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Chasing Horizons - Sam and Clare
Hey hey people! Well... kind of new here although my glorious other half is a frequent visitor and I have been mooching about in the background for quite a while!
Not one to stay quiet though... I thought I'd post and introduce what myself and what's about to happen...! Background: Approximately a year ago Sam and I met through the wonderful world of the internet (what would we do without google nowadays – bosh in what you want and voila!) With Sam stupendously passionate about motorbikes and me being so desperate to learn to ride it seemed inevitable that our combination would be perfect for a motorbiking duo! This, coupled with the desire to travel and do something mega for charity, we figured “What the hey, let’s go all out and do a charity round the world trip on motorbikes” and that’s just what we’re doing! So, in just over 6 months, I have to learn to ride a motorbike (wheeeeeee), Sam needs to acquire a new license (he has a shoddy one from Dubai) and we both have to plan a world tour on motorbikes for the superb charities The World Land Trust, Wales Air Ambulance and Riders for Health!... Happy Days Ahoy!! Sam and I enjoying the Bristol Air Fiesta! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_...-and-Clare.jpg The Route: *UPDATE* After talking through various routes and looking closely at time scales, our route has changed for the last time! We’ve decided to chase the weather... always a plan batman! So leaving around 20th - 24th November (date to be confirmed in next 2 weeks!) here goes: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T...0/MapRoute.jpg EUROPE (November 2012) UK – FRANCE – SWITZERLAND - ITALY NORTH AFRICA (December 2013) TUNISIA – LIBIYA – EGYPT EAST AFRICA (January - March 2013) SUDAN – ETHIOPIA – KENYA - TANZANIA – MALAWI SOUTHERN AFRICA (March - May 2013) ZAMBIA – BOTSWANA – NAMIBIA – SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE L’AGULHAS) NORTH AMERICA (May - September 2013) CANADA (TRANSLABRADOR HIGHWAY) – ALASKA (PRUDOE BAY) – U.S.A – MEXICO CENTRAL AMERICA (September - October 2013) BELIZE – GUATEMALA – HONDURAS – NICARAGUA – COSTA RICA - PANAMA (DARIEN GAP) SOUTH AMERICA (October 2013 - January 2014) COLUMBIA – EQUADOR – PERU – BOLIVIA – CHILE – ARGENTINA (USHUAIA) Depending on monies and times, we are then considering routing back through Australia, Asia, Middle East, Europe and Home! Charities: As above, we're doing this all to raise awareness of three main charities: Wales Air Ambulance: Knowing we are off traipsing around the world, we really wanted to have a charity which was rooted back to our homeland. Being the Welshy that Sam is and with my history in the services, we are stupendously happy to be supporting the Wales Air Ambulance and consider it as a charity close to our hearts. World Land Trust: We're both pretty keen on supporting the natural world and the WLT are quite simply awesome in what they do to help preserve endangered habitats and species! Our route passes many of their projects, particularly in South America. We plan on visiting as many as possible on our journey! Riders for Health: We first heard about Riders for Health early last year and were instantly overwhelmed by their tremendous work. With numerous projects all over Africa, Riders for Health have devoted teams who dedicate their time and expertise ensuring health workers have access to reliable transportation so they can reach the most isolated communities with regular and predictable health care. How We're Doing It: I am incredibly lucky to have Sam as my lovely other half for this trip as he already has completed a half-way RTW trip on his motorbike in the past. A few years back Sam and his mate took themselves from Dubai all the way up through the Middle East, Europe, Canada to Alaska before heading back to the UK. Sam was riding a KTM 990 Adventure S which he still has today, however, unfortunately it still has Dubai licence plates and so is not rideable :( Boo hiss! Despite riding for the past 8 years and having been half way around the world, his Dubai licence cannot be transferred to the UK soooo he has to take all the tests again! Utter bummer!! However, he's keen to see what habits he has picked up and correct them. Right now though, his riding skills and knowledge of travel is proving to be invaluable! Batman Sam on his Trip: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y...Batman-Sam.jpg Sam and his mates bikes: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h...0/DSC00499.jpg With Sam to advise, we're plodding our way through all the relevant paper work (carnets, visas etc), finances and planning out a pretty hard core training program (both riding and fitness) for the next 6 months. Being an utter n00b myself I have been liaising with the national campaign Get On for some time now and they are giving us their full support in getting me up and running and Sam back up to scratch! Much of our trip will be followed by Get On through their website as they're hoping to promote lady riders, road safety and adventure planning. I'm chuffed as nuts about their support and excitement in the adventure - it's a bit of a booster for us lady riders and what's achievable if you put your mind to it! We're really fortunate actually as, not only have we got the support from Get On but also from Capitalize (the PR company who did Big Earths Long Way Round/Down and also do the PR/set up for the UK Bike Shows annually) and also have Big Earth giving us the big thumbs up too! We are super lucky to have various sponsors on board as well... the coverage we're getting for our charities is superb and not only that, we're getting lots of fantastic advice for training and preparation! Financially we're having to change our house to a buy to let and release some equity there. We're also working ridiculously hard and pulling funds in where we can! The house will be rented whilst we are away which will give us a boost of petrol money per month. Bikes/Equipment: As above, we are stupendously lucky to have various sponsors on board. We will release more details on this next week once the site is launched! Exciting :D What's Happening Right Now: As mentioned, I have never been on a motorbike before! I did have a scooter 10 years ago when I was 16 but had an unfortunate incident whereby a lorry didn't take time to look where he was going and ended up making me mount a roundabout to save myself from becoming a pancake! Due to this and my history in the police witnessing many bike incidents, close family and friends never encouraged me to get on a bike and excuses were made leaving me all dreamy eyed and a bit sad my bike love would probably never happen! So... Yesterday was absolutely mega beyond belief and a dream come true for me!... it was my first day on a motorbike with Ace Motorcycle School, Bristol!! I popped up to Bristol with Sam by my side all bouncy yet slightly butterflied bellied to my Get On hours free trial you can do! My instructor, Neil, was stupendous! I couldn't recommend the school enough for anyone who is wanting to learn to ride and are a wee bit nervous! Absolutely lovely people! I bopped about for the hour on a 125cc and then was plonked on a 500cc (really chuffed about that... apparently they only let 1 in 10 people hop on a 500cc within the first hour!) and I was wibbling my way through cones in no time! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N...and+Cones+.jpg I was just stupid happy afterwards... it's all become much more of a reality and well... I cannot wait! There will be more on the training on our website which is due to launch next week so please take a looksy (www.chasinghorizons.co.uk)! More piccies and videos are about on our Facebook page too if you wanna peek: Chasing Horizons Facebook! What's Next: We are just finalising when where who what and why but next week we hoping to start our CBT and Module 1 and 2! After that we have to arrange our advanced, off road riding and squeeze in a trip to Morocco on the bikes to get some dune experience! Busy busy busy! We're both extremely excited yet incredibly focused on a massive task and adventure ahead! Without a doubt there will be loads of photos, video footage and blogging galore! If you guys have any questions or would like to see anything in particular, just let us know, we'll happily do what we can! Great to finally post on here properly! Let the adventure begin! Wheeeeee! Haha! |
:welcome: to the HUBB.
