I had planned this ride many years ago. In 2018, I embarked on a similar ride with the idea of riding to Mongolia. But after doing my homwork about Central Asian countries, I decided to do those countries justice and leave Mongolia for another ride. So, I spent three months riding through the "Stans" and I aboslutely loved it. I was going to ride to Mongolia in 2020, but Covid happened and I ended up spending next few years in Colombia, South America and South Africa .
After five years of staying away from Europe, I went back, resurected the old Tenere (after rotting for five years) and rode it around the Balkans.
This year, the bike was waiting for me in an excellent shape because a friend was riding it even during winter months. So, after putting on a new set of tires and a chain, I took off eastward.
The shortest route is about 10,000km, but I took my time exploring Turkey, Georgia and Russia and it ended up being about 25,000km.
My hometown, where bike was waiting for me.
Installing a new chain and sprocket.
Medieval castles aboud in this area.
As I had a long trip ahead of me, I did not spend any time exploring Serbia. I only visited a few childhood friends and headed towards Bulgarian border.
Visiting high school friends in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Childhood friend, born only a few days before me.
Terazije square in Blegrade, Serbia.
It took me half a day to reach Bulgaria. Countries in Europe are pretty small. In another half-day of riding, I reached a Bulgarian ride-explorer's house near the port city of Varna. We had met on the ferry across Caspian sea seven years earlier and kept in touch. He's ridden his bike as far as S. Korea Iceland and Faroe island.
Just outside the town of Vratsa is a beautiful canyon.
My friend rode with me to the Turkish border. This is his favorite beach on Black Sea.
He showed me this picturesque waterfall.
Mosques' minarets dominate city views in Turkey.
I had been to Turkey twice before - once rode through it on the way to Central Asia and another time visiting Istanbul. I enjoyed my time in Turkey on both occasions and this time it was no different. Turkey is an amazing destination. It has so much to offer in terms of history, culture, food and natural beauty. But the most important part is the relative lack of tourist crowds. Apart from the Mediterreanean coast, there are very few foreign tourists. I loved it.
Istanbul is less than a day ride from the border with Bulgaria. I wasn't too keen on fighting the infamous Istanbul traffic, so I spent the night near the new airport, not far from the new bridge over the Bosphorus. I had a great time in Istanbul when I visited it and I'd like to go there again, but not on a bike.
An abandoned developent of funky houses became a tourist attraction.
A minaret at noon.
On my first ride through Turkey, I followed mostly Mediterreanean coast. This time I focused on the north and Black sea coast. I did dip south several times to visit some places of interest - Horma Canyon and Dark Canyon and Erzurum (when it started raining along the Black sea coast). Black sea coast is very lush, quite different from the rest of Turkey.
Hiking trail through Horma canyon.
A Turkish rider showed me his town and recommended some beautiful local rides.
The most spectacular stretch of road to ride along the Black sea, between Cide and Inebolu.
Coastal road east of Inebolu.
Traditional way of socializing in tea shops.
Waterfall in the mountains above the Black sea coast.
One of many new tunnels piercing coastal mountain range.
Road to Sumela monastery.
Moisture from the BLack sea pushed up the mountains by late afternoon.
A viewpoint high above Trabzon.
Traditional Turkish sweets.
Trabzon has Aya Sofia church as well.
Ozongul lake - picture perfect alpine lake and white mosque.
View of Ozongul lake from one of the roads climbing steep mountain slopes.
New road over Soganli pass. The famous one is a bit further to the east.
Many dirt roads criss-cross mountains and valleys near Ozongul.
In early summer, waterfalls are flowing in full force.
Mountains around Ozongul lake are covered with a network of nicely groomed dirt roads climbing and descending steep mountain slopes.
The famous Derebasi Bend leading up to Soganli Pass. Many riders from all over Europe come to ride up and down these switchbacks.
Half way up Derebasi Bend.
View from near the top of the pass on the other side from Derebasi Bend.
There are many villages scaterred high up in the mountains. It was cold even in late June. I cannot even imagine how cold it gets in winter.
By noon, moisture from the Black sea completely engulfs coastal mountains.
Mornings are perfectly clear, until clouds move in from the coast.
