I try and do one long bike trip each year and two years ago I rode through Africa to Dakar and Gambia which was a great riding adventure. One problem that trip gave me was how to follow it. The obvious answer is to go further south all the way down to South Africa. Of course this is a tempting prospect but I'm not sure I can commit the months this would need. Last year I went to Romania and the Balkans and while that was interesting, it did not take me out of my comfort zone and I felt a little unfulfilled as it was not an adventure. So where to go this time? Well I flirted for some time with the idea of Samarkand in Uzbekistan. I loved the sound of it and its association with the silk road, but how would I get there. Russia was one route but I did not fancy going that way, nor over the Caspian sea on the ferry which only runs when it is full and Iran was the third route but needed an expensive Carnet de Passage(CDP) passport for the bike. When ADAC in Germany took over the issuing of CDPs and it became cheaper to get a CDP it made Iran look a more attractive option. In researching Iran I wondered if it was right to just pass through this fascinating country and maybe I should focus on Iran as a destination. Yes there are policital issues around Iran which made me uncomfortable but all I had read indicated the people were friendly and welcoming to visitors.
The first challenge was getting a visa and to get one that would allow me to travel unaccompanied and not with a guide. If you are a UK or US citizen then a guide is mandatory but my having an Irish passport helps. I spoke to 2 Iranian travel agencies and one told me I still need a guide even though I'm Irish but another agency says I do not need one. I engaged the positive agency and they got me a visa approval number from Tehran in about 10 days and I asked them to forward it to the newly opened Iran consulate in London. So off I headed to the consul for the morning opening of the visa section. Despite running out of petrol on the motorway I got to the consul by 10:30 to find the times had changed and it only open in the afternoon from 2 – 5, great. So after a visit to the Science Museum and lunch I returned at 1:30 to find around 70 people already queuing on the pavement, all looking for a visa. By 3:30 I had made it to the steps of the office, by 5:00 I was at the booth and managed to get an official to check if my approval number had been received from Tehran. They stayed open beyond the 5:00 closing time to try and handle the vast number of applicants and at 5:30 I was told my approval had arrived and they would accept an application form and my passport. This done I was told to return in one week to receive my stamped passport. I felt this was the first day of my adventure. Returning at 1:00 a week later I had my stamped passport in my hand by 3:00, a great result. So now the trip was really on.
In parallel to this visa activity I was negotiating with ADAC in Munich on a CDP. This proved to be quite an easy process, helpful people who speak good English. I held back on sending the money for the CDP till I had the visa in hand, so I will pick up the CDP in Germany as I pass through. I was also having a debate on which bike to use. When I went to Turkey a few years ago I used my bigger R1200GS bike but for Gambia and Romania I used the smaller XCountry 650. The 1200 would be best for the motorway but the 650 is lighter and more manoeuvrable. After struggling with the 1200 in the London traffic, while getting my visa, I decided to revert to the 650. This probably means my daily mileage through Europe will be nearer 400 miles per day than 500, but I should still get down to Iranian border in around 8 days. The other factor was I had not begun to prepare the 650 and it needed tyres, chain and sprockets and a service in a hurry. As I do most of my own servicing this was a bit of a challenge and I started by ordering parts. In fact with 2 days to go the new chain and sprockets have still not arrived. Hopefully the bike will be ready by Thursday when I head for the ferry.
My route through Europe will be on motorways as I need to cover the ground quickly and I have already visited all of the countries I pass through, and I do not have time to linger. My aim is to complete the trip in around 31 days, 8 days to the Iran border, 14 days in Iran and 8 days returning, so as I said, no time to linger. The 8 days should be sufficient to reach Iran, as last time I made it to Istanbul in less than 4 days with the bigger bike. The route will be through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey. In Turkey I will take a direct route through the north of the country to the Iran border and if time allows on the return leg I will explore a little of the Back Sea coast of Turkey. One other thought for the return journey is to take the ferry from Patras in Greece to Venice. This is not much quicker than riding on the motorway but the ferry would save me a couple of days in the saddle. As with most of my trips I don’t have a fixed schedule just a rough plan but it usually works out.
