Back into Europe

I slept in a city called Gebze, just on the eastern side of Istanbul. The plan being to make my way through the city in the morning and whack it as close as I could to the Greek border. In Gebze, I met a young french cyclist, around my age, I think 25. His name was Kevin and he had brought his bike via train from France to Turkey. From Turkey, his plan was to cycle to Vietnam where his girlfriend worked. He was headed across roads and mountains which I had just come from and I don't think that my weather report gave him much encouragement. But nevertheless this guy was still going for it. We went out for a coffee and I realized that whilst we had  little in common, we both shared one fundamental desire, not travel, not to see the world, meet new people, have fun or any of the other usual lines but purely.... purely solo adventure by ones own means. He brought up an interesting point, he told me that he believes what he is doing is selfish and he acknowledges it. He can only possibly do his trip on his own, there was no way he could have a companion for the entirety of the trip. Now this is not to say he is secluded or travels in a reclusive way... as traveling with people for a week, or hanging in a city with new found friends for two weeks is absoloutly brilliant and welcomed. However, the actual trip, the integral core of the trip must be done alone. This makes him selfish as he is doing his trip for no other reason than for himself, it is about him, for him and that is all that matters. He sat explaining it carefully as it is so easy to misconstrue the ideology. In all honesty it was amazing to meet someone who shared the exact same belief as me, as I thought I was alone. 


Off I rode, I made my way towards the European link bridge in Istanbul. The bridge which connects the two continents Asia and Europe. When I finally found my way out of Istanbul I rode past a little red moped, it was a little vespa and it stuck in my head instantly. I noticed hundreds of mopeds and bikes etc in the city but this one was different. It had just slightly one too many bags strapped to it and the way the bags were strapped in their neat fashion certainly did not resemble a Turkish style. As I rode off, the little red vespa stayed in my mind and I couldn't help but think that he was a fellow traveller. I later thought that I should have pulled over for the guy to check. This thought quickly evaporated as for some reason I believed I would see him again if he was in actual fact a traveller....I will let the road decide for me!


I rode long, I rode hard and made it to the last town before the Greek border hours before I expected. Hmmm, should I cross today and get as far as I can? Sounds good! So I pull into a petrol station and rummage through my bag to find my Greek map, I then sprawl it out over the oily forecourt. A few moments later a Turkish man is knelt beside me pointing at random locations, I smile and point at other random locations... This isn't the first time, as Turks love doing it. So the guy eventually asks me where I'm going in Turkish as he spoke no English. I told him Alexandropolis in Greece. He explained that he was going there too and that I should follow him. I declined as there was no need, in fact it would have been pointless following this dude, I would have been a lot faster on my own, I knew exactly where I was going and what I was doing but the guy was insistent, in a nice way though. I have found out about myself that I really do love to just go with things, to accept, to roll with it, not to say no to people and to just see where the road takes me without fighting against it. So... Okay buddy, I'll follow you.... Although I know I'm about 5 miles from the border and there's no way your headed that way as you want me to follow you... That's illogical, but hey, that's cool, I want to see what experience you, the random, Turkish man who likes pointing at my map on the petrol station floor will give me. Let's go! 


So of course, like I guessed he turned just before the border and drove into the town, when he finally pulled up in the middle of his town I parked behind him laughing. I already knew his next words. Sure, I would love some tea thank you.  Teshekurederim!  He takes me into his place of business and we sit and drink tea together. I meet his little boy and some friends. The amount of times I have sat in shops, homes, garages, gardens and so on and drank tea is mind boggling. Soon he goes out searching for an English speaker and returns with a friend of his who speaks perfect American English . His friend owns a pizza restaurant in Las Vegas and was more than happy to show me around. The pizza restaurant owner had a friend who owned a hotel about 20 footsteps away and as we were now all best friends he said he could put me up for the night for 3 quid. Sounded reasonable enough. Tomorrow I could then get to Thessaloniki in a day instead of sleeping halfway in Greece. Okay sure!


At the hotel I met up with a group of Turkish University students. Two in particular were very cool, Ufuk and Ayan, they took me to the Internet cafe where we played multiplayer zombie games for a few hours. Then it was off to the bars for beers with the lads!


