Tales From The Big Apple Part 3 (part II)

Tuesday Part II

We finished our MacDonalds and left the warmth and welcoming smell of fast food behind aqs we ventured out into the cold chilling wind and rain that had now put itself in place of the nicer weather earlier on. We braved a walk into Battersea to take a couple of rainswept pictures of the Statue of Liberty and the nearby Ellis Island. Time to beat a retreat back into the shelter of the monstrous skyscrapers of Manhattan’s financial district but even their gigantic cover did not stop us getting slowly wetter. We saw our chance and bought a 2 ride Metrocard and dived into the subway – one swipe for my ride and a pass back to Mark for him to swipe the card again for the second ride. We entered the subway and realised that we hadn’t got much of a clue what line we had entered and a nearby couple of guys from Albany pointed us the right way. They were taking the same train so we passed a few minutes chat and said our goodbyes at Penn Station – bang opposite our hotel.

We were whacked and had decided to buy a couple of beers and put our feet up and call it a day in the hotel room. We had a little nap and caught our second wind. Despite seriously aching legs and feet (we had walked around 12 miles this morning already) we made ourselves a little route – back up to Times Square and beyond to 47^th Street and then across to second Avenue and down to the United Nations building. We got there some 2 mile later and wished we hadn’t bothered – the UN building was probably the biggest let down of our stay in New York. We set a route back to the hotel via the Chrysler building and the obligatory stop at Starbucks along the way (hot chocolate this time though – totally coffee’d out).

We couldn’t be bothered with eating out so we got some bread, ham, cheese and fruit and made our own sandwiches with enough left over for eats on the bus journey to Baltimore tomorrow. Legs and feet were now truly very sore and a soft bed soon beckoned and sent me off to dreamland zzzzzzzzz.

Wall St

Windswept Statue of Liberty

Long Way Up

Tales From The Big Apple Part 3

Day 3 - Tuesday 6^th April 2011     

Woke up at around 6am having slept solidly and feel much better for it apart from still having a sore throat and runny nose, probably a by product of the plane journey. After a refreshing shower and a wash of yesterday’s pants and socks (too much information, I know) I headed for the business center in the hotel lobby which has printing facilities. After an abortive start using our joint debit card I eventually managed to book the Boltbus using my credit card which seem to be favoured over debit cards for some reason. The $16 each fare from New York to Baltimore was much less than we originally thought and to top that the coach stop was a few yards from our hotel entrance.

Having won success with transportation I got a second home run with the hotel in Baltimore achieving a confirmed booking for Wednesday and Thursday nights. The plan here is to spend a couple of days in the hotel and then rebook for the 14^th and leave our large items of luggage with the concierge while we hire a car and go out into the sticks where everything will be a bit cheaper.

With all the logistical matters out of the way we headed south down 7^th Avenue towards the financial district and some 2 or 3 miles later we found ourselves at the Ground Zero site. A visit to Wall Street followed by a walk to the waterfront to photograph the Brooklyn Bridge. Peckish around  midday we find a McDonalds, not for the quality of the food, but for Wi Fi where we are sat right now typing this looking out at the entrance of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Next on the tourist trail is a trip out to the Statue of Liberty and a look at Ellis Island.

Tales From The Big Apple Part 2

Monday 4^th April 2011 

Woke at 5am and couldn’t get back to sleep so took a shower and decided to rearrange my baggage which now looks like twice as much as I actually need – will have to work out some kind of plan to box up some kit and FedEx it back home.

At around 7.30am we went out into the wonderfully wacky wild world that calls itself New York and decided that, in fact, it is a wonderfully tacky world inhabited by people who hardly ever smile and seem to take life far too seriously. Being, as we are so close to a major train station (Penn Station is opposite our hotel) we also get to glimpse more than our fair share of folk who are down on their luck and are most definitely not living the American Dream,

Anyway, we brave these negatives and find fun out there too although it is entirely of our own making and not shared by the natives, We made our way up Broadway from Macy’s to Times Square where we spent a little time people watching and then made our way past the Good Morning America cameras to be confronted by stage door johnnies waiting for a glimpse of Lady Gaga who was appearing that morning. A large limo pulled up just as we walked past and we watched as not Lady Gaga but some old guy called Ventura got out of the car and was obviously looking jaded from some substance or another.  We backtracked south down Fifth Avenue until we ngot to Macy’s at 34^th St. and then we headed east to the foot of the magnificent Empire State Building which, when I was born, was the World’s tallest man made structure. Built in 1931 it is the epitome of art deco and the inside was just as magnificent as the outside. The ride to the observatory on the 86^th floor was superfast and the views spectacular if not a little on the windy side.

We found a Starbucks, legendary not for its coffee but its free wi-fi, on the ground floor of the Empire State and set about looking up a few things for onward travel. We also found the location of West Marine who were the only dealers in New York who had one of the new Spot Messenger Connect devices which I was desperate to get my hands upon. We got to the shop on East 37^th Street just after it had opened and I managed to bag the only one in stock – a wonderful device that sends a GPS location to friends and family and tracks your journey but also allows you to summon help in an emergency. What’s so special about this new generation of Spot Messenger is the fact that it will also allow me, in conjunction with my i-pod touch, to turn the device into a satellite phone - how cool is that !

