From A2B: Singapore To London – Solo. Part Two

This entry is part 3 of 22 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #2

Part two

Continuing his epic journey over 35,000km through 27 countries, raising funds for humanitarian cause ActionAid, Nic Cuthbert pushes on.

I rolled my BMW F800GS over the Iranian border as part of my overland adventure riding from Singapore to London. I was roughly halfway through the trip and Europe beckoned. The bulk of Asia had already passed under my wheels, and blood, sweat and tears had got me to where I was ready to tackle perhaps one of the most misunderstood of all nations.

The winds of change

As I poked my head out of my tent and stood to meet the breeze from across the Lut Desert, I felt the change in the air. I saddled up Snow, my BMW, keen to put the previous day’s ride under Military Police escort well behind me and allow the country’s smooth roads – built to the standard of perfection that only oil-money could afford – to carry me quickly onwards to Europe. I did 751km that day, and every kilometre was filled with exhilaration and enjoyment as I cruised along desert highways and glided past farming communities on my way to Esfahan in the nation’s south-east.

A couple of nights later I was riding at night on a brand new highway, yet to be lit, around the outskirts of Tabriz. It felt like a magic-carpet ride through the hot Persian night. It was stunning.

Soft drink

Although I did my first 600km in Iran under heavily armed guard and got pulled over every time the police saw me, the country couldn’t be further from its widely portrayed stereotype. For me it turned out to be an exquisite place, immensely rich in culture with easily the friendliest citizens I encountered. It also included surprises like the ancient ruins of the Persepolis, 2500 years old, and the city of Esfahan, once described as the most beautiful city in the world.

In Iran, the barren lands of the Far East gave way to broad-acre farms and John Deere machinery. Horses and carts hobbling along tattered roads in Pakistan gave way to four-lane, cross-country freeways traversed by Scania prime movers and Renault family cars. While many consider Turkey the transition from East to West, I saw most of that in Iran, not to mention the huge contrast in landscapes, from stinking hot deserts to lakeside resorts and snow in the Alps just behind the conurbation of Tehran.

Sunrise in Iran. It was great to be alive.

There’s a dark side to this stunning country of course, and I was privileged to an extraordinary insight into that when I couch-surfed with locals in Tehran. Segregated public spaces, strict control on the rights of women and highly visible propaganda are just some of the obvious signals of a population living at the mercy of a malevolent regime. Iranians are always willing to discuss politics though, and this I particularly enjoyed over red wine served from a mineral-water bottle. It was a recipe refined over many years and served in the homes of an ever-resilient population dealing with an alcohol prohibition.

A police escort through Iran helped keep things safe.

At the going down of the sun

I was in Turkey shortly after leaving Tehran, and with helicopters buzzing overhead and cruise ships pushing out to sea below, I rode over the Bosphorus Bridge, the main artery of Istanbul.

Turkey’s biggest city is widely considered not just the physical connection, but also the cultural confluence, of East and West, or Asia and Europe, if you prefer. Pushing into a stiff breeze and looking out across the Mediterranean I felt my knees weaken as I remembered and recaptured my love of the ocean. Later, walking through Taksim Square, having only recently stumbled out of the dusty plains of the Pakistani and Irani deserts, I must’ve looked slightly odd. I’m sure I resembled a life-size dashboard Elvis, my head bobbing around to take it all in like I’d never before seen a big city. Either that, or even more likely, I looked like a kid from The Land Downunder who had in fact never before seen a major European city.

Three days later I camped out at a small cove 365km southwest of the hustle and bustle. It was there, after travelling over 19,000km by road across two continents, I took my first swim in the ocean. It was a monumental moment for me given my attachment with the sea and past as a surf life saver, but no less coincidental in it being the same beach that, 99 years before, Australian and New Zealand troops waded ashore for their fateful WW1 landing at Gallipoli. I was camped at ANZAC Cove. Goosebumps.

On tour

Far outlasting a predicted 8000km, the Metzeler Enduros I’d fitted in Kuala Lumpur had rolled over more than 17,000km of bitumen, rock, sand and ice by the time I reached Turkey, and they were well due for replacement.

Fortunately Istanbul also represents the first place big-bike tyres became available on an East-West globetrot, and it was there I treated Snow to new shoes – Metzeler Tourances front and rear. The new tread allowed me to pick up the pace, lean into a turn or two and enjoy the incredible tarmac-based riding that Europe had to offer. And I was starting to realise that Europeans adore their bikes, particularly BMWs.

ANZAC Cove. The history gave Nick goosebumps.

As I headed initially east into Greece and then north through the Balkans to the Dolomites I passed through toll gates, cruised along tram tracks, got waved into splitting lanes by cars and was regularly motioned to park on footpaths directly outside major tourist landmarks like the Hagia Sophia (Istanbul), the Acropolis (Athens) and the Eiffel Tower (Paris).

It seems that more than being welcomed, riding a ’bike is revered.But with all the many reasons I can make for why touring on a ’bike is awesome, it must be said that for sightseeing the awesomeness can’t be overstated. Seeing a new city on a ’bike is a pleasurable treat. I quickly became accustomed to punching in tourist hot spots as via points on my BMW Navigator, hitting the start button and letting the tour begin.

All over

The countries of Europe seemed to fly by, and more than anything it felt like a holiday after the trials of earlier parts of the trip. Spectacular sections of coastline in Croatia, rolling countryside in France and Italy passed by, and before I knew it I was pushing through high winds and a torrential downpour as I tried to make Calais and the last ferry across the English Channel for the day. I’d ridden non-stop from Paris, hoping to surprise my partner Donna, making London two days earlier than planned.

After spending a few days relaxing and recuperating we departed two-up for the north of Great Britain where I officially ended my tour. The ride through Scotland, although incredibly scenic, turned out to be frustrating as it rained almost non-stop. However, late on the afternoon of Friday, July 27, the pouring rain at John O’Groats briefly parted and the sun shone down as we rode up to complete my overland adventure.

There was plenty to see in Europe, but the actual riding was much less demanding than the Persian deserts.

Next!

Riding any ’bike down the street is exhilarating; riding a ’bike down the road less travelled is an unforgettable experience, and following that road all the way across continents has changed me in a way I can’t accurately describe. More than my trip from Singapore to London being a huge adventure and personally rewarding, I was honoured to be riding for a cause. Throughout the journey I witnessed jaw-dropping and confronting poverty in many of the places I visited, but I was lucky enough to experience the heart-warming care and selflessness of an even wider population.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who’s been involved in either making FromA2B happen, making it the epic adventure it was, or donating to ActionAid via www.froma2b.com.au.

As they say, this really is only the beginning, and planning has already begun for the next adventure, FromA2B: Around The World. In 2015 I, together with my partner, will be shipping out to London to ride from there to Tokyo where we plan to ship to Anchorage in Alaska before riding all the way to Cape Horn.Join the adventure!