Arguments with Gravity is the title of my favourite book of poetry by one of my favourite authors Michael Crummey, and the perfect title for this blog post with the link to my newest Chasing Summer article, My Best Accidents. Mongolia, a great place to crash!
The mud that caused the accident in the first place:
Rocks to avoid:
The Germans putting Betty back together:
Betty back on the "road":
I think she looks like something from Wall-E
Patrick putting the finishing touches on her the next day:
As I write this I am sitting in a rooftop ger in Ulan Bator. We were trying to keep the blog somewhat chronological, but between having bad or no internet connections we have not been so successful. (And that is ok, no one wants their trip to be dictated by a blog!)
My original plan was to ignore my physical reality and just write up a bunch of auto-posts so people can have some idea, albeit a delayed version thereof, our exploits. But I am abandoning the idea. I will still back track a little in the future, but for now we have a little real time news.
(This is mostly in order to stop people from scratching their heads and going, huh, whaaa, they did what, she is where??? but I thought...)Our original plan was to ride our motorcycles (Betty and Wilma, two BMW F 650 GSs) across Russia, to Vladivostok, and from there we would either ship to South America, or we would go to Korea and then ship to South America. From there we would ride up to Newfoundland where we would drink a beer with family and friends, and I could squish my nieces and nephews.
Plans change. (The how's and why's of sacrificing to the motorcycle gods, I am saving for my Chasing Summer article. But as that may not be out for a month or more, a short summary of what is presently running through our heads I will provide here!)
As the quotes to ship our bikes began to roll in our hearts sunk deeper and deeper into despair. From Vladivostok we would need to rent an entire container. To the tune of thousands per motorcycle. Even if we could fill the container with other bikes, the price was still thousands per motorcycle. We were ok with the low 2000 range when it was 700 to get to Korea, then another 1200 to get to Chile, because we planned to ride for 3 weeks in Korea before shipping.
So what are we to do?
IF China allowed bikes in we could ride in China. But at 300 dollars a day for a guide (but that can be split between as many group members as you wish. But even if we had 10 other bikers with us it would be too much!) not only is the price insane, it also takes away from all the freedom of riding your bike in the first place.We then looked at buying a bike in China. We thought that perhaps the problem was just foreign vehicles, as foreigners do ride bikes there, why not us?
Well, it would appear everyone rides in various degrees of legality, few with any real legal status, and most rely on the kindness (or the indifference) of the local police. We are still looking into it, but the fact that others say you can do it, does not mean we will do it. Neither of us have any real interest in seeing the insides of a Chinese prison, even as a “scare tactic” that would not last longer than a few days. (I'll own it, I shit my pants just thinking about it.)So what are we to do?Chasing summer is still on the table. Instead of South America we are looking into New Zealand, as we can buy a bike there for what we would have paid to ship ours.That means selling Betty and Wilma.
We are also meeting my parents in Thailand in November. That got us thinking. And looking into online forums. Perhaps instead of South America we could ride South East Asia. Six – seven months in paradise on earth, surely there could be worse fates for us?
This would mean selling Betty and Wilma, and instead of buying 650 ccs, we would go for 125 ccs, maybe even go for a Scooter, we did a scooter in Cuba and it was awesome!There would be no thinking if it was not for China! Then we would simply ride our bikes through China, into Laos, cruise Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and ship out from there!
But the Chinese Wall shuts out the whole of Asia to our bikes.The plan is still to ride home however, only now we stay on the other side of the world while we wait for Spring to hit the United States, where we plan on buying new bikes and riding onwards to Newfoundland. We are not willing to become backpackers, just an exchange of wheels!
Where we still plan to drink beer however, and squish nieces and nephews, as well as chew on Ms Q's baby! As Shaq, the best dog ever, would have told you, it is not so easy to escape my love! If we can not go through the wall, we will just go around it!
As I write this I am sitting in a rooftop ger in Ulan Bator. We were trying to keep the blog somewhat chronological, but between having bad or no internet connections we have not been so successful. (And that is ok, no one wants their trip to be dictated by a blog!)
