Round The World Cycle Trip

[acousticmotorbike]

I'm now in Quetta, Pakistan - got here after a 44 hour bus ride from Tehran.  You're not allowed to cycle from Bam due to the 'security situation' and are often picked up by a police escort before then, so it was a bit of a drag being on a bus for so long.  There were a couple of delays due to road blocks and a crash, but otherwise it was uneventful.  I'll update my blog tomorrow and try and post some photos here.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Iran and highly recommend it and I'm looking forward to whateve challenges Pakistan throws my way. 

I've updated my website with some equipment reviews, but not sure if it's loaded properly - I can't view any of the photos from this end.

Aidan

[jags]

good on ya aiden look's like your having a great tour, the new tent looks fantastic.
you do realise you'll never settle down after all this touring .mark beomont the guy who broke the world reckord for touring the world,had major problems in pakistan, mainly with police ,so give them a wide berth .how is your healt, have you lost loads of weight,(not been smart) anyway keep us posted great to hear from you,
 best regards
  jags

[acousticmotorbike]

I've just managed to post some video footage to YouTube you can few here:  http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AitAIeEuLH4
It's footage from bike ride through Tehran. It's not my normal style of riding - but when in Rome.

Pakistan is great so far.  No problems at all and the food is magnificent.  I've updated my blog at www.acousticmotorbike.com and added some photos from the last few days. I'll post some here when I get a chance.

Aidan

[jags]

ah fantastic stuff aiden great blog ,look forward to the next installment.

[pastafarian]

Very nice survival skills indeed!

How did you fasten the camera to the bike?

[jags]

aiden just reading your blog ,great stuff. you said you had problems with the exped mat with down getting stuck in the valves , did you sort this problem out,if so how did you do it.
i have one of those mats hate to think im going to have problems with it.

[acousticmotorbike]

Hi Jags,
I've been chilling in India for a few months now and have been lucky enough to have the use of an Enfield 500cc motorobike for most of the time, the change of pace is nice ;o)

I swapped my mat at a shop in Passau.  They told me that they would have to send it to Switzerland to get tested, but when I told them of my trip, they gave me a new one there and then on the spot.  They didn't even check the old mat.  I hear that it's a fairly common problem with them, but that it's been "fixed" on the new model.

Aidan

[acousticmotorbike]

Just a quick update to let you all know that I'm still alive.  I've spent most of the last four / five months on a motorbike in India, which was a nice change of pace.  Unfortunately my bike got damaged on the roof of a bus on my way down from the mountains, so I've left it in storage in Delhi and I'll deal with it when I get back to India.  There's not too much damage, bent handlebar (I think) and damage to the gear cables / handlebar mount when it got hit by a low hanging tree.

I've added some new videos to my YouTube page, one is a slide show of my trip in Iran and another is descending the Rothang La (pass) in India, which may be of interest to anyone considering cycling that route.  Hopefully I'll manage to upload a slide show of Pakistan (crashed twice already).

All the best
Aidan

[exchangeandmart]

Hi, wow round the world trip, and I thought traveling round Sicily was going to be challenging, it doesn't even compare! Great to hear you're still doing well. Good luck with it all.

[jags]

so aiden does this mean your finished cycling,how bad was is the bike damaged like is it fixable.
besides all that im glad your still alive and going strong,keep us updated if you can cheers for now
jags.

[acousticmotorbike]

There's not too much damage to the bike, nothing a couple of hours and a hammer won't straighten out!
I'll be back on the bike at some stage, my plan was always to spend a lot of time in India / Nepal where I have many friends from previous visits. 

I want to enjoy my trip and I'm in no rush to finish it, but I do miss my bike and I'm looking forward to getting back on the road and making my way (slowly) towards NZ.

Aidan

[jags]

goodstuff aiden enjoy your tour hope you don't loose your fitness on the bike.

[istokm]

nice, we could meet in australia, i did same just me start in new york
salam istok

[acousticmotorbike]

Well, I've finally managed to extract myself from India / Nepal / India after 11 months!  I haven't done any serious mileage on the bike since March 09 as I've been using motorbikes that friends have lent me or public transport, but that was always the plan.  I spent Christmas in Goa with a load of friends and had a great time and I flew from South India to Chiang Mai (North Thailand) and I'll be back on the bike properly from next week.

I met up with an old friend here today and have plotted out a rough route through some of the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Burma, Laos corners) and I can't wait to get back on the road.  I had some work done on the bike the other day (replaced gear cable and housing) and a few adjustments to the front mech and the cost came to €4!  Not bad at all, seeing as though I haven't had someone "proper" look at it since I was in Iran.  I updated my blog with some photos (www.acousticmotorbike.com), but for some "technical" reason I can't update my website, but that's another job for another day.

Aidan

[stutho]

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