 Tuesday, September 6, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 447.1 KM
Average Speed: 50.9 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 8 Hours 46 Minutes
Our last stop in Greece today was to buy gasoline as we had heard that petrol is very expensive in Turkey. Our choice was unfortunate as the owner had doctored the gas with something else. As a result, the bike would barely run and we burned 8 liters in 34 miles! We finally found another station and pumped in another 8 liters to help dilute the bad stuff. Turned out to be an expensive gas stop (and the first time we have gotten bad gas in our 5 years of touring so far).
 Another day, another continent. As we crossed the Bosporus Straits (photo right) late this afternoon we officially set foot on the Asian continent. Verna snapped this shot as we crossed the bridge over the straights in rush hour traffic (so it is a little out of focus).
It took about an hour and a half at the border. We had to purchase our visa (good for three months for €20) in a location separate from passport control and you don’t know this until you get to passport control. In all, there were five different check points we had to go through in addition to purchasing the visa and also purchasing third party insurance with the last check point verifying all of our papers were in order. We were able to purchase third party insurance for €15 that covers us for one year - interesting considering the time the visa is valid.
Then we were on the road. We stopped in Ipsala to use an ATM to get some Turkish Lira then rode on to Kesan where we had a salad for lunch. We covered a lot of territory today but not because we planned it that way. We wound up riding around Istanbul late in the afternoon and got caught in two separate bits of traffic congestion due to road rebuilding.
We plan on stopping in Istanbul on our way out of the country later in the year and did not stop today. We ended the day in Izmit, an interesting town where we found a hotel just as the sun was about to set. Another bike appeared at the hotel at the same time we did - a German gentleman on an old Norton Commander.
We have been surprised by the number of people who speak English. We don’t think this will be the case when we get to the eastern part of the country but it has been nice to be able to chat with folks when we were stopped for lunch and rest breaks.
Tomorrow we will ride north to some small towns on the Black Sea.
And, with a little luck we should get the web site updated in the morning - the hotel has an ethernet connection in the lobby for guest use, free of charge! Just plug your laptop into the cable that you get at reception. Now if we could just get hotels in Europe and North America to do the same. 
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 313.3 KM
Average Speed: 55.9 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 35 Minutes
Another long day. A lot of motorway this morning for which we were thankful. The road was in good condition and allowed us to get a lot of kilometers done this morning with relatively little effort. Much of the time was spent on the high plain and fairly straight roads. The afternoon however was a different story as we were on a normal 2 lane highway going through the mountains. We have learned something about the Turkish highway system - it is currently undergoing massive revamping. Every road we have been on is either being resurfaced, widened, or totally made anew. For several kilometers today the surface was nearly nonexistent which made the going very slow and arduous.
At the end of the day we ended up in Safranbolu, an old Ottoman town that has restored many of its fine buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries when the wealthy inhabitants built mansions of sun-dried bricks, wood and stucco. We stayed at an old caravanserai built in 1645.
Thursday, September 8, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 170.9 KM
Average Speed: 33.5 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 06 Minutes
We headed north today to the Black Sea, over a 4,000 foot (1,219 meters) mountain pass. Then we took the coast road east - we climbed and dropped, twisted and turned our way along the coast and through beautiful hardwood forests. And yes, we found the road construction - this time many kilometers of fresh tar and gravel. We stopped for the day in the small beach town of Cide and found a small family run hotel for the night.
Jim spent the afternoon working on the sidecar brake, again. We have (finally) discovered what has been causing the problem with the sidecar brake and, more important, fixed it. Jim has been thinking about the problem for days now, not believing the brake is the problem. This morning as we were riding along, Verna asked “What is that tink tink sound I keep hearing?” That got Jim pondering possibilities. After we stopped, Jim investigated, expecting that something was hitting t he bar, causing it to bend. Sure enough, one of the mounting bolts for the brake caliper was hitting the bar when the shocks were compressed. Jim reattached the bar behind the offending bolt, and voila! no more “tink tink” and hopefully no more bent rods. Whew!
We then could breathe easily and enjoy the sunset over the Black Sea from the beach at Cide (photo above) before we ate our dinner of Mezgit (small fried fish fresh from the sea), salad and a beer.
Friday, September 9, 2005 - Friday September 16, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 101.6 KM
Average Speed: 31.9 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 6 Hours 11 Minutes
We arose early (6:30) to get a start on the day. After showering and packing, we headed downstairs at 7:30 only to find the hotel proprietress still in bed! Guess we won’t be having an early breakfast. After several trips downstairs to load the bike, she was up and in the kitchen. We waited outside, watching the approaching storm getting blacker every minute and headed our way. Thunder, lightening, and pouring rain entertained us for breakfast and finally by 10 am the storm passed and we were able to get on the road.
