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How do you feel just before you set off on a big trip ?? How do you feel just before you set off on a big trip ??
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Photo by Ellen Delis, Lagunas Ojos del Campo, Antofalla, Catamarca

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


Photo by Ellen Delis,
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  #1  
Old 2 Aug 2010
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How do you feel just before you set off on a big trip ??
I'm less than a month away from leaving home heading to Capetown. Two years of saving, planning , stressing, working , saving some more etc etc !

As I lay in bed at night my mind is racing with a multitude of things...

Am I doing the right thing ?

Am I crazy spending all this money ?

Am I mad quitting my job

I will have no money, no job and no home when I return. This trip is a large turning point in my life !!

I know it's fear of the great unknown... I've well and truely got back into a cosey bubble since I got back from South America in 2008...

Surely I can't be the only one full of doubts ??? Do you all have second thoughts, worries and melancholly ???

Don't get me wrong, im very exciting and really looking forward to it but it's a roller coaster of emotions at the moment...

Am I alone ???????? How do you feel before you set off on a great trip ??
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Last edited by *Touring Ted*; 2 Aug 2010 at 19:38.
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  #2  
Old 2 Aug 2010
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Bricking it mate 1 month til we go from Belfast to Sydney (hopefully!). Resigning from job, getting bikes serviced and prepped, still to setup website, still a couple of visas to get, house not let, etc. This is our first big overland trip with Europe being the biggest jaunt for me so far still not sure what to expect. Its getting very real now

"What if" is banned in our house now...

N
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  #3  
Old 3 Aug 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by *Touring Ted* View Post
...

Am I alone ???????? How do you feel before you set off on a great trip ??

I'd say you would be crazy if you didn't have all those thoughts and feelings racing through your mind.

Having that said, you're probably well prepared and sorted out. I'm sure you'll have a great trip and you'll look back and say: "...yup, it was all worth it"

All the best and enjoy the heck out of your trip .

P.S.: Don't forget to post up dates of your whereabouts
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Old 3 Aug 2010
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I usually feel so totally strung out and exhausted from staying up all night trying to take care of last minute details that I've no energy left for fretting about the big picture.....except that I've noticed there seems to be an endless supply of women who declare their interest and availability only when I'm on the verge of leaving for an extended period. But when I return and am available myself (e.g., four weeks from today), I'm always facing major relationship drought. Why is that?
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Old 3 Aug 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crazymanneil View Post

"What if" is banned in our house now...

N
That's a very good idea !! I wish I could banish it from my mind !! lol

Quote:
Originally Posted by T.REX63 View Post

P.S.: Don't forget to post up dates of your whereabouts
Blog is already live bud !! Touring Ted

Quote:
Originally Posted by markharf View Post
I usually feel so totally strung out and exhausted from staying up all night trying to take care of last minute details that I've no energy left for fretting about the big picture.....except that I've noticed there seems to be an endless supply of women who declare their interest and availability only when I'm on the verge of leaving for an extended period. But when I return and am available myself (e.g., four weeks from today), I'm always facing major relationship drought. Why is that?
Mark, you are so right about the women... Every ex, love interest and lady with a glint in her eye now wants to go for a drink and hear about my trip... The years you're saving and planning, it's not so easy !

Very anoying to say the least.. I just havn't got the time at the moment to keep them all happy LOL ! (I wish)
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Old 3 Aug 2010
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That's exactly how I felt. The closer it got the more worried and nervous I got. But deep down you know it's right and just keep focused on the big day.

I left on my trip 8 days ago and so far it has been just awesome. I'm sure yours will be too.
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Old 3 Aug 2010
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I know you've been planning for sometime so it might work put slightly different for you Ted, but for us the closer we got to d-day the less time there was to worry about things so these thoughts got pushed to the back of the mind, only to hit us like a train on the night before we left. I felt physically sick, the first time in my life I have ever felt nerves other than in my head.

First day of the trip was a disaster, my bike wouldn't start when we went to ride off for the ferry, the battery had died, making our leisurely ride to Dover a mad dash with no time to fuel up. Couldn't eat most of that day and by the time we had the tent set up we both just crashed out before 9pm absolutely exhausted, slept for close to 14 hours and when we woke up everything made sense again and the reality of what we were doing and the fact we weren't going to work again for a long time was amazing.

So hang in there, it'll probably get worse before it gets better, but its totally worth it, hopefully see you in Egypt or Sudan.

Ride Safe

Matt & Kim
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Old 3 Aug 2010
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Am I alone ???????? How do you feel before you set off on a great trip ??[/quote]

No mate not alone, i used to feel all the emotons your going through when i was away sailing. Its the leap into the unknown the unexpected, all the emotions are the begining of the GREAT TRIP and i believe i would feel in a way cheated without them as strange as it may sound. I hope you have a great time, will be checking out your blog.
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Old 4 Aug 2010
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you must think....there´s only one life....this is unique....enjoy it....
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Old 4 Aug 2010
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Go for it, Ted!
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you must think....there´s only one life....this is unique....enjoy it....
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Old 4 Aug 2010
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Good stuff folks !! My mental disorders are shared by us all it seems

I have to say, I slept much better last night after getting the letter from Barclays "You bank guarnantee has been processed and sent to the RAC".. I was bricking that part.

Thanks for the input guys !!
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Old 10 Aug 2010
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Haven't done a big trip yet, but my little trip was big to me.

I'd just bought my KLR, my first ever motorcycle, and had 800 miles of lifetime motorcycling under my belt. I was working driving a truck around the US, had plenty of room on board and time to ride in various places, and thought heck, the bike's coming along. Problem was I was in North Carolina and the truck was in Iowa. Only one thing to do right? Ride to Iowa!

I had a week to get there, planned on taking four days, and not taking a single interstate the whole way up. 1200 miles of my inexperienced butt wobbling along twisty scenic back roads on a loaded-down topheavy bike, it would be great. And it was.

But when I left...I'd never ridden a loaded bike before, had barely ridden an empty one, and it was one of the greatest days of my life. I barely slept the night before, and it took half the day for the butterflies to settle down.

All loaded up and ready to go-
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Old 20 Aug 2010
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Not the only one with those kinds of doubts! I've been mostly fearless in my many travels around the USA, but every now and then the full scope of the 3+ year trip I'm planning to start next May hits me. Its a daunting prospect: I'm taking my entire life so far and throwing it out the window in order go on this trip. I used to plan out every detail of my life years ahead of time. Now I don't even know where I will be a year from now. Yet at the same time my obsession with this trip is almost a neurosis. The excitement at times can barely be contained. It has become a quest and a dream in the way nothing else I have even imagined.

Your not alone.
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Old 21 Aug 2010
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I am headed to south america in a couple of weeks riding from Saskatchewan Canada. The trip has been in the making since I bought my wee strom 2 seasons ago. I will be gone for 4 months and have to leave my bike in mexico or usa upon return until spring and then continue home. It is no 1,2,or3 year ride and all my stuff will be left to my wife to do. At this point that is my concern. Once on the road there is only tomorrow for a few months.
Bill
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Old 22 Aug 2010
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We left our house Sept 08 and have had a very "not as planned" trip so far. Despite not actually leaving Europe yet the fears seem to set in as soon as we stay still for too long. Once up and cruising on the open road the smile comes back, the cobwebs clear and we're at peace with everything again!
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