The world is your oyster, good luck in your endeavours. All the info you need is on here so good hunting. By the way I'm loving the boots! Have fun both. |
Hahaha! Thanking you kindly Mister!
Naturally the boots will change (looking for Sidi Crossfires eventually!) but for now they're my kick bottom boots that seemed suitable for pottering about for an hour on trial! :D Looking forward to reading more up on The Hubb! I read the forums frequently :D |
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Cheers Chris |
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We're going to be do as much promotional work with them as possible! In an ideal world we would love to be able to raise money for them which we will be directing through our website (there will be donate buttons in place for people wishing to contribute to the charities!) I think our main aim, however, is to raise awareness for all three charities! As we're lucky enough to have the support of Get On and Capitalize we have future opportunities for magazine articles and lots of social media drive. We have for some time been discussing the potential of filming and it's still in the pipeline! We are visiting projects in South America for the World Land Trust (as well as hopefully seeing their conservation in the UK). The Wales Air Ambulance we'd like to do some local advertising and PR work and Riders for Health we're aiming to visit a number of their projects through Africa. By blogging, social media, spending days with them and their PR teams, plus the PR we will be getting from various sources... we're really hoping our followers will become more aware of their good work :) |
Weh hey!
CBT tomorrow guys! We're being guided by a bunch of Welsh ex coppers (and when I say Welsh they're proper proper Welsh!) It's going to be tough enough me figuring out what they're saying to me let alone learning to ride! Hahaha! They're superbly lovely though so cannot wait (although slightly nervous!) Sam's doing his too (poor blighter having to do all the tests again!) It will be interesting to see what habits he has accumulated! Fingers crossed we get through it in one piece! First proper little step to a mahoooooooooossive journey! Happy Days!! :D |
CBT....
Good luck! You'll be fine....... :D
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hey people!
As some of you have seen... we PASSED! Hoorah! It was a bit of a damp and dull day heading over to Swansea and I was awash with sleepiness, nerves, want-for-a-pancake (shrove tuesday) but it was a lovely day all the same! Smart Motorcycle Training in Swansea were phenomenal. Ianto, who we have met a few times before, cracked me up so much throughout the day! He really knew how to blow away the nerves! With very clear, concise and simple instructions the guy was full of beans and keeping us on our toes all day! As I had the Get On hour on the friday previous I felt a little bit more confident in what I was doing but the thought of pootling along on the open roads amidst traffic didn't half put the heebie jeebies up me! Ianto managed to build my confidence though and with Sam pootpootling along aside me in the car park I was more than happy! We made our way out onto the road and things seemed much easier gear changing than they had in the car park... I'm guessing this was due to more room for acceleration and movement! I was constantly chatting away to myself in my helmet though reminding myself of the actions (alongside Ianto talking to me all the time on the comms... he was such as star at reassuring me, such an absolute star). I did, however, manage to stall three times on my first roundabout... First Stall... Me: "Oh Bugger bum poop and fudge... right... must be the nerves... start her back up again... brumm" Second Stall... Me: "Seriously!?!? Seriously! Maybe too much clutch again!?" Third Stall... Me: "Whaaaaaaat the MONKEYS is going on!?! Getting biting point... accelerating enough... why?! WHY!? I need to get my butt into gear.. oh. Oh hang on... gear. FUDGE I've been sat in second! YOU PRATT SOUTHERN!" Hahahaha! I felt like such a muppet! I think that was probably my only major glitch (on the busiest roundabout in history too... what a nincompoop!) I did have the odd boshing the gear into neutral as opposed to second but after an hour or so out I was much much smoother! Sam had a good day too! He enjoyed being back on a bike as it's been a while! He found it odd having to do exaggerated movements to check mirrors so the instructor could read what you were doing but other than that (and finding it odd not to stand up over humps... he's used to off roading in his KTM 990 Adventure) he loved it! I did think he might find it all a bit tedious seeing as he's ridden for 8 years and done half way rtw already... but Ianto and the team made it interesting enough for us both which was awesome of them! Sam was nervous though about not passing! I guess the pressure is on when you have an expectation of 8 years riding! Curse Dubai licence and being unable to transfer! Anyway, I yabber on! A wet sticky-rain day but a great one all the same! Am still smiling now and excited about Mod 1 (although remain nervous in a good way!) Our first big step though... :D Some piccies of the day for you: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-q...ginning%21.jpg Ianto, my Welsh instructor from Smart Motorcycle Training in Swansea and I outside prior to the day starting! https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9...8/IMG_0605.jpg Me riding into a container! Haha! I did manage to turn... it's just the way the pic looks! Honest gov! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i...8/IMG_0614.jpg Both Sam and I on the bikes! Couldn't be a happier duo! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1...3/IMG_0616.jpg We'd just gone out on the roads for our first ride about and had stopped for a warming cuppa! I was only just properly settling in and eager to jump back on asap! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G...3/IMG_0620.jpg POOCH giving Sam and snog! Chris - another Smart Motorcycle Swansea Instructor - had a beauuuuuuuuuutiful malamute husky pooch! He was ENORMOUS but stupid friendly! Absolutely adorable hunky man of fluff! The website is due to be launched over the weekend where there will be much more information about the day and what we're doing/riding/gear etc so please take a look in the future at www.chasinghorizons.co.uk In the meantime, you can see more piccies and videos here: Chasing Horizons Facebook Page and regular updates on Twitter - Chasing Horizons. Please pop on and take a goosey goosey gander at our frollickings! We'd love to see people on there :) Thank you so much for all your support and well wishes! |
Chasing Horizons | World Travel on Motorcycles
HOORAH! The website is up and running! Sam and I are really chuffed it’s *finally* made it to the wonderful world of the interweb! Due to minor glitches here and there, it’s been slightly delayed in coming but we pulled off a few all nighters, drank ourselves a high sharehold of caffeine and VOILA! We’re off! We’re awaiting on the arrival of some gear before we put the details up in the gear section… not long though (I cannot tell you how excited we are about this!) There will be reviews of Rukkas Arma S and Rukkas Armiinas suits as well as the X Lite 551 helmets so keep watching and let us know if there’s any details you’d like us to particularly look at with regards to the items! As for the bikes… we’re nervously awaiting some news and will be putting more details up in the next couple of weeks. Please do go have a snoop about and feel free to make comments! If you have any feedback or questions you’d like us to answer in our FAQ section please ping us an email or post in the thread :) We'll respond as soon as we can! sayhello@chasinghorizons.co.uk If you fancy it, jump onboard the twitter and facebook pages – all updates of piccies/videos and blogs can be pinged to you wherever you are! Chasing Horizons Facebook Chasing Horizons Twitter |
Hi Claire (and Sam)
If you have anytime in the run up to your big departure, It would be great to meet in Bristol some time. Me and my wife are in a similar situation as we prepare for our round the world trip next year. I have been riding for 7 years (4 as a licence holder) but Liz (fantastic missus fox) has only been riding a couple of months with her CBT, planning to take her test in the next 2 months. Thanks Matt |
Hey Hey there!
