Hi all, I spent many hours reading adventure reports here on AdvRider for a couple of years and I finally have the chance to share my trip :-D. Project Black Sea was supposed to be a tour of the Black Sea but unfortunately I couldn't get a Visa for Russia. It was also supposed to be a two guys Adventure but my buddy decided to Cancel, two weeks before start. So I left Brussels with Tbilisi on my compass and I would do a U-turn when I get there. First thing first, the BEAST! and...a guy happy to leave for the unknown. I crossed the countries quite fast until Turkey so I could spend more time in Turkey and Georgia. And I've been seduced immediately by Turkish landscapes. I started getting used to altitude traffic regulation and decided to put the dirt shoes on! Oh mama! But I'm not an off-road guy, so on the first sand track on the way to Nemrut Golü, I let the beast have some rest. But not for too long because mount Ararat was waiting for me...Highest mount in Turkey with 5'000m high. Wow.
Sorry I'm posting replies but I'm having problems on long post, I already lost my post content twice So where were we. Ah right Mount Ararat. And just before the mount I enjoyed the city of Dogubayazit 25km from Iranian border. The palace (forgot the name, sorry Ishak something) is impressive! But time flies and it was time for me to leave Turkey behind (but will beback there soon) and cross the border to Georgia. When arrived in Tbilisi I decided to rest a bit and I serviced the bike. Tbilisi is really a nice city and worth a visit but traffic in Georgia is a pain in the a... terrible drivers!! then I took the way up north to the military road to see Kazbegi and the grand Caucasus. While I was expecting non paved roads I got a brand new tarmac! But the view is awesome!!
Hi all, So after Kazbegi and the military road heading to the Russian border, I had to go back south as I had no Visa for Russia. But I enjoyed some more landscapes from the Great Caucasus. Last camp in Georgia, found a nice place. Then I took the old route to Batumi. 60km of good track with beautiful landscapes. I really enjoyed that part. And finally reached the Black Sea at Batumi! Back in Turkey I followed the coast for a while but it was quite uggly, so I went back inside the country following a track to Bayburt. This track was really awesome reaching 2'200m. After Bayburt it was already time to go west. So I took the road to Istanbul I planned to ride the Transfagarasan but unfortunately it snowed the day earlier and I had snow on the road as from 1'800m and the temperature was negative... So I rode as far as I could and when it turned really slippery I went back down. :-\ But I still had the chance to enjoy the view. WOW. And that was it. After Romania, I took the highway across Hungary, Austria, Germany and Belgium. The trip was awesome. Turkish people are very, very welcoming. I had free food almost everywhere I stopped to camp. More pics on my blog here: http://projectblacksea.com Cheers, Séb
Thanks guys. I'm glad you like the pics and the video. I will post some more pics soon. Enjoy your rides guys. Cheers
Beautiful photos, and very interesting for me, this is the part that I missed in my last lap. Well done
Hey Séb, Severin here, we met in Hungary shortly before the austrian border! How was your trip back home? I was stopped by the police 30 seconds after we split up on the Autobahn, apart from that it went uneventful. Enjoyed the video, especially the exchanges with people! That guy in the shirt looked really cold with all the wind going on, but you made his day with the snack. Cheers
Hey Severin! Good to read from you! My trip back was good! Boring autobahns but all good. Bad luck for the cops, why did they arrest you? Were you doing wheelies again on the highway with your old lady? Did you start your story about your trip? I would be very interested to read it! @all, thanks for your comments, I'm glad you appreciate the pictures and the video. Indeed the landscapes were amazing! Turkey and Goergia are two beautiful countries and people are very warm welcoming! Cheers
Of course, I was constantly popping power wheelies due to the untamable power of the Transalp. :d But really, they just wanted to look at my bike on the pretext of checking if I had a 'Pickerl'. Haven't started my story yet, but I've recently begun going through all the pictures and sorting it. So, maybe by Summer 2015. Can we expect some more pictures of your trip?
Aha, I can imagine their curiosity about your bike! So we did well to strop 3 times to buy the 'Pickerl'! Yes sure! Will post more images soon! Cheers, Séb
Hi all, Stay True #6 has been just been released with a chapter about the Black Sea trip. Stay True 6 Enjoy! More pics to come...
Epic ride Great video! New friends, help a stranger... This is the magic of travel, I love it That's Ishak Pasha Palace in the Doğubeyazıt Nice magazine, photos from the trip as well. Thank's for sharing