Today is exactly 10 weeks since I boarded the plane in Dubai, to come home and await the outcome of the unwelcome events in Iran. My bike was safely parked, beside the croissants, in the Biker’s Café and I expected to be back in 3, maybe 4 weeks; toujours optimist! How many times ,on thisContinueContinue reading “3/27 – Homeward Bound – 30 Aug – ?? Oct 2025”
Tag Archives: south-africa
3/18 (Part 1) – Getting it All Together – 01-24 April 2025
In reality repairing the bike was a fairly simple exercise in bolting everything back together. Simple as this sounds, it was made more difficult by the delays in delivery and the arrival of incorrect parts. The only real hiccough, if I could call it that was the deposits I found in the carburettors. This wasContinueContinue reading “3/18 (Part 1) – Getting it All Together – 01-24 April 2025”
3/14 – The Road To Recovery Begins – 3-9 March 2025
When I last wrote I was about to spend my third night in hospital. It’s now five days later it’s Sunday the 9th of March. I got my first pictures of the bike from the trucking company and from these it seemed that, like me, the bike has got off quite lightly. I made myContinueContinue reading “3/14 – The Road To Recovery Begins – 3-9 March 2025 “
3/10 – Tekapo to Dunedin 14-15 Feb 2025
Friday 14 Feb 2025 The day dawned bright and in slow time I got myself ready to face the ride to Oamaru. Before leaving I chatted to three lovely Scottish lassies; the wanted to know what my bike was called! When told she didn’t have a name they were horrified! So! Anyone with any thoughtsContinueContinue reading “3/10 – Tekapo to Dunedin 14-15 Feb 2025”
3/09 – Belfast, Canterbury, New Zealand – 11/12 Feb 2025
Tue 11 Feb 2025 Because it was raining, I set off from Liz’s place towards midday, with a promise of dryer weather in the afternoon, and indeed I reached Blenheim with nothing more than a few sprinkles to bother me. The road was, as I had been warned, boring, with it’s only redeeming feature being,ContinueContinue reading “3/09 – Belfast, Canterbury, New Zealand – 11/12 Feb 2025”
01/10 – ON THE ROAD AGAIN! – 01 June 2019
Sat 01 June 2019At 7 o’clock on a Saturday morning, it was cold! Wrapped up and still chilly! I set off after a delay of some 4 weeks fixing and upgrading things on the bike. Some of the bits I was waiting for hadn’t arrived, but I decided they weren’t essential to the success ofContinueContinue reading “01/10 – ON THE ROAD AGAIN! – 01 June 2019”
01/08 – Mozambique 1 – 03 May
03 May 2019 Getting out of SA and into Mozambique was easy; it took about 45 minutes altogether, which included getting a visa ($100) and a free temporary import permit (TIP). Outside, I tried to change some money as I knew that the upcoming tolls only accepted cash, but to no avail – nobody wantedContinueContinue reading “01/08 – Mozambique 1 – 03 May”
1/07 – ACROSS THE START LINE –28 April 2019
Darryl Boswell So this was it! On Sunday 19th April 2019 I had crossed the start line and the journey had really begun. Before leaving Dullstroom, however, I had a meeting with Darryl Boswell, who is a direct descendant of Richard Charles O’Neill. I had been pointed his way by the owners of Mrs Simpsons, and hadContinueContinue reading “1/07 – ACROSS THE START LINE –28 April 2019”
1/06 – Belfast, Mpumalanga, RSA – 20-22 Apr 2019
20 April 2019 Just for a change I left Dee & John’s later than planned, but I was well fuelled and raring to go. During my runaround on the Rand, the clutch had started slipping. This only happened first thing when it was cold; I couldn’t think of a logical reason for this, but itContinueContinue reading “1/06 – Belfast, Mpumalanga, RSA – 20-22 Apr 2019”
1/05 – INTERLUDE: GRADUATION DAY, 14 April 2019
03 – 09 April 2019 After a pleasant evening, and, as I didn’t manage to get any en-route, a good bottle of John’s value wine – his idea of what it’s worth spending on wine and mine differ, 🙂 but we have a good system; when I visit, he feeds me and I provide the wine that he wouldn’tContinueContinue reading “1/05 – INTERLUDE: GRADUATION DAY, 14 April 2019”
Belfast-2-Belfast-By-Bike 