Sounds like a plan! Had a look at your charity run to Morocco - great read! We're hoping to head out there soon although bit concerned about time, training and temperatures! Might end up doing a trip to Spain instead if it falls too late in the summer! Perhaps you could give us some advice there! We are up to the eyeballs for the next couple of weeks but there after we'd definitely be up for a meet up and chat! Ping us an email and we'll arrange something! clare@chasinghorizons.co.uk In other news, new diary posts on training and a visit to the Wales Air Ambulance! If you fancy a cuppa tea and a read take a looksy here: Diary | Chasing Horizons | World Travel on Motorcycles http://www.chasinghorizons.co.uk/wp-...is-and-sam.jpg :) Thanks for all your support people! Don't forget, feel free to bug us with questions and requests! Bed time now as more training in Swansea in the morning! Woohoo! |
Sooooo... today we were practising the mod 1 test and I was doing mega up until the point I decided to take the swerve test at 30mph... but on my arse as opposed to on the bike!
What a muppet! Wasn't having any problems and just needed to bring my speed up slightly. Chris told me to release the throttle once through the speed trap so when I headed back round, I concerned myself more with the speed and upon bopping through the speed trap my head went blank other than "I need to slow down now... Ooo look I'm heading right for the cones.. Ooh lets brake... wham bam thank you ma'am wheee I'm on my butt!" Not the brightest of things but I tell you what... so happy I've thrown myself off a bike in a controlled area and now know what it feels like and what I did wrong/how I could have avoided it. Better now than on the road. Despite dented pride, thwacked headlamp and bruised hip and knee... I did manage to get back on and do it again to a pass standard although it took me a couple of runs to get the speed and confidence back up. Such a bummer as I was doing really well with the whole test and my ride around day on Friday was spot on and included plenty of dodging pot holes at speed, steep turns and control! Never mind, onwards and upwards! I'm sure there will be more incidents in the future (off roading specifically in mind here!) so I'll take it on the chin (and knee... and hip), learn from it and move forward! Test on Wednesday... will try my best not to do any sideways manoeuvres! Take a look at the site for more of a read: www.chasinghorizons.co.uk :) |
Hey hey people!
Been off the radar for a week or so due to training and working our socks off! Though we did have a day off to look around a reclamation yard where we found this: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C...ankasaurus.jpg Sam pondered for a moment whether we should change our mode of transport for the trip :D The training so far has been superb! The team at Smart Motorcycle Training have said I am a natural (oo la la!) however, I made a superb fluff up and decided it would be a stupendous idea to throw myself round some cones on my derriere at 30mph as opposed to the bike! Not my finest moment but fortunately in a controlled environment. It served as a good lesson of what to do when you hit something small (... e.g. not brake when on top of it! I'll only end up on my butt!)! So I have encountered my first tumble (of which I am sure there will be many when the off roading courses take place) and despite being a bit bumped and bruised, all is good! We've now had our Module 1 tests too... and passed! Weh hey! Here are a few of the clips from the day... Sam starting up for his Module 1 Test featuring Ianto our nutty Instructor! I was slightly nervous here after throwing myself off the bike during the practice swerve test a week and a half prior: Sams awesomely controlled slalom and figure of 8... a little too tight though for Iantos nerves! Celebrations and mickey taking... Having passed with no minors and Sam with two (one due to forgetting rear observation and the other for riding too slow... when doing the slow riding section of the exam!) It's probably going to be the only chance I will have one up on him when riding so I relished the opportunity whilst it lasted! We now have a nice Sunday ride planned this weekend and then will be out on Module 2 on Monday! Feeling a bit more relaxed about this one... Module 1 just felt so sterile being in a playground like fenced off area! Still a wee bit apprehensive but fingers crossed eh! Lots more vids, pics and diary entries below: Chasing Horizons Webby Facebook Chasing Horizons Chasing Horizons Twitter If you get the opportunity, any "likes" on our Facebook page would be massively appreciated! Cheers guys and girls! Looking forward to joining you all soon on the road!! :D |
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Hi guys, Thought would say hello as Mister Fox's other half - was great to hear that you guys are based in Bristol with similar plans to us would be great to meet up!! Hope plans are going well at the mo and good luck with Mod 2 tomorrow :thumbup1: Liz |
Hey Hey Mrs Fox!
I thought I had replied last week to this! My bad... mustn't have been awake from all the sleepless nights with Mod1 and Mod2! We're starting to free up in the next few weeks, we'll have to arrange a meet up! Sunny Days too! :D Just a quick bosh of the thread though! New blog entries and photos on the site for our training on Module 2... of which we passed! Hoorah!! The diary entries include the likes of: Quote:
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For more have a looksy here: Our Diary Enjoy the read peoples! If you get a chance, please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter as the more people we have, the more our sponsors will give towards our charities! :) Thanking you! Facebook Fan Page Thaaaank you SUPER amounts :) |
WHEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! :D :D :D
We received this parcel yester: http://www.chasinghorizons.co.uk/wp-...12Package2.jpg .... packed full of our kit!! Beautiful Rukka gear (Armas and Arminnas Jackets and Trousers!) Super dooper chuffed and happy! Will be doing reviews on them a bit later today with videos and piccies so watch this space!! Also had confirmation our helmets will be sent out in the next 2 weeks and had the start of all the PR kicking off with a couple of press releases (May is going to be mental with magazines / events and press stuff!) http://www.chasinghorizons.co.uk/wp-...2/03/Scan.jpeg It's all becoming quite real now! Only 4.5months to go.... and having to wait another couple/few weeks for bikes! Exciting! |
Just posted a new thread about the suit reviews (Rukka Armas and Rukka Armiina!)
