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Route Planning Where to go, when, what are the interesting places to see
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 25 Feb 2011
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Originally Posted by othalan View Post
I may even decide to completely ditch all the above and rework my route from scratch.
Nah mate, I think you got it a good way already. Leave from home put on some pretty big miles up to Alaska and back and work out all the bugs in your setup. You have until the border with Mexico to tweak and restock with cheap online motorcycle parts. After that, things only get more expensive and harder to come by. You'll have some good travelling "fitness" by that point.

If you are all dialed in already and are watching your cash, then a straight beeline to the wonderfully inexpensive Central and South America may be something to consider.

Also, North America to South America to Africa is a good way to transition culturally and from developed countries to less developed. If you go the other way, South America seems very well organized after Africa which can be a bit of let down if you are still seeking early stage developing country adventure or a plus if you are looking for the opportunity to recharge a bit.

The most common shipping method from Buenos Aires to South Africa is with Malaysian Air Cargo.

Happy riding.
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Old 25 Feb 2011
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Originally Posted by MountainMan View Post
Nah mate, I think you got it a good way already. Leave from home put on some pretty big miles up to Alaska and back and work out all the bugs in your setup. You have until the border with Mexico to tweak and restock with cheap online motorcycle parts. After that, things only get more expensive and harder to come by. You'll have some good travelling "fitness" by that point.
I had almost forgotten that in my early reasoning. I was originally thinking of the Alaska leg as a shakedown trip, with repair & maintenance before I enter Mexico.

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Originally Posted by MountainMan View Post
If you are all dialed in already and are watching your cash, then a straight beeline to the wonderfully inexpensive Central and South America may be something to consider.
I was recently debating this exact topic. It would be nice to have Alaska as a Shakedown trip (and because I want to go there!), but the money I'd save by heading directly south would give me a lot more freedom in Europe and/or later in the trip. It'll probably come down to what my actual finances look like closer to when I leave....

Thanks for the feedback, MountainMan!
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Old 25 Feb 2011
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NA is indeed generally expensive, although if the shakedown trip is pretty high on your list of things to accomplish, you could also flash it in late spring and return to work a bit more and compile more cash.

It can however also be done fairly inexpensively if cash is tight and you are commited to camping. As you can imagine the wild camping opportunites in B.C. and the Yukon are almost limitless. Can be tough though in bad weather, the allure of the warm hotel room is hard to pass up if one isn't set up to camp in the rain.
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Old 25 Feb 2011
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Regards camping - which might be a good option, especially to bring down costs, for example in Europe, N.America, Australia, even parts of Africa - in South & Southeast Asia accommodation is so aplenty, and cheap, that I would actually consider sending camping equipment home (or somewhere, where I was going to need them again). Climate does suit camping, especially in the dry season, but they don´t usually have campgrounds, so you´d need to wild camp, and in densely populated areas a good spot, where there is no-one, could be tough to find except in some mountain areas.

I don´t necessarily mean that this would be a security threat, but for me, it would be frustrating to have 20-100 people staying next to your tent, and staring at everything you do. Park your bike anywhere in India, and wait 10 minutes, and you´ll see what I mean!

Here´s an example from South India (I think this may be from around the 5 minute mark, ´cos you can still see the bike... )

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Old 25 Feb 2011
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Fantastic picture! Makes me want to caption it "The Gathering", or perhaps "There Can Be Only One (of those bikes in existence)" or maybe "Now just watch this little red light for me (while I convince you that is a motorcycle and not an alien spaceship)".

Hmm, I must be awake far too long now to find that as amusing as I do....

Odd thought though. I'm used to traveling here in the USA where it almost seems a commandment: "Thou Shalt Ignore That Which Is Intriguing".

As for camping: I am planning on taking along camping gear and will use it frequently in the USA & Canada. Some people keep meaning to camp but end up in hotels anyways. I seem to do the reverse most of the time I travel. Though I'm a bit unusual in that I don't usually cook when I camp.

That is already factored into my finances however. Not because I need to camp to afford the trip (I don't by any stretch of the imagination) but because I know I will do it automatically.

I have no clue how much I will be camping once I'm out of the USA. I've also never been on the road more than a month at a time, which could easily change how often I am willing to camp. Sending the unused gear home (or onward) is a great idea which I will definitely keep in mind!
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Old 25 Feb 2011
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On our trip from Europe to Oz 3 years ago (that photo is from this trip, and there´s more at: www dot moto1 dot com / blog ) we sent plenty of stuff, like warmer riding gear, our cooking device, etc. home from India and I think also from Thailand. Took some time to arrive, but we were still travelling, so no problem. And they arrived intact, but I wouldnt send anything of high value by regular mail.

BTW, an Indian mail office (in general!), and how they´ll wrap your packages into a sort of woven fabric, and make the seals into it and everything, is like a trip back in time, and an experience in itself!

edit. I don´t like how the browser converts direct links to look like, especially this one, because it adds Scandinavian letters, that might not display correctly everywhere, but for your convenience, here it is (and that site is not mine, its a magazine´s site, that I´ve written to):
[url=http://www.moto1.fi/blog]

edit-2. ^ ok then, seems it´s not working... Reason #2, why I don´t like to put direct links!! (But I don´t mind, if you put up one, if you know how to make it work!) I probably should put it in my signature.
Last edited by pecha72; 25 Feb 2011 at 10:05.
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Old 25 Feb 2011
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On our trip from Europe to Oz 3 years ago (that photo is from this trip, and there´s more at: www dot moto1 dot fi/blog) we sent plenty of stuff, like warmer riding gear, our cooking device, etc. home from India and I think also from Thailand.
Although very nice of you to try to not pimp your own site, I'm pretty sure people wouldn't mind you putting in an active link. Unless you're doing it for some other reason, of course.

And sheesh you look like my brother-in-law. It's downright scary!
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