OK, so I was warned against both the roads and the problems in Ukraine but I still had to go to make my delivery in Chernivets.


Entering Ukraine was a laugh thanks to the young customs officer who said incredulously , "you are coming here on that piece of shit? ". He soon apologised and we got on well.

My contact, through Couchsurfing, was senior student Janos, who is actually Hungarian, but as an amateur history nut he probably knew more about this former outpost of the Austro-Hungarian empire than the locals. He was good company throughout.

What can I say about the city? Only that the roads are simply the worst I've ever ridden (including Vespa Raid Morocco) but both the buildings and the women are fantastically well constructed.

It was clear though that my idea to ride across Ukraine to Slovakia would probably result in a smashed scooter. With no spare hub, shock or indeed insurance, I made the difficult decision to head south into Romania again and take a far longer but ultimately safer route through Hungary...

After my evening with the North Gang Riders MC at their club night I was kindly hosted by vice-president Florin and family (wife Dana and daughters Diana and Florintina) at their house in the countryside.

Overnight Florin concocted a plan to help me sort my badly running scooter by fitting all the parts Scooter Centre Koln sent when I was stranded in Bacau.

He arranged for the box of parts to be brought 200km from Intermoto while fellow clubmate Mihai gave me free run of his workshop to do engine rebuild no2.

This time I would not piss about, it would be a full rebuild with a new 60mm stroke BGM crank and new bearings. It all went to plan right up to the moment I realised one vital packing plate was not included. Queue massive stress and all hands on deck to sort a workaround. By 7pm it was back on its wheels and running, but still with niggles to fix the following day before tackling Ukraine.

That night in a state of mental and physical exhaustion I asked Florin if he knew what the twin towns of Suceava were. Well, didn't it turn out that one was also Chernivets in Ukraine and I was heading there the following day...

After another morning making adjustments to the scooter with Pavlov in Bacau I felt ready to tackle Iasi near Moldova.

My cousin found me a contact in the city in the form of fellow writer Oana who offered to host me and make arrangements with the city council and newspapers.

Before I even reached her flat however I was pulled over by fellow overlander Julian who lives in Iasi and formed part of a team who drove an old Romanian 4x4 to the far side of Siberia. The three of us ate together. It turned into a late, entertaining night followed by an early morning for a meeting with the council's charming international relations representative Elena Farca.

Next, a lesson on the political underbelly of Iasi from local journalist Catalin.

A violent thunderstorm delayed my departure for Suceava for a couple of hours. Earlier I'd arranged to meet up with the North Gang Riders MC who'd stopped for me when I was broken down on Sunday. On the way I rode into a hideous headwind, but it was worth it for the warm welcome I received at their clubhouse. Good people.  The episode on Suceava does not end there...

Precious teabags!

Yesterday was a little lesson for me in positivity. My scooter is running again thanks to the ace mechanic Pavlov from Intermoto Bacau and super speedy parts delivery from Scooter Centre Koln. Their parcel of parts was shipped from Germany to Romania in a little over 24 hours. The crazy thing is that they offer this service across the EU for 5 euros fixed price.  
Rimini Lambretta Centre previously managed a delivery to Bulgaria in less than 24 hours. At times like this, when you are in the mire, you need good shops to rely on.

As soon as my Lambretta ran and I could see more of Bacau it seemed a much nicer place. My troubles soon paled in insignificance once a group of German bikers arrived at Pavlov's, one of whom had knackered the forks on his BMW in a collision with a scooter.

Hopefully next stop Iasi, almost 9 days behind schedule...

Credit where credit's due part 2.

Having never previously seen a dead person in person, since entering Romania I've seen two; one of which was at the scene of a nasty road accident. That sort of thing gives any day a different perspective.

My first day in Romania went smoothly enough. After meeting my cousin Michael in Bucharest I pushed north.

Things went wrong on day 2. A connection problem in my wiring burned out my stator and CDI coil. No problem, I had spares. After 2 hours rebuilding my ignition at the side of the road the engine restarted. The only guy to stop for me was Sorin of North Gang Riders MC who came back to see if I was OK. The other members of his club from Suceava could not believe what I was doing on an old scooter.

Sadly after another 20 miles my ignition died again but this time I was stranded with no spare parts and no back-up 20km from the nearest town. Shit!

This time I was rescued by a Adrian and Anna from Bucharest on a Kawasaki who turned around and hunted down a motorcycle shop who might come and get me on a Sunday afternoon.

Luckily, Pavlov from Intermoto, 35km away in   Bacau, drove up with his friend and a trailer to come and collect me.

I'm presently cooped up in the extremely humble Pensiunea Elis awaiting an urgent delivery of spares from Scooter Centre, who like Rimini Lambretta Centre and MB Scooters have been supporting my daft mission from the start, along with Putoline and Continental Tyres. Thanks folks, particularly Mark, Dean and Philipp