So super chuffed about them! Take a peek here: Gear – Clothing | Chasing Horizons Bikes are due to arrive first week of May (yeehaaa!) and then we have are attending various events and holding stalls to promote our charities!! If you're about, the first one will be at Touratech, Wales on the 11th, 12th and 13th of May! So much happening, can't wait to get the bikes!! Wheeee :D |
A wee update (or a mahoosive one!)!
Well. As said the past few weeks have been manic. I cannot explain how hard it is to juggle the amount of calls and arrangements we have been needing to make! Here's a shortened list of all we have been doing:
Annnd... I think that's about it! Each item is simple enough to deal with one or two at a time but we are constantly juggling phone calls, emails, running to and from locations, tools, more phone calls, emails, collections, events, geeking out on blogs and internet, reviews, photos, crunching figures, researching, visiting people, docs, working, trying to sleep, phone calls etc! Admittedly last Monday I had a major down day. After 6 months of speaking with people who would constantly promise returned calls and emails... no one was answering their phones and if they were they were being rude: "I'm sorry they're not available" "They're away from their desk" "They're in a meeting... and I don't know how long the meeting will be, want me to put you through to voicemail?" "Oh they're away now for two weeks, can it wait?" "I'll just put you through *beep beep...... beep beep.... beep beep* *line cuts out*" "If you leave a message they'll get back to you" "I don't have an answer yet. I'll let you know next week." The thing is... with regards to some of the calls I have been making I don't mind if people just are honest and say "we can't help you" or "we're not interested" etc... that's great for Sam and I as it means we then can focus on different avenues. But to have people say to us "Amazing great, that's superb, we love the idea, we'd love to help, leave it with us and we'll get back to you this week..." and then that rolls on to two weeks... then a month... then they're away... then they don't take calls... then they're interested and will finalise details... then no response... then no answers.... it's a complete mind mash. So last Monday I just burst into tears! The above, combined with being shattered and also still suffering from a knee injury so unable to exercise and feeling like a fatty... I just broke! I officially had given up! I felt horrendous as I could see no way of doing the challenge, monetary wise or physically and what's more I had been rejected by all contacts all day. Worse of all though.. I felt that if I couldn't pull myself together I would be letting so many people down, namely our charities. Sam was such a sweetie though. After cuddles and tea I was sent to wake up with a shower for my frazzled bed hair (getting changed in the morning has not been happening lately due to so much being on!! It's a case of fall out of bed, make porridge, drink tea whilst checking emails, get out note book of godliness and calendar, start organising, emailing, calling and working!) He then took me outside to DIY... probably one of my favourite past times!! Granted... it started raining and thundering (cue us holding up our rakes and shovels cheering... probably not the wisest of ideas ;))... but it was lovely and he picked me back up! Tuesday Sam took on various phone calls and we made some executive decisions and by Thursday the bikes had been sorted for pick up in a weeks time, various kit arranged, insurance done, event organising all organised, mannequins collected, parcels received and picked up and work completed. Not only that but we have had some LOVELY phone calls and support from friends, charities and sponsors this week which has really helped to pick me up. So! Next week... we get the bikes!! I cannot wait, I am so relieved it's all coming together now and feel we can really get moving! We *can* do this challenge! So far, so good! Last week, yeh I had a blip but I'm back and with a vengeance! We're a little short for time but by heck, if I have anything to do with it we will make the date and we will do all we can to raise as much monies and awareness for all our charities! Wheeeee! Right.. time for a glass of wine me thinks ;) |
Wow we’ve had a mad mad few weeks! Updates below!
New Bikes! Finally! Sam and I managed to lay our hands on these two beautiful KTM 690 Enduro R 690’s! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...w-Bikes%21.jpg Lovingly named Calvin and Hobbes we’ve been grinning ear to ear... well I have been... Sam on the other hand has been a sad sad bunny as his bike kept going *POP* detaching the throttle body detached from the Engine! Since having it new... he’s ridden the bike a total of 5 times and 4 of those occasions we ended up broken down at the side of the road! Once we managed to catch on camera... and luckily in the dealers car park too! Weh hey! After weeks of problems and the technicians at Fowlers (our dealership) not having a clue what is wrong with the bike... we’re now awaiting a brand new one! Fowlers have been mega and helped out as much as they can... the duff bike is currently with KTM who are trying to figure out why it keeps happening, when we find out more we’ll let you know! For a more in depth story about what’s happened including videos and pictures take a look at our blog post here (and sign up to our facebook! We’re always updating with news and competitions and all sorts!) Stop - Hammer Time Blog Sam’s Bikes Final Kaputt Facebook Page: Chasing Horizons Touratech: Amidst all the above we took time out to pop along to the Touratech Adventure Travel Weekend to hold a charity stand and met some STUPENDOUSLY awesome people (including Sam Manicom, Caroline Taylor (the resident Doc for Nick Sanders Expeditions), Nathan who nuttily rode a 50cc back from the land of Oz in flip flops, Andreas Hülsmann a journalist and photographer (thanks for the tips on the D200!!) and so many more adventure riders (Jason, Lisa, Jon, Charlie, Kim, Rod, Craig, Barbara, Louise, Alec are just a few!). https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...tand+Ta+Da.jpg We learned so so much! SO much! Not only that but we had a tremendous time charity raising, so many people donated to the Wales Air Ambulance, Riders for Health and World Land Trust and everyone was keen in taking part in Guess the Weight of the Cake: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...Cake-Front.jpg The winner was Mister Jason Spafford who guessed the closest to the whopping weight of 6.83kg! So much happened and there’s a diary post to the day here if you want a proper read but such a great weekend! Touratech Adventure Travel Event 2012 Blog Facebook Page: Chasing Horizons Birthday Biking Surprises: I managed to have the most tremendous birthday ever! Not only was it a gorgeous day, but we had the fun of tootling out and about on the bikes (Sam at the time had a courtesy bike of a KTM 990 SMT which was beautiful!) When stopped off at our favourite lake (Blagdon) we took pew on a log in a nearby shaded wooded area to cool down.... when Sam completely threw me and popped the question! All caught on camera too as we were testing the Contour ROAM cameras we had :) Needless to say I said yes! https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l...00/Engaged.jpg The blog post for this is below: Birthday Biking and Muddy Knees Facebook Page: Chasing Horizons So yeh! It’s all super busy! We’re currently sorting out our off road courses, are getting in all the kit for the bikes, have a couple of events to pop to and lots of people to meet up with before we head off... hopefully from the Travel Adventure Film Festival in Sherborne (that’s another story... randomly meeting Austin Vince and having a BBQ with him and a fellow biking friend who is also doing a mammoth RTW trip! Nuts!) We have previews and reviews coming up on various items (including the Contour ROAM and XLite X551) and our website is bulking out with more and more details on gear, bikes, press and all sorts so do visit! All go go go but all good good good! Not long now! Once again, please please please if you get the opportunity “like” our facebook page as the more likes we get, the more moolah we will be getting for our charities from our sponsors! Yaaaay for charities! :D Facebook Page: Chasing Horizons |
Hey guys!
