CHRIS DRUM BERKAYA
BODRUM – Hürriyet Daily News
For Australian motorcycle owners who want to tour Europe on their own machines, one of the most economical ways of bringing their machines to the continent is via the port in İzmir
Twenty-nine motorcycles from Australia emerged at İzmir Customs dock and were reunited with their relieved owners at the end of March as they prepare for a touring adventure in Turkey and Europe.
The startling sight of 29 motorcycles emerging from a shipping container onto İzmir customs quay may have stirred curiosity in town, but the Customs Service were not overwhelmed by a new and rather complicated process, which they carried out willingly if not cautiously, according to all those close to the three-day process of clearing entry into Turkey. The previously untried concept of clearing many personally owned motorcycles arriving together in one container to Izmir was completed by the end of Wednesday, March 30, and all the officers lined up for a photo to celebrate.
The large motorcycles, panniers, helmets and gear belonged to 35 keen bikers from Australia, who then rode off to tour parts of southern Turkey before making their way across Europe. They had been shipped by the Australian motorcycle shipping company Get Routed, which has been shipping personal motorcycles to Europe for 11 years. Avid bikers then fulfill their dreams and attend some of the top Moto GP and Superbike races in Europe, usually ending at the British Isle of Man races in June.
Sitting in Bodrum a week before the arrival of the container, the owners of Get Routed, Dave Milligan and his wife, Maggie, were quietly confident that all motorcycles would arrive and pass customs “without too much drama.”
Milligan was at pains to emphasize they do not organize tours, but were just an economic way of getting bikes from Australia to Europe, or the United States, for owners who want to tour on their own bikes. A keen and former competition rider himself, Milligan said hiring bikes for touring across more than one country was not economical, particularly for insurance, and as Australians liked to travel to more than just one European country, this was his solution.
Over the last 11 years they have shipped motorcycles to Felixstow, in the United Kingdom, to and from Portland, Oregon, U.S., and next year they will ship to the Catalan port city of Barcelona.
Milligan said they first planned to ship to Athens this year, but the economic upheavals in Greece “started to worry them,” together with the port strikes. They decided to switch to İzmir, not only for an international port but also for the ease of access for touring Turkey.
The 35 riders and pillion passengers were planning different touring routes before they left Turkey.
The Milligans rode north in a group from İzmir along the coast, visiting Çanakkale and the Gallipoli Memorial sites before exiting into Bulgaria for the Czech Republic, then making their way across Europe to be in England in July.
Others such as Jody and Andy from Canberra rode in a loop around southwest Turkey, on their first visit to the country, discovering that “it far exceeded their expectations” and stayed six days longer than planned. They took the Bodrum-Kos ferry on April 11, to travel through Greece, Italy to Spain and on to the U.K.
Before leaving, they described how they came to Turkey. After reading about the shipping company in a magazine, they decided to save up three years of holidays to take the 16-week break. They flew direct into İzmir and Jody said that from that moment, “We have found everyone to be so helpful – even a young boy walking us around to our İzmir Hotel that we struggled to find when we first arrived.”
“If it all goes well at İzmir and people enjoy their travels in Turkey and on into Europe, then by word of mouth alone, I will probably bring 60 motorcycles and 100 people back when we plan to come in 2012 into İzmir,” Milligan said.
Blue cruise prior to the motor trip
Most riders arrived in İzmir after spending a day or two in Istanbul, but some arrived earlier with Dave and Maggie Milligan and took the first Blue Cruise of the season, on the small classic gulet, from Bodrum. Southern Cross Timer, the yacht charter company reported that they seemed to enjoy themselves hugely, as bright sunny skies and fresh breezes prevailed for the six-day cruise. The same company also assisted with the customs process at İzmir, with support from the Bodrum and İzmir motorcycle fraternity, who supplied some necessary battery charging and mechanical assistance when the bikes rolled onto İzmir quay. The yacht company owners are former motorcycle racers, Dave Stanley, and Dina Street.
“They couldn’t thank the İzmir Customs Officials enough. It was a difficult and new process for everyone, but they gave extra time, even working through their lunchtime to get it all done,” said Stanley.
Not all bikes came out of the container, one rider had added a pre-tour Austrian ski holiday to his itinerary, but broke his arm there. Another fell one night in İzmir, dislocating his shoulder badly enough to need an operation. He returned to Australia immediately, canceling his summer in Europe. The two and the container departed the İzmir port for Felixstow where all motorcycles will reload for the return to three Australian ports.
(Source: www.hurriyetdailynews.com )