2300 mıles later...

Erm yeah so quite alot!

The short version is leg one complete- in Istanbul!

Apologies to all the avid readers of the blog, but I think i will be updating more frequently now. Did I say that last time?

So I may as well start from where we left off. I have been keeping a journal so don't worry I can go into lots of detail.

Day 6 - Brennen - Austria/Italy border

Wet, wet, wet and then snow!

I started to wonder if that was it I would be riding through the wet and cold for the rest of the journey, all 7300 miles of it.

However all the water and alpine roads has meant, I am quite practised at counter steering now and feel fairly comfortable meandering up and down mountain roads with 2 meters visibility and a lorry growling at your back wheel.

Brennen is not worth writing home about so I wont.

Day 7 - Mihov Dom, Slovenia - 1099 miles

The sun came out today finally! The riding was great, could really attack the road now it was dry. Broke through the first 1000 miles in a place called Tarragen on my way to Slovenia.

Something worth mentioning for non-riders is the camaraderie between bikers.

Whenever you see anyone else riding, particularly touring riders you try to always put your hand out to acknowledge them. i kind of biker salute or high five but with out the contact. Its quite reassuring.

As the weather was better and was really getting into the riding I decided to head for the Vrsie Pass a recommended mountain pass rather than head straight for the coast.

The pass is at 1612m and parts to the pass had gradients approaching 18%, which for my little loaded up Vanvan was going to be a challenge, but that's what it is all about so on I pressed.

As I traversed up the pass there were lakes, waterfalls, and incredible views of the glacial formed valleys and rock faces.

As I rounded a corner mid way up in one of the most scenic rides on the journey so far, i heard a rather nasty metal on metal crunching from the bike chain below. The bike wouldn't get into gear! I looked down and could see the chain hanging loose and lifeless from the bike. Oh dear, what followed was a moment of utter panic, bike broken down in the middle of the road on a mountain pass in the middle of no where, followed by a rush of pure excitement, this is what it is all about!

As it turned out I was about 25m from a mountain hostel remarkably. So I pushed the bike up on to the drive, stripped off the bags and asked for a coffee from the proprietor. I was really quite looking forward to finally getting my tool kit out and getting my hands dirty.

At the time I thought of it like surgery, removing all the baggage, laying all the tools out, unfortunately I didn't have a nurse to help with a knowledge of mechanics, so out came the manual too.

I flicked through the manual hoping to find the section on when the chain falls off, but of coarse they don't tell you about that! So it was the good old take everything off put it back together and see if it works. So That's what I did, took the covers off, unbolted the back wheel slide it forward put got the chain back on, re-aligned the back wheel tightened up the bolts put the cover back on and fingers crossed pulled up the road, and it was go, go, go. She was fine, I fear the problem could have been avoided in the first place had the chain been tightened. i was neglecting my maintenance.

Although I could of pushed on I felt it was right to celebrate my first mechanical triumph with a beer and a stay at the tranquil hostel.

Day 8 - Mihov Dom

I think I was really starting to get into the travelling spirit here. It was perfect for it. A quiet mountain retreat, run by a Slovenian couple who kept themselves to themselves.

After the highs and lows of the day before and the jubilation of fixing the bike, I decided to mark the occasion be climbing a near-by mountain. The mountain was called Spik and was 2472m and a 4 hour climb up and a 3 hour climb down. I left quite early hoping to be up by 1pm.

The climb was alot harder than I had expected and rations were tight with only a small bottle of water and a sandwich made from breakfast left overs.

Also the peaks around me were going in and out of cloud and I could only imagine how easy it must be to get lost in thick cloud. I pressed on with an added eagerness to get the top. As I went up I broke through the tree line and there were spectacular views, and it was very peaceful on my own. The ground had started to be covered in snow and as I went higher this turned to a crisp ice. I was a little worried as I have little mountain climbing experience and only had my Dr. Martins on, also I was completely knackered, resting often. As I neared the top it got quite slippery and eventually i came to a ridge, no more than 50cm wide with sheer drops either side, it was about 2m long and on the other side was a permanent climbing wire, going up a rock face. Now this was a little surprising. I looked around and unfortunately there wasn't a friendly Slovenian mountain guide about to jump out of a hut with a harness.