Picturesque canyon outside Ozongul.
A lake high above Ozongul, snowed in till early summer.
The road was just cleared from winter snow.
Atop a pass, at over 3000m.
Many roads are still blocked by snow.
Newly installed wind turbines.
Another colorful tunnel on scenic D-925.
Fake policeman and patrol car. They are all over Turkish roads and they got me quite a few times.
My shifter got loose and this mechanic did what most people caouldn't think of - used shifter lever from another bike and bent it in the shape needed for my Yamaha.
Rear end of the Dark Canyon - clearly popular with overland travelers.
First of many tunnels through the Dark Canyon.
One of many rest spots inside tunnels.
In the middle of the canyon.
Deep green water of Euphrates river.
The road through Dark Canyon is carved out of sheer cliff when not running through a tunnel.
Early morning in the Canyon.
I couldn't resist the temptation to go for a swimm.
Ancient cliff dwellings.
My rear wheel bearing blew some 20 km from Erzurum.
The bearing was completely destroyed and I couldn't not continue.
Old medresa turned into a museum, Erzurum.
Erzurum specialty.
I saw this type of minarets in Uzbekistan, not typical of mosques in most of Turkey.
Intricate stone carvings at the entrance of a mosque in Erzurum.
City center is empty early in the morning.
Eastern Turkey already looks like Mongolia. Do I need to go further?
Video of the ride through Turkey.
These stone towers are all over southern slopes of Caucasus mountains. These are near Omalo.
I had fond memories of my first visit to Georgia during my ride to Central Asia. Back then, I was in a hurry to ride the Pamir Highway and explore Central Asian countries, so I had a limited time to spend in Georgia. This time, I decided to explore both Turkey and Georgia a bit more. I wasn't disappointed.
Medieval castles are scaterred all over Georgia.
Massive Paravani lake between Turkish border and Tbilisi.
Hearty Georgian beef stew.
A monastery in Mtskheta.
Visitors inside the monastery.
Fresco inside the monastery.
Telavi is the center of a major wine growing area of Georgia.
Road to Omalo starts in a narrow canyon.
Road to Omalo, higher up, looking back towards Telavi.
There is still a lot of snow higher up and waterfalls are cranking.
There are several river crossings.
Last switchbacks before Omalo.
A Slovenian rider and I explored roads beyond Omalo.
We enjoyed a warm afternoon sun while riding deep into the Cuacasus mountains.
Stone towers in Omalo.
Another beautiful canyon on the way to Omalo.
Another old castle, this one in Gori.
Stalin was a Georgian and this is his old house.
Scenic and almost empty - road to Oni and Mestia.
Glacier covered mountain peaks beyond Shovi.
Deep in Caucasus mountains.
A dirt road leading towards the border with Russia.
A new road to Mestia almost touches glaciers.
Near Ushguli.
Another 5000+ meter peak.
Stone towers near Mestia.
Booming Batumi downtown.
I hope Georgia does not become another Ukraine.
Batumi beachfront.
The rider I had met in Omalo took me around his area.
Akhaltsikhe Castle.
Yet another castle on the way to Borjomi.
Uplistsikhe monastery.
Ananuri fortress next to Zhinvali reservoir.
Near the top of the pass across the Caucasus mountains towards Stepantsminda.
A rider I met going in the same direction leaving his mark atop the pass.
Kazbegi peak on the way to the Russian border.
Video of the ride through Georgia.
Russia, despite international economic blockade, was one of the most pleasant surprises of the trip. I was impressed with clean, new roads, revitalized cities, flower-filled parks and beautiful river-fronts. I really enjoyed visiting Russian cities - clean, vibrant and full of activities. Other than Ural and Altai mountains, I rode mostly over flat and not particularly interesting terrain. But green fields and lush forests made it less boring.
Meticuously maintained park in Vladikavkaz, my first stop after the border crossing.
Hard to tell, but it's actually a mosque in VLadikavkaz.
Leaving Vladikavkaz and Caucasus mountains.
Beautiful new mosque in Chechnya. The whole region is newly re-built, new houses, roads, cities, farms...
Mountains between Chechnya and Dagastan, snow covered peaks of Caucasus mountains in the distance.