Our first obstacle was to get out of town as they had the main road under construction and it was now a lake. We waited for a truck to go through so we could see how deep it was, then ventured on.
The road was quite steep, twisty, and narrow so the going was slow. Not long on the road Verna began hearing “Thunk thunk” and began looking for the problem. After about an hour, the “thunking” got louder and Jim felt the rear end get wobbly and we knew exactly what the problem was - the rear wheel bearings had gone. We pulled off the road and began dismantling the rear end. We were now in the middle of nowhere, at least an hour’s drive to the nearest town (the one we just came from).
 By the time Jim got the hub off, 2 guys on an ATV stopped to see if we needed help. They took the hub into town along with the replacement bearings we had with us to get it fixed. About 3 hours later they returned with the bearings installed and helped get the bike back together. They also brought us cokes and candy bars. Jim offered to pay for everything but they would accept nothing! We did get a photo of them before they drove off (right).
The wheel hub is cracked and that is what caused the bearings to fail. We think this happened on an extremely rough section of road the day we rode from the border with Greece past Istanbul.
While we were waiting for them, a couple from Switzerland stopped to chat. They were bicycling their way from Switzerland to India for their honeymoon! They plan to take 8 months and have been on the road 4 months now. We were very impressed! We’re sure if they survive this trip, they will have a long and happy marriage.
Finally back on the road, it then took us another 3 hours to make it to Inebolu. As the hub is cracked and the axle damaged, we cannot go on until replacement parts arrive, so we will be here for awhile. Now we will learn about delivery companies and customs duties in Turkey. See The Bikes Equipment Report Card 2005 page for more information.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - Status Update
We received a fax at out hotel yesterday afternoon telling that our package was waiting for us at the customs impound facility. No mention of where this might be, however. We had just returned from a visit to an internet cafe and looking at the DHL site we knew this before we received the fax.
This morning we had a very long talk with DHL in Istanbul. DHL in Germany told Horst that there would be no problem. The package would be delivered to the hotel and we could pay the customs duty when it was delivered. True, if you are a Turkish national. If you are a foreigner, you must personally appear at the customs facility at the Istanbul airport to get your package.
So, tonight we take a bus that leaves Inebolu at 20:00 hours and arrives in Istanbul at 06:00 hours tomorrow morning. We then must take a train to the airport from the bus station. We hope to be on a return bus tomorrow night with the new wheel hub and axle.
We have no idea where we are to go at the airport. DHL could not provide ANY information about that. Oh yes, we could hire a broker who could get the package for us if we could find one who spoke English and we could find someone in Inebolu who could make a Power of Attorney which includes our passport that could be given to a Broker who would process the paper work for us. OK - tell us a Broker that speaks English that we can use. DHL has no information about any Brokers that they could give us. What a way to run a business. This is the first time we have every used DHL. It will also be the last.
But, to be fair it is the Turkish Customs laws that are creating the problems. We just think that a shipping company who takes €160.00 to ship a package should be able to provide just a wee bit more information that is accurate and useable than we got.
Friday, September 17, 2005 - Status Update
We returned from Istanbul arriving in Inebolu at 07:00 this morning on the 21:00 bus from Istanbul. Two long nights in a row on buses.
We were successful in our quest to get the new wheel hub and axle. By the time we were finished we paid the Turkish customs people €24.00 and DHL more than €380.00.
It is safe to say that we will NEVER ship anything again using DHL. We were forced to pay them €105.00 to get copies of two pieces of paper without which we could not do anything at customs. DHL is, in our opinion, a very untrustworthy company with which to do international shipping. Horst told us he was told in Germany that he had paid all duties that were necessary except customs fees. When we told DHL this the quite literally laughed in our face and told us that no one in Germany could possibly know how things work in Turkey.
We spent more than two hours after we got the customs process completed arguing with them about an additional €35.00 they wanted to get from us for storage for the package for two days. After seeing how things work in Istanbul at customs, DHL is ripping off every customer who ships something into Turkey using them as the shipping service. NEVER use DHL to ship anything. This was the first time we did and it will definitely be the last.
 The new hub has been installed and tested. Tomorrow, Saturday, we are on the road again. When we were in Instanbul, we found a sticker that is supposed to ward off the Evil Eye (photo left) and put it on the bike. Hopefully this will keep us safe and sound through the rest of our journey.
Saturday September 17, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 150.4 KM
Average Speed: 43.0 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 3 Hours 29 Minutes
We were feeling very good this morning - it is great to be back on the road. We pointed the bike east and continued our journey along the Black Sea. We arrived in Sinop after 1:30 in the afternoon, found a place to eat in the harbor (fresh fish, egg plant with yogurt sauce, green beans and a spicy tomato salsa and, of course, bread. Did you know that the Turkish consume more bread than any other nation? Great lunch.
