Riding solo through Iran as a woman

Crossing the Dasht-e-Lut (or Lut Desert) toward the ancient city of Yazd. British travel writer Lois Pryce spent 60 days motorcycling around the country, on her own.

Murals, posters and banners of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Imam Khomeini loom over streets, parks and public buildings.

In Tehran, Pryce met the Iranian explorer Issa Omidvar, who motorcycled around the world from 1952 to 1962.

Everything you could ever need is for sale in Tehran's vast, labyrinthine bazaar.

That moment when Google Translate would come in handy. Outside main urban areas, many of Iran's road signs are in Farsi only.

Chadors are commonly worn by women in public areas.

Iranian streets are decorated with murals, from the militaristic to the mundane.

A warm welcome at a hotel in Shiraz, apparently Iran's friendliest city. Pryce found that, despite its reputation as an extremist state, Iran's people were invariably friendly and hospitable.

Two common sights of Iran: murals of the war "martyrs" and the ubiquitous Paykan, a vehicle also known as the Iranian chariot.

Salesmen ply their trade in the dusty streets of Yazd. Surrounded by desert in the center of the country, Yazd is renowned for its exquisite handicrafts.

A mural on a military compound in Tehran's Felestin Square commemorates "The Imposed War," as the Iran-Iraq war is known locally.

Fin Garden in Kashan, Iran's oldest Persian garden, was completed in 1590.

Outside the Shah's palace, only the legs remain of his colossal statue that was toppled during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

A happy trucker. This pretty much sums up Pryce's experience with Iranians.

Pryce's route took her over the remote Alborz Mountains.

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• British travel writer Lois Pryce motorcycled 3,000 miles through Iran on her own


• Her travels revealed a nation divided between an authoritarian regime and a friendly, welcoming people


• Breaking into 1980s song "The Final Countdown" with an ex-army general was one of her highlights

(CNN) -- "You! You have moto, yes?"

An elderly woman, her craggy face peering out from the folds of her voluminous black chador, demands my attention.

I'm in the immigration line at the Turkey-Iran border and my heart is pounding as I wait to be stamped into the Islamic Republic.

I nod warily, confirming that yes, that is me -- a solo female with a British passport and a motorcycle.

I adjust my headscarf, fearing that my interrogator is a member of Iran's infamous "morality police," the hardliners instructed to arrest women for "immodest" behavior.

She jabs me in the chest.

"You come with moto?" she asks again, twisting an imaginary throttle and even adding a few "vroom vroom" sound effects.

I'm still not sure if I'm in trouble but her opinion becomes clear when she grabs my face and gives it an enthusiastic slap, before pulling me in for a rib-crushing hug.

"Very good! Very good!" she shouts while I gasp for breath among the folds of her chador.

"I am wishing you all the luck in the world!"

MORE: 10 of the world's best motorcycle rides

Finding the 'real' Iran

This enthusiastic welcome sets the scene for my entire journey -- motorcycling 3,000 miles around Iran solo and female, from the rugged northwest of the country to the Caspian Sea and over the remote Alborz Mountains to the fume-choked streets of Tehran.

My motivation?

Curiosity about the huge gulf between how Iran is perceived in the West and what I hear about it from the few people I know who have been there.

Often painted in the media as a terrifying place full of extremists, travelers who return from Iran invariably rave about how wonderful and welcoming they found the Iranian people.

I wanted to discover the place for myself.

Following some wild times in the capital, where it turns out you can get everything from contraband bacon to booze, I continue through the peaceful Zagros Mountains to the ancient cities of Esfehan, Shiraz and the deserts of the south.

Reports of tourists being arrested for espionage are in the front of my mind when, at one border post, I'm frogmarched to the police station to be fingerprinted.

But, of course, a people and its government are two separate entities.

Persian hospitality is legendary and I find myself overwhelmed with generosity and kindness from Iranians keen to distance themselves from the negative image of their homeland -- from truckers stuffing pomegranates into my panniers to complete strangers insisting on paying for my hotel room and an endless stream of tea.

MORE: Exploring America's Main Streets on a motorcycle

The Alborz Mountains -- one of the larger challenges Pryce faced.

Challenging too

Of course, there are a couple of challenging moments, most often involving the police.

There are different kinds of police in Iran and on one occasion in Tehran a car full of plainclothes revolutionary guards deliberately drives into me.

On another occasion I'm assaulted at a remote desert gas station by a pump attendant who is probably on meth (quite common in the rural areas, I'm told).

Shouting, he lunges at me.

Luckily I'm still sitting on the bike, and after a kick in the right place I ride off as fast as possible.

But then I'm out in the desert with very little fuel ... a pretty scary scenario, too.

In fact, the very act of riding a motorcycle can be daunting in Iran as the driving can be insane.

Iran reportedly has the highest rate of road deaths and traffic related accidents in the world, so every morning I feel like I'm going into battle.

But the welcome from the people makes up for it manifold.

MORE: Iran: time for travelers to return?

Curious and curiouser

I'm also a source of intense curiosity myself, especially as Iranian women are forbidden from riding motorcycles in public.

Foreign travelers are rare in Iran and the sight of a UK-registered motorcycle caused much excitement among drivers who would pass me with an inch to spare, blasting their horns while hanging out the window and filming me on their phones.

As I travel around I'm passed from stranger to stranger, who quickly become friends, and as a result, find myself mingling with a range of Iranian society.

My hosts range from underground filmmakers and the designer-clad elite of Tehran to a rebel-rousing schoolgirl and Iran's celebrated explorer, Issa Omidvar, who motorcycled around the world in the 1950s.

Iranians remain warm and fun-loving people.

Some areas off limits

Riding isn't an entirely free affair though -- travelers must take care not to stray into military areas or near nuclear plants and taking pictures of military or official buildings is a no-no.

For my project, I'd snap them quickly and then be on my way, reminded that the authoritarian streak is never far away.

Vast murals of the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei) loom over every street corner and everyone I meet has a story of police intimidation, arrests and the oppressive reality of life under the regime.

Where Google Translate would come in handy.

In the desert city of Yazd I'm invited to stay with an ex-army general and his family.

He fought in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and lost his legs in the conflict.

I'm wary of this invitation, wondering what I'll have in common with an Iranian veteran, but my concerns are unfounded.

He's far from the grizzled war-monger I fear and within moments of meeting he's cracking jokes and teaching me Farsi slang.

The highlight of the trip comes, unexpectedly, as we take the elevator in his apartment block to go out for dinner.

I'm learning the Persian numbers as we descend each floor and as we count "three, two, one" he announces in English, "It's the final countdown!"

We don't have to say anything. The two of us look at each other, laugh and burst into song.

"Da-da daa daa, da-da da da daa!"

This is the moment I know I'd been right to ignore the naysayers and to come and seek out the real Iran.

Neither East nor West

Iran has always prided itself on being "neither East nor West."

Geographically it stands between the two cultures, never aligning itself with either, making for the strong sense of Persian identity.

Sadly, the popular image of Iran today, fueled by the rhetoric of politicians means that the Iranian people are lumped in with Islamic extremists and terrorism.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

My travels unveiled a nation of sophisticated, kindhearted people eager to engage with the wider world.

If only their government would follow their example.

Lois Pryce spent two periods of 30 days traveling Iran in 2013 and 2014. You can follow her travels at Loisontheloose. A book and TV show based on the trip are in production.