London England-Europe-Russia-America. 26 countries, 19661 riding miles.


England, Wales, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, South Korea, Japan, North America (19 States, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virgina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York) Ireland.
9882 miles (flights/ferries as the crow flies) TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELLED 29543 Miles/47545 Kilometers

Trip Schedule

Ace Cafe, Stonebridge, London 7pm Mon 21st April-Send off with Riders Digest magazine. http://www.theridersdigest.co.uk/distribution.html
Official start-St. Teresas Hospice, Darlington, Co. Durham 11am Wed 23rd April St Georges Day.
Farleigh Hospice, Chelmsford, Essex 1pm Tues 29th April.
Dover, P&O ferry, 10am Thurs 1st May.
Europe 1 month.
Trabzon, Turkey to Sochi, Russia Tues 3rd June. 90 day visa.
Zarubino, Russia to Sok Cho Korea Mon 28th July.
Incheon, Korea to Seattle USA, via Tokyo, Japan Fri 15th Aug.
JFK New York to Gatwick UK, via Dublin, Ireland Wed 24th Sept
Official finish-Farleigh and St.Teresas Hospices dates TBA.


Many thanks to our sponsors!

I'd like to thank everyone who helped make this trip possible.


CitySprint www.citysprint.co.uk/
The Riders Digest www.theridersdigest.co.uk/

A special thankyou to Frank and Liz at http://www.triumph-online.co.uk/ for such generosity. They gave us almost all the spares and tools we needed to keep the bikes running across Russia, just because they were proud of two British guys wanting to ride two British bikes around the world.

A big thankyou to Graham at http://www.bykebitz.co.uk/ for the Airhawk seat cushion. Without a doubt the most comfortable bike seat I've ever had. Much more comfortable than a gel seat!
Thanks to David Gath at http://www.motohaus.com/ for the Ventura headlight guard. It saved my headlight on many occasions on the Amur Highway.
Thanks to http://www.wemoto.com/ for the brake pads.
Thanks to Rick and everyone at Casade Moto Classics, Beaverton, Oregon, for helping me at such short notice. http://www.cascademoto.com/

Thankyou to everyone who has given their time and effort to ensure the trip went smoothly.
It's the small companies who really make the world go round.

Thankyou Mark & Lee for ensuring we had a good send off, Roman for the tyres in Volgograd, Mikail & the Iron Tigers for the use of their shop, Phil & Dot for their friendship & inspiration, Wendy for shipping the bikes from Korea (& buying me dinner 3 nights in a row) Mike & Jo for keeping me sane in Korea, David Janos for amazing hospitality, advice, collecting my bike from Seattle & taking me sailing! Stan Hellmann for showing me the best of Oregon, Greg for air freighting the bike home & of course Geoff, for helping me realise my dream.

Friday, 19 September 2008

Bryce Canyon, Four Corners, Getting tyred, Yellowstone.


Bryce canyon was simply beautiful. I spent a day there, even walking around some of the steep pathways enabling me to fully enjoy my personal lack of fitness. In Sunset point campsite I was greeted by the guy who runs the site, who told me of two Germans who stayed there four days ago. They matched the description of Hans and Volka, who I met in Russia, that would've been an amazing coincidence!
A quick stop at Four Corners Monument, then find some tyres!
You can't go far wrong with the roads around here, most are perfect for bikes, and the scenery is awe inspiring. I headed into Colorado with a view to get a rear tyre in Colorado Springs. I had to change my plan when over 10,000ft up the alpine passes, I noticed a bulge in the sidewall of my front tyre. At least riding a slower pace allowed me to see the view better. The Red mountains were amazing, and very cold at the summit! I stopped in Silverton for a break, then made my way to Montrose. I found a Bike dealership called Davis who specialised in Japanese bikes, who were only too pleased to supply me with two tyres. They were busy the next day, Saturday, which meant I would have to return Monday. This wasn't good news so I explained my trip and within the hour I had two Dunlops fitted with $98 off, sale price! The guys worked past closing time to help me out, again putting British dealers to shame!
The bike handles so much better without the Pirelli Scorpion front tyre from Russia. I still prefer the Michelin Anakees but the Dunlops are fine. I decided to wear them in by heading North to Yellowstone. My favorite place so far! A wolf ran into the road, and along the centreline towards me. After avoiding some buffalo earlier, and a moose I wasn't too surprised at avoiding animals that you would never see on the roads in the UK! Im met Jason Hart, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles, riding an old Hondo Goldwing 1100 painted in Army colours. We shared a campsite to save money and took a slow ride to see 'Old Faithful'. Walking around the Geysers was like a different planet! Jason was staying another night and I decided to get moving East in the morning, after he showed me how to toast marshmallows, and squash them between two sweet crackers with chocolate, known as S'mores.
I lay under the clear sky listening the the Moose whistling to themselves, I was not looking forward to heading East.
I wanted to stay in Yellowstone for a few days but as I've booked a flight home on the 23rd Sept, I need to do some serious mileage!

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