TRAVEL FEATURE - TURKEY
MARIA SCHUMACHER
A FRIEND LOST , A FRIEND FOUND .
After frantically retracing this morning ’ s tracks , I finally saw him , a sorry heap of fluff sitting on the side of the road . A tractor pulling over to let traffic pass was rolling directly towards him . Riding as fast as I could , I helplessly watched as the huge tyres approached him with inevitability . I was still too far away . There was nothing I could do but watch and fear the worst . As soon as the chunky tread released him from its grip , I scooped him up and gave him a huge hug . Icebear had survived .
And that despite having lost his helmet .
Focused only on finding my lost teddy bear , I hadn ’ t noticed the old man selling tea from his overloaded bicycle stand nearby , but now a little black ball with red spikes on his handlebars caught my eye . Icebear ’ s helmet !
The old man quickly understood my gestured request and reluctantly handed it over . I was almost sorry to rob him of his newfound treasure . But when I put it on Icebear ’ s head and sat him in his usual spot on my motorbike , the old man understood and laughed .
My partner Aidan finally caught up with us , slightly bewildered at my erratic riding but mostly relieved that I had found my beloved mascot , without whom I would be inconsolable . We had set off from England on our two BMW F650GS ’ s a couple of months ago and of course Icebear had come with us . He is only a cuddly toy , but we have been inseparable ever since Aidan gave him to me for my birthday years ago , wrapped around a vodka bottle . I had made him a helmet for the journey by cutting open a tennis ball , painting it black and giving it a mohawk of red spikes from an old punk bracelet .
Riding south in western Turkey , we had decided to leave the beaten
TRAVERSE 93