Right beyond the horizon

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4 It’s all very well to travel to distant places, but that doesn’t mean we should close our eyes to what’s directly at our doorstep. Italy contains some of the most splendid architecture in the world, especially in Liguria, where “bella Italia” is very bella indeed.

5 Proof that size doesn’t matter: the micro-nation of San Marino covers an area of only 61 square kilometres, but look at the amazing views!

6 Croatia. Mount the saddle, turn the ignition, start the engine. You head out to the coastal road, windswept mountains to your left, the glistening blue sea to your right. Beyond, in the distance, is the open horizon.

Isn’t motorcycling wonderful?

7 Contrary to what many believe, locating a pristine site to pitch your tent free of charge is easy throughout all of Europe – you just need to know where to look. Tonight’s pick is a grassy meadow on the Dalmatian shoreline.

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8 Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its famous arched bridge.

9 Laura and I both share a deep love for dogs, and the bigger, the better!

10 My blossoming cyclamen “Thor”. Shouldn’t every motorcyclist have a flowerpot on his handlebars?

11 Peering out from our tent, we wish Puck and Pixie goodnight.

12 The St Nicholas Church semi-submerged in Lake Mavrovo, Macedonia.

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21 Perched atop nearly every hill are citadels and koshkebi (towers). These are 20-metre high defensive fortifications with entrances only accessible via ladders. Nearly 1,000 years old and made entirely of stone, they resemble Jenga blocks stacked by daring masons. Upper Svaneti was never conquered by invading forces.

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22 The topography becomes increasingly vertical and the vegetation more sparse, the farther we head up from the valley. Eventually we reach the snow line in Ushguli, Europe’s highest village at 2,120 metres. Ahead of us is the Zagari Pass – but can we cross it with our motorbikes?

The snow is ankle deep and the temperature -8°C. 23 We have sufficient traction to plough though snowdrifts blocking our path.

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28 In Kazakhstan, we cross the Mangystau Desert. We greatly enjoy the remoteness, even though we need a week to cover 600 kilometres. A freak storm turns the track into sludge, and our tyres are soon encased with a thick layer of wet clay. Ride, slide, stop, clean. Ride, slide, stop, clean ... again and again, every few hundred metres.

29 The fabled city of Khiva in Uzbekistan with its fortified wall, built to ward off assaults of invaders and protect from desert storms.

30 Laura, the camel-whisperer. In Uzbekistan, a high percentage of the population is humped; thousands of camels roam the arid plains.

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47 Every mountain pass is decorated with lung ta (windhorses), Tibetan prayer flags in all colours of the rainbow.

48 Walking clockwise around a large cylindrical prayer wheel, monks chant the mantra “Om mani padme hum”.

49 “Tashi Delek!” A future motorbike overlander!

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50 Old Tibetans with prayer beads and hand-held prayer wheels swap today’s news in a village plaza.

51 Nature always speaks to us – often in a voice barely louder than the whisper of a falling autumn leaf, but occasionally, she booms out a mighty roar. The Yangtze drains off the Tibetan Plateau and slices through a 3,900-metre deep canyon known as Tiger Leaping Gorge.

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