Quick update here! Bikey Mc Bikes: Sam’s new bike (Stimpy) has arrived and is being a good little bike unlike his last one who’s throttle body kept popping off the engine! After happening 4 times, Fowlers swapped the bikes out which was mega by us! Still no news from KTM as to what was actually wrong with his bike… seems to be a bit of an enigma… when we find out we’ll let you know! Diary Update Link and Video: Sams Kaputt Bike Facebook Link Day of Champions 2012 (MotoGP) Riders for Health: Sam and I were invited up to the Day of Champions which was just incredibly superb fun! We met so many people from all over, did a little interview on their MASSIVE stage, saw lots of famous people (see video below… if anyone knows who the devil they are do let us know! We caught the Ride in too so hello to all those on the video!) and generally had a great day! https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...-Parked-Up.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j...0/DSC_0102.jpg https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...s1176/ss11.jpg Youtube Link Diary Update Link - Day of Champions 2012 Facebook Link Off Road Training: Well… after 16 times on a motorbike (including my tests) I was thrown in at the deep end and went on a stupendous off road training day with Wheeldon Training in Devon! Never have I had so much fun! Despite a number of offs (mainly when stopped funnily enough) I loved it and learned so much! The team down there are amazing too… managed to cater for both Sam (8 years of riding – off roading and rallies) and me all in one! Videos to come… watch this space! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-l...1176/clare.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A...s800/jump1.jpg Facebook Link Thanks for all your ongoing support guys and girls! We super appreciate it :) |
Meet Fluffy, the most STUPENDOUS awesome mega of boots in the whole entire universe.
WARNING: Do NOT look at picture below should you be epileptic. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-B...BOOTSOFJOY.jpg Oh and meet my cookie monster pants (well their my mans but I nicked them as I love them too). God Damn It. I am one mega fashion guru! We've just had new akrapovic exhausts fitted which sound like BOOOM! Feel free to follow our trip here: Chasing Horizons Bookface or read here: Chasing Horizons | World Travel on Motorcycles Today's getting a bit too much for me. I'm overloading on joy it's like Christmas. Exhausts, Fluffy, Scala Headset, new sprockets, screen and new episode of The Walking Dead on Steam to download... I may just explode. |
Some more updates for you!
Lady love bits causing delays! Sam and I have had a bit of a set back but nothing we cannot get past! From a recent smear test... (why do they call it this?! They should make it sound more fluffy! Foof test. That'd be better!)... I had some results back flagging up some cellular changes. Due to the level of change it is looking like I will have to have a minor op which despite being a day in-and-out experience will mean we cannot travel for 4-6 weeks after (it invalidates our travel health insurance)! This then easily drifts past our leaving date of the 20th August 2012! Despite this being a bit of a pain in the nether regions (excuse the pun), we're glad it's something that has been spotted now and can be easily resolved! It just means a little bit of fudging with routes and leaving dates! For all ladies out there may I big up foof checks once in a while in case things like this do crop up! Please please make sure you or your partners make these appointments... as manky as they are it's always an excuse for a glass/bottle of wine and some pampering afterwards and saves on any problems at a later date! New Route: Right. So due to the above our route is needing a little bit of a rework. If we were to leave in September / October time to Canada and then Alaska we’re looking at minus 20’s if not colder (it’s already snowing apparently in Alaska! Haha!). Naturally this means it will be at the most barely passable on bikes! With a good excuse for a bottle of wine and some good om nom food Sam and I sat down with our world map and various annual climate charts and had a ponder. We’re now thinking if it is… worse case scenario… November / December time East and West is out… but Australia and Asia isn’t! Our current musings (only rough estimations on worse case scenarios!): November / December: Australia December / January / February / March: Australia and Asia island hopping (perhaps Japan) April / May: New Zealand June / July / Mid August: Alaska / Canada – Toronto / Back via top end of America August / September / October: West Coast America / Central America November / December / January: West Coast South America to tip then to Buenos Aires February / March: South Africa April / May / June: East Coast of Africa July / August: Middle East and Europe September: Europe - Home If anyone has any ideas or thinks of a different route (which includes South America and Africa as it’s where our charities have projects) for a start date of November / December then let us know your thoughts! Bike News: Things are going stupendously with the bikes! With a big thanks to Fowlers Sams KTM has been replaced with a new one which means no more throttle body popping off! We are upgrading the bikes in the next few weeks which is super exciting we're just awaiting some quotes and time scales! Riding wise, we are certainly getting much practice in! As above we had a day with Wheeldon Off Road school who not only helped tweak Sams riding but managed to get me going sideways and catching air! The basics are slowly sinking in and even though lately a few Green Laning expeditions have meant I have felt the need to hug the Earth a fair few times after sliding through mud, grass and ruts, we are loving every moment of it! Events and Fun: As it's now looking like we'll be kicking around for a few extra months it means we can attend more events and do promotional work all round! Let us know if there's anything we can join in and help out with! |
Hey hey people!
