Step Zero – How did this trip come about?
A map indicating trading routes used around the 1st century CE centred on the Silk Road.
I’m the curious type, so as I was reading the Persian Fire, I caught myself pulling up the various sites in the book on google earth. It sounds obvious now, but realizing that these were real places that I could visit got my imagination rolling.
Why not ride a bike through the Silk Road, along these routes, stop at the battle locations, take it all in. Ideas are great, reality is well – reality. So after looking to see that the primary spine of the Silk Road goes from Istanbul south towards Aleppo before going through Tehran and beyond – problem 1 had identified. Having completed a 550 mile bike ride from Fairbanks to Anchoarge over 5 days span before, my default starting point was to cycle. After a few conversations with friends and recognizing that I’m a sitting duck on a bicycle in between two “difficult” areas, the idea of a motorcycle came about and I loved that idea – so I ran with it.
Who can I convince to go with me, for every “that’s so cool”, I got 20 “you are f’ing crazy”. I have to get my M1, reserve my CHP safety course and buy the safety gear. Buy a bike, something fun, something I’ve always wanted and something that is at best equal to what I’ll be riding on the Silk Road or more difficult – here I come sportsbike. And the list goes on and on…
No responses yet