We made a few enquiries both in person and on the internet about our journey south to Baltimore and the winner by about $160 was the Boltbus which at $31 beat Amtrak’s $196 hands down especially as the journey time isn’t significantly different so tomorrow’s job will be making the booking. The plan is to make our way to Baltimore, stay for a day or so, leave the major part of our luggage with the hotel and then hire a car and do some exploring before returning back to the same hotel at bike pick up time in about 9 days time.

The last few hectic days have finally caught up with me and I hit the sack at around 7pm.

                                                     At the top of the Empire State Building

Times Square

Tales from the Big Apple

Day 1 - Sunday 3^rd  April 2011 

What a wrench it was at Warwick Parkway as we climbed on board the National Express coach heading for Heathrow saying goodbye to Gina, Mum, Carl Rachel & Immy.  The image of them standing there waving goodbye haunts me.

The coach took its allotted one and a half hours to make it to the Heathrow coach terminal where we soon learnt that trying to carry two heavy bags and a shoulder bag (each)  was really hard work. The walk to terminal 3 was never ending.

We settled ourselves down and had a full English to keep us going after which we took the plunge and went through security and found a pretty busy departure lounge. We asked the Virgin Atlantic staff about using a quiet lounge but they wanted £60 a head  but we found an alternative in the Servisair lounge at £17.50 each which included free food and drinks – much more civilised.

Our flight was called on time and, apart from a small delay  due to a light aircraft invading the airspace at Heathrow. The business class seats and service were probably our last piece of luxury so we enjoyed them to the full. The pilot made up the lost time and we landed at JFK airport in New York on time.

Immigration and customs proved no problem at all and we were soon outside embracing the night air. A taxi driven by Baldev Singh got us to our hotel in good time and some fifty dollars later. Hotel Pennsylvania (opposite Penn Station and Madison Square Gardens) looks impressive on the ground level but the rooms are tired and in need of some modernisation but at least habitable.

We sauntered down to the bar and had a couple of beers but it wasn’t long before the day’s travelling had caught up with us so it was time for bed.......

On Our Way

We took the bikes down to Southampton docks on Monday - not without incident.My first encounter was with a black golf GTi just outside Stratford who decided to change lanes right in front of me and another near the Trout Inn at Lechlade when some stupid woman decided to pull out of her drive directly into my path. Both incidents (skillfully) avoided we made it to the dockside offices of the shipping company who gave us paperwork showing our destination to be New York.We queried this because we had booked to go to Baltimore and the landlubbing deckhand dismissed the error as a typo. Let's see if where our bikes are actually docked - bets please.

Work gave me a good send off and Gina organised a get together of friends and family last night for a few drinks and nibbles - I eventually fell into bed just after 3 this morning and up again at 8.

Got my cases packed for tomorrow's flight so it's all systems GO !!

Brothers Grimm at the Dockside

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed links

If you tried to look at the Mongolian road links and they didn't work - I've fixed them now so take some time out to see what's in store for us aaaaarrrrrgggghhh!!

Crappy Doos

Crappy doos indeed ! The dawning of what we are about to undertake is just starting to hit home and my stomach is churning at the thought of being away from home for such a long time and I know that Gina is also beginning to ponder on the task ahead and how it will affect her at home.

I finally got the bike completed last Monday – the front Ohlins was fitted and then an oil and filter change, new spark plugs and front and rear brake pads – this means that the bike is ready. And talking of which, the bike goes down to Southampton Docks a week tomorrow, that’s Monday 28^th March.

We fly out the next Sunday (3^rd April) and I was busy a few minutes ago booking our seats on the Virgin Atlantic Airbus – two nice ones in business class. It is really lucky that we booked the more expensive tickets because we are allowed two 23kg bags of luggage plus our hand luggage (only one bag in economy). Just as well because my total payload is around the 28kg mark. This is pretty much everything that has to go on the bike – we are not allowed to put anything in the panniers when we ship the bikes by sea so we have to carry everything (including tools, motorcycle clothing, tents etc etc) in our air luggage. This also means that we have to lug it around America during the two weeks we are there waiting for the machines to arrive in Baltimore – life can be such a drag.

So there it is, crappy doos – I’m pooping myself. No turning back now. I shall really miss home but I am also really looking forward to this adventure, all on our own without backup. This is fine in the USA where the infrastructure is good enough to get us out of most trouble but when we get to Siberia and Mongolia we will have to use our brains and inner strength to get through. A guy called Oisin Hughes did Mongolia on bikes similar to ours last year - take a look at his first experience of entering Mongolia........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPbG5-KJX5U now you know why I've got butterflies. Of course, they are not all like this, some are better....... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ise636-yu1k and we might even get lucky on our 1000 mile trek through the country and get a bit of the 87 miles of Tarmac !.

Next week I will begin to send out begging letters for my charity fundraising in the hope

that I can get close to my targets and then it’s countdown to 3^rd April when it all begins.

My next blog report will be Stateside and the journey for real will have begun so keep watching and wish us luck.

