Today was a day that came with great excitement as both Jo and Kathy (David’s wife) were arriving to meet us. After yesterday’s ride it the icing on the cake!
Both Steve and I slept like babies following yesterday’s adventure. Once we awoke and sat at the local cafe sipping on Turkish coffee (great flavour). We had time to have a chuckle at the ride which also included riding up footpaths and doing manoeuvres that would have us in front of a judge in Australia but in Istanbul were the norm.
the girls arrived at 6:30pm to find Steve and I sitting at a cafe quietly sipping on a beer. Of corse we rushed to assist with their baggage and arranged wine to celebrate.
We now have until Saturday 11th before we must move on, but for now Istanbul is to be explored.
We finished the evening with a fine dinner on a roof top restaurant overlooking the the “Old City”.
Today we travelled from Serbia, through Bulgaria and onto our destination of Istanbul, Turkey!
We left Nis after a sound sleep from yesterday’s big ride knowing that today was going to be an even bigger day on the bikes. It turned out bigger than even we had expected however.
There was approx. 2hrs riding to complete our journey through Serbia where we hit the Bulgarian boarder. The boarder crossing went smoothly and we were soon on our way through Bulgaria, albeit it a brief stay. Our stay was extended however by the first set back for the day, with us taking lap of the capital Sofia without realising until Steve commented on the unusual feature at the road side of the road that we had passed 2 1/2hrs prior! Not good when we had a big days ride anyway. we had also lost 1hr due to the time zone change
Temperatures were in the mid 30’s and with wearing full bike gear we really need to ensure we take in sufficient water throughout the day.
After a chat and a scratching our heads several times we got back on route and headed in the correct direction. A big part of the issues we had with navigating Bulgaria was due to the lack of signage and significant road infrastructure project that is occurring at present causing many diversions.
The ride proceeded well until we hit the Turkish boarder at approx 7:00pm with temps still hovering around 34deg C. Steve made his way cleanly through the first check point, however I was randomly selected for and inspection. Next thing I had all my luggage stripped out and spread over several tables and the bike being X-rayed. Re packing the bike after a good poke around by the boarder guards and we were off to the the check point only to have me make it through and into Turkey and Steve this time held back due to a problem with computers?
We were separated, with me (David) inside Turkey and Steve still in no man’s land sorting out the issue. I was very releaved to see Steve re appear and make his way through the check point. We were finally in Turkey, however by now it was 9:00pm. We were approx 5hrs behind at this point due to the two issues today and with a 3hr dash into Istanbul still ahead we were in for a long one.
The roads in Turkey were fantastic however the closer we got nearer Istanbul the driving became more manic. The last stage of navigating to our final accomodation took about 1hr for the last kilometre with us arriving shattered at 01:30am and having ridden 780km’s. This was clearly our biggest day yet.
Bosnian roads were generally smaller roads with a less developed networkA typical view as we road.
Today we said goodbye to Dubrovnik and rode towards Turkey. Jo took a bus to Montenegro and then will fly into Istanbul to meet up with us and Kathy (David’s wife) will be arriving.
It was only a short ride to the Bosnian border which then took approximately 45mins to get through as there was a cue (common thing). Once through we started to notice the difference between the two countries, with Bosnia appearing less developed and not quite as tidy as previous countries we had been through.
We would have to say Bosnia still had many magnificent views whether we were travelling through a vallies or over a range, the granite mountains with sparsely vegitated coverage.
We only stopped for food breaks in Bosnia and then hit the Serbian border later in the afternoon which we we’re impressed with as both the Bosnian and Serbian control points went very smoothly, including the odd joke thrown in by the boarder staff.
We road approximately 650km’s today and made our stop for the night in Nis (Serbia) arriving at an “interesting” truck stop/motel at around 10:00pm. The room was all very new and would have made Borat proud with leopard skin covers etc.
Serbia was a pleasant surprise with clearly more investment than Bosnia and facilities along the way.
Sitting on top of the city walls. Our favourite destination to date.
Today we stayed in Dubrovnik with Jo arriving by bus from up North which pleased Steve. We had a great day wondering the streets of Dubrovnik which has amazing history with Roman, Turkish and various other cultures “taking charge” throughout the years!
You wil see from the pictures that many of the tiled roofs are newish that is unfortunately due to the war that devistated many parts of Croatia back in the mid 90’s. I must say if you Google images of how it was and how wonderful the place looks now, a great job of restoring has been done!
We have a couple of days in Dubrovnik which will allow us to relax and take in the surroundings.
Some amazing architecture and artwork in these magical buildings
A view from our the accomodation of the Old TownA view of the Old Twon Harbour for the accomodation. WonderfulTaking time out looking over the Old City Walls
Today was a rest day before Jo and Steve’s arrival tomorrow. AirB&B was a great way to arrange great accomodation by the way!
Dubrovick certainly lives up to its reputation of being the amazing Dalmation town it is. I managed to walk the old city walls which gives a great view of the scale of the fortification (up to 6m thick walls).
