Dreaming of a motorcycle trip to distant climes? This section will help you to plan your trip, whether it's to the next state, country or all the way around the world! Start here!
The Achievable Dream 5-part series - the definitive video guide for planning your motorcycle adventure. Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
You could just get on a plane with your credit card and passport and buy or rent everything you need when you get there. That includes the bike, riding gear, etc. etc.
Gear Up! is a 2-DVD set, 6 hours! Which bike is right for me? How do I prepare the bike? What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers! "will save you a fortune!"
See the trailer here!
So you've done it - got inspired, planned your trip, packed your stuff and you're on the road! This section is about staying healthy, happy and secure on your motorcycle adventure. And crossing borders, war zones or oceans!
Tire Changing!
Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
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Horizons Unlimited Presents!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
"It has me all fired up to go out on my own adventure!" See the trailer here!
Meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or across Asia! They will encourage you, share their experiences and advice on how to do it!
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Northern and Central AsiaTopics specific to Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, China, Japan and Korea
The only impossible journey
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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia
Just curious to know if Steffen ('survivor' of Yana's track) is going to do it alone on his XChallenge and if Muztoo will do it next week... Would be nice to also have feedback of some other on this as well.
I think the Bartang can be great fun (as I experienced it) but also a nightmare depending on conditions (bike-rider-weather).
Still contemplating this. Just talked to the girl at the Khorog Info. She said a car made it through this week. So, they must have cleared the rockfall. She was also very nonchalant about it and after I mentioned that she should probably give more realistic info to riders, she said, "Oh, but they all love it." Hmm?
Talked to some knowledgeable local drivers and they say they do make it through a few times a year.
I also ran into the two Austrian cyclist you talked to. We talked quite a while about the track and they claim they never said it shouldn't be done on a bike :-)
There is definitely something funny about the water levels here. Water is pretty high right now, even here in Khorog. Something you'd expect in spring and early summer elsewhere. I guess it makes sense that snow melts very late in the summer in the very high mountains.
Pamir is awesome and I plan to make best use of my visa :-) Everything I expected and much more.
I also ran into the two Austrian cyclist you talked to. We talked quite a while about the track and they claim they never said it shouldn't be done on a bike :-)
Very strange, as I clearly remember the tall one saying it could be possible if you are an experienced rider and the shorter one saying he didn't think it would be possible. They talked about it amongst themselves before we met. Anyway, I did not say they said it shouldn't be done, they told me they had doubts if it could be done, as I mentioned. Big difference between should or could huh...?
But in the end, who cares? I did it, Adam did it, so it has been proven that one can do it on a bike. What is impossible for one is easy for another and vice-versa...
Quote:
Originally Posted by boarder
Pamir is awesome and I plan to make best use of my visa :-) Everything I expected and much more.
Amen to that!!! I don't understand why everybody wants to go to Mongolia, Pamir is way more interesting than Mongolia in my opinion...
I just hope the area will get some more attention, it deserves it.
It is really a nice valley, but I doubt if motorbikers rushing through is the kind of attention the Bartang deserves. Interestingly we met different guys, that did it by foot this year.
It is really a nice valley, but I doubt if motorbikers rushing through is the kind of attention the Bartang deserves. Interestingly we met different guys, that did it by foot this year.
Any tourism Tajikistan receives im sure will be welcome be it on bicycle or motorbike but as Seb mentioned this route will not be for all motorbikes as it is clearly only possible on smaller type enduro bikes so i dont it is going to be nuremberg ring road anytime soon
Very strange, as I clearly remember the tall one saying it could be possible if you are an experienced rider and the shorter one saying he didn't think it would be possible. They talked about it amongst themselves before we met. Anyway, I did not say they said it shouldn't be done, they told me they had doubts if it could be done, as I mentioned. Big difference between should or could huh...?
They are really great guys and I had fun talking with them over breakfast. They do think cyclists should be doing it East to West.
Quote:
Amen to that!!! I don't understand why everybody wants to go to Mongolia, Pamir is way more interesting than Mongolia in my opinion...
Unless you get a track from Walter, get hit by a Lada, arrested, put in quarantine and make some friends along the way
The landscapes in the Pamir are like a different planet and the people in the Wahkan valley are just so exceptionally friendly. Interestingly, quite a few of the older people speak passable German. They had it in school. Can't get my head around that one. What were the Soviets thinking when they came up with that plan? German, of all languages?:confused1:
I am still waiting to see your pics from after Tsengel ! When will you be home?
Shame on me! Life on the road: so much to see, so little time. I'll have a few rest days in Osh after I get out of Tajikistan. I put it on my to do list.
Was great to see Seb minutes after he got out of the Batang Valley track. Talk about first hand account. Life is full of coincidences and "Yana Track" survivors seem to have a special cosmic connection.
Interestingly, quite a few of the older people speak passable German. They had it in school. Can't get my head around that one. What were the Soviets thinking when they came up with that plan? German, of all languages?:confused1:
At least in the bigger cities, in USSR schools you could usually choose between learning English or German, sometimes even French and Spanish. But I'm quite sure in rural areas it all came down to the teachers available. As there were a lot of German speakers relocated to Kazakhstan, that probably explains your observation.
At least in the bigger cities, in USSR schools you could usually choose between learning English or German, sometimes even French and Spanish. But I'm quite sure in rural areas it all came down to the teachers available. As there were a lot of German speakers relocated to Kazakhstan, that probably explains your observation.
Well, the family I stayed with in Savnob clued me in. Germans from the western parts of the USSR were relocated to Tajikistan, among other soviet republics, because they were deemed a security threat during WW 2.
Bartang Valley was amazing. Conditions pretty much same as Seb described, minus the rock fall. Water maybe a little higher, judging from the size of the "island".
Saw Patrick and his group. They didn't see me though, as I was up a hill to the side of the track.
At least in the bigger cities, in USSR schools you could usually choose between learning English or German, sometimes even French and Spanish. But I'm quite sure in rural areas it all came down to the teachers available. As there were a lot of German speakers relocated to Kazakhstan, that probably explains your observation.
I met some people in Tajikistan who served in the USSR army in East Germany, Whilst staying in the same small Pamir village for a total of 2 weeks various family's would show me old photos and many where of older family members in East Germany
Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's thelist of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now, and add your information if we didn't find you.
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes.
(ONLY US RESIDENTS and currently has a limit of 60 days.)
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Refreshingly honest and compelling tales: the hights and lows of a life on the road. Solo, unsupported, budget journeys of discovery.
Authentic, engaging and evocative travel memoirs, overland, around the world and through life.
All 8 books availablefrom the author or as eBooks and audio books
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
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helps answer the question - Why Go? Inspirational stories by veteran travellers Greg Frazier (5 times RTW), Peter and Kay Forwood (193 countries), Tiffany Coates (Mongolia Mayhem) and Rene Cormier (University of Gravel Roads).
Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
Cotton or synth sweat-wicking t-shirts with the cool Horizons Unlimited graphic on the front and a snappy slogan (changing every year) on the back.
Show your route on your panniers. Great conversation starter when you meet people on the road!
Motorcycle and travel books to inspire and inform you!
The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
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Just when I thought I'd passed the 'difficult' bit...
Hybrid Mode