My original plan was to ignore my physical reality and just write up a bunch of auto-posts so people can have some idea, albeit a delayed version thereof, our exploits. But I am abandoning the idea. I will still back track a little in the future, but for now we have a little real time news.
(This is mostly in order to stop people from scratching their heads and going, huh, whaaa, they did what, she is where??? but I thought...)Our original plan was to ride our motorcycles (Betty and Wilma, two BMW F 650 GSs) across Russia, to Vladivostok, and from there we would either ship to South America, or we would go to Korea and then ship to South America. From there we would ride up to Newfoundland where we would drink a beer with family and friends, and I could squish my nieces and nephews.
Plans change. (The how's and why's of sacrificing to the motorcycle gods, I am saving for my Chasing Summer article. But as that may not be out for a month or more, a short summary of what is presently running through our heads I will provide here!)
As the quotes to ship our bikes began to roll in our hearts sunk deeper and deeper into despair. From Vladivostok we would need to rent an entire container. To the tune of thousands per motorcycle. Even if we could fill the container with other bikes, the price was still thousands per motorcycle. We were ok with the low 2000 range when it was 700 to get to Korea, then another 1200 to get to Chile, because we planned to ride for 3 weeks in Korea before shipping.
So what are we to do?
IF China allowed bikes in we could ride in China. But at 300 dollars a day for a guide (but that can be split between as many group members as you wish. But even if we had 10 other bikers with us it would be too much!) not only is the price insane, it also takes away from all the freedom of riding your bike in the first place.We then looked at buying a bike in China. We thought that perhaps the problem was just foreign vehicles, as foreigners do ride bikes there, why not us?
Well, it would appear everyone rides in various degrees of legality, few with any real legal status, and most rely on the kindness (or the indifference) of the local police. We are still looking into it, but the fact that others say you can do it, does not mean we will do it. Neither of us have any real interest in seeing the insides of a Chinese prison, even as a “scare tactic” that would not last longer than a few days. (I'll own it, I shit my pants just thinking about it.)So what are we to do?Chasing summer is still on the table. Instead of South America we are looking into New Zealand, as we can buy a bike there for what we would have paid to ship ours.That means selling Betty and Wilma.
We are also meeting my parents in Thailand in November. That got us thinking. And looking into online forums. Perhaps instead of South America we could ride South East Asia. Six – seven months in paradise on earth, surely there could be worse fates for us?
This would mean selling Betty and Wilma, and instead of buying 650 ccs, we would go for 125 ccs, maybe even go for a Scooter, we did a scooter in Cuba and it was awesome!There would be no thinking if it was not for China! Then we would simply ride our bikes through China, into Laos, cruise Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and ship out from there!
But the Chinese Wall shuts out the whole of Asia to our bikes.The plan is still to ride home however, only now we stay on the other side of the world while we wait for Spring to hit the United States, where we plan on buying new bikes and riding onwards to Newfoundland. We are not willing to become backpackers, just an exchange of wheels!
Where we still plan to drink beer however, and squish nieces and nephews, as well as chew on Ms Q's baby! As Shaq, the best dog ever, would have told you, it is not so easy to escape my love! If we can not go through the wall, we will just go around it!
We have been in Mongolia for almost 2 weeks exactly and the only thing I can say is that it is wonderful. The landscape is amazing and the roads an off roaders dream. (But it can quickly become a nightmare if it rains too much, we luckily have avoided the rain for the most part. One rainy day meant one wrecked bike. But easily repaired thanks to multi-purpose ties! But that story is coming later).
The only real problem with Mongolia has been the food. ARGH the food. I will cut this part of an email I sent to my childhood best friend Tracey:
So now my birthday is being spent at a British owned cafe that we spent 2 days riding towards because Lonely Planet said they had real food. (I am not joking, the past 2 weeks my diet has consisted of apples when we find them, pasta, and mutton pancakes, which is basically crepes with sheep or goat inside. Which one is a surprise!). Even I am starting to turn my nose up at cookies and chocolate, because that is the only thing we can buy besides pasta and the occasional apple in these shops. I think Mongolians are completely self sufficient so the only things they need to buy are sugar based junk food.