Wee update from us here in... kinda sunny UK! Medical: Good news AHOY! After a few more meetings with the Docs we finally had a letter come through confirming that I have the all clear and do not require an op! Despite the fact it was only a minor op I was still not looking forward to the potential of it so am SUPER happy at this news!! I’m still sad we had to delay things because of all the above shenanigans but it’s best to be safe than sorry. Big thank you to my lovely hubby to be for being super supportive :) Bad news though... we need to have pretty much every jab going for where we’re heading!! BOO HISS! Lists to be posted on the webby soon :) Route: After talking through various routes and looking closely at time scales, our route has changed for the last time! We’ve decided to chase the weather... always a plan batman! So leaving around 20th - 24th November (date to be confirmed in next 2 weeks!) here goes: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T...0/MapRoute.jpg EUROPE (November 2012) UK – FRANCE – SWITZERLAND - ITALY NORTH AFRICA (December 2013) TUNISIA – LIBIYA – EGYPT EAST AFRICA (January - March 2013) SUDAN – ETHIOPIA – KENYA - TANZANIA – MALAWI SOUTHERN AFRICA (March - May 2013) ZAMBIA – BOTSWANA – NAMIBIA – SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE L’AGULHAS) NORTH AMERICA (May - September 2013) CANADA (TRANSLABRADOR HIGHWAY) – ALASKA (PRUDOE BAY) – U.S.A – MEXICO CENTRAL AMERICA (September - October 2013) BELIZE – GUATEMALA – HONDURAS – NICARAGUA – COSTA RICA - PANAMA (DARIEN GAP) SOUTH AMERICA (October 2013 - January 2014) COLUMBIA – EQUADOR – PERU – BOLIVIA – CHILE – ARGENTINA (USHUAIA) Depending on monies and times, we are then considering routing back through Australia, Asia, Middle East, Europe and Home! Training and Riding: I recently had the absolute pleasure to do some more off road training with Black Desert in Wales (Tamsin and Craig). There’s a video coming soon of this and a write up... (lots of falling off, skidding, laughing and general fun!) I will post back when it’s up! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-D...900/Tamsin.jpg Tamsin Demonstrating AWESOME riding skills! Kitting out the bikes: Having spent months researching kits and tanks and upgrades for the bikes we finally found a kit that ticked all those boxes and made Sam go weak in the knees! In 2 weeks time we’re heading out to Switzerland to have both our bikes decked out with the kits below by KTM Basel: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...keKTMBasel.jpg BEAUTIES! Watch out on our website / facebook and here for updates on how it goes :) Sorting out Visas and Documents: Good grief, nothings simple when it comes to the world of paperwork! It’s almost been a full time job juggling it all with forms coming out of my ears for Carnets, Vaccinations, Visas, Duplicate Passports, House Sale etc! So far, so good! For details on what Visas you need for North and East Africa, prices and how to obtain them then take a look at our recent post here. The only trouble we’re having is acquiring one for Libya... after calling through to their embassy I managed to be directed to a mobile number for details on how to obtain a Visa but unfortunately it’s always an answer phone message. I have a couple of friends looking things up for me so when I know more I will post! Carnet wise it’s all a bit of a battle. Originally we were going to go through the insurance route as we were renting out our house and didn’t have a large enough deposit to put down to cover Egypts 800% carnet rates!! Now that we’re selling the house we can save a few bob by obtaining a carnet on a bank guarantee... but my good grief what a pain in the backside is it to get one! The RAC Carnet people are superb... but the banks are a nightmare! Trying to explain Carnets over the phone and also bank guarantees (which I have done before and been put through to the right department) I have had so many varied responses but mostly “We don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ve asked my supervisor and they don’t know, the screen isn’t showing anything so I guess we don’t do that service”!! ArrGgh! I’ve managed to finally have some success though by going straight to my bank manager although I am still awaiting details on monthly costs! Currently with HSBC and normally they’re fantastic but right now... they’re being ditsy as can be! |
Hey people
Bit of an update! We were supposed to head out to KTM Basel this week to have our bikes kitted but there’s been some minor delays with some parts so we’re hanging fire until next week! Eeee excited! We posted an update on the other thread in the hubb (linky here) so do pop along there to see the pics of the bikes but for a sneaky view, here's one: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s...900/storm3.jpg YAY! We both have had a pretty awesome couple of weeks! We popped off roading with some friends in North Wales and my good grief it was a giggle! I managed to hug a tree several times (some hilarious footage to come) and also had a fight with some big rocks! Fortunately this was at the end of the day and I came away laughing but with a rather swollen hand which made me sound like I had tourettes due to the colourful words which would spontaneously spill out of my mouth when changing gear on the way home! Rainbooooow! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-D...w+Lushness.jpg Empty my boots of a river... https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-s...ying+Boots.jpg The result of a fight with a rock! https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...Sore+Armsy.jpg Due to an injury as a kid I have no sensation in my thumb so just to double check all was well we did pop to the hospital to have it checked over and they said it was potentially a fractured scaphoid!! BOO HISS! I’ve since been back though for another xray and WOOHOO, they discharged me plasterless! A couple of weeks and I’ll be back on the bike fine! I’ve been swotting up some more on visas and what... especially since all the commotion in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan. We’re keeping a close eye on it all and playing it by ear... rumour has it though it’s all calming a fair bit! Fingers crossed eh! Also been learning how to change tyres... ahoy noobiness! Other than that, all is mega! Thanks again for all your support and follows, not too long now til we’re off! Wheee! |
looking forward to your next up date, have been following u so far on facebook, but thought i would on here as well!
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Hey hey people!
Well it's been a long time and for that we're super dooper sorry! Since we have last posted we have sold our house and finally started our trip after muchos fun running around like headless chickens for weeks chasing up paperwork and all sorts! WOOOO HOO!! Europe for us was pretty manky! We knew it would be being the middle of winter and also the breaking in of the trip (niggly problems, time pressures, 12 hour days riding in rain etc), but what managed to make it even worse was by the time we hit central Italy I came down with a virus which hospitalised me and put me out of action for 3 weeks! It was a maaaajor poopy moment for us, it felt like everything was trying to stop us from starting the trip at that point and to be fair Sam and I even considered just getting preggers as a good excuse to have to come home ;) BUT! We persevered and soon found ourselves entering North Africa. From there on in it has been amazing :) Truly superb! With the unrest which has been bursting out left right and centre in North Africa including the hostage situation in Algeria, terrorist threats and the removal of westerners from Libya, we have found ourselves in the thick of it having had guns pointed at us and at one point Sam "being shot at" (see the Libya blogs for that one!)... but it has all be quite an experience and one we wouldn't change for the world! Amidst all the madness we have enjoyed some awesome places and people, including: Amazing streets of Medina in Tripoli with bustling markets and loooovely people: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3...n_Snapseed.jpg Star Wars Sets in the middle of no where!: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...r-Starwars.jpg Stunning Roman Ruins (Leptis Magna, Libya): https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z...naSnapseed.jpg Salt Pans and Desert Riding: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...BikesChott.jpg See below for our recent blogs and for lots and lots of photos visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/chasinghorizons Tunisia: Sfax - Insane Riding and Tramps in Trees Tunisia: Sfax - Family Fun and Chickens the size of Children Tunisia: Tozeur - Road Tripping Tunisia: Tozeur - Star Wars and Sand People Tunisia:*Tozeur - Mos Espa Star Wars Set Tunisia: Tozeur - Salt Pans, Star Wars, Sand Storms and Sleeplessness Tunisia / Libya: Border Crossing and Cous Cous Kindness Libya: Road Blocks, Bullet Riddled Cars and Explosions Libya: Tripoli - Medina Libya: Tripoli - Leptis Magna and Villa Selene Libya: Tripoli to Egypt Crossing - Tanks, Kids with Guns and the Spice Girls We have some summaries for each country coming up including help with border crossings, camping sites, restaurants and sight seeing ideas so keep an eye out! Thanks again for all your support and patience!! Keep following us on Facebook :D |
Another update!
