First email, received on October 14. 1999 Hello from Christel and Theo on their bike We're in Dallas now: very high teperatures! We visited a BMW ralley, bought some Triumph/BSA wrecks to send home. To be on the internet we still have to exercise a lot, and we need to find more "connections", we ride around in the coutry a lot and it isn't so easy to find some there. See you Gie, don't forget to write us Nex email, received on November 7 Hello Gie, It’s 10 past midnight now here. Now I have a bit of time to write an email. Something about the voyage: a real story, pictures etc. I can only write after we come back home. We’re just in California now. On September 16 we arrived in Boston, accompanied by Floyd, the famous hurricane. We stayed there at Karien’s place , Christel’s sister for a few days. Then we rent a car and drove to Cokeburg Pensylvenia, there we took up the BSA at Jim’s place with Bud’s help. The bike stood there waiting for us since 4 years. We needed to refresh the oil, put new tires on it. We stayed a few days relaxing on Jim’s camping. Christel scalped me.. I look a lot fresher now! At least that’s what she says.. :o) We first crossed Ohio with this chicken coop. The BSA witch has his 50-thiest birthday this year is not only an attraction to passengers but it makes a lot of clanking as well. He did this before also though. We passed Kentucky and Tennessee, where we arrived at a BMW meeting at the TAV-dyke. It was a funny break for us. In Memphis we visited Graceland (for those who forgot: Elvis house). Later in Arkansas we had the worst rain-shower we ever met. Next day the BSA didn’t start easy (it’s a “one kicker”), and at once, riding up on a mountain he made a noise as if a bat was thrown in that chicken coop. A jammed exhaust valve, caused by carbon, witch came loose by all the water, sucked in the engine by the air filter. We’ ve been riding slowly to Texas, even passed Dallas. We haven’t met JR there, most people were black and Mexicans. A busy city. We visited a few old bike dumps, and sent a second crate, within it a Thruiph. Then we drove through New Mexico and Arizona. That valve kept tricking on us when we drove too fast (faster then 80 km/h or 50 M/h). So we had to slow down. This way we discovered the pleasure of easy riding. After a visit to the Organ Pipe National Park we passed the Mexican border. We crossed the beautiful Sonora dessert by ‘El camino del diablo’. Another road to add to my favourites of paradise roads. Exhausting!! By Yuma back to the USA. At John and Donna from British Connection in Lakeside- San Diego we removed the cylinder head. We needed a new valve conductor. It must been caused because of the terrible plan and manufacturing from the new valve conductor (there is a HD exhaust valve in the BSA), or it must have been because I forgot to tell the people in the revision company that the bike is 50 years old, air cooled, and with a cast iron cylinder and head, and needs much play though, fact is, the valve jammed again. We had to push the BSA with all its luggage for about 4 miles. Again the valve was destroyed. So we went to get another one again. Original HD, made in Japan.... Tomorrow we’ll leave for Mexico again, this time we go to Baja, the peninsula. More news in a next email. A next letter, received Mars 28,c2000 Internet connection has been very difficult to find. So in September we took a flight to Boston and went to get our bike at Jim Cable’s (*). He was parked there for 4 years already. We controlled the BSA at the Kubenas (**). (*+** = members of the Ohoi BSA Valley club) We drove south and visit a BMW rally. As we used BMW-KRAUSER cases on our BSA. In Arkansas we had a exhaust valve problem. We got it fixed in California later. In Mexico Sonora Dessert we rode over the magnificent Camino-Del-Diablo (road of the devil), we also crossed the the Baja dessert. We sent the BSA from L.A. (USA) to Melbourne (Australia). We ourselves took a flight to New Zealand. We used a Suzuki 250 there (6.800 km) and we celebrated the millennium on the most eastern part of the island, 12 hours earlier then at home, Belgium. We flew to Merlbourne and picked up the BSA, rode trough the Australian Alpes and then to Aidelade for a short curse of blacksmith. Than 1500 km north to Ayers Rock. Heavy thunderstorms there. The sandy road