I met my cousin at Caspian sea city of Makhachkala. He was on the return leg of his ride from Serbia to Vladivostok on Honda Transalp.
Tibetan Buddhist temple in Elista. Europe's largest Tibetan temple .
The first sign of Central Asia - two-hump camels.
On the approach to Volgograd, where Hitler was defeated for the first time and the tide of WWII changed direction. Russians sacrificed 20 million people for the defeat of Hitler.
Elaborately decorated ceiling of a hall inside Volgograd train station.
One of many monuments from WWII.
A massive park stretching for miles along Volga river is dotted with sculptures.
One of the churches in the center of Volgograd.
Memorial hall for those who were killed in the battle of Stalingrad.
The main monument, visible from miles away.
Wild strawberries. I used to eat them as a kid
Main door of a church in Ulyanovsk.
My typical lunch while ridign through Russia - grilled veggies and some kind of meat and, of course, kefir.
The rain got me outside Kazan and now I know why hotels have hair driers in the rooms.
Kazan has a Kremlin too.
Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan republic. Tatars are muslim and this mosque dominates Kazan's skyline.
An orthodox church not far from the mosque, both inside Kazan's Kremlin.
A view from the walls of Kazan's Kremlin.
Inside the Kremlin are restaurants, museums and shops.
Kazan downtown.
Kazan theater.
Road-side marker of Europe-Asia border in Ural mountains.
Having front tire changed in Ekatarinburg.
Ekatarinburg downtown.
Motorccyle museum in Perm with many models of motorcycles produced in Eastern Europe.
Postal truck.
A vision of what futuristic bikes should look like in the 60s.
There are many Ural bikes in the museum.
Enjoying Siberian banya.
A church in Omsk.
Waiting out rain at a bus stop near Novosibirsk.
I saw many Chinese trucks carrying goods.
Ice cream car in Novosibirsk.
Russian cities are littered with interesting art.
Central Asian spices at a local market in Novosibirsk.
Getting a new rear tire for Mongolia in Novosibirsk.
Waiting hall of the Novosibirsk train staion looks like a palace.
Rain greets me at the entrance to Altai Region.
More rain throughout the Altai mountains.
Everything is incredibly green. This place must be spectacular in sunny weather.
High Altai mountains in the distance mark the border with 3 other countries - Mongolia to the left, China in the middle and Kazakhstan to the right.
Kosh-Agatch - the last Russian town before Mongolian border.
No-man's land between Russia and Mongolia.
About to enter Mongolia, after 20,000km.
Mongolia has been on my list of places to ride for many years. I was aiming to be in Mongolia for the biggest annual festval - Naadim, which takes place in mid-July. Despite quite a few rainy days in Russia, I managed to cross into Mongolia just in time for the festival.
Some of the most striking scenery in Mongolia is found in the far NW corner, where Russia, China and Mongolia meet. I spent a day exploring the area. Even though I did not cover huge distance, dirt tracks are badly corrugated and going was slow. SW motech rack wasn't built for Mongolian dirt roads and it broke off. The following day, my the bike lost electric power, leaving me stranded in the middle of a desert (2650km from nearest town).
Summer is the rainy season in Mongolia and there are afternoon storms almost every day.
Mosnings are cloudless. People drive wherever they please, but, unfortunately, all tracks are badly corrugated.
Mountains are baren, only river valleys are green.
Khurgan Lake at the base of Altai mountains marking the border between Mongolia and China.
Typical Mongolian scenery in Altai region.
Afternoon storm brewing up.
Big Sky Mongolia.
SW-Motech rack couldn't handle punishing Mongolian dirt roads.
Then it happened - on an empty stretch of a road through Mongolian desert, engine just died. I had a nagging suspicion what it might have been - a faulty charging system. After coasting to a stop, I checked the battery with a voltmeter and it was low.
I checked the map and figured I was abouty 260km from the nearest town. I didn't know if they had any motorcycle shop there, but I was sure they did not have either stator or regulator for my bike. I didn't think they had spares in Ulaanbaatar either. It was the first day of the main holiday of the year and all the cars were going in the other direction and I was low on water.