We then went in search of a hotel. We talked about trying to ride another 167 kilometers to the next large town but fortunately, good sense won the argument and we stayed in Sinop. As someone said to us last week, “It’s not a contest so there is no sense pushing yourself too hard!”. We like that.
 The ride along the coastal mountains continues to be spectacular. And the road was not as bad as the last bit we did going into Inebolu. We passed through several little villages and only one town of any size today. Lots of cows grazing along side the road, as well as a small group of water buffalo and a few donkeys. The woman at left is just one of several we have seen over the last few days, walking back home with her collection of firewood. It is not an easy existence in these rural parts.
The new wheel hub and axle appear to be working as planned and the sidecar brake continues to perform very well. Whew!
We have complicated our packing problem by deciding that we will bring the old wheel hub and axle along just in case we have problems with the new one. It is not in very good condition but it might be the difference between being stuck alongside the road or getting into the next town if we have a similar problem. At the moment we do not have an extra set of roller bearings that the new hub uses.
Verna found some vinyl backed woven nylon fabric in Inebolu yesterday and we have wrapped the box the new unit came in (with the old pieces inside) to protect it from rain.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 251.8 KM
Average Speed: 51.4 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 4 Hours 53 Minutes
 We finally got to some good road today, a bit straighter and in some parts newly paved so we made better time. While we were driving, we kept noticing the farmers drying some type of crop, a grain we expected, on the unopened portion of the highway. In parts where the new road was paved but not yet in use, the farmers used the warm flat surface to dry their crop (photo above). As you can see, this went on for kilometers. Everyone was out spreading and turning the harvest, obviously to dry it in the warm sun. It wasn’t until that evening when we saw the Turkish news on TV that we figured out what it was: Hazelnuts! All the farmers are harvesting their hazelnuts and drying them before taking them to the processing plants.
We found a nice place to stay on coast near Unye, with a seaside view. On the highway side you would never get any sleep as the trucks and busses run all night long. So it was worth the effort trying several places until we found one that had a seaside room at the right price.
Then Jim immediately went to work replacing the brake rod (one more time) with the new stainless steel one we found in Sinop yesterday. Afterward, Verna went for a swim in the calm Black Sea, then we settled in for the night.
We have decided that the roads in Turkey fall into one of the following categories:
- Very poor (as in terrible)
- Under Construction
- Very good to excellent
Unfortunately only 10% are very good to excellent and 35% are under construction. This leaves the majority of the roads being very poor. But, the work to improve the road system is immense. 35% of the roads in the country being under construction is a huge amount of improvement. We were told today that the reason for the high gasoline prices is to finance the road improvements. Given what we have experienced we think this is a wonderful way to do it. In the not too distant future Turkey will have a very nice road infrastructure.
This may not sound like much to anyone in Europe or North America but consider this. There is no rail network in Turkey. Given the mountainous nature of the country we can easily understand why. As a result, the number of busses and large trucks (heavy good vehicles) on the roads is incredible. And, as we discovered on our trip to and from Istanbul by bus, these vehicles run 24 hours a day. We think there are actually more of them on the road between midnight and 0600 than during the daylight hours.
While there are numerous cars in the towns and cities most long distance travel is done on a bus. It is just to expensive to drive a car long distances. We do not encounter a lot of traffic on the road other than trucks and busses when we are between towns. And, these heavy vehicles have taken their toll on the road surfaces.
It looks like most of the roads were initially built by just putting gravel and tar on top of the soil. No hard packed road base was put down. As a result the heavy vehicles have caused the roads to be like a wash board. And they have been heavily patched over the years or, had more tar and gravel applied.
The new road construction involves digging up the old roads, laying a good foundation for a road base and then paving. This provides a good road surface with a supportive base that can cope with the weight of the vehicles.
We suspect that this is all a part of the Turkish push for entry into the European Union. While there is lots of work to do the scale of the effort is immense and the results are very good.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 296.0 KM
Average Speed: 46.2 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 6 Hours 24 Minutes
 Lots of good road today so we put on many kilometers. On the news last night, the weather report indicated a possibility of rain and lightening in the area we were headed, so we wanted to get as far as we could before the weather deteriorated.
We have noticed these stoplights (left) along this part of the coast. They have a countdown to tell you how many seconds remain on the light. In this one, there are 9 seconds of green light remaining. When it turns red, the indicator numbers also turn red. When the red has 1 second left, someone about 3 cars back starts honking to make sure whoever is in front gets moving immediately. The horn honking before the light turns green is very reminiscent of Italy, but the Italians don’t have the count down lights. But just think, if they did each green light would be even more like the start of a race which it already is.