to Laverton (700 km) was covered with water. So we had to drive back all the way to Port August to continue over the Null-Arbor plains to Perth. Australia gave us 8500 km motor fun. We shipped the BSA to Bombay (India). After hours of discussions with British Airways ans Quritas (We never fly that one again!!) we could fly to Singapore. We went to visit the guests from the Classic Motorcycle Club from Jokru Bahru in Maleysia. They kept us “prisoner” for a week. We enjoyed an overdose of hospitality. With the help of an Aeroflot 1e class flying carpet dropped in in Dehli. Dehli is the second polluted city in the world. We took the train to Bombay to inform about our BSA. The Indian train compagnie is the biggest employer in the world (1,7 millions employees), but still no one to clean the windows. So we opened the windows to see something of the country, consequence: a very bad cold... The great advantage of that was that I couldn’t smell the stench in the slums of Bombay. Bombay has more inhabitants then whole Australia (18 million), not to talk about the fleas, who bite me a blood poisoning. So now I look like a Dalmatian. And Chris has diarrhoea, only good of you want to loose some weight in a short while. Toilet paper is as exceptional as a clean toilet! And we still have to remain one week.. So we went to Goa: beach, palm trees, white churches (Goa was Portuguees till 1966) Ezifields with chopper steers (Goa was a Hippiedom as well in the late 60ties). Techno.raves at the beach by a full moon. In short an oase in this country. So we stay here for a week before we go back to Bombay to see if the BSA arrived. A human being deserves a week of vacation, not???? We had to travel around one week longer into the Indian bureaucracy, thousand and one stamps!! A paper mountain, higher then the Himalayas. 50 officials being busy a whole afternoon, just to have payed 40 rouppies (1 $) harbour taxes. They usually play card and drink tea, so it was an adventure for them as well. But the BSA is back ours and we’re back in the holy cow shit of Dehli Hara Krishna greets you!!! Email, received on May 7, 2000 Hello Gie, Esfehan, Iran May 7 Back into civilisation The price of fuel has been increased to the double here, 1 litre coasts now already 400 rials. For a hamburger + a coca cola we have to pay 2000 rials, a tea 250, and for a bread they ask about 50. (400 rials = 2 Bef, 7200 rials = 1$) Good that there are some good souls here who fill the petrol tank for free, Yes, Iranian people are very hospitable! We rode in Pakistan by Lahore. It was hot there, very hot!! And us, we preferred to be lazy above being tired. So are the Pakistanis as well, only small kids and small donkeys work very hard. We took all we have on the train then, but so did the Pakistanis as well, above that a whole “Noah’s ark” of animals. The train was ready for demolition, but the windows were intact, poor but clean. After 30 hours and 1.000km we arrived in Quetta, all dusted. Half of Pakistan seems to live there. Christel bought for me a typical Partanian costume. We will use it once as a wedding dress. As a service in return I bought her a sexy chadory. She looks like a nun on the bike! Our relationship is perfect this way: She walks behind me, and doesn’t talk to strange men. (Once in our hotel room or in our tent it’s the opposite!) In spite of this and a 5 cm beard the Tabhilan didn’t alow us to travel through Pakistan. We’ve been driving through Baluchistan then, the kalashnikov-country and the kingdom from keri-kiri. The first 300 km we only shared with the holes in the road, the next 400 km we only drove at daytime, at night the road was owned only by smugglers. We build up our tent near the custom-house where the officers were very busy smoking the seizure stuff. After we passed the Iran border we had to drive on the right side again, in an armed convoy. Only for 30 km though: because we refused to ride faster then 40 km/h by temperatures of 44°C. The only mechanical problem we had was a broken ampoule from the break light from the BSA. Unfortunately we left the beautiful dessert behind us now. Regards! Theo & Christel Email, received on May 21, 2000 Hello Gie, Turkey, Antakya, May 20 With pain in the heart we have left Iran now, Rasfanjani and co. only wanted to extend our visa for 6 days. Kurdistan was