Morning all,
I’ve just uploaded some new pics on Facebook but haven’t had time to upload them to a server yet. This link should take you there. Check out the front sprocket!! I didn’t realise they wore out so quickly.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3499625&l=7c44457c02&id=509264687
Not much else to report. Still waiting for my Russian visa and Dorothy’s parcel and until they both arrive we’re just laying low in Bishkek.
After that we’re back on the road. Can’t wait!
Looks like great fun…good luck with the rest of the journey 
wow. Wish I had the guts to just get up and go. I keep making excuses lol. I’d def like to be there when you arrive
City centre, Kashagar. There were army everywhere confiscating cameras and locking up tourists. This is about the only shot of dot and the city I got. Sadly
That and this one of the kebab smokers.
High Street Sarry Tas, Kyrgyzsta. It’s the first place you come to after crossing the Chinese border. It was cold and kinda weird. I asked for the hotel and ended up staying with a girl’s family I met at the shop. I think they regretted taking me in as they just shut me in the side room and had me eat seperately. They had cow, I had noodles. And they argued all night long about something.
To escape from the arguing I went for a walk. It was a friendly place.
I hate kids but these were alright
Dot’s bed for the night. I broke one of the pannier clips getting it through the door. Bugger. The dog was also trapped in there to keep Dot company.
I stopped to take a phot and this horseman stopped
I didn;t get a pic from the saddle but he jumped off, gave me the reins and helped me hop straight on. He led me up and down the road a little way before giving me his details to send him the pics before the horse caused a puddle.
A real nice chap
These guys were cool too. It was at 4.30am, I’d slept behind a bush having ridden til darkness but then some dogs woke me up with their barking and having beenchased by so many already I jumped out of bed, packed up the tent and hit the road before they attacked. This was a coffee stop open all night not far down the road.
They were nice
By midday I’d reached this lake. I can’t remember it’s name but it was real beautiful, so I stopped to drink some water and finish off the bread I’d saved from breakfast. It was peaceful here and had it not been midday I’d have pitched the tent and stayed
Up in the hills is where whole communities live in tents. This was the only manicured but with a statue and sign to somewhere. That’s a cow on a lead. They would have ate it later.
This was the scenery for so long. Just real lush grass and rolling hills. The only problem was the roads. They were so good and smooth that all the locals in their old VWs, Beemrs and Audis could race up and down them at twice Dot’s speed.
This was the road up the highest pass, about 3,500 metres. Dot held second all the way, I was so proud.
On the way down were a million sheep being herded somewhere.
This was in the hotel in China. They had a laundry service but it was too expensive, so as usual I did my own. And no, I didn’t use the Castrol
I left the ‘do not disturb’ sign on just in case the maid walked in and had a fit. ‘No tyres in the bathroom,’ she would have screamed.
The x-ray of a leg I broke ten years ago. YOu can just see the three clips that are still in from the surgery. The Chinese doctor said they should now come out and that I should rest for ten days becasue it looked weak. We’ll see about that.
The main square in Bishkek. Every night all the local tourists come down to have their picture taken and stare mesmersised at the fountains. Quite a nice place if it wasn;'t for the Soviet music through the speakers.
I didn’t know she was breast-feeding.
Baby Denise at the hostel I’m staying. There are five kittens here as well and everyday she tries to strangle them. Or steal my money.
The caretaker who held me take Dot apart. Also the German bikers on the BMW> They’ve mothered and fathered me for the last week and I’ll miss 'em when I’ve gone.
Dorothy’s ninja star. Good job the seal was leaking or I wouldn’t have spotted it until the chain started free-wheeling. The worrying thing is that if this package doesn’t turn p it’s going to have to go back on.
Me in my room. Bedtime. Tea.
And my new knife I bought in China. It has a holster and everything. At this time I had the bunk alone. Now there’s a Spanish guy above me who has realy bad BO…
Dot’s dinner.
Been off site for a while so only just picked up on your adventure.
Yup, mostly your right. People are generally good. It’s governments/politics/religion that foul things up.
Good going so far so keep going and the best of luck and keep posting.
Just a quick photo update. I don’t know if I mentioned it but Dot’s been ill; bust sump plug, brake cable and front sprocket. Here’s our attempt to fix her;
Thanks to Andreas and Claudia, the two German bikers who helped me no end. Claudia took most of these shots while Andreas helped me massively with Dorothy. Thanks mate, I now have someone else to blame.
Fantastic images and story mate Look forward to the big arrival
Incredible Nathan! Looks like hard work, and I love the photo of the Make DOT Go Faster plaque!