Well with 2 days to go the chain and sprockets arrived late afternoon and are now fitted, so the bike is ready for the trip, hopefully the owner will be too. So off to the ferry/train on Thursday and first overnight will be in Mainz in Germany. Further updates and photos to follow. Here is one of the bike, almost packed.
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/gsjim2/media/Mobile Uploads/2016-05/IMAG1474_zps2n2bbc4e.jpg.html]
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The first challenge was getting a visa and to get one that would allow me to travel unaccompanied and not with a guide. If you are a UK or US citizen then a guide is mandatory but my having an Irish passport helps. I spoke to 2 Iranian travel agencies and one told me I still need a guide even though I'm Irish but another agency says I do not need one. I engaged the positive agency and they got me a visa approval number from Tehran in about 10 days and I asked them to forward it to the newly opened Iran consulate in London. So off I headed to the consul for the morning opening of the visa section. Despite running out of petrol on the motorway I got to the consul by 10:30 to find the times had changed and it only open in the afternoon from 2 – 5, great. So after a visit to the Science Museum and lunch I returned at 1:30 to find around 70 people already queuing on the pavement, all looking for a visa. By 3:30 I had made it to the steps of the office, by 5:00 I was at the booth and managed to get an official to check if my approval number had been received from Tehran. They stayed open beyond the 5:00 closing time to try and handle the vast number of applicants and at 5:30 I was told my approval had arrived and they would accept an application form and my passport. This done I was told to return in one week to receive my stamped passport. I felt this was the first day of my adventure. Returning at 1:00 a week later I had my stamped passport in my hand by 3:00, a great result. So now the trip was really on.
In parallel to this visa activity I was negotiating with ADAC in Munich on a CDP. This proved to be quite an easy process, helpful people who speak good English. I held back on sending the money for the CDP till I had the visa in hand, so I will pick up the CDP in Germany as I pass through. I was also having a debate on which bike to use. When I went to Turkey a few years ago I used my bigger R1200GS bike but for Gambia and Romania I used the smaller XCountry 650. The 1200 would be best for the motorway but the 650 is lighter and more manoeuvrable. After struggling with the 1200 in the London traffic, while getting my visa, I decided to revert to the 650. This probably means my daily mileage through Europe will be nearer 400 miles per day than 500, but I should still get down to Iranian border in around 8 days. The other factor was I had not begun to prepare the 650 and it needed tyres, chain and sprockets and a service in a hurry. As I do most of my own servicing this was a bit of a challenge and I started by ordering parts. In fact with 2 days to go the new chain and sprockets have still not arrived. Hopefully the bike will be ready by Thursday when I head for the ferry.
My route through Europe will be on motorways as I need to cover the ground quickly and I have already visited all of the countries I pass through, and I do not have time to linger. My aim is to complete the trip in around 31 days, 8 days to the Iran border, 14 days in Iran and 8 days returning, so as I said, no time to linger. The 8 days should be sufficient to reach Iran, as last time I made it to Istanbul in less than 4 days with the bigger bike. The route will be through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey. In Turkey I will take a direct route through the north of the country to the Iran border and if time allows on the return leg I will explore a little of the Back Sea coast of Turkey. One other thought for the return journey is to take the ferry from Patras in Greece to Venice. This is not much quicker than riding on the motorway but the ferry would save me a couple of days in the saddle. As with most of my trips I don’t have a fixed schedule just a rough plan but it usually works out.
Well with 2 days to go the chain and sprockets arrived late afternoon and are now fitted, so the bike is ready for the trip, hopefully the owner will be too. So off to the ferry/train on Thursday and first overnight will be in Mainz in Germany. Further updates and photos to follow. Here is one of the bike, almost packed.
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/gsjim2/media/Mobile Uploads/2016-05/IMAG1474_zps2n2bbc4e.jpg.html]
