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Route Planning Where to go, when, what are the interesting places to see
Photo by Helmut Koch, Vivid sky with Northern Lights, Yukon, Canada

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Helmut Koch,
Camping under Northern Lights,
Yukon, Canada



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  #16  
Old 17 Oct 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsyprincess View Post
Set a date! Seriously, you will be surprised how fast everything else falls into place once you have a date that you told people about. If you are just playing with the idea and not seeing it in your immediate future (and I would say a year away would be an "immediate future" for such a trip), or if you are planning it for certain, a lot of the prep work will be the same. I think the two biggest issues with any major trip will be money and time off of work. Everything else falls into place as you do the research. But if you have no date there is no pressure to save the money or let work get use to the idea, and both can be bigger blocks to your dream than any amount of planning.



That's where I'm at - date set for April 2014. Big map on the wall with a route sketched on it and a plan to raise the money and get the time I need off work.
Then you have a target. A meaning and a reason to put it all in place.
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  #17  
Old 17 Oct 2011
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What have I learnt from doing semi-ambitious trips? As mentioned, set a date.

Once the word gets out, things start planning themselves. When you get those moments of doubt, you push yourself along saying "it's too late now" because the commitement is made.

I'm leaving this Friday on a trip with undetermined amount of time. No real plan other then a direction: South. Plans are made on the road. Plans are problems when they are broken on the road which happens all too often.

Biggest thing to start doing now is prep the bike. Make sure it's in tip top shape as you don't want to be ordering parts and be installing last minute, or worse, on the road.

Here's something to think about:

1) When have you heard somebody say "my travels weren't worth it". Or it "wasn't a good decision"

or

2) I wished I waited to travel more when I was older...

Just do it. Life can wait. This is coming from a guy who's normally resevered and passed out on way too many experiences using "work" as an excuse..

I'll likely never get a chance again to move to London for two years, or Australia, or even that trip to Thailand. All likely gone now. The sad thing is I'm only 28.
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  #18  
Old 18 Oct 2011
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For more information and inspiration you could get yourself along to a HU meeting. A mini meet might have somebody who has been where you hope to go and Ripley will have several people who have done it and will be glad to share their experiences.
Most long distance routes have weather windows, some places, Alaska and Ushuaia for instance can only be visited for a few months of the year so bear this in mind when planning.
It has already been stated and I too have never met anybody who has done a long trip and regretted it.
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  #19  
Old 19 Oct 2011
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On that point about setting a date, well, it also helps to make it public, because the only way to back out of it is to break a leg I guess.

I knew I was going to Europe next year, but not sure when and actually where to land the bike to start.

Once I thought about it a bit, with regards to weather and climate, I decided on Anzac Day in Gallipoli, Turkey so I could attend the dawn service on 25th April 2012.

That was the easy part, setting the date, then I had to tell people that so it was set in concrete. If you check out my blog page below, you will see I have added a countdown timer, THAT is reality, and makes it a lot closer to the date that I expected

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