You’ll feed off this experience for the rest of you life…
Also, the way other bikers help you out is fantastic. You don’t get that in the UK so much, but I’ve seen it myself on the mainland in Europe and it really makes you feel better about humanity!
nathanthepostman
Keep the posts and pictures coming, I’m loving this and so will a lot of others be that wanted, but never had the courage, to do what you are doing.
I’m just about to push a link through to a magazine publisher I’ve known for a while to see if he bites on your adventure.
I’ve just been watching the videos on your website and I can’t quite place your accent mate … where are you from?
Thanks for the comments guys, and Oldguy we’d love it if somehow you can get Dorothy’s face in the paper.
As for the accent I was born in Mansfield, Notts, but spent a bit of time at college near Scarborough which I thinks given it a Yorskhire twang. I might also have picked up a bit of Aussie having lived there for a little while.
Just to let you know Dorothy’s fixed. The repair to the sump plug didn’t go exactly to plan; we just couldn’t get the rethreading screw to bite. Or we were too nervous to use it properly… something like that.
So instead we wound some plumber’s tape around the old thread, dropped a little Stag around the bolt head then sealed the lot in with some plastic metal. I don’t think that should come out, but just to make sure we tiewrapped the toothbrush you see in the pictures to the sump guard to act as a ‘bolt bra’. If the glue fails it can’t in theory go anywhere. But we’ll see.
Of course now the only problem is oil changes which we’re either going to do with Dot stood on her head with the oil out the filler hole. Or I could lay it on her side and drop it out the clutch cover. Or I’ve got some hose to syphon it out if need be.
I reckon it’s another 7,000 kay or so to England so if we can do it twice in that time I think she’ll be right.
We’ve just had a nightmare getting her back together and fitting the other things like brake cables and new sprockets but now she’s all set to leave in the morning. We’ve got a week to cross Kazakhstan, which we reckon is about 3,000kays wide. It’'ll be tight but if Dot holds together we should make it.
From there we go into Russia on a five day transit visa and then maybe down to the Black Sea to catch a ferry to Turkey. It’s either that or carry on through Ukraine; we’ve not decided yet.
We’ll let you know how we go.
Nathan and Dorothy.
Soon to be back on the road.
One of my dreams to do an adventure like that.
Nathan,
You still going?
Missing the posts.
Yeah we’re still going strong, sort of.
The good news is we’re across Kazakhstan and almost through Russia with us planning on crossing into Ukraine tomorrow. The bad news is Dorothy’s not well. Real engine problems. Clanking and clunking with a dip in power and occassional ‘sticky’ moments.
Our real fear has been breaking down in either Kazakhstan or Russia - the first cause it’s so wild and the second cause I only have a five day transit visa and would be buggered if I ver stayed that.
By the looks of things though we should make the next 300 kays into Ukraine where we can breathe for a bit without the worry of visas and get Dorothy a doctor in Kiev or something. I think finally the 30,000 kays she’s covered along deserts and over mountains has got the better of her and she’s starting to creek and groan.
But only 3 or 4 thousand kays to go now so we’re on the home stratch and pushing as hard as we can. We’re camping every night in the Russian wild and living a two minute lifestyle. We’re dirty, smelly and have no maps for Russia or any of the countries we’re going to be covering, but using the sun and the power of Russian charades with the locals we’re getting there bit by bit. I’ve just found a McDonalds so am happy for a moment, next though I have to find the road out of town and then in half an hours time find somewhere quiet to camp. With the size of this city I’m not sure how easy that’s going to be, but like the rest of this trip, we’ll give it a go…
ETA for Dover 3rd October. Maybe sooner if Dorothy survives the night.
Excellent read (and pics). Looking forward to the next installment
All the best on your travels.
This really is a fantastic read - make sure you keep all informed of when you are getting back. I imagine quite a reception to welcome you home…
Hi guys,
Just on the fly, half a days ride from the western of Ukraine. We’re doing okay, the bike’s holding together though we’re now down to a crusing pace of 30mph. Tomorrow Poland. Two days after Germany.
Dorothy’s moving at such an incredible pace I’ve had no choice but to bring the arrival date forward to the 26th September. I was thinking of dropping the ‘Ace’, do I have to book in or anything if there’s a few of us? I’ve never been before and neither has Dorothy. We thought it a fitting place for a first beer.
Got to dash but just posted this on the website. It gives a bit more of an update on progress but hopefully once we’re not feeling so nervous at still being a long way from home we’ll post some more pics and what not.
See you in London…
Well, another day, another 300 kays passed beneath Dorothy’s rear wheel. Incredible, utterly incredible. The vibration’s still there at 60 and she still don’t sound sweet but on she goes.