I crossed the border early the next morning with ease. Turkey was a  fantastic country to ride through. I loved all of it, the people, the genuine hospitality, the roads, the mountains, the sea and the sheer vastness of the country. In total I had rode the entire length of Turkey. From east to west and due to it's enormous size I found the people to be different in each area but all the while they shared the same kind attributes. Goodbye Turkey! You have been good to me and I will miss you! Thanks for all the tea.


Hello Greece! How you doin?


I take the long straight road heading to Thessaloniki where I had arranged to stay the night with my new friend Athena. I had also arranged to pick Miles up from the airport the next morning.
Hours into riding through Greece, funnily enough I rode past a tiny little red moped. I laughed as I passed it and thought no way! 5 miles later I had to pull over. I would give it a chance and wait for him. Sure enough the little red moped pulls up beside me 15 minutes later. Bonjourno! The Amedeo Zanetti is Italian, 56 years old and retired. He recognized me passing him in Turkey! Funny how things work out sometimes. We talk for a while by the side of the road, comparing bikes, gear and swapping stories. He had been traveling all over the Balkans alone. Even at 56, the solo motorcycling adventurer lives strong in him. I admired it.


 

 I found Athena's place in the centre of the city, Thessaloniki is Greece's second largest city and I was expecting a long search. Luckily 20 minutes into searching I found her and I was warmly welcomed in. I met her boyfriend Addonis and instantly liked him. We all talked for hours, and it was so interesting speaking to Addonis, we shared so many views on life and I believe that although we don't ultimately want the same ends we share the same belief of means. I will always remember his story from the Greek philosopher Homer.That night we all went out riding around the city. Their friend Christina rides a moped and it was a strange feeling to be sitting on the back of it! Anyway, I picked up my bike and the four of us drove around the city, seeing the sites and eating Greek kebabs with chips. It was very cool hanging out with them. I sat talking with Athena until the early, early hours of the morning and it felt as though I had always known her. It was a shame I couldn't stay longer.




Picking up Miles


The next day I packed up my gear and left for the airport. It was an interesting thought for me, knowing that in a few hours I would have a pillion.
If I'm honest, I was in a way, nervous about carrying so much weight on the XT. It certainly is not designed for carrying passengers. Especially considering my luggage, an extra person and his luggage. Now thats a he'll of a lot of weight for a single cylinder to take. Taking into consideration the distances we were about to cover, the routes and the mountainous terrain with deep twists, turns and gravel... I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park and importantly I was going to have to really concentrate on my riding and especially my balance (considering iI have to tiptoe as it is!) In a car these thoughts wouldn't cross ones mind. But on the motorbike I had to take this all pretty seriously as Miles was literally putting his life in my hands whether he knew it or not. It was a big decision for me to offer the ride to him. I had warned him before he committed to buying his ticket that motorcycle travel is not as glamorous as people perceive it. Its going to be cold, very cold, we will get lost, we will take wrong turns, we will get tired, uncomfortable, chased by dogs and most importantly there is a very real element of serious and potentially life threatening danger, once your on though then that's it baby! I warned him of the risks and so the choice was in his hands. I had already decided that I was prepared for the challenge.


Miles accepted, he was up for the adventure... I still don't know if he accepted because he didn't really know what he was getting himself into and what was actually  involved or if he had some idea and just wanted the experience.  he later told me that he realized it was potentially a once in a lifetime opportunity, for some crazy English dude to offer him a lift on the back of his bike through the Balkans, I guess that doesn't come along very often. Whichever way, he had some balls to fly to Greece, place a ton of trust in someone he had only known for a few days and ride pillion through six countries from Greece to Croatia. In my opinion that is complete trust, as of course it is motorcycling and it is dangerous enough, let alone on an overloaded motorcycle, through the Balkans with just a map aged just 24 and 25.
Regardless, Miles bought a cheap helmet in Turkey and some shitty gloves, bought a one way ticket to Greece and jumped on the back!


We got a little lost leaving Thessaloniki, it was the first two hours that were the most difficult, finding comfortable positions and arranging the luggage so we could both sit comfortably. In the end I had to put my whole bag on top of my right pannier so my bike was completely off balance. It took some getting used to but was comfortable... 


 We both agreed to leave Greece as soon as possible and get to the capital of Macedonia, Skopje before nightfall. Where we would stay with my new friend Svetlana in her apartment.


So the ride began!




I will post up the pictures for this thread at a later date