LONG WAY HOME - Introduction Sue: On 24 March 2005, Mick Wheeler, a retired police motorcyclist from Doncaster and myself set off on what we hoped would be the trip of a lifetime. We were to cross Germany, Poland Belarus, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, ride down through the Gobi Desert to the Chinese border. Unfortunately for us we were 'arrested' and thrown out of China, having to return through Mongolia, to Lake Baikal, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, we crossed the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and back through Europe. We traveled 19,000 miles through 23 countries, and nearly six months away. Just the two of us on BMW 650gs's, Mick rode a Dakar version; being rather shorter in the leg length I had the standard gs.
For two very independent stubborn motorcyclists we did quite well and only fell out twice. From 31 March to 2 July and again on 5 July to 29 August! I remember my initial feelings at the beginning of the journey, almost trepidation; there was certainly no elation, after all the planning of routes the bike preparation and chasing visas we were off. Within perhaps a week of leaving England, I had settled into the routine of the trip, and 'routine' is an apt expression. We all have routines. Getting up, getting washed, having breakfast, the same drive to work, seeing the same people, why should getting up, getting washed, having breakfast and getting on your bike be any different? WELL IT IS - IT'S BLOODY FANTASTIC!
The excitement of waking up to a new day, in a new situation, a new country never once paled. Not once did I wish I was back home, I hung on to every day, savoring it, hoarding the memories so that I can bore the pants off people for years to come! I can liken the experience of riding a motorcycle through Mongolia to childbirth. The pain at the time is excruciating, you wonder what the heck you are doing there but, several months later, the pain is forgotten, the experience doesn't seem half as bad, and you want to have another go. The whole journey was a kaleidoscope of impressions; I only have to close my eyes to conjure up smiling faces, and friendly inquisitive people, because the one thing that over rides everything else is just how wonderful people are. The less they have the more they want to share.
It was the motorcycles that gave the journey through Asia the added magic They made such a difference to our trip, acting as magnets, drawing people to us, opening up conversations and the cause of much hilarity: workmen clapping and cheering when I negotiated muddy road-works successfully, women rushing to help me pick the bike up when I dropped it in deep sand in Mongolia, teenagers in Russia accepting us as 'cool dudes' for being bikers! The young horse in the Gobi desert, cantering alongside me, tossing his mane and tail, making eye-contact, inviting me to play with him in his domain, is a picture I will never forget. It was special, it was magic.
The Long Way Home as we so rightly called our trip - 6,000miles out and 13,000 miles back - was intended to prove that we oldies could have our own adventures, we don't have to sit in our armchairs, dreaming, wishing, and leaving the escapades to the young. We had the time of our lives, we laughed, cried and swore like troopers, we learnt more about ourselves than we could have believed possible. The diary write ups are recorded here exactly as we e mailed them from where ever we happened to find internet cafes.