We have been having a fluctuating voltage reading on our volt meter. But it never has reached the point where the battery was not being charged - until just after two o’clock today when Jim noticed the amount of voltage being generated by our alternator was not really enough to charge the battery - 12.3 volts. The problem has been intermittent and difficult to diagnose. So as long as the battery was being charged, Jim wasn’t too worried. Today he became worried. So we pulled over near a campground (just in case!) and Jim took off the gas tank to check all the connections for the relays and voltage regulator. Not finding anything he then checked the connections between the alternator and the diode board.
While this was going on Verna got to play “bumbershoot bimbo” (umbrella girl) to keep him out of the hot sun while he was working.
There were two connectors, one on the diode board and the other at the alternator, that were not really making good contact. The wonders of the Boxer electrical system - a very simple system to diagnose if the failure is constant. Given the way the voltage would fluctuate on the very rough roads and remain constant on smooth roads loose connections were what Jim suspected but you never know when the problem is intermittent. Everything back together and once again we were registering 14+ volts. Yeah! Back on the road again.
We drove straight through to our destination for the day, Macka, found a place to stay a bit further on out of town and then had a leisurely lunch/dinner at 5 pm. Fresh trout from the local fish farm, a lamb cutlet, a salad and of course, copious amounts of bread. We are in a small village (not much here except the hotel, the mosque and the fish farm) in the mountains on a minor road, so we expect a quiet night. Tomorrow we will visit the Sumela Monastery nearby.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 221.7 KM
Average Speed: 46.8 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 4 Hours 43 Minutes
 A beautiful start to the day with clear skies and a nice breakfast on the veranda overlooking the stream. Turkish breakfasts are fairly consistent: Tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, olives, a hard boiled egg, a loaf of bread with butter, jam and honey. And lots of chai (tea). This morning we were surprised with fried eggs, brought to the table in the pan (with about a 1/2” of butter). It was a delightful change to the normal cold boiled egg. The butter that was served for the bread was cold as ice, so we just dipped our bread in the melted butter. How decadent.
Suitably sustained, we then rode up to the monastery, about 12 kilometers away, up an isolated valley. At the end of the valley the visitors start the 1 hour trek to the monastery. Having our own vehicle provided us the option (which we took) of driving almost to the top, leaving only a 10 minute walk. The road was steep and winding, the last part being dirt and very uneven. Jim was pleased that we had the sidecar - he explains that the “pucker factor” is much less than with the heavily laden GS. No need to worry about tipping over now.
The monastery is set high on the mountain side, at the base of a rock cliff (photo right). Founded in the 4th century, its current form was established in the 13th century. It was restored in the 18th century and many frescoes were painted, mainly on the chapel. It was abandoned in 1923 when the Greek-Turk exchange took place. The frescoes are still vibrant and lovely, though many have been seriously defaced by visitors etching their names on them.
 From Sumela we turned back to the coast and followed it almost to the border with Georgia. We found lots of decent road today as well as a lot of ongoing construction. Jim has decided they should put up a sign at the Turkish border: “Welcome to Turkey. Highways Under Construction.”
As we neared the town of Rize, we began seeing hillsides of tea plants (photo left). This is the tea growing area of Turkey. The vegetation is lush and green and the humidity is close to 100%. Luckily it is not hot. There is a tea processing plant near where we stayed and walking by we were overwhelmed by the aroma of drying tea. It must be interesting trying to dry tons of tea in this humidity.
Tomorrow we will turn south and head into the Georgian Valleys, an area once held by that country.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 189.0 KM
Average Speed: 42.5 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 4 Hours 26 Minutes
 We turned south this morning not sure how far we would get today. The first part of the ride was up and over yet another mountain pass. And then we found more road construction. This particular bit of construction is in conjunction with the building of a new dam that will provide hydroelectric power. The construction went on for more than 40 kilometers with most of it being dirt road.
Yesterday we encountered a lot of dirt road due to construction as well. The poor bike looked quite bad last night. Not only was the dirt all muddy from the rain yesterday but the number of trucks hauling rock and dirt to and from the areas under construction was quite large.
Fortunately, we got an early start today and we were well into the construction area before work actually started. The bike is even more of a mess now but at least the traffic was not so bad.
We found a new hotel in the town of Yusufeli which is an area that is famous for rafting on the Çoruh river, which is listed as one of the worlds best rafting rivers and rated as a class 4 to 5 in the spring. It is an interesting town with a population just over 6,000. There are plans afoot for yet another dam that will put the town completely under water. Local opinion is a bit divided about the idea of a new town being built based on what we were told by the people we spoke with.
