An Old Bloke on a Bike

[Paul in NZ]

Jesus wept. Some people just fill your heart with the joy of living and never ever seem to think that what they are doing is extraordinary in any way. Well a mate sent me this - its a story about an old bloke riding his 1910 FN motorcycle solo from Nepal to Belgium. The blog site is very difficult to navigate so I've set out links to his story so far in chronological order.

Its totally worth a quick check out. Hats off to him - legend!

He is currently in Pakistan heading for Iran (better him than me).


Who is the Old Bloke?
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?page_id=2

The Bike
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?page_id=37

Gear
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?page_id=86

Route
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?page_id=40

The Dream (Mar 11)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=136

The Restoration (April 16)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=112

Where is he going? (July 11)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=1

The Testing Aug 17)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=114

Where to from here? (Nov06)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=120

Freighting (Nov 30)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=117

The Paperchase (Dec 11)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=138

They don’t make them like this anymore (Dec 13)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=165

Top of the World (Dec 13)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=172

Counting Down! (Jan 05)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=254

Identity crisis (Jan 27)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=273

Up and Away (Feb05)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=302

In the thick of it! (Feb 09)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=319

The long way down (Feb11)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=331

A night sleeping rough (Feb 13)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=362

What a difference a day makes (Feb17)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=367

What’s not to see? (Feb 19)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=375

Toot, toot (Feb 23)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=392

Bits & pieces (Mar 01)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=405

Live Kababs (Mar 03)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=404

A smile is worth a thousand words (Mar 05)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=437

Music to my ears (Mar 09)
http://oldblokeonabike.com/?p=457


You can follow his future progress from here:-
http://oldblokeonabike.com/

[george formby]

Epic!!!!!!

[Voltaire]

Very inspiring....makes me wanna build up all the rigid frame Triumph parts I have and do something similar....

I toodled down from London in and out of the former Eastern Bloc, and Turkey to the Syrian border in the late 80's on a R75/5.... the main hassle was border crossings. People mostly are very friendly....apart from when we went thru Bosnia and that became apparent why later.

[Zedder]

Thanks for posting that Paul, great reading which brings back a few memories.

[Paul in NZ]

Thanks for posting that Paul, great reading which brings back a few memories.

What? You had an FN?

(I loved the bit where he found adding a clutch might be beneficial)

[Zedder]

What? You had an FN?

(I loved the bit where he found adding a clutch might be beneficial)

Nah, the closest I've had to an FN motorbike is a rifle made by the same company but I've done a few trips overseas and what he writes about reminded me of the ups and downs of DIY travel.

The guy is a "have a go kiwi" to the max alright.

[feral1]

Hi Guys,


Yes, Ron is a legend alright.

My cousins and uncle in Europe have sponsored him some new (and more durable) tires. he had issues with his BE tires coming unstuck in the gnarly terrain.

i hear that there is a big bunch of veteran riders/enthusiast that are set to welcome him when he arrives in Europe and also the European FN Rally later in the year.

Feral

[flyingcrocodile46]

What an awesome Gent. Thanks very much for the post

[Quasi]

Sheer magic Pete - thanks for a great read of an inspiring man