Saturday 20 August 2016

Meeting the Kartvelebi, day 8, 0 km, Batumi in Georgia

Maintenance was fine, I' ve added 0.2 liters of oil, front Brake pads are still ok (they have been used already for more than 15k km), voltage regulator is still in great shape, drive chain has been cleaned, oiled and tensioned. All 4 spark plugs are still working, I've removed the homemade filter skin and "cleaned" the air filter with the exhaust by revving the engine (Boano's tip).
 Yesterday Evening I've also cleaned my clothes in the shower.
 I took a tour in Batumi. The part of the city far away from the sea is very poor and is like a slum with the houses similar to the ones of russian villages. Streets are also unpaved or with concrete blocks (not aligned to each other and with big holes in between). People are smiling a lot when they look at the giant passing by. Georgia seems to be very 'merica friendly: you can take usd at the a atm, copper really looks like the U.S. ones and soldiers wear the same pattern as the Freedom deliverers ( or very similar). 

Someone is getting married!

People are a mix between Turkish, Euro-Russian and north Asian (like east Russia and Mongolia). Women are very beatiful, moreover they smile, which is 73.56% of the beauty of a woman. The sea part of the city is modern and has a lot of very open space, the beach has no sand but just small stones. Despite the recent war with Russia, most of the tourist are russian and almost everything is written also in cyrillic. European toutists hit Batumi just for going up hiking in the mountains of the Caucasus. I took the cable car from the sea to a mountain behind the city for 10 GEL (around 4.5 Chf). Very nice view that clearly shows that Batumi has been used a lot as port before: the port is quite big and the railway just comes straight into it. 

A very niche view in Batumi!

Another new thing of the city are casinos, there are a lot of them, new and very high buildings, one of them is just nearby the port (nosense) and a night in them can cost up to 400€ or more. At some point a plastic chair broke and everyone were scared because it sounded like a gunshot. So this is Batumi, a city where a lot of people of the Caucasus' region spend their Summer holidays.
Tomorrow I will head to Mestia passnig by Bakhmaro first. I should reach it in one day. From now on I'm on my own, the TCS ETI doesn't cover Georgia aswell as my liability insurance, so let's take it easy here. 

I don't care: VOLLGAS!

Friday 19 August 2016

Elbette! & Meeting the Kartvelebi, day 7, 255 km, Batumi in Georgia

When I woke up I immediately wanted to look outside, because yesterday Evening I wasn't able to see Artvin:
Yes, it is a city built on the side of a mountain. The motorbike was also there, on the side of the road, exactly where I had parked it. 

Artvin.

I started by heading to Meydancık, I asked a farmer where I could tank and he told me the only solution was going to Şavşat because there are no stations on the Meydancık yolu. After 13 km I was in Şavşat I could tank. This part of Turkey looks less like the Turkey I was before, looks more kurdish (a lot of people were wearing the kurdish cap) and, in the center of the small city, there were "battle ready" soldiers guarding a building. 

Meydancik Yolu.

Back on the road to Meydancık, I followed it till it changed from pavement to stones and then to unpaved. Very nice place, it looks like Switzerland. During the climb, at some point, I saw a building on the top of a hill, it really looked like the fort of the documentary Restrepo, I took a photo and I realized that now there was a man on the watchtower and he was pointing at me the huge machinegun. A soldier came out the sand blocks wall and whistled/shouted making the sign to go away and so I did. 

The Turkish fort.

Near the summit there was a farmer village, and the road was brand new, it was visible that an excavator made it not long time ago. The top was around 2300 m above sea level. On the other side there were no houses and the border with Georgia was very close. Also here the road was new because there were a lot of slips and the terrain was very muddy. They were cutting wood up there, maybe for an elctric line.

I don't know where excactly, but few meters from the border with Georgia.

After 20 km, a lot of mud, a very isolated village and a school, I was on pavment again heading to Borçka and then Sarp, for entering Georgia. I entered it without problems on a bike full of mud and with a unreadable number plate. Roads in Georgia are smaller than Turkey, so there was a lot more traffic. I've cleaned the bike so tomorrow I can do the maintenance and I took a small tour of Batumi. From the customs on, it was clear that georgian hospitality is really different from everything I have ever seen: very nice!

Thursday 18 August 2016

Elbette!, day 6, 884 km, Artvin in Turkey

Another amazing day in this amazing country! 

I left Samsun at 0715 local time, streets were almost empty and motorbike and luggages haven't been touched by anybody, something I really like in this culture. I've followed the road direction Trabzon, a lot of big cities are based on the shores of the Black Sea.


Ordu has a very nice cable car above the city.

 In Tirebolu I changed to the D877, a road along a lot of dams. Then I took the Zigana pass road, I've stopped on the top and I drank a turkish coffe. 

Outside the tunnel on the top of Zigana pass.

People are always staring at me and they are surprised of where I come from. I've reached the Altindere Parki in order to see the Sümela Monastery, luckily it wasn't foggy and I could see it! 

Sümela Monastery, it is closed to public right now.

On the Black Sea again, I've reached the city of Of, where I went south to ride on the Babyourt of Yolu D915. After the turn it started to rain slightly, so I put my rainsuit on, after 5 mins it turns out to be a storm, hard rain started falling. It lasted just 15 minutes, so after I while I stopped to remove the rainsuit. When I was in a beatiful point of the D915 I wanted to take a picture...just then I realized I had forgot my waistbag (all my documents are in this bag!) when I removed the rain suit. I've ridden 20 km back and I found it where I removed the rainsuit, I'm so lucky, without it my trip was over!

 Back on the D915, just before reaching the climax of the road, I've met a real Rider, Gökhan , we talked for a while and he suggested me some place that I must visit on my trip.


 Sadly the road was covered by fog, so during the climb there weren't nice views, but maybe it has been better like that, because it was very steep! 

A foggy climb

Nice welcoming on the summit of the D915!

On the other side of the mountain there was an hard wind that was trying to push the fog there. The unpaved road on this side was easy and very nice and the view was on a plateau gold colored. Very nice! 

A very nice view on the south side of the pass.

This picture is the same as the one before, but improved!

Somwhere on the D050.

I followed the direction for Ismir. The road to Ismir was along a river and it was very nice riding it. In Ismir it was very late, I looked on the Gps and Artvin was just 100 km away, so I decided to reach it. Moreover I remebered from google maps, that the last part of this road was full of tunnels, so if it would have been dark, it was enlighten anyway. 
Here we go, the map on my gps was old, instead of being almost straight, the first part of the road was along a new reservoir, so full of curves. I didn't care, but after 20 km it was almost dark and I saw a road sign: Artvin 130 km. 

Huston we have a problem! 

I decided to go on. The road on the lake was very nice, so these kilometers wouldn't have been a problem. But, here it comes a big problem, the road changed completely, it went from very nice to very bad, as a single lane covered with sand and stones, so the speed was very low. The darkness wasn't helping...but at least there was the full moon. Arrived in Yusufeli I stopped to tank. After so many kilometers it was already 2100, I was tired, it was dark, I was full of dust.  The guy there saw I was very tired and offered me a çay, I accepted it. We started talking and I stayed there for half a hour. He told me that the road to Artvin from here on was full of tunnel (48 and 70 km, as he told me) and in very good conditions. 
At 22.10 I Was in Artvin. 
At the entrance of the city (the city is on the side of a very steep mountain and there is just one main road passing through it) there was a war ready police check point: two armored car with ready hot machine guns where overwatching it. No control for me, as always. 
Very long and full day. The next 2 days will be more easy and relaxing.

Wednesday 17 August 2016

Elbette!, day 5, 792 km, Samsun in Turkey

Who dares, wins! And I always win.
I thought reaching Samsun in one day would have been close to impossible, but here I am after almost 800 km on normal roads. Riding a motorbike sets me free, completely. No breakfast, no lunch, no toilet stops. Nothing, just putting fuel on and drink a can of fresh lemon çay (I'm getting addicted to it!!). 
At 7 o'clock local time I was already riding, small and bumpy road, some unpaved parts but it was visible that next year this small road would have been dismantled for making space a bigger one. 

I saw this side road on the D020, I rode it to the top of the hill, just because I wanted to feel some BRAAAP!

The new D020?

Amazing how much and how fast they are building roads. On my way there were small and big cities, a brand new and big university in Karabük, a loudy Turkish style Kastamonu, a market in a very small village with me passing through the people, all stearing at me. No one talks English now. The road on the Kizilirmak Nehri was perfect for the xrv 650, changing between 4th and fifth gear, keeping the velocity high, putting kilometers behind me.

Karabük

Kizilirmak Nehri

 Arrived in Samsun I was able to talk a walk to the Black sea: the city is very similar to Istanbul, with street divided per type of stores. Maybe all turkish cities are like that, but I have just seen these two big cities in Turkey till now. 
Turkish flags are everywhere, on houses, on bikes, cars, top of mountains, etc. Before reaching Samsun there was a Petrol station with an huge flag, it was really impressive. 
Ps: the motorbike is parked on a sidewalk in the city center with the full side luggages on it... Let's see what will I find tomorrow.

FYI: Porn websites are blocked in Turkey

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Marathon, day 4, 317 km, Şile in Turkey

Today I took it easy. The man serving the breakfast was more social and we had a small talk about general stuff and at the end I asked him for a Kürpa (I said Kurpa so he wasn't understanding, I showed the word to him and he got what I was looking for, a rag!), so I was able to clean the chain (I had the teflon based chain spray on it, amazing product but very sticky, so not good for offroad use), I've checked the front wheel bearings and the spokes. Everything was perfect and so I could start riding. 

I took the motorway till the border with Turkey, it was almost empty. 
Arrived at the border, I was very happy to see that there were just 8 cars in front of me! On the other direction, there was an huge traffic jam, full of european cars going back home...or leaving home, that's a philosophycal question!
Passaport check, vehicle check, luggage check (the officer just touched my luggages without opening them). After that another vehicle documents check I was in Turkey! I

Just after the border crossing near Edirne.