one of the highlights of our voyage. We crossed the Iran – Turkey border by the mountain Ararat, where ones Noah washed ashore his ark. At least Christel could hide her chadory. In 2 weeks time the temperatures got as low as our mood: from the burning heat of the dessert to the cold mountains. We even threw snowballs to each other! Christel was wearing all her slips over one another: to protect against cold but also as a protection to the very bad roads. The PKK gives now the benumbed tourists warm tea because of the armistice. We have left the cold mountains with the “warm” Kurds behind us now and we reached the Syrian border. But Assad doesn’t allow us to come in without a visa. We plan a roundabout way by Ankara, so in a few days we can still travel through Syria. Greetings, Christel & Theo PS: After the hooligan situations in Denmark between the English and the Turks we scare to say where our BSA comes from. Thanks God we’re Belgians. Email, received on June 7, 2000 After we had to watch the hypocrite head of His Holy Highness Majesty President Assad we drove in to Jordan. The Syrian were without any doubt very hospitable, kind and helpful to us. The opposite to their government. Assad’s picture hangs everywhere, even on the toilets. Too bad I couldn’t pee high enough to reach him! Call these persons glorification indoctrination, at home it’s called publicity or CNN-talks. Just across the border, after a nice, though hard camping place in the stone dessert of eastern Galilee, a dog crossed our wheels (mish mushkila), so we were offered to stay a few nights from a Palestinian who raised chickens, 14.000 of them! Some eccentric people have walked here before through the ages: though we only know the story of the wonderful multiplication of the fishes, or was it bread? Here in Jordan only soldiers, police officers and tourists are allowed to ride a motorbike. For a normal citizen it’s absolutely forbidden, because of the fear they should use it for bomb attacks. Something that didn’t happen here for more then 20 years now. So we went searching for historical treasures. And we found a lot of them!! BSA m20’s & b40’s, a10’s & a65’s, Triumph, NSU, BMW r65’s, Honda Twin’s and Four’s, and Rotax’s. And all for sale! However, we go after Laurence and Arabia. Ma’a salaama, Shukran, Afwan, Christel & Theo Email, received on June 14, 2000 Hello Gie, Cairo in the shadow of the pyramids Now one on the streets, all watching TV: Belgium – Holland and the Football Mania.. So time to tell something about the newspapers on our voyage. In India the newspapers licked at Bill Clinton’s ass. In Pakistan the Kasmir terrorists were described as freedom fighters. In Iran the better papers were forbidden by the mulla’s (priests). In (east) Turkey the papers had a very cheap quality but though much too expensive for the man with moustache and cap. In Syria they were all written by Assad himself, but he stopped it finally now! Rest in peace. In Jordan we haven’t read any, and in Egypt more then half of the people can’t even read. See you soon Christel & Theo Last email, received on July 3, 2000 Hello Gie, As we wanted to leave the pyramids we discovered the real treasure from the Farao!! In the henrun from the camping owner stood a M21! Happily there were only 14 chickens there and no 14.000 like by that Palestinian in Jordan. For the stupid among you who don’t know what a M21 is…. A M21 is a BSA 1-cilinder, Val Page project, 600cc with a formidable hit from 112 mm (if I’m not mistaking at least, less I’m the stupid). Too bad a France man had discovered it already earlier, he had had so much troubles with the Egyptian government, the most corrupt, next to India at least. We have change transport (temporary) ones more. As a birthday present for Christel I have bought her (and myself) a cruise on the Mediterranean See across the Greece islands. And we gondeled in Venice. Toscane is really beautiful! But at the Italian Riviera they’ll never see us back! The Provence (France) gave us “Du pain, du vin et du Boursin” Living like God in France! This moments may stay for ever! PS: The only mechanical problems we had was another broken ampoule (rear light) and a broken koppeling kabel from the BSA. The Enfield has had one flat tire. PS: Thanks for reading and we apologise for mistakes written. Christel & Theo