Tomorrow we will continue our journey south and hope to reach the city of Erzurum. Given the road conditions we never know how far we will get in a day. Today’s ride was very exhausting with all the construction and then a very rough road all the way to Yusufeli after we were out of the construction area.
Thursday, September 22 - Sunday December 4, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 189.0 KM
Average Speed: 42.5 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 4 Hours 26 Minutes
We rose to blue skies and sunshine, packed the bike and headed out of town. In the center of town we encountered several Austrailians and an Irish gentlemen who we had met at the Sumela Monastery two days ago. We stopped for a brief chat and learned that they were headed for the city of Kars and then Mt. Ararrat. They told us they were going there because of the raw beauty of the area which is located in an area of a high plateau. We had discussed doing this and had decided to go to Erzurum instead. So, we reevaluated our decision and changed our planed route for the day and set off in the direction of Kars.
The ride was spectacular. Lots of gorges to ride through with small rivers winding alongside the road with very little traffic.
We stopped in the town of Gole for lunch. Gole is about 90 kilometers (60 miles) from Kars. It is a small town but there was a nice restaurant where we were ushered to the side that is reserved for women. The unaccompanied men all sit on the other side of a partition. The women’s restroom is also accessible only from this portion of the restaurant. We had a salad, a lamb stir fry, some veggies and, of course, bread. The meal went rather quickly and we made our way back to the bike which was parked right out front.
When we arrived at the restaurant we were mobbed by a group of men who wanted to know all about us. Once we were able to break away and go inside the building the grouped dispersed and no one went near the machine while we were inside.
As soon as we emerged from the building a new crowd of men gathered around us asking lots of questions in both Turkish and German. Unfortunately our language skills with either of these languages are not up to the task so we made do as best we could which really is what we do most of the time.
After a bit we were able to get our ear plugs in and helmets on and drive away. We got back on the main highway and pointed ourselves east towards Kars.
About 6 kilometers (4 miles) out of town a mini bus drove into the rear of the bike at a rate of speed that was sufficient to cause the machine to roll over going forward.
For Jim it was a very strange sensation to be riding along and then suddenly hear a big noise and realize that he was flying through the air. As he hit the pavement he kept repeating, over and over, no broken bones, no broken bones. He was lucky. He left leg was badly scrapped on the calf muscle where the Jessie bag had been pushed into it by the force of the impact. We later learned that this was the point of impact for the mini bus, along with the angled portion of the top box that went over the bag (note the use of past tense here). His lower back and pelvis area are also severely bruised from his rolling and sliding on the highway.
 Verna was not so lucky. Her right ankle was broken in two places - each of the bones that run down to the outside and inside of the ankle. She also has a very severe cut just above her left knee which required stitches. And, her right hip was very badly bruised as was the rear of her left leg between the hip and thigh. Her right hand was also badly scraped and bruised, then swelled to approximately three times normal size.
The bike did in fact roll over due to the force to the speeding vehicle. We think that the front of the van went under the angled portion of the top box and lifted the bike up enough that the high rate of speed just pushed it over. We were traveling about 50 KPH (35-40 MPH) due to the rough condition of the road.
So, our decision to come to Kars proved to not be so good.
Every car, truck and mini bus traveling along the road stopped to lend assistance. One of these kind souls spoke a little English and this helped very much. An ambulance appeared in about 10 minutes and took Verna to the hospital in Gole. The Jandarma (Military Police) arrived shortly after the ambulance. In the smaller towns and rural areas of Turkey the policing is done by the military because there is not sufficient money to fund local police forces.
 The top box of the bike came open as did the large back box and the small box on the front of the bike. The Jessie bag on the left virtually exploded from the impact. It looks like a bomb went off inside it. Everything we own was spread all over the road and the road side.
This section of road is elevated from the surrounding land and there is a small ditch on the right side (going east). The bike finished at the bottom of the ditch with the sidecar sticking up in the air a bit because the left cylinder was buried in the mud. Jim was able to pull the chair down and get the poor thing sitting on three wheels again.
A rope was attached to our loop on the front of the side car that we had Horst install for just this purpose and the machine was pulled from the ditch by the numerous helpers that had by this time collected all of our belongings that were strewn all over. A large truck had stopped and we loaded the bike into the back of the truck and it was taken to the Jandarma headquarters, as were all of our belongings.
The Jandarma took Jim to the hospital to see Verna where he learned the severity of her condition. His left leg was X-rayed to see if it was broken and the Jandarma began their report. The Jandarma would not allow him to go with the bike to their compound which is what he wanted to do. He was concerned about the way the bike would be taken off the truck. It turned out that the worst damage was done when the bike was pushed off the truck.
