Day 89 – 4th July 2014 leave 8am Miles rode 187 Taftan – Dalbandin (Balochistan)
Waking up on the floor in a dirty, dusty police compound with prisoners 20 metes away and armed guards around me isn’t one of my more common experiences. Taftan is no holiday resort. The guard with the AK47 or whatever make of rifle it is was still outside our room, I actually felt reassured bearing […]
Day 88 – 3rd July 2014 leave 7.00am Miles rode 61 Zahedan – Taftan (Pakistan)
My route east always had one area of concern for me. Balochistan is the largest of 4 provinces in Pakistan and there is conflict between the Baloch Nationals and the government of Pakistan, there have been many bombings, killings and kidnappings over many years. Also Taliban groups have been attacking Shia pilgrims for years, their […]
Day 87 – 2nd July 2014 leave 5am Miles rode 329 Kerman – Zahedan
Up at 4.30 for an early start in the dark as we had a long ride in the heat today, at 5am we were away with our new guide Hossein & Ali. As we rode in the cold we watched the sun rise over the mountains and at 7 it started to warm up. We […]
Day 86 – 1st July 2014 leave 6am Miles rode 226 Yazd – Kerman
As it’s so hot riding we left at 6am and it was much better, cool until maybe 9. We arrived about 11.30 and not as hot and bothered as previous days. As we rode south through the desert the sun was rising in the east and the mountains to our right looked amazing. I’m loving […]
Day 85 – 30th June 2014 leave 8am Miles rode 198 Esfahan – Yazd
We rode in the heat again but started early and at 1pm we arrived at our hotel in Yazd. I choose this one as it was recommended by travellers I know. As soon as I pulled up on the bike I knew I was going back to my style of travelling having stayed in ‘tourist […]
Day 84 – 29th June 2014 Esfahan
It’s the first day of Ramadan today so no eating or drinking in daylight hours. I’m finding it difficult with the guide, he’s a good man but I don’t always travel well with other people. I like travelling on my own doing what I choose when I want and the guide doesn’t understand travellers, he […]
Day 83 – 28th June 2014 leave 7.15am Miles rode 286 Tehran – Esfahan
We left early to try and reduce the riding time in the heat later in the day, it took 30 minutes to get out of Tehran and riding conditions were perfect, it was cool. By 8.30 it was warm, 9.00 it was hot, 9.30 very hot and 10.30 it was 40 degrees! The terrain was […]
Day 82 – 27th June 2014 leave 8.00am Miles rode 227 Zanjan – Tehran
As it’s getting hotter we decided to set off at 8am for Tehran. We stopped off at Soltaniyeh Dome which is the 3rd largest dome in the world, as we continued to Tehran it got hotter and hotter and when we reach the iconic Azadi Tower it was 40degrees and I was sweating like crazy. […]
Day 81 – 26th June 2014 leave 9.30am Miles rode 293 Urmia – Zanjan
In high spirits we left Hossein and headed further into Iran with Aidin (our guide), we soon crossed Urmia Salt lake which is the largest lake in the Middle East, as we headed south the terrain changed, it became dryer, there were no trees and the soil was changing from brown to yellow in this […]
Day 80 – 25th June 2014 leave 9am Miles rode 60 Yuksekova – Urmia (Iran)
Garth and I left at 9am and travelled the short distance to the boarder, we arrived at 9.45am and it took about 40 mins to get out of Turkey, again, the kind border guard didn’t want me to pay the speeding fines:) I leave Turkey with many great memories. We passed through the gate from […]
Day 79 – 24th June 2014 leave 9am Miles rode 143 Van – Yuksekova
I should start by apologising to the 4 young men who I offended last night. Garth & I found a bar (which isn’t easy in a town of ONLY 600,000 people!) to watch the football. The bar was practically empty and after the game 4 young men came in and sat at the table next […]
Day 77 – 22nd June 2014 Van
Chilled day at Lake Van and Van Fortress. Interesting seeing a ferry arrive at a dock thinking a few cars and lorries would roll off, I was surprised when a number of train carriages were pulled off. Why go around the lake when you can go across it? Bright blue skies daily now, I think […]