Our grimy introduction to Egypt, Alexandria! Egypt – Alexandria – Night Riding | Chasing Horizons We have a couple more blogs and photos to upload which shines a much prettier light on Egypt! It was our mere misfortune that led us to the above situation! :) For more photos and what do look at our facebook, it seems the easiest place to upload photos at the moment as our website is being a big pain in the bottom! http://www.facebook.com/chasinghorizons Enjoy! |
Hey hey people!!
So sorry we haven't posted for a loooong loong time! In short, wifi in Africa has been diabolical with pages taking 30mins to open and normally crashing when we go to post! We have, however, had the most amazing, yet challenging time ever in the past 7 months and have finally managed to ride down through Africa to the very tip! Here's a few snippets of our Charity Chasing Horizons trip so far from Europe to Cape Agulhas: Switzerland: We arrived and had our bikes serviced by KTM Basel before a loooong long trip down to Kenya where we had our next. Superb guys with an awesome new kit for us to try out (Defy Series - Quest - genuinely top kit!)... we were excited and new to it all https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...witzerland.jpg Italy: A week on we were battling horrendous weather and frustration from breaking in our new routine, the kits and just coping with the organisation of last minute things (visas etc). We were already exhausted. It was just after Christmas and I had become very dizzy but put this down to tiredness. Two days later I ended up being rushed into hospital with suspected encephalitis. The next two weeks was diabolical after nasty hospital visits, being inappropriately touched by a doctor and passing in and out of conscious states. Fortunately, it turned out to be a sort of hepatitis strain and I made a full recovery. This piccie was taken at mid night on New Years Eve... hospital loving!https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1...-no/Italy2.jpg Tunisia: Tunisia... our first country in North Africa! We were excited and glad to slow up a bit travel wise. We met some lovely people, stayed at some beautiful places and in random peoples homes, brushed up on some Arabic and French skills, met 3 foot high chickens, were offered by the police to camp up on a roundabout in the city centre, went to Star Wars sets and rode salt pans and sand storms... we felt the trip had begun! https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O...-no/Tunis2.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...28929462_n.jpg Libya: This place... is just simply amazing. Yes we had the heebie jeebies put in us as it was during the time of the hostage takings in Algeria and also the week previous when the ambassadors were assassinated... but we loved it. Genuine people, AMAZING Roman Ruins, so much culture and a fascinating history. We simply cannot wait to return to explore the deserts in the South. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V...o/libya+22.jpg https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l.../Libyalady.jpg Lady praying in the Roman Ruins at Leptis Magna Egypt: Having been held at the border at gun point for hope of sexual favours and due to not being able to speak arabic, to riding out in the middle of no where for hundreds of miles in a stunning desert... we had a varied experience of Egypt. Granted, we will never EVER go through again with our own vehicle... the expenses and pain to do so along with the abundance of corruption just far out weighed the enjoyment. But we did experience some seriously stupendous artefacts, history and culture as well as some great desert rides. A hard hard country to travel but having met some amazing people there, we did okay! https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...Egypt+Alex.jpg Alexandria - probably the top or on parr with the top City I enjoyed in Egypt. Lots of beautiful buildings and bustling streets. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z...t+Pyramids.jpg Pyramids! Yay! Although we kept our distance and enjoyed them from a ride around the perimeters in sand instead :) https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4...gypt+Tehir.jpg Tehir Square amidst the protests a burned out riot van. Popped there to say hi and enjoyed watching all playing football! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V...ypt+Desert.jpg A trip through the deserts with wild camping. Sudan: This one took us by surprise. Loved it. Yes, we were boil in the bags (55 degrees celcius) and yes, being a Muslim country I suffered a fair whack with having to stay covered up but the riding, camping, company and people just blew us away. More pyramids than Egypt there did you know? Plus, a national park with lions and an insane amount of wildlife! Hard for climate, awesome memories. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7...udan+Ferry.jpg The Aswan to Wadi Halfa ferry... this was the cargo ferry which rocked up with both our bikes on and two big cars (a landrover and land cruiser). Can you spot them!? ;) https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--...Sudan+Camp.jpg Just one of our few campsites... no one for miles. Simply stunning. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J...n+Whirling.jpg My personal highlight... I think a top one for the whole trip up til now. The Whirling Dervishes in Khartoum, Sudan. An amazing weekly ceremony where guys dress up and spin round and round and round in circles for hours. Lots of singing, beating of the feet and just a superb ambience. Loved it. Ethiopia: A place which was top on my list to visit and well, it was truly gorgeous. We did have a slight concern just before having met some insane South Africans who had just travelled through Ethiopia in their car and claimed that the people there were so scary and threatening to them at one point they had to pull a cattle prod on them (we... were horrified at this!)! But, despite being quite a challenging place to get things done in (service is not high on their list ;)), the views and sites were one of a kind. I had a bit of a harsh time after I managed to get first degree burns on my legs (combo of kayaking, sun burning in 30mins and then taking doxycycline - a malaria tablet that makes sun burning UBER bad!). It meant I had to be driven about for two weeks which broke my heart but we had an amazing friend with us at the time which just made everything a million times better! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I...pia+Simien.jpg Around 4700ft up, the view was simply flabberghasting in the Simien Mountains! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-p...ia+Simien2.jpg https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z...+Monkeying.jpg Babooning around! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...hiopia+Leg.jpg My first degree burned leg. Swollen, blistered and having been trapped up a mountain in a thunder storm I made it all worse by tripping and catching my leg on a truck causing my skin to slide off. Very... very... unpleasant! Kenya: From this point in we had to pick up our feet a fair bit as we had lost about 5 weeks from my illness in Italy, delays in Egypt and a 10 day delay in Ethiopia. With the pressure to catch a flight from SA to make it to Alaska in time we had to get a move on. But. We did some awesome riding :) Kenya was so varied. We rode in via the Moyale Road as Lake Turkana was experiencing major flash floods and we had no one we could ride with there. The Moyale was an experience and a half... not necessarily technical for a biker but absolutely mentally and physically exhausting. We made it though and satisfied our three month craving of no bacon with a whole plateful from a friend in Nairobi! Nairobi itself was an eye opener... we had realised that security and safety was a major issue but not to the point of electric fences, big dogs, guards, cameras and interior gates to a house. Not only that but as we looked like tourists we had to get taxis everywhere as we were a robbery target (taxis required blacked out windows so people couldn't see us!) Madness! We met some amazing people though and it was very nice to be back in a place with supermarkets and sit down toilets! So much we didn't see which was a shame but what we did whilst riding out was beautiful. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U...nya+Moyale.jpg Muddy Moyale Road https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-g...nya+Eqator.jpg Equator Line... wooo Tanzania: Again, a country we had to fly through but by far it had the most divine and just breath taking roads to ride which is all we could ask for. The main road down to Mbeya... it just stops you in your tracks. Mind blowing. Loved it, best road riding we did without fail (minus the mental buses!). Plus we got to go to the Indian Ocean which was cool as in a couple of weeks we were then at the Atlantic Ocean! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...no/tanview.jpg Yummy https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W...nia+Sunset.jpg Malawi: A funny little country and stupendously pretty. With a MAHOOSIVE lake surrounded by winding, perfectly tarmaced roads, a bundle of cyclists and curvaceous mountains it was a complete pleasure to ride through. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...no/Malawi+.jpg Our morning break! Zambia: We were so excited about Zambia as we were meeting up with a project which our Charity Riders has set up in Chipata! When we met them we were just in awe of the work they do, so much dedication and passion to help deliver aid, results and help out their fellow community. It blew us away. The generosity of this country is phenomenal too, all muddled in with some truly wonderful sights too. Beautiful country. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-O...bia+Riders.jpg Riders for Health HQ in Chipata https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p...+Vic+Falls.jpg Victoria Falls https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-M...mbia+Eleph.jpg Nelephaphants! Namibia: I think we found another favourite country here. So so vast, so varied and extremely camping friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed it here from riding with elephants, spotting dinosaur tracks, stroking a wild rhino, visiting ship wrecks, riding to the edge of Fish Canyon, dunes, the atlantic and seals that sound like a million chewbaccas. We are definitely returning here! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c...mibia+Boat.jpg Ship wreck on the skeleton coast https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h...a+Exercise.jpg Keeping fit - skipping in the morning mists https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7...ibia+Clare.jpg Dirt track riding South Africa: Again, sad we had to cut this one short but a really stunning place to be. We saw some sweeeeeet sunsets, amazing coastal lines, mountains and well so much more. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-b.../SA+Sunset.jpg Actual colours... lush eh? https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-F...-no/sa+tip.jpg Agulhas - the tip of Africa - we made it!! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...no/SA+Mark.jpg Leaving our mark in the Agulhas Backpackers place... wicked wicked hostel! New York: A complete culture shock being back in a fully fledged westernised world. Traffic, people, more people, everything at the tip of your fingers and more, food and lots of it and super high costs after being used to paying peanuts for everything! We have met some incredibly kind and sweet people and had a thoroughly great time. It took a few days to get over the manicness and jet lag but we're back into the swing of it all now. Cool city to be in! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h...527-no/NY+.jpg Not so much graffiti in NYC which is a shame really, we like street art! See... it looks awesome :D https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S...-no/NY+Man.jpg The end is nigh... but the beginning of our USA trip has only just begun! Annnd that's a brief up of what we've been doing! Our website has been a pain in the derriere to upload anything and it's very out of date but this is all changing now we have wifi. Generally speaking though we have posted loads on our Facebook page and we are now updating it frequently (daily now, although some of the off road we will be doing in Canada may reduce it to weekly). We have a load of reviews coming on things we've done, taken, ridden with, ridden on, visas, how to cross etc but this may take a couple of weeks to get up to date fully! Please do come join in the fun:http://www.facebook.com/chasinghorizons :) Thanks all for your support to date, you've all been mega :) |
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Thought I'd let you all know how it's going! We managed to travel most of the east coast of Canada and then traversed across to Alaska last year where my both bikes had a bit of a hiccup (stupid rocker bearing arm which they've now replaced the part altogether as it's faulty! Doh!). This caused us a few weeks delay so we ended up riding in to Alaska in October where it was an almighty -20 degrees celcius! Riding was BLOODY FREEZING! Hahaha! The border guards laughed at us going in to Alaska but were super nice! Due to the weather (6foot of snow) we didn't make it to Prudhoe Bay and because we exhausted all our cash waiting for parts for bikes (seriously takes FOREVER in the Yukon to get anything!) we had to take the bikes back down to Calgary and return to the UK to work for some more moolah! We have since returned though and are back on the road! Have enjoyed the Stampede in Calgary (seriously, I may swap my helmet for a cowboy hat and chaps! I've never seen anything quite like it!) then have been marvelling at the sights on the ice road to Jasper through the rockies then up the Cassier highway where our socks and sidi boots have been blown off with how stunningly awesome it all is! Lots of bears (furry cute and dangerous!), ridiculous amounts of waterfalls, a tonne of glaciers, lakes, mosquitos (no joking here... 40+ bites on my person and itching like a muddy funster), gravel, pot holes, camping, sunshine and rain. It's pretty darn awesome. We're about to embark on the Robert Campbell Highway North to Dawson City where I am supposedly being pushed in to drinking a Sour Toe drink (someones severed toe in a shot... the toe has to touch your lips). I'm only doing it is we raise £50 for each of our charities - links here if you want to put me through this - Wales Air Ambulance, Riders 4 Health and The World Land Trust. From there we will go to Prudhoe Bay (fiiiinaallly) on the Dalton Highway (may have seen Charlies Boormans World's Most Dangerous Roads on this... truckers and gravel delight!) Looking forward to finally reaching the Northern most point of Alaska! Afterwards, we have to return again to the UK to finish off a project but we're planning to be back out again veeeery soon :) So yeh! Just thought I'd update! Please like/share/follow us on Facebook and help us raise awareness for our charities! If there's anywhere you see us heading and fancy a ride then hey, come along and join up :D It's awesome fun (if a little hard work / tiring / stinky from time to time!) ;) I would post pics in here but the internet is operated by hamsters so it's taking FOREVER to upload anything! Here are a couple but I have uploaded a few more here if you're interested :) Chasing Horizons Alberta and BC pics https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b...o/IMG_0200.jpg https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c...62-no/Yeeh.jpg https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Y...on+Glacier.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a...MONGLACIER.jpg https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-H...o/IMG_0361.jpg Keep smiling and ride safe people :D |
Solid guys! I'm riding across the states on a klr and would love to ride for a bit if our paths cross! I'm currently in Salt Lake City, where are you guys?
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