NOTE: Unfortunately the machine was just pushed off the truck when it was unloaded. From a height of 1.3 meters (about 45 inches). It landed on the rear wheel and more damage was done by this than the rollover. The swing arm and the entire frame of the bike are now severely bent.
The English teachers from the elementary school were summoned to the hospital to translate. Prior to their arrival Verna had been communicating with a Dentist at the hospital who spoke a little English. The cut on her left leg had been stitched. She had a very hard time with the hospital staff in the beginning. They wanted to bath every scrape, cut and bruise on her body with iodine - to which she is allergic! The Dentist saved the day but it was very difficult for her. They connected a saline drip and washed her cuts and scratches with what she thinks was hydrogen peroxide.
Jim was required to blow into the breathalyzer (0% alcohol) and then asked to describe what happened. What can you say when you driving along a road and suddenly find yourself flying through the air as you hear a loud bang and feel sudden impact? He was then asked to write down what happened and the English teachers rewrote his statement in Turkish. He was then required to sign the statement as were the English teachers.
The medical staff wanted Verna transferred to the hospital in Kars immediately so at this point Jim was asked to take any valuables (jewelry, cash, etc.) from the Jandarma van, and put it in the Ambulance so it would accompany him and Verna to Kars. Being in a complete state of shock he forgot the vast majority of the things he should have taken. This was a terrible way to learn that the way you pack things is very important in a situation like this. We have decided that we need to put the most important things we have in one place so we can grab them quickly in an emergency.
The Dentist let Jim use his mobile phone to place a phone call the the ADAC office in Istanbul. In Germany, the ADAC is the automobile club. One of the services they provide is emergency evacuation of you and your vehicle in case of an accident. This got the wheels of bureaucracy rolling, we hoped in our favor.
We were told our belongings and the bike would be safe at the Jandarma and we speed off towards Kars in the back of the ambulance. Not being able to see out of the van made this journey very disconcerting. We arrived in Kars about 45 minutes later with poor Verna having suffered from every bump in the road due to the speed the driver was going and the poor condition of the highway.
At the hospital it was chaos. People everywhere trying to get someone to do something for their particular problem. A local policeman was there because he had been notified by the Jandarma of our arrival. Verna was taken for more X-rays and we were shuffled off to a hallway where we sat with the bag for the saline drip on Verna’s abdomen.
After about a half hour a doctor arrived. He spoke a little English. He confirmed the diagnosis of Verna’s ankle and then told us that he could do the surgery in the morning if we wanted him to. By this time is was about 20:00 (8:00 PM). He told us that we could also stay in the hospital overnight if we would like. Not having any other options we agreed and told him we would give him our answer in the morning.
We were taken to a room with four beds in it (although we were the only people in the room), a new bag of saline was attached to Verna and we were left alone. Jim had to make the beds with the linen that was on the mattresses. We then rehashed the day’s events and decided that the first thing we needed to do in the morning was call the ADAC again. Our mobile phone was at the Jandarma in Gole. See what we mean about not being able to think clearly when in a state of shock?
A little bit of information about the hospital. There is no way that either of us can say anything positive about the facility. The toilets on both of the floors that Jim used were among the filthiest he has ever been in anywhere in the world. The general cleanliness of the facility was atrocious. We decided that the best thing we could do was get out of the place as soon as possible and pray that we did not get anything infected.
In the morning the doctor came to our room and we told him that we needed to use the telephone to contact the ADAC and that Verna did not want the surgery here in Kars. Jim went with the doctor to an administrative office where the doctor placed the call.
Kars is near the Turkish border with Armenia in the extreme eastern part of the country. It is very remote and isolated. The ADAC has no agreements with hotels, rental cars, etc. in this area. They were able to give us the name of a hotel that they said was the best hotel in town. We told them that we would go there and that they could contact us there in about two hours.
The doctor made the arrangements for our discharge, the intravenous drip was removed from Verna’s arm, we paid 50 YTL (about $35.00 US), got into a taxi and rode the 3 kilometers to the hotel. At the hotel the manager was called on his mobile phone to translate Jim’s English to the staff. Fortunately they had a room and Jim, the taxi driver and the bellman carried Verna from the taxi to the elevator and the room. It was now about 09:00 (9:00 AM). Jim made Verna as comfortable as he could and sat to wait for the ADAC to make contact.
Fortunately we carry some medical supplies with us. Unfortunately they were in Gole, at the Jandarma. Verna did have some ibuprofen tablets in her bag and this is what medication she had for all of her aches and pains. She received no medication at any time during this process other than the saline drip at the hospitals.
