Ace Cafe Send Off

Location:	London
Mileage:	1

At only 36 hours to departure, we collected the last of the passports from the Kazak Embassy. Not originally part of the planned route, these last minute extra permits will allow us to travel through Kazakhstan should the revolution in Kyrgyzstan not be settled by the time we get there in a few weeks. Fortunately, the three Americans and one Polish rider had all ducked in under the volcanic

ash, before UK airspace was closed and so every-one was present and correct. What a close call - only 30 minutes of airtime making the difference between landing in London and all bets are off!

On Saturday morning, we headed to the Ace Café - three riders succumbed to early morning nerves and took a wrong turning just to get there. Only another 12,000 miles to go! Anxious riders and excited friends and family and well wishers alike had all gathered. With yak and onions and ducks head soup ahead of us, it was complete orders for full Big British Breakfast Special, as riders took their last chance to tuck into bacon, black pudding and fried bread.

Then at 9am prompt, we rode off down the M25 and M20 towards the Euro Tunnel with a convoy of bikes stretching in our mirrors. Our support van was already carrying passengers– our Polish rider, Robert, needed to get his family back to Poland and their flights had been cancelled! It was then a few hundred continental miles to Bouillon in Belgium and the first night of this epic ride. From here, we follow in the footsteps Godfrey of Bouillon, one of the first Crusaders, to Istanbul by the weekend, although with less

drunkenness and pillage en route – maybe! Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia are already under our belts in less than 48 hours, which has already left one rider stranded on the motorway, having failed to fill up with fuel. I know that this will be the least of the problems that will lie ahead.

Istanbul is already looming, where we’ll meet up with some Turkish riders, who previously supported our Guinness World Record ride back in 2002. The true start of our Asian adventure awaits!

Photos:

1) Isn't she nice and clean in the early morning sun at the Ace Cafe.  GlobeBusters F800GS.

2) An American finishing of a full English - Aaron enjoying the excellent Ace Cafe Breakfast.

3 A riders fond farewell - Darran says goodbye to Diane for the next 12 weeks

4) The Team - The final photo call before riding away

D Day

Location:	Wales
Mileage:	Zero

“Yeah but doesn’t everyone ride the Silk Road?” The chap at the NEC wasn’t wrong. Lots of people will offer to take you on The Silk Road. Except it isn’t The Silk Road its A Silk Road. From 200 BC merchants came from China travelling west all the way to Europe to trade, yes you guessed it, silk and the routes they  took varied greatly.

When Julia and I decided that GlobeBusters should tackle the Silk Road, in true GlobeBusters fashion, we looked for the most challenging and rewarding route. There were some key places that had to be included; Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand are all critical Silk Road Cities. From there onto the Silk Road hub of Kashgar where all the Silk left China. But we didn’t want to be tied by history. So let’s throw in Lhasa and the Potala Palace; Ride the Tibetan Plateau that the merchants avoided because it was too rough and while we are in the area we have got to ride to Everest Base Camp. Enough? No, let’s run the Afghan border and follow Marco Polo along the Pamir Highway as well. So we had a route, but have we overdone it? We needed to find out.

We rode off from the Touratech Travel Event last year and three months later rolled into Beijing, We had traversed mountain passes covered in snow, ridden the Tibetan Plateau so high you can’t catch your breath, endured crashes, collapsed bridges, closed roads and every hazard known to man. But we had done it and the feeling as we rode into Beijing and were turned away from Tiananmen Square by the Police (“No Motorcycles!”) was indescribable.

So we have a route, it can be done and we already had a queue of people who said they want to go. After releasing the DVD of the recce trip this number dwindled somewhat as they started to recognise the magnitude of the challenge. The riding is just one element. The remote accommodation with home stays letting you right into local life, the diet of yak and onions, or stir fry and the altitude that will sap your every last ounce of energy. You either view these as highs or admit the challenge is too great.

Now we have thirteen intrepid travellers. They have attended briefing meetings , completed Off Road Riding Training, Advance Rider Training, got fit(ter) and learned how to say thank you in seven languages. And they are ready to go. A varied group: Businessmen from Poland, Andorra and the USA, a Cumbrian Farmer and several people who look suspiciously like the bloke who lives next door. Normal people with a desire to challenge themselves and to ride the road less travelled.

So we are ready and in just a week’s time we will leave from the Ace Café, and then the news – “Kyrgyzstan on brink of civil war, says Medvedev” Ah that’s right on our route! Can every-one get an extra visa in 5 days, or is it over already?

Photos:  
1) Kevin, Julia, Mark and Jeff ready to leave GlobeBusters HQ
2) Kevin and Mark with Nick Plumb of Touratech UK -

Silk Road Countdown

Well here we are still in the office in the final weeks preparation for Silk Road East.   All ready, riders prepared and briefed, visas and permits obtained, it is all systems go.  Then with one week left a revolution in Kyrgzstan.   OK we can cope with this 5 working days to departure and a revolution.   Contingency Plan A, skip Kyrgzstan and go though Kazakhstan.   But can we get everyone to get a visa in 5 working days.   Oh and then there is the earthquake in China.   As the man says - Its not a holiday, its an Adventure!

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