JEDDAH, 14 July — After leaving Jeddah on June 6, with over four weeks on the open road and 6,000 kms behind him, Trevor Woolley rolled into his home village of Rowney Green near Birmingham on the evening of July 8.

Steve King, general manager for Castrol and co-sponsor of the trip reacted with "Excellent news! It was a terrific effort and we’re all glad he has made it safe and sound. It’s another success in the tradition of vehicle based challenges."

Immediately after Trevor arrived, he contacted Arab News. "All that way and never a technical problem," he said. "I only fell off once; that was when I was stationary and taking photos. A bit embarrassing, really."

When Trevor last contacted Arab News, he was about to enter Turkey. "If Syria was the friendliest place I have been, then Turkey is the most beautiful," he said. He diverted around Istanbul to take a longer but scenic route through the forests and valleys and then follow the coast road.

In the resort of Oludeniz, when filming the scenery, he dropped the motorbike. "It was too heavy to pick up and I had to wait for a passing motorist to help". There was little damage apart from a bent brake lever and dented pride.

The route from Oludeniz to Izmir, where he was due to catch the ferry to Brindisi, took him via the ancient city of Ephesus.

"That was a disappointment — crowded with tourists and street vendors all trying to sell coins and trinkets." After only a short stay, Trevor headed out to Izmir. "The very strong crosswinds made the five-hour trip very hazardous," he said.

"I don’t seem to have much luck with ships," observed Trevor. "I arrived to catch the 5 a.m. ferry only to discover it was leaving 13 hours late. As it was, after departing, we ran into a force 8 gale and the 32-hour trip took 46 hours."

Finally arriving in Brindisi on a Saturday, Trevor decided to break for the night. Saturday is traditionally when the people of the city dress in their finest and stroll through the squares and streets and renew acquaintances. "It was a pleasure just to sit and watch, relaxed after the trip on the ferry."

The following day, he started up the leg of Italy, heading for Rome via Naples. On the way, he stopped off at the war graves site at Monte Cassino, site of one of the bloodiest battles of World War 11. "It was a strange and very moving moment seeing the huge field of graves in absolute silence," he reflected.

On the way through Rome, Trevor diverted to see some of the famous sites, but found the dirt and turmoil of the city detracted from them to the extent that he didn’t pause for long. Pisa by contrast, with its leaning tower now restored to its former glory was, he said, a very beautiful town. To leave Italy, his route took him through the De Frejus Tunnel, 20 kms long and little more than a race track. "That was the scariest experience of the whole trip. Racing cars and heavy lorries make a motorcyclist feel very vulnerable."

Stopping overnight at a small French ski resort, St Jean de Maurine, he planned the onward route through country roads to the main Autoroute.

"Here the weather changed. Heavy rain, headwinds and spray from the traffic. Welcome to Europe!"

The final leg across France was a high-speed motorway run, ending on the cross channel ferry to England. After clearing customs, he headed north, skirting London and on toward Birmingham. "I had to make a conscious effort to remember to drive on the left side of the road," he said.

Finally home, Trevor is now looking around for the next challenge. Riding back to the Kingdom, perhaps?