Yesterday when I got RTWDougs message with the Kiev contact details in I gave them a ring. This is it I thought, I’ll stop in Kiev for the night and get them to help me find a mechanic the next morning. The lady answered and was oh so happy to hear from a friend of Doug’s. She said sure, it wouldn’t be a problem, they could help no sweat.
There was just one snag. They weren’t back in Kiev 'til tomorrow. (today)
So at 5pm in a MacDonalds car park somewhere in Kiev I said ‘well Dorothy, what do you want to do?’ And you know what she replied…
‘Ride mother ****** ride.’
And that’s exactly what we did, blazing a glorious sunset trail as we conquered another 140 kays before bedtime. It was the call of the road; it was just too damn loud to sit and wait in Kiev, we had to move on, to keep on keepin on as some of you guys say. Christ knows how long this whirlwind’s going to carry on for, all the way to England we hope, but one thing’s for sure I doubt very much even I can stop her. It’s Dorothy you see, she’s taken over, controlling the whip. And if she says ride then damn it, that’s what we do.
Last night for a bit of a pamper I stayed in a motel. It was actually because I couldn’t find a good spot to camp, but it was real nice being able to peel the clothes off after two weeks in the tent and sleep without one hand on the knife. I had a shower, recharged the laptop and iPod, even unpacked and repacked just for the hell of it. I had light, no mosquitoes, even a mirror ro look in and say ‘oh ****, it’s a BeeGee.’
It’s been raining today. Not long, not too heavy, but it’s a reminder, along with the bitter cold, that autumn is snapping closely at our heels. The leaves are also falling which is no good as they the cover that shelters our tent pitch from those passing on the road. Hopefully they hold out as long as Dorothy and we can celebrate autumn’s true arrival with a cup of tea and some nice thick toast besides a British fireplace.
At this pace I calculated , we could be in Dover THIS saturday, not next. (just been on route planner and it’s almost exaclty 2000 kays from here)
I know some of you will say slow down, sight see a little. But I tell you, nothing we could possibly see or do between here and England can match that blast of ecstacy I dream will hit us when we touch down in Dover. It’s what I spend the day imagining and reliving over and over again. It’s what keeps the mind focused in what iseasily the toughest part of the whole journey. I feel the pressure like never before. I know what I said about the spirit of Dorothy and how it will always live on, but I want more than anything in this world to make it all the way on this bike, on this engine, in this state.
It’s weird and I don’t really know how to explain it, but to seek help somehow seems not right. Like finding a mechanic. You’ll laugh but it feels like cheating… cheating fate I suppose. I couldn’t even accept a pair of warmer gloves off Claudia on the BMW when she offered them. I had to carry on riding in the mismatched pair I’ve had for the last five months with the socks given to me by the German who called me ‘gay’ over the top. There’s no logic in it I know. But it’s how I feel and think it’s also why it feels so right to keep on riding while we can. Even in Kiev last night I was actually relieved we had the excuse to carry on, as that’s what ‘Dorothy’ wanted to do.
My only worry is the Ukraine border. I realised last night that the **** at customs never gave me the stamped form he should have. No doubt it’ll mean another 5 hour day being asked for bribes while being told ‘big trouble.’ I’ll be real happy once I’m in the EU and can sail through the borders without having to deal with these tits.
But never mind…
As for that ‘stash’, I do have to clear up before any accussations fly that the only drugs we carried over the Ukraine border were the pills of madness kindly supplied by the nine months we’ve spent on the road. You should try them, they really are quite magnificent. And legal.
Okay, I’ve waffled enough. I’m going to have another look at Google Earth and scribble a few directions in my diary before getting back on the road. Hopefully this rain will stay off and we can get within a whisker of the Polish border tonight, camp, then cross in the morning.
Until the end, Nathan and Dorothy.
What a great trip, hats off to you Nathan and Dorothy. Maybe we should arrange a greeting at Dover and a ride into London for you.
Sounds like you and Dorothy are making good progress, keep us posted on your arrival date and I am sure there will be a few LBer’s who’d meet you at the Ace on Saturday to buy you a cuppa or a beer (guessing the second sounds more appealing ) Hope Dorothy makes it to the Ace, would be great to have a look at a little Aussie post bike that has travelled all those miles!!
You won’t need to book anything at the Ace but if I pop in at all this week I will let the manager know about it, how many people are you expecting and what’s your ETA there? they have a got a few things going on on that day but I am sure there will be plenty of room for you and your following, they have a fairly big car park.
Safe travels
Some of us plan to meet Nathan at Dover and ride to London with him.