There has also been significant work to bring the city back to its former glory following the recent war with Serbia.
I also took some time to work on the bike as the support for one of the pannier boxes was looking worse for ware. Due to the age and heavy load the rubber was starting to split. I managed to find a broken skate board that I robbed a wheel from to repair the bike which worked a treat as you can see from the photo’s. Necessity is the mother of invention after all.
Notice the black round rubber “thing” is spitting. Not good and time to change.Managed to find a broken skateboard to rob a wheel from.Job done. The skateboard wheel fits just right.
Steve and Jo are making their way down the coast, with Jo arriving last thing today and Steve will arrive tomorrow.
David and the amazing Plitvica Waterfalls that scatter the lake area.
After a good chat catching up on what each of us had been doing while part over the past days it was time to get out and explore the lakes. The entry to the park area was only a short walk away as we were staying at one of many local hotels. Plitvica is Croatia’s mist popular tourist destinations.
The walk we chose was approx 4km in length and, as with most the walks it was undulating as we made our way on a set route throughout the forest. The stand out points were the amazing waterfalls, crystal clear water and lush green vegetation complimented by millions of fish at varying degrees of maturity.
Temps were up near 30deg C and humidity was high so we certainly knew we had done the walk. Jo and Steve carried on to see another lake with I went back to the hotel to to do a but of downloading of data from the GoPro and digital camera.
At the end of the day I had decided to move on towards Dubronick and Steve and Jo had another day in the lakes together.
The ride down to Debrovick was just over 450km’s and took in the Dalmation Coast which was breathtaking as I watched the sun set to my right as I headed South. The weather was clear, making the ride down fantastic. I find riding at night great (provided I am feeling alert).
The ride from Plitvica to Dubronick was wonderful. Where else would you want to be?
A selection of home cured meats. Kulen is the best!
Today was the day I had to leave the “In Laws” and ride to meet back up with Steve and his wife Jo in Pitvica Lakes (they had made their way there from Venice). It is always sad to say good by to the Croatian family as they treat you so special and life is so relaxed. I decided to take the back roads via Bosnia to Plitvica thinking it would be scenic.
Bosnia was a pretty sad sight most of the way, with rubbish and part stripped cars not an uncommon view. The interesting thing was the huge number of abandoned half built properties (residential and commercial) everywhere I went. It was as though things were going well for the country and suddenly someone cut the funding overnight.
I will say the North West corner heading towards Plitvica was much nicer with fast running crystal clear water and properties that were better looked after. Oh, I came across many speed camera’s as well!
I arrived at approx 6:00pm to meet up with Steve and Jo and I must say it was good to have the Mad Ride Team back together. Tomorrow we walk the lakes.
The first mechanical failure for the trip. A broken indicator bracket.Thanks to a resourceful family member all is under control.problem solved!
Today is the last day with the In Laws. The day was a struggle due to the loss of my mate Ken. Thanks to technology I managed to have a FaceTime call with the wife that certainly gave me the opportunity to “let go” and move on to get through the day.
I made my way to Osijek, which was approx 50km’s away to visit other in laws. I wasn’t much fun but we had a lovely walk along the river and lunch at a popular local Cevapi Restaurant followed by ice cream at a local cafe. A nice relaxed day to spend the day.
When preparing to ride home I noticed a broken indicator which was clearly a turning point for our Mad Ride with our first mechanical failure! Luckily I had a handy family member on the ride home, so a quick stop off at Stephan’s for a Turkish coffee while he insisted on fixing the problem for me. Bit like a “pitt stop” really!
The evening has been spent saying my good bye’s to family and friends who have all been so lovely to me during my brief visit.
Steve and Jo have spent the day traveling to Senj, Croatia as tomorrow we meet up again in Plitvica National Park. Looking forward to being back together.
Time for a hair cut! Language Barrier was a problem which had me worried for a while. Ha
Today was another day spent with the Croatian In Laws and time to get a bit of maintenance done, except this was maintenance I needed in the form of a hair cut. Describing how you want your hair cut to a person who does not understand a word I am saying certainly ups the stakes! Ha
steve and Jo spent time floating around Venice in a gondola today and no doubt enjoying the time together.
I just oust realised today was the first day I have managed not to consume any alcohol since the start of our trip. I almost celebrated with a beer however!
Life is simple in regional Croatia, something we in big cities could learn a thing or two from. As you pass people (including teenagers) in the street they say good day, neighbours take turns of cutting the grass and running erands for the old people around them and exchange home grown food. When was the last time “us city people” even thought about the people around us?
How I shall always remember Ken, a man of simple needs but never far from his bike!
I have just received the extremely sad news from Australia that my best mate Ken Bacon has passed away today (3:30pm Sydney time).
Many of you would have read about Ken’s 7yr battle with cancer via the giving page on this website. I thank all those who have donated as we need to find a cure for this terrible disease as soon as possible.
Ken was a wonderful person, someone I am immensely proud to have called a friend.
You will be missed and may the new adventure you are now on, be one hell of a ride!
A Mad Ride - London to Sydney 