A doctor from the ADAC contacted us at 10:00 and he confirmed Verna’s situation. He had already spoken to the doctor at the Kars Hospital. Given the choice between surgery in Turkey or Germany Verna opted for Germany and the process for her evacuation began. On Tuesday, September 27 she was flown from Kars to Ankara, then on to Istanbul and then to Frankfurt, Germany and delivered to the hospital in Idstein, Germany. The ADAC sent a paramedic from Germany to Kars to accompany her to Germany.
Jim remained at the hotel in Kars. He needed to get the accident report in Gole at the prosecutorial office for the customs authorities. He then had to accompany the bike from Gole to Trabzon, the nearest customs authority. It was necessary for the customs authority to remove the information about the bike from his passport or he could not leave the country unless the bike was in his possession.
The day after the accident Jim had to buy a digital camera to take pictures of the bike that the ADAC was demanding. Our camera was at the Jandarma but it had been severely damaged in the accident. Verna had been changing the batteries in the camera at the time of impact. The door that closes to secure the batteries was ripped off. The case of the camera was severely damaged. We did not think it would work.
Jim also had to rent a car to drive to Gole. The Jandarma also wanted him to collect all of his belongings while he was there. So, he had to find suitcases in Kars that everything could be packed into for transportation out of Turkey.
When he arrived at the Jandarma Saturday afternoon he was told he could not bring the car inside the compound; “must park on street”. After he parked the car he was brought into an entry way of a building inside the gate and told to sit. He was the object of every soldier’s attention. The word spread like wild fire that the “motocycleta” driver was here. No one spoke much English but he was able to communicate a bit with the young men and as time went on everyone relaxed. After about 30 minutes a young man arrived in civilian clothes who was apparently in charge. Jim was able to get him to call the ADAC office in Istanbul so some translations could be done and the process began. One of the two English teachers who were at the hospital arrived about a half hour later and things finally got started.
The officer wanted to know how Jim was going to take his things with him without a car. Jim told him he had a car. “Well, where is it?”. On the street. “Why isn’t it in the compound?”. I was told I must park on the street. “Get the car in here now!”, and a soldier was dispatched to move the car into the compound and parked near the stockade door. All of our belongings were locked inside a cell in the stockade.
As Jim began the process of packing things it became apparent that everything we own had been gone through. Nothing was returned to the same place it was before it was removed from the bags Verna had made for all of our stuff. The amazing thing is that the only things that we have been able to determine are missing are some very small tools that were in the top of a bag in the box at the front of the bike that was not zipped closed. We think they are probably in the very long grass alongside the road.
After Jim had everything packed he then had to sit in the officer’s office with the school teacher while the officer printed two copies of the inventory he had done of our belongings using a printer attached to his computer. He used carbon paper to make two copies of each page. This process took 45+ minutes. Then Jim, the school teacher and the officer signed the papers and Jim was allowed to leave.
The officer told Jim that he could come to the Jandarma at any time to work on the bike but that the bike should be removed as soon as possible.
Jim returned to the Jandarma on Sunday and disconnected the battery, placed a heavy duty tarp over the top box to protect the electrical equipment inside from the elements. He also took some of the items he had taken to the hotel and put them into the seat box in place of other items that are lighter weight. As the seat box was now the only secure box on the bike, anything that is not in the seat box had to be packed in suitcases and flown with us when we left the country.
Monday was spent getting more bags to pack things in and getting everything organized and packed. We received a call from the ADAC late Monday afternoon telling us that the ADAC would not ship the bike to Germany. “Too old and too damaged”.
Jim begged the man in Istanbul to make contact with the ADAC in Germany and ask them to make contact with Host Ullrich (the bike builder) and to call us. They agreed to call Horst Tuesday morning. By this time it was after 18:00 (6:00 PM) in Germany on Monday. We sent Horst and e-mail immediately to prepare him for the call. We had sent him a copy of the pictures on Sunday asking if we could have the bike sent to him and if he had time to work on it.
Jim and Horst both agreed that the ADAC was trying to find a way out of their commitment for sending the machine back to Germany. This is all because of confusion over the age of the bike. In Germany the machine would no longer be a BMW motorcycle and it would not be a model year 1983. I would be an HU Gespanne (Horst Ullrich Sidecar) model year 2005. They had a hard time understanding that it was new in May and was worth a ton of Euro.
Horst - ya gotta love that man. Must be a born salesman. After talking with him the ADAC changed their tune and agreed to ship the bike. This was on Tuesday morning. Verna was scheduled to fly to Frankfurt on Tuesday, which she did, leaving Kars at 12:15 in the afternoon.
Verna was taken by ambulance to the Kars airport on Tuesday morning, September 27 where she was met by a paramedic that had been sent from Germany by the ADAC to accompany her to Idstein, Germany. She arrived in the hospital in Idstein at 23:30 hours (11:30 PM) that night.