So for me, this is an ideal birthday in Mongolia. Having our bikes here means we can see the best part of Mongolia at will. But a proper breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes, toast, fried tomato and bacon with REAL coffee (not the 3 in 1 kind we have been drinking since the Ukraine) means I am in birthday breakfast heaven. (We have not had that kind of breakfast since Germany). And that they have wi fi means I can start uploading all my pictures to Flickr so they are backed up safely. And I can write everyone those long neglected emails! And I can update Unleash, and I can have coffee the whole day, and I can eat a meal of Burgers and french fries for supper! (I have no qualms about eating happy animals, it is industrial meat production that I have a problem with, and all the animals in Mongolia seem pretty happy. Apart that is from the last 5 minutes when they are whacked onto the back of a motorcycle, sped to a location away from the others, and they are cut open and a man reaches inside and flips their heart upside down. But since the whole thing lasts all of 5 minutes and the death part the goats and sheep do not even get a chance to let out a full bleaaaaa before they are dead, I count it as a good death after a great life of frolicking on the open steppes).
And I can pass on that the next article in my Chasing Summer series is also out, on our time in Romania. The naked comment is not entirely without basis, check out the discussion in Toytown!
Now I go to try to update the blog to now, lets see how far I get! :-P But I will post them over the next few days, so again even though posts are going up they were written today and autoposted for a future date!
After a mad dash through 5 countries we drastically slowed down in Romania, if for no other reason than the roads demanded it
(And perhaps a slight roadside temper tantrum on the side of the road in Hungary may have helped, burning through countries is not really my style. Going slow and relaxing in amazing outdoor thermal baths and swimming pools are.)
Romania is one of my favorite countries to motorcycle in, particularly Transylvania in the Carpathians, although the love is spoiled slightly when you come across litter dumped in places which otherwise would be a picture perfect spot. I say litter because after Albania I can not say garbage without imagining an honest dump next to a beach.
We have yet to see anything so extreme in Romania.
One of the best parts about Romania is the ability to wild camp where you wish. Unlike in Germany where unsanctioned fun is strictly verboten, Romanians take a more laid back approach. As long as you appear to be hurting no one they smile and wave, perhaps ask a question or two, and then move on with their business.
Our first night was an interesting exception. We set up camp in a field, and before we knew it a car was bouncing down the hill and pulled up in front of us. 2 guys (one with a rifle) pop out, see that we are motorcycle travelers, wish us "Bon Appettie" and "please make sure you do not set the field of fire" and they burn off again.
Jannick had some concerns about them coming back. I did not worry about them at all, but why they felt they need a rifle to begin with was more of a concern for me. But I kept that thought to myself. The night passed without incident however, except for a most delicious BBQ.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gypsyprincess/5862499559/in/set-72157626903769005/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/gypsyprincess/5863050560/in/set-72157626903769005/
Presently we are finishing our last couple of days in Italy. There has not been much to post as the past 8 days have been eating, drinking, and reading. Only one day was even spent on a motorcycle! So really this is the vacation before the trip, because as most overland motorcyclists will tell you, a trip is much more of an adventure than a holiday. For those of who craving a little more action (although I would argue family vacations do have danger and action, just of a different variety ;-) ) Andi has finished the sneak preview to our Iceland video!
Presently we are finishing our last couple of days in Italy. There has not been much to post as the past 8 days have been eating, drinking, and reading. Only one day was even spent on a motorcycle! So really this is the vacation before the trip, because as most overland motorcyclists will tell you, a trip is much more of an adventure than a holiday. For those of who craving a little more action (although I would argue family vacations do have danger and action, just of a different variety ;-) ) Andi has finished the sneak preview to our Iceland video!
Presently we are finishing our last couple of days in Italy. There has not been much to post as the past 8 days have been eating, drinking, and reading. Only one day was even spent on a motorcycle! So really this is the vacation before the trip, because as most overland motorcyclists will tell you, a trip is much more of an adventure than a holiday. For those of who craving a little more action (although I would argue family vacations do have danger and action, just of a different variety ;-) ) Andi has finished the sneak preview to our Iceland video!
