Don’t Stop me now

Mon 29 Sep

After breakfast, filling Asha with petrol, and getting some Euros it was time to hit the road.

I planned to ride until I got bored or until my bottom said no more.

Strangely riding kilometres rather than miles seems to go quicker! By half past three I was already at Nancy where I was going to stay the night and thought what the heck I am not tired why not keep going.

I got as far as Mulhouse which borders Germany and Switzerland. I stopped and asked a French couple where was the nearest Formule 1. Without hesitation they said follow me and we will take you. No problem.

I soon had a room and had Asha covered up for the night. Blog write up, food and a beer would be nice. Formule 1 is a cheap hotel chain 30 Euros a night. So they are not built in most luxurious parts of the town.

This one was located with railway marshalling yards on the right and the Arab Quarter on the left. I asked the receptionist where I could get email and some refreshments.

I had to walk down dimly lit streets with gangs of youths on the street corners. Walk tall and look confident, and don’t look anyone in the eye. I did and I soon relaxed.

I had the most wonderful shish kebab and frites. However, it was slightly disconcerting as the owner was flying a model helicopter around the restaurant.  Well it was his place.

As I walked back to the hotel I found an Internet shop full of young north African Arabs who all wanted to know where I was going and what I was doing. I am sure some of them had been on the street corner when I had passed earlier. They thought it was amazing as I showed them on a map on the wall.

I slept well.

It is too late to stop now

Sun 28 Sep

After seeing friends in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire I stopped off at a service area near Stanstead Airport. I was feeling sorry for myself, guilty for leaving and not a little bit scared of what was to come.

However, one of the great joys in travelling is the people you meet a long the way and the good fortune that these encounters can bring.

Clair and her son had seen AshaBlue and started to talk to me. It turned out that her father had been the Bursar at Budlilikanta School in Kathmandu, and had known Crown Prince Dipendra who went on to kill his mother and father, and bring down the Shah royal dynasty in Nepal.

We got on like a house on fire and talked about mutual friends and about Kathmandu and Nepal.

I stayed far too long. I wanted to get to Dover; book a ferry ticket and find a hotel for the night.

I was going to try the Channel Tunnel first and if I could not get on to the train there go on to Dover.

On arrival I asked the lady at the entrance who told me that it would be £80 and the last train of the day is due to leave in 30 minutes. I thought it would be too much and thanked and I would go on to Dover.

I stopped outside the gates to think through my options. Cheryl a security guard came up to me and asked if I was in any trouble and if she could give me any help. I told her my dilemma. She suggested that it would be cheaper for me to get on the train and find a cheap hotel in Calais.

So that is what I did. And before I knew I was in France.

I met Hans and Heidi on the train who told me they would take me to the Formule 1 hotel in Calais. They did and they made sure I had a room for the night before they left.

It is those happy coincidences of meeting Clair and Cheryl which can make life so wonderful.

The greatest journey starts with a single kickstart

Sat 27 Sep 08

I arrived at George Square Glasgow at around 8.30 in the morning. George Square was named after King George III who was ever so slightly mad. To start off on this journey of mine maybe I am also a bit crazy.

Suddenly, however, a lady came striding towards me. ‘Are you Fergus Anderson?’ She asked. ‘I certainly am’, I replied.  G2K had been on Radio Clyde, Real Radio and Telext. She asked if I owned care homes and if I was in my sixties. Sadly not on both cases I told her.

She had got the wrong Fergus Anderson and strode of in the direction of Queen Street Station.

My cousins Sheila and Alaisdair, the two Colins, and Ewen came a long to see me off.

We chatted for awhile waiting for 9 o’clock to come.

I thought back about all the hardwork that has gone into getting this point. The visas, preparing the bike, working out routes, getting the press on side, it goes on and on.

I thought back to when I organised Terai Challenge in Nepal. The Terai is the flat lands area bordering India in southern Nepal. Terai Challenge ‘a journey along the floor of the roof of the world’ was a sponsored relay mountain bike ride to raise funds for an orphanage.

It took so long to organise and so many elements had to be in place.  I needed two Land Rovers (one with a winch), a medic, mechanic for the vehicles, three riders and so on.

However, in January 1997 everything was in place and we set off for Mahendranager in the far west of Nepal. We arrived around eleven in the morning and set up camp.

After lunch one of my team asked if we could start the ride now and return to camp when it got dark. I said of course.

I am not ashamed to say that I had a tear in my eye. It didn’t matter if we failed in our endeavor we had got to the point of starting.