Back to the bike. When you import a vehicle to Turkey (which is what you do when you enter the country) part of the process is having an entry made in your passport with the information from the paper that customs processes at that time. It is not possible to leave the country until customs clears this entry. This means that the bike and Jim had to appear at a customs station with a copy of the accident report and a piece of paper from the prosecutor in the area where the accident occurred stating he is not a wanted man before his passport could be cleared.
Tuesday afternoon arrangements were made by the ADAC for a tow truck to pick Jim up at the hotel on Wednesday morning and go to Gole. This time to collect the bike, get a copy of the accident report and visit the prosecutor’s office. Jim spent 2.5 hours with the head of the Judicial District for Gole keeping him and his two assistants, the two English teachers (who were pulled out of their classes) and the head Jardama man from doing any worthwhile work.
This exercise got Jim a copy of the police report. This is when he was told that he was at fault for the accident. "Driving while Foreign" is our best guess as to how he could have been at fault. No one could tell him why it was his fault, just that it was.
With the bike now loaded on the tow truck Jim traveled the 200 kilometers to Eruzum in the tow truck to spend the night. Just as he was approaching Eruzum the tow truck driver indicated that they should drive straight through to Trabzon, a town on the coast where there is a customs office and our ultimate destination. This man is in his mid twenties and can barely read and Jim does not think he can write at all.
We stopped at his company office (a shack) and picked up his friend. Jim’s friendly non English speaking tow truck driver, his friend and Jim drove north to the Black Sea port of Trabzon. Another 300 kilometers. The tow truck driver had left Ezurum at 3 AM to be in Kars at 8AM to pick Jim up. It was now 4 PM in the afternoon.
Jim spoke with ADAC while in their office on their phone and was assured that the tow truck driver knew of a good hotel in Trabzon where he could spend the night. He arrived in Trabzon near 11 PM. The good hotel - "What a dump". Worse than the Kars hospital. Filthy bed linen - Jim tried to sleep in his clothes but the prostitutes kept beating on his door most of the night.
And he had only a bolt on the inside of the door. If he wanted to go down the hall to use the facilities there was no way to lock the room and protect his things. He was the only guy who entered this hotel with luggage. Everyone looked at him like he was from the planet Zardoz. Cost a whopping $15 but no sleep, no shower, no clean teeth, no clean sheets or anything. We can only hope he is bug and disease free.
The following morning it took 4.5 hours of much ado about nothing processing customs papers before his passport was cleared and he was, at last, a free man. It also cost us $80 for a power of attorney the ADAC could use to get the bike from customs when their truck arrives to retrieve the machine and to take the bike out of the country.
Unfortunately the ADAC would not make travel plans for Jim until this process was completed. Often times it get a bit complicated and they don't want to waste money on a missed flight. But, God was on Jim’s side and they got him a direct flight to Frankfurt the same day. Fortunately our good friend Erdmann Sheibe drove to Frankfort to pick him up at the airport at 11:00 PM (23:00) - too late to take a train.
The following morning at the hospital we don't know who was happier to see the other - Jim or Verna. Jim thinks Verna was afraid he might be in Turkey forever. Verna had had her operation the day before and was now in recuperation mode. A week later she was released from the hospital.
A week after that the ADAC made contact with us and told us we needed to get another Power of Attorney - this time for Greece. The ADAC truck driver would need it to get the bike into the EU after he left Turkey. As it turned out this was a waste of a morning driving into Frankfort to the Greek Consualte and €20 for the Power of Attorney. Why? The Power of Attorney was mailed that afternoon with a tracking number. It arrived in Istanbul the following day. After three weeks it had not yet been delivered to the ADAC office in Istanbul.
The transportation company decided to try to get the bike into Greece without the Power of Attorney. On November 3, 2005 the bike left Turkey and entered Greece. It worked. The bike arrived at Horst’s the following week.
Jim has removed all the electrical wiring and the aluminum boxes. The large box with the flags has been delivered to Roger (RMS - Rennsporttechnik, Ringstrasse 17,D - 97270 KIST, Germany, email Jim for Roger’s email address) for repair. Removing these things will make Horst’s job of repairing the bike easier.
As for us, we are both doing fine and recovering from our injuries. We are both walking unaided now and expect to be fully recovered in a few more months.
We head for Spain for part of the winter on December 4 for the remainder of the winter. As this is being typed there is lots of snow outside and snow is predicted for the rest of the day. Brrrr. Too cold for us. It is definitely time for Spain and some warmer weather.
After the bike repair has been completed we will return to Germany and continue our adventure.
This concludes this portion of the adventure. It was an abrupt and sad ending to a most wonderful journey to Turkey. We will go back.
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