70 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDERSTORY AND PHOTOS:
MICK MCDONALD“I
f you say ‘I strangled
Alice’ fast enough that’s
how you pronounce the
name of this town, spelt
Ystradgynlais,” explained Dakar legend
Simon Pavey. We had gathered in Wales,
UK, at the world-renowned Off Road
Skills rider-training centre to participate
in a course Simon designed especially for
the upcoming Road of Bones expedition
that 13 riders and one co-rider were about
to embark on. A er two years of planning
we were about to depart on the 105-
day expedition from the UK to France,
Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary,
Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Mongolia and Russia.
Soon a er our riding and
pronunciation lessons, we kicked off the
massive ride at London’s legendary bike
hangout, the Ace Cafe, before crossing
the tunnel into Europe. We made quick
time across Europe, riding through the
spectacular vineyards of the Rhine Valley
and past castles standing scenically
along the Rhine River. We visited theamazing Neuschwanstein castle created
by the mad Bavarian king, Ludwig II, and
experienced what is widely regarded as
one of the fi nest passes in Europe, the
immense Grossglockner.
We visited the Hungarian capital of
Budapest, wonderfully located on the
Danube, stunning Romania of Count
Dracula fame and the Black Sea resort
island of Nessebar, Bulgaria, and then
reached the Turkish border. Thirty Turkish
bikers had ridden seven hours to greet us
there and escort the group into Istanbul.
By the time we reached this amazing
vibrant and historical city we were already
down one bike. Brian’s BMW R1200
suff ered a big-end failure and his trip was
over, on the 1200 at least. Brian became
our spare rider and only had three days
off a bike for the entire expedition!
We crossed the amazing country of
Turkey, slept in caves converted to hotelsand marvelled at the O oman houses
that hung precariously over raging rivers.
Riding towards Georgia in the Turkish
far north-east was biking nirvana as we
rode among tea plantations that clung
tenaciously to steep hillsides and through
vast canyon lands on empty roads that
followed the courses of lonely rivers.
Georgia proved to be a revelation
but we weren’t to make it any further
than the capital, Tbilisi. News had come
through that the only border open with
Russia had been closed due to a deadly
landslide that killed eight truckers. Our
itinerary had been thrown into chaos
and we had to hastily hatch a new plan,
which involved riding back to Europe,
a er every conceivable alternative plan
had been considered.
“Where are you going,” asked a border
guard when we arrived to re-enter Turkey.
“Russia, eventually,” we replied.“Mongolia’s rough conditions exacted their toll on the riders.
One rider broke his leg and another broke three ribs. There
were numerous falls. These were tough days but it was what
we had come for”■ Riding the endless
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