So, after 120,000km of exploring Europe and Asia on this bike, I decided to abandon it there, in desolate Mongolian desert. It was a hard decision, but I wasn't too keen on hassling with towing for 260km to a small town or 1600km Ulaanbaatar and then waiting for several weeks for the spare part like I did a year earlier in Chile.
I was bummed out by the premature end of my ride. I was supposed to ride back to Russia and then on to Korea and maybe Japan. But things don't always work out the way we want them to be. I had to leave almost all the spare parts and tools that I had been lugging for years. Almost new tires that I had put on the bike just 2-3 days earlier and the airplane ticket out of Russia were an insult to injury.
The final resting place of my Tenere.
Leaving almost brand new tires on the bike really hurt.
I had to leave behind trophy stickers from various trips around Europe and Asia.
Oiler that I had installed a year earlier kept chains lubed for over 40,000km.
I was bummed out by the premature end of my ride. I was supposed to ride back to Russia and then on to Korea and maybe Japan. But things don't always work out the way we want them to be. I had to leave almost all the spare parts and tools that I had been lugging for years. Leaving behind riding gear, spare parts, almost new tires that I had put on the bike just 2-3 days earlier and the airplane ticket out of Russia were an insult to injury.
The traffic was so sparse, I could take a nap in the middle of a road between vehicles passing by, mostly in the "wrong" direction.
Once I collected some of the luggage, I was ready to hitch a ride. It would be another 20-30 minutes before the first vehicle passed by in the direction of Ulaanbaatar. Luckily, the vehicle stopped and I was on my way to the next town.
The redeeming part of breaking down in non-first-world countries is that people are always ready to help. Mongolia was no different. The guys who picked me up didn't speak English or Russian, but we managed to communicate with hands. They were going to a city half way to Ulaanbaatar and offered to take me there. So I traveled with them for 800km. They dropped me off at a bus station around 2 am and soon after a bus to Ulaanbaatar pulled up and less than 24 hrs after the breakdown I was in the capital.
Since I wasn't going back to get the bike, I told the guys who picked me up that they could have the bike. I am not sure who got the bike, I hope the kind guys who gave me the 800km ride got it and managed to fix it.
Reaching Mongolia in time for the biggest annual bash, Naadam festival, was one of my goals when I planned the trip. The whole country celebrates this holiday for a week. People travel to the countryside and relive their nomadic past, camping all over the vast Mongolian landscape. There are gatherings outside cities where people compete in three disciplines - archery, wrestling and horse racing.
Ulaanbaatar, being the capital, is where the main events are held. I attended archery competition in the city and horse racing some 30km outside the city. Wrestling competition was the most popular and the tickets were sold out by the time I reached Ulaanbaatar. It's a bit commercialized but still far cry from tourist traps one finds in the west.
Archery is an important Mongolian tradition.
Horce racing is another competition discipline at Naadam festival.
Teenagers show off their skills outside Ulaanbaatar.
Smaller kids get to ride camels.
Teenagers cruising on their horses.
Being a regular tourist.
I spent four days exploring the capital and its museums while waiting for my flight to Thailand. Ulaanbaatar is a modern city with all the comforts one needs. I hear that traffic jams are horrendous, but during Naadam, most residents are vacationing and it was quite pleasant.
Old royal palace in Ulaanbaatar.
Replica of the posts from the four corners of Mongolia.
Gandantegchenling Monastery close to the city center.
Temple roof structure - uncanny resemblance to Korean temple architecture.
Prayer wheels inside the temple complex, very similar to those in Tibet.
Impressive door of the Ginghis Khan Museum.
Mongolian Government building with Ginghis Khan in the center.
Modern street art in Ulaabaatar.
Ulaabaatar downtown - modern, clean and pleasant.
These Soviet-era vans are vehicles of choice in the city and on badly corrugated roads of Mongolia.
Making friends on the bus ride to Naadam festival.
Chicken and beef kebabs in Ulaabaatar.
Shish kebabs. Mongols are not big fans of veggies
Mongolian car license plate.
While the whole trip was an enormous fun, riding through beautiful landscapes, meeting friendly people, trying local foods and drinks, following are things that will stick in my mind forever:
My other adventure rides: