to... How do you pronounce this word...

The hotel we didn't stay at

The view from our balcony of the hotel we did stay at.

Day 16 Fri - into Greek mountains stop somewhere near Kozani about 150 miles

We had a late start midday or thereabouts with a plan to take a sedate ride into the Greek Mountains about 150 miles nothing strenuous...
Amazing what can occur when you least expect it - Today was probably the most challenging ride of the trip
which bonded us together as a group through this shared experience never to be forgotten. I enjoyed this days ride.

So we climbed into the mountains the roads deteriorated but we enjoyed the freedom, freshness and the ride.
The challenge stared us head on and taunted us... We defiantly rode on throwing caution to the wind.

20km later we crossed to terra firma.

We continued to enjoy the twisties until we came across our next obstacle
Isn't it funny how someone is always there to suggest a shortcut or easy way round... Today was no different...

We were still a little unsure which way to go and the signs weren't much help.

Day 17 Sat - To Igoumenitsa about 150 miles

After the gruelling ride yesterday we we were quick to crash out and rose at a reasonable time to do a little sight seeing and get a breakfast
We awoke to the hustle and bustle of a thriving town...

The view outside our window - an ancient amphitheatre.

It was another incredibly hot day

After our first stop Murf and Aileen set off about 15 to 20 mins before us as
they were feeling the effects of the ride yesterday and wanted a more sedate ride down to the ferry port.

The roads were quick and easy to ride but all too quickly it seemed we were there...

We had to buy Tickets for the ferry in the morning and of course clear customs which we did that evening.

The view from our balcony

Day 18 Sun - ferry to Brindisi Italy Scampitella 165 miles.

We had the boat to ourselves mostly and Mary put on a cabaret.

Once we arrived in Italy we noticed that the temp was much hotter
Mostly reflected from the road surface the roads were dark
our root took us up a duel carriageway most of the way.

The village we stayed in was mostly closed due to an alcohol awareness festival
no food but plenty of beer.

Day 19 Mon - To Lucca 395 miles wonderful old walled city

Mostly dual carriageway to the walled city of Lucca... This was probably the hottest day with a few water stops

An almost disaster avoided we wait here for Jim and Mary as they returned for a forgotten bum-bag
Containing all the important documents and money... luckily it was still there.