I have recently obtained some decent quality sound recording of the presentation (the second one) in September 2010. So I decided to publish it online. Enjoy!
"Every year, hundreds of travelers are trotting the globe with their cars, motorcycles, bicycles and on feet. Overlanding has become an increasingly popular way of traveling and connecting with the world. Erdem Yücel presents his solo motorcycle circumnavigation and also explains what's significant about overlanding, how and why these people travel the way they do. It's a 45 minute trip around the world, full of interesting photographs, videos and surprising facts that can possibly change the way you look at traveling. " Read More
The bus drive to Incheon airport, through the morning mist felt like a dream as I watched the countryside through the foggy windows falling into sleep occasionally. Soon I found myself in the airplane rising above the clouds.
After a short transfer in Tokyo and a long flight over the Pacific, we landed in San Francisco. I entered the passport and customs line. There were more than 10 booths and hundreds of people waiting. I enjoyed the fact that despite the technological and organizational differences, this whole thing was essentially in the same category with most of the other borders I had been through. I remembered the crossing into Kyrgyzstan, where the guards took turns to pose for photos on my bike. I didn't expect such a thing to happen here. For one thing, I didn't have my bike with me. It was waiting for me in a cargo bay ...Read More
I left Bukhara after an unsuccessful internet connection attempt. When I left the cafe, there were a dozen little Bukharan boys on bicycles admiring my motorcycle. I may be a little older, motorized, and a bit further away from home, but basicly we belong to the same category. Boys on wheels! We played a bit and I gave them some baloons. Then they escorted me out of the center since the road I came two days ago was now closed.
On the road, I met some other boys in uniforms with guns and sticks. They were doing radar speed checks ad pulled me over. I gave them cigarettes and started talking with my silly Turkish accent. I talked so much that they had to forget why they pulled me over. Pushing my luck even further, I asked them if they could take a photo of me with the radar gun on ...Read More
Adriatic countries are not a part of the union. Road conditions become less favorable, traffic more chaotic, and people live in less favorable conditions. However, in some aspects, these countries are much more interesting to experience then the ones in the union. People are more observant and welcoming. Contrast and variety is abundant. There are more things to discover. But it takes time to adjust.
Croatia has a very long and dynamic coastline with a new highway spanning along. Most of the usable land on the shore is somehow made available for tourism. The most popular and economic way of doing this is the "Auto-Camp" attracting the European RV's. I was lucky to be there before the season began. It was easy to find a place to camp whenever I felt like stopping. There weren't too many people so it was possible to relate with locals and other travelers. The few ...Read More
It's raining again. Packing a wet tent is not a good idea if you plan to use it in the long run. Things take a moment to get soaked, but hours to dry. Rain means waiting. But waiting means writing. So it's not too bad.
I'm now in a campground a few kilometers shy of Cannes. There are two German GS riders in the tent next to me. They're also held back by the rain.
I tried to fix the GPS mount couple of times. Last time, I managed to think about the fuse... And yes, it was blown. Apparently I caused a short circuit trying to hold the pins with a needle-nose pliers. I replaced that one and the home-made pin seems to work. For now that is...
The reason I'd like to keep this piece of equipment working, is not just my habit of usage. France has a large web of ...Read More
London has done a few things. First, It forced me to reset all my know-how and habits of riding a bike in traffic due to the inversion of flow (it feels like writing with my left hand). I had to desert the bike and take the 'tube' around the city. This wouldn't be a big issue if I was staying here just for a day or two, which had been original plan. All I had to do was to receive the package Evren sent me from L.A. and move on. But of course, I did not take into consideration the UK Customs Agency. They can keep any package for as long as 30 days without notification. The delay in my case, had been so perfectly timed that the package was delivered to my friend's address exactly the day after she left for a 4 day vacation. As if all of ...Read More
I entered New York State on Friday, April 17.
Arrived in Toronto the next day.
North American route is over. Along with it, some other things also came to an end. I now know that I'm leaving this continent and riding back home is not a plausible option anymore. The luxuries and conveniences of being in this side of the world are going to fade away slowly. One specific characteristic of this journey is that it began from Los Angeles, a city that symbolizes the ultimate edge of western civilization. As I move forward, this system of values and everything that comes with it, will slowly degrade to the point of becoming unrecognizable, meaningless. This is neither something to look forward to, nor to complain about. It's just something to go through and be aware of.
Two weeks into the trip and I'm already losing some conveniences that were a part of my life ...Read More
