Go on lighty with on more wheel, written in Istanbul, 15th september 2007

After our accident in Greece, we’ve had other problems. By changing spokes too often, and by making it changed sometimes by some good willing but finally hesitant engineers, the wheel has been badly damaged. A special element for automatic speed was broken; but in any towns we’ve crossed we couldn’t find a new one, until we couldn’t drive anymore when we reached Istanbul. We’ve ordered a new one but Turkish customs made us troubles to get it because of a mistake in addressee data, so that it became too complicated not to say impossible to receive the parcel. 

It had been two weeks that we were in Istanbul doing our utmost to get the wheel when we’ve started to realize that a lots of signs were already for long showing us that we shouldn’t go on like this: First the poor condition of the roads especially from Albania made spokes broken everyday. Then our accident
in Greece which had seriously damaged the frame.
Then the customs which raised objections and the difficulty to find special element fort our trike, as well as the troubles to put the trike tandem in public transport when we needed it or to put it in a safe place when we were sleeping in town. Finally the impossibility to take small stony or sandy tracks.

Everything was urging us to find another solution so that we can succeed in our trip, without the constant fear of an irreparable breakage or an impassable road. And a last sign came two days ago like a blessing when two Belgian bike-travelers that we’ve met in Croatia and who were following our trip in our website, sent us a message, proposing us to give us their bikes for free because they were going back to Belgium and especially because they’d like willingly to help us continue our journey.

We’ve thought a lot about what we should do. Owing to the countries we’ll cross, risks of problems with the trike would become more and more probable. We were however sad to imagine leaving the trike because it had became apart of our trip, something familiar, a kind of a friend…

But we’ve had to be reasonable: when we saw the bent tandem fort the first time, we’ falled in love with it, but since Albania we are cumulating problems, making us wasting money and time and  getting more and more lateness in our agenda, and all this without any rest because there is always something to repair or to settle. 

Now signs are not only urging us but are shouting….: on Monday, we will send back the trike to France to find it again in one year, for, why not, another adventures in Europe, where it’s a very appropriate bike. On good roads, with specialist engineers not so far and other possibilities and especially with more experience and knowledge with this bent bike, it will be an excellent, comfortable and fast machine.

But fort he moment and for these eight-nine months coming, it will be supplanted by Anne-Marie and Benjamin’s normal bike, whom we’ve accepted the friendly act of.  
Thanks again to their good hearts which will make us reach Bangkok. 

ESTL.

(photo above : with Anne-Marie and Benjamin on a ferry to Cres, Croatia)