“ Happy days are here again..............”

Yes, we are now back in Almaty and ready to roll again. Just as well

We have now bought three spare tyres back with us from Auckland. Three ? Yes, two for the bike and I have over the last two weeks in NZ started carrying a new spare one around my waist

But let’s go back two weeks. As soon as we got to Almaty and found that née tyres and wheels would take 5 to 6 weeks to get here to the BMW dealership. I yelped and said that won’t work. So we got thru to Cyclespot in Auckland by phone and they were able to fast track new wheels ( and other spare parts ) down from Malaysia to Auckland. And they got to Auckland in 5 days. I ordered new tyres atthe same time ( which was always part of the master plan ) and got them fitted on the rims. Then a little bit self consciously we fronted up to the Emirates counter at Auckland with hand luggage and a 26 kg bag containing new wheels. We almost got rejected because the tyres had air in them which is a bit silly as I have airfreighred my bike all round the world always with air in the tyres. Anyway common sense prevailed.

The mechanic at Bavarian Motors did not speak any English. However thru a translater who was actually a car salesman I asked what condition the old wheels were in. I suddenly found he did know one word of English after all. The word starts with a capital F and is 6 letters long ! OK, we are all adults here. The old wheels were somewhat Fucked !

We are now ready to roll out of town. We have visas for Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The other countries do not need one and we are not going through to Iran now.

But a few words on Almaty. It is a nice city. In fact Kazakhstan has a nice feel to it. Here are a few photos from the city

I am not the only one with a spare tyre. Yes, it is Botero. We have come across his work also in Paris and Buenos Aires

One can never forget the Soviet past ( and rightly so ) Remebering wars and the fallen is one of the best ways of preventing another one

A beautiful Russian Orthodox cathedral

And the markets in town were well worth a visit

And as the suns sets all is turned to gold -

Comments

The last post!

How do you summarise a motorbike trip around the world from Tokyo to Los Angeles?. With difficulty! Well we are not into record setting. But we believe we are the oldest couple in the world to ride a motorbike “ two up” ie with pillion passenger, right round the world on one season Let’s start off with the statistics for the little trip - Total mileage. 34,416 km * No of days travelling 165 No of countries visited 29 Max temp on bike 41 deg C Min temp on bike 0 deg.C No of punctures. One No of breakdowns. One

Chapters 1 and 2

WHY MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES ? I have always been interested in adventure. Over the years I have climbed mountains, parachuted, had my private pilots licence, dived, sailed and done various adventurous pursuits (with various degrees of success I might add!). Motorcycling has been one of the later activities. Why motorcycles? Firstly it is all a bit easier on the body as one gets a little bit older. This is of course on the assumption that one does not inadvertently part company suddenly with said machine! Secondly, it does also require a bit of brain power - intellect you might say if that does not sound snobby. There is also, to me, an element of "man and machine" about motorcycling. Then if that is not enough justification in itself there is the scenery and the absorption into the landscape you are passing through. On a bike you see much much more than in a car, bus or train. You are aware of nuances in the landscape, you smell the smells and you become more than just

And a volcano stopped us!

What a day. First thing this morning it was off to check the rear tyre of the bike. Oh the relief ! The tyre was rock solid and the same pressure as after fixing yesterday. So it is a pack up and first day on the road today. We get on the way with a just a little bit of nervous excitement. On to the Japanese motorway system we go. And what a delight. The traffic is orderly, calm not going to fast and not too thick. We track right in towards Tokyo itself before bearing West. Yes, there were lots of spaghetti junctions - It looks like The Los Angeles motorway system but it is so much easier (and slower). Japanese politeness really shows thru’. However there were lots of toll booths - we had chopped thru about NZ$50 in the first hour and a half Then we are on to the slow bit and off the motorways. It was about a four hour stop and start crawl thru the urban sprawl of greater Tokyo. However I did find time for some serious reflection - I also saw a hotel called - and I kid you not

Hubbard Motorcycle Adventures

Search This Blog