We subsequently completed the ride in three days. It is all about having a go.

Nine o’clock came and I left George Square and Colin and Ewen escorted me out of Glasgow on to the main road south to England.

I had started.

G2K Fergus has less than 24 hours left until he departs…

Glasgow, I am still only in Glasgow.

Well, it is down to 24 hours before I leave Glasgow and I feel as if I am at the top of giant roller coaster just about to go over the edge.

I arrived here in Glasgow on Wednesday. I thought I would have a pleasant ride up, amble through the Lake District, and up and over the Southern Uplands to Glasgow.

But no.

I stopped off to fill up with petrol just inside Scotland and had I had three missed calls from Radio Clyde. I phoned my contact Lesley who was frantic and wanted to interview me about G2K as soon as possible. So I got up to Glasgow as fast as I could.

So on the way up I practiced my lines:

In Nepal 3 out of 4 people don’t have access to primary health care.

1 in 11 children won’t reach their fifth birthday.

3.2 million children are forced to work as child labouers.

Child Welfare Scheme Nepal’s mission is to improve health, education, and social opportunity for disadvantaged children.

We can build schools, health posts, and bridges. But remember it is the people. It is always about the people.

However, as soon as I arrived at Radio Clyde I was rushed into a studio, a pair of headphones placed on my head, and straight into the interview. It seemed to be overt in seconds and didn’t get to say anything about the charity.

I was then taken into the newsroom where there was no sitting around chatting, but I managed to tell Lucy, Lesley had gone home, to not forget to mention the charity in the pre-amble to the interview.

Before I could say do you want a follow up when I am back out in the car park. Ah’ being an adventure motorcyclist isn’t all glamour.

It will be broadcast on Radio Clyde on Saturday morning at nine.

People have been concerned about the countries I am travelling through: Iran and Pakistan. Hey I live in South London for crying out loud! I was on Manhatten on September the 11th and last year in Rajistan a bomb went off killing scores of people. So what can I say?

There is a piece in Peter Mathisson’s book the Snow Leopard about a traveller who climbs up a high pass between two villages.

On the summit he asks an old monk what the town is like down in the valley. The monk asks him how the last village was. The traveller tells him that the last village was full of drunks and debauchery. The monk replies that the next village will be the same.

Just be you and be open to what ever comes along.

If anyone has seen Apocalypse Now (a modern day take on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness set in the Vietnam war). then they will know where I got the line: “Glasgow, I am still only in Glasgow” from.

This is not a journey into the darkness, but to make new friends, marvel at their culture, and have some wonderful experiences.

It is said that tourists don’t know where they are and travellers don’t know where they are going.

Hey but we know! We are off to Kathmandu!

Thank you all for your generous support and encouragement.

Roll on tomorrow morning.

Fergus & AshaBlue

PS I have to get back to the house as I am awaiting the arrival of a package from Tapas a collegue of mine.
He studied medicine at the same college as the President of Nepal. The college is celebrating 185 years and a special tie has been produced.
Tapas would like me to present the President with the tie. That should be fun!

G2K Glasgow to Kathmandu. Leaving Glasgow George Square Sat 27 Sep at 09.00

Well what am I waiting for?

I have got the visas for Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal.

Inoculations are up to date and I have travel insurance.

Flat is rented out.

Handover job on Monday.

Carnet will arrive by Wednesday.

So I am coming up from London next week then leaving for my big trip on Saturday 27 September at 09.00 from George Square, Glasgow.

I aim to get to Durbar Square Kathmandu by the second week in November.

I am raising money for Child Welfare Scheme Nepal who help disadvantaged children. You can get more info at Child Welfare Scheme – Welcome to CWS.

I will be riding my sky blue Triumph Bonneville called Asha. Asha means luck and hope in Hindi.

You need a lot of luck and hope to ride bikes around South Asia!

My route is down to Dover, across the channel to France, Switzerland, Italy, over the Adriatic to Greece.

Through Greece to Istanbul, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, then to Nepal.

I will have a blog set up by next week and will write it up as and when I can.

If anyone has questions about the journey so far: carnets, bike preparation, India, and Nepal….Don’t hesitate to ask.

I was trying to start from the HUGS weekend, but I couldn’t get away from work. Please accept my apologies.

We hope to see you on the road,

Ferg & AshaBlue

PS One week to go and I feel like I am going on my first date: excited, nervous, into the unknown…Wonderful! Oh and please don’t forget to donate at http://www.justgiving.com/g2k