It was a tough call to make but I figured I had already done pretty well and perhaps free climbing up a mountain face covered in snow and ice in Dr Martins was pushing my luck, so I took in the view at 2400m enjoyed the crisp mountain air and excepted I wasn't going to make it all the way to the top whats 72m between friends. Perhaps it was a lesson in knowing your limits!

On the way down I threw my mobile phone off the side of the mountain into the abyss.

Day 9 - Piran, Slovenia, 1254 miles

I had a great ride down to the coast and that is what it is down! I was free wheeling much of the way, as I dropped in altitude the air warmed up and the thermals came off. It was almost the summer days I had been looking for.

When I arrived in Piran, I quickly found a camp site and head to the harbour for a swim. The Med was beautiful and warm!

Piran was not only a beautiful and old harbour town to explore but it also became a kind of pit stop for me. On route somewhere, a pressurised can of grease has been pierced and covered all my cooking gear with a thick green sludge. The label on the can said extremely toxic to aquatic life, and even though I am not a fish i wasn't taking any chances. I think all the other campers thought I had a serious case of OCD because it took me a good hour of cleaning to get the two pots and 1 mug clean and a couple of different cleaning products.

I followed this by washing all my cloths too, god knows what they thought but at least I was ready for the road again.

Day 10 - Piran

I took another day allowing my cloths to dry and soaking up some sun. By the afternoon i was a little board though and headed inland to see some caves.

These were quite exceptional, in fact i believe they are the biggest caves open to the public. More than 3 million years old you are taken into the network of caverns on a small train, much like the old miner trains you see in films. The caverns were huge.I will try and post some photos at some point.

Day 11 - Bihac, Bosnia-Hertzgovinia - 1580 miles.

As I headed back inland the landscape changed dramatically, not geographically but how people used it. As you broke away from the coast you went through Croatia, passing many small farm steads and eventually finding myself at some incredibly dramatic lakes! They looked like something out of a movie set. As I explored the small abandoned roads around the lake I eventually turned up at some sort of Information centre and a bus load of American tourists. I think they were as surprised to see me as I was them. It turned out that these lakes are a major attraction and normally you enter them through some sort of gated, shuttle bus, amusement park front. Have to say i am glad I missed that.

As i approached the Bosnia border there were an increasing number of derelict houses. I came to realise these were Bosnian homes, that people were forced to leave when Bosnia split from Croatia during the collapse of Yugoslavia. It was quite sad to see so many derelict homes, covered in graffiti. Near the border, along the road edge were many signs with skulls on, these warned of landmines and again there were alot of them, lining the road. I definitely couldn't stop for a wee, even if I needed one.

Once in Bosnia Hertzgovenia, I realised it was quite a different place. It seemed a little less organised than Croatia, the roads weren't exactly in perfect condition and the towns seemed different. The shops were covered in signs and displaying there products where ever they could and open late in the evening. Then I saw mosques the first time I had seen a mosque in Europe. I was heading towards Sarajevo and night was descending. I need to find somewhere to stay. I wanted to camp but in amongst the chaos of this new land, I couldn't see it happening. I got to the major town of Bihac and got a hotel room. I went out and all around me were young people. In the streets, the parks, by the river. I thought it must be a festival or something. As I walked though town i passed a cinema, on the window there was a no guns symbols, this slightly concerned me. This implied that people were in fact carrying weapons and that if on your Friday night wanted to go to the cinema, I afraid you had to leave it at home.

Later I also saw the crumbled remains of a church with more youths drinking in the shadows, now I don't think i am conservative or prude, but all in all I was on edge by now. I grabbed some beers from the supermarket and headed back to the safety of the hotel. The next day i found out that Bihac is in fact the proud centre for 4 universities and it being freshers week, perhaps it all made sense after all. Except the guns that is.

Need a break will post the rest of the update later today and tomorrow I hope...