I've passed straight through Edirne and finally I was able to see something different from a post comunism city: roads crowded of noisy and funny people: amazing. At stop lights some people asked me questions in Turkish, I started laghing because I wasn't understanding a word and they always replied by laghing together with me. It is impressive how much they are building in this area, there are big and new roads everywhere and they are building even more!

Somewhere on the D020 before the Bosphorus.

At a gas station an old men looked at my number plate and he was wondering where I came from. Inside he told his son to ask me, because he was able to speak a little bit of German and English and he ended up explaining his father that Switzerland has 3 different languages, etc. That man was so confused about that.
I've reached the north bridge on the Bosphorus at 17 o'clock, perfect time for the big traffic jam of people that have finished working! 

I adapted fast to the rules:
1) 2 weeled vehicles are able to use the emergency lane.
2) if you use the horn, the cars will move out of your way and you have the priority!

Easy peasy, the police came behind me on the emergency lane with full sirens on, I thought it was time to pay a fine but actually they just wanted to overtake me so I started following them and at some point there where 2 officer on the emergency lane so I thought that was the real time for paying the fine but they made a sign to me to go on and they stopped the car behind me. After skipping 15 km of traffic jam I was almost arrived in Şile, a beautiful city on the Black Sea, where the people of Istanbul go on holidays!


Monday 15 August 2016

Marathon, day 3, 771 km, Haskovo in Bulgaria

Today was a marathon day plus a special stage. I left Vidin around 0730 local time following the road to Sofia, which was extremely nice...at the beginning. The road alternates nice and bad as black and white alternate on a Zebra. For bad I mean constant vibrations and holes with the size of a fat American child and a a depth around half of a Mandingo's boner. The best part was a missing manhole. When I reached Sofia I decided to try the special stage, so I've ridden on the motorway to Pazardzik and south to Devin. Near Devin there was the reservoir Vacha, which has floating structures/home.


Reservoir Vacha, amazing and stunning place.
It was lovely because the road to Devin was very bad and the road to Kozhari was perfect (not new!). The Yagodinska cave was full of people, waiting in line for entering it.
Then the special stage began: a very nice unpaved road, after 15 km the road was not a road anymore and it was a very steep muletrack. At some point I've reached the top of something, the muletrack was continuing on the right, going up. The gps was saying to go straight forward and down, following an invisible road. I trusted it, and it was right. I've reached Trigrad and the Devil's Throat cave, where I turned right, direction Smoljan. A very nice (Not for cars) unpaved road in a canyon. It was an amazing ride.





Before reaching Smoljan, I've passed by a mountain region full of abandoned hotels, unfinished hotels and some that maybe were open. Very sad, but beautiful places anyway. Second night in Bulgaria, the people are friendly but it seems like they don't like talking in English... Or maybe they don't like taking to me...but this is impossible since I'm a funny comedian.
Tomorrow bike service and Turkish customs, let's hope it will not be a pain in the ass!

Sunday 14 August 2016

Marathon, day 2, 1579 km, Vidin in Bulgaria

The Marathon is the Marathon. With more than 750 km per day on normal roads, it is the fastest part of the trip and the toughest one for my ass. On the first day I started at 5 o'clock instead of 7 o'clock because I wasn't able to sleep. At 7 o'clock I was on the top of Aprica, despite the Summer, the temperature was 7 degrees celsius. After passing Ponte di Legno, I've hit Bolzano I rode up to the Pustertal. On the Italian side there was a traffic jam, a lot of people started swearing because I wasn't waiting on the "queue".
Austrian roads were amazing and the speed limit at 100 km/h is very welcome. After climbing the Wurzenpass I was in Slovenia riding near Bled amazing country, in the EU and so are the prices. The first night I've slept near Ptuj.

Top of the Wurzenpass.

Today was a tough day but the weather was amazing, the temperatures were around 27 degrees celsius. I've entered Croatia near Ptuj and I've ridden down to Osjiek on the road near an invisible Donau (because the Land was completely flat) and the Hungarian border. Croatia is a double face country, modern on the sea, old Balkan style inland. Roads are nice but Ive ridden in a very full of farms region, so there were houses along the roads I've followed, as consequence speed limits were very low, this point and the flat land made Croatia a pain in the ass this time (It won't be like this on the way back). I've seen the Donau for the first time in my life when I crossed a bridge for the Serbian customs.

 The Donau divides Croatia and Serbia.

I've passed Novi Sad and near Beograd. Everything was flat and full of fields. Near some cities it was full of garbage and in some villages, also in the center of the town. After more than 500 km of flatlands, I've reached Golubac, a very beautiful city on the Donau, near Romania. It looked like it is a Sommer destination for young people.


The Donau near Golubac, on the other side of the river there is Rumania.

The road after Golubac was on the Donau and it was very nice and the views amazing. I've entered Bulgaria Vidin, were I am right now writing this report. Bulgaria seems funny so far and roads were perfect, but from what I've seen on the Street View, I know it will change.

 The view from the hotel in Vidin. The hotel was amazing: Soviet style.
But the room was like a flat: it had a living room with 2 couches and a kitchen, 
a bedroom and a huge bathroom.