Things Are Coming Together

It’s been a hectic 10 days or so with everything starting to come together. The Russian visas were approved and I took time out last week to ride down to London to pick them up personally on the basis that they were too important to us to lose in the UK postal system. As it turned out the weather on the day I chose to ride was a fantastic dry sunny day – bonus !

We paid the balance on our shipping and flights and David Grist at HC Travel sent all the documents through so, as well as our Russian visas, we now have our shipping details and loading instructions plus our flight tickets and accommodation in New York all sorted.

Today I finalised our motorbike insurance for the States and Canada with Motorcycle Express in New York and our certificates were emailed to me just a few minutes ago.

I did treat myself during the week. I went shopping on the Motorworks website and bought a spare brake lever (Mark is buying a clutch lever), a K & N filter and some alloy guards for the brake & clutch reservoirs plus a guard for the throttle potentiometer. I also bought some extra large footpegs to take the pressure off my feet when we have to travel standing up over rough terrain – this is a much more stable way to travel off road and helps with keeping the bike going in the right direction.

We have had one setback though. The Ohlins did arrive but the heavy duty springs didn’t and we feel sadly let down by Ohlins. They have been promised for this Friday so, fingers crossed.

I’ve got some dollars and roubles from the bank so as soon a he Ohlins are fitted I’m ready. Woooo Hoooooo  !!!!

Time is Ticking Away

The pace is picking up fast and we are quickly running out of days to get everything done and, no, I haven't lost any weight.

 

Last Friday (11^th Feb) I got a late afternoon email from StanTours to say that my letter of invitation to Russia has been received and is in the offices of Real Russia in Islington. I rang Real Russia and confirmed that the paperwork was with them and the reply was a comforting "Yes".  As luck would have it Mark was coming over to stay on Friday night so when he arrived we had a chat and decided that as this part of the trip was the largest it was important enough for us to go to London in person to collect these precious letters of invitation and put forward our visa applications.

 

We got up early on Saturday morning and made our way to Coventry station where we got the 7.30am Virgin fast train to Euston which got onto the London platform at 8.30am. We got the Tube to Islington and by ten past nine we were pushing open the door of the Real Russia office where Don, the owner, sifted through the paperwork, took our money and told us everything would be just fine. We won't know if that statement is true until next Tuesday when our passports will be returned either with or without the precious visa.

 

Grant, our mechanic friend, has rung to say that our personalised Ohlins have arrived from Sweden (now wishing even more that I hadn't lied about my weight) and he will pick them up early next week and fit to the bike which for some bizarre reason has just reminded me that I must call the BMW dealer (I use Woollastons in Northampton) and get (a) a duplicate spare ignition key (b) beg for a spare fuel pump controller – a known problem with our bikes and (c) a spare ring antennae – yet another know fault with the BMW GS which would render the bike totally stagnant if it failed as there is no way to start the bike. I do have a BMW bike dealership much closer to home (Clarkes at Rednal) but I have found their service to be way below the norm and, quite frankly, they don't deserve repeat custom.

Good news arrived this afternoon in the form of an email from David Grist at HC Travel who has now confirmed our booking for shipping the bikes from Southampton to Baltimore aboard the good vessel Texas with the added bonus that the prices have not increased from the original estimate given a few months ago (£575 per bike (one way) if you're interested).

Our next task ?  Well, when (or if) we get our Russian visas we need to look at other visas for Mongolia, Kazakhsatn, Uzbeckistan, Turkmenistan…….. never ends does it !

Liar, Liar........ !!

……….Yes !  Liar, Liar pants on fire.

Well , I must now confess to dishing out a big lie this week. You may recall in previous posts that we are upgrading our suspension by fitting some expensive Ohlins shocks.  To set the gear up properly the manufacturers build each bit of kit specifically for the weight of the bike which includes in our case both the luggage and the rider. I lied about my weight and took two stone off my actual reading and now I have committed myself to losing this amount of flab before we pick up the bikes in Baltimore on 16^th April. – I'm bloody starving, but don't tell anyone my little secret.

I've also started a "Things to Do" list but I keep remembering things to write on it when I'm nowhere near the list and by the time I find it again I've forgotten what it was I had to do. Is this the shape of things to come. The most important thing to do now is to get our Russina visas sorted out. David at STANtours has said that the Letters of Introduction (LOI) will be with us next week and we have decided to use Real Russia in London to assist us with the application (cost around £274 for a 6 month multi entry visa plus 126 US dollars for the LOI).

Good news on the shipping from USA to Vladivostok. We have found three others from Tennessee who want to share with a container with us. This will have the effect of splitting the total cost five ways instead of two and we will all save a small fortune. Bob Erion of Radiant in Seattle has been really helpful and patient with us and, somehow, he seems to answer  his emails almost immediately, day or night,  despite the fact that he is around 10 hours behind the UK.

This week will see me sorting out all the things that I need to take and putting it all together in one place before I start to cull things that I can do without. Memory sticks need filling with copy documents and information, Garmin maps and waypoints need downloading onto SD cards, and me and Mark need to spend some time together just going over things to make sure we don't duplicate things like tools etc.

Just wish I hadn't lied about my weight…. I'm still starving