Bikers on the Silk Road again
19 May 2005
By DAVE WILLIAMS and NZPA
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Prominent Nelson businessman Phil Lough is on the road again after being detained in a small town in Iran with members of his motorcycle group.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Mr Lough - head of Trade and Industry New Zealand and a former Sealord chief executive - economist Gareth Morgan and their group had their passports taken by local police. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The six New Zealanders, calling themselves the Silkriders, are in Iran as part of a three-month effort to ride the old Silk Road from Italy to China to mark the 750th birthday of Marco Polo. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The group was stopped in the small town of Bubolsor after police said there was a problem with its visas, and was put under house arrest in what was described as a "rat-infested" hotel. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Emma Riley said the Silkriders arrived at the town on their 650cc motorcycles, which are banned in Iran except to foreigners in transit, and they attracted a crowd. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif] Ms Riley said the local police did not know anything about them, so took their passports overnight to check with the passports office, where everything checked out. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"Apparently the Bubolsor police had given them a letter of introduction and the phone number of their police station in case they encountered any difficulties while they're in Iran." [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]She said the group was travelling on to Turkmenistan. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Silkriders logistics coordinator Mike O'Donnell said a similar thing happened when Mr Morgan and the group did a ride in Kashmir two years ago and it was not unexpected in small towns in third world countries. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]With Mr Morgan and his wife Jo on the tour are Mr Lough, professional aviator Brian Wyness, Tauranga dairy farmer Dave Wallace and Brendan Keogh who runs a motorcycle dealership in Wellington. The group has been designated as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors for the purpose of promoting the needs of children during its travels. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Mr Lough's wife Christine said yesterday he was in good spirits despite having been placed under house arrest. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif] She said her 58-year-old husband rang home on Wednesday morning. The group was being careful not to antagonise "petty bureaucracy". [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The trip was two years in the planning and the group had gone with some expectation there might be difficulties, she said. [/font]
19 May 2005
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Prominent Nelson businessman Phil Lough is on the road again after being detained in a small town in Iran with members of his motorcycle group.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Mr Lough - head of Trade and Industry New Zealand and a former Sealord chief executive - economist Gareth Morgan and their group had their passports taken by local police. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The six New Zealanders, calling themselves the Silkriders, are in Iran as part of a three-month effort to ride the old Silk Road from Italy to China to mark the 750th birthday of Marco Polo. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The group was stopped in the small town of Bubolsor after police said there was a problem with its visas, and was put under house arrest in what was described as a "rat-infested" hotel. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Emma Riley said the Silkriders arrived at the town on their 650cc motorcycles, which are banned in Iran except to foreigners in transit, and they attracted a crowd. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif] Ms Riley said the local police did not know anything about them, so took their passports overnight to check with the passports office, where everything checked out. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"Apparently the Bubolsor police had given them a letter of introduction and the phone number of their police station in case they encountered any difficulties while they're in Iran." [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]She said the group was travelling on to Turkmenistan. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Silkriders logistics coordinator Mike O'Donnell said a similar thing happened when Mr Morgan and the group did a ride in Kashmir two years ago and it was not unexpected in small towns in third world countries. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]With Mr Morgan and his wife Jo on the tour are Mr Lough, professional aviator Brian Wyness, Tauranga dairy farmer Dave Wallace and Brendan Keogh who runs a motorcycle dealership in Wellington. The group has been designated as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors for the purpose of promoting the needs of children during its travels. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Mr Lough's wife Christine said yesterday he was in good spirits despite having been placed under house arrest. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif] She said her 58-year-old husband rang home on Wednesday morning. The group was being careful not to antagonise "petty bureaucracy". [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The trip was two years in the planning and the group had gone with some expectation there might be difficulties, she said. [/font]