Weather rules all on 2 wheels
 

Hi,
I'm in Utah at the moment about to head south to Mexico, :thumbup1: having travelled about 12500 miles in Canada and USA, I say about 12500 miles because a crash in Nova Scotia took out my speedo and I didn't get it replaced until Calgary:(

I'm at the opposite end of the age scale to you guys, :wheelchair: but that makes little difference apart from having been exposed to 'social conditioning' for longer. You know the sort of thing....motorcycles are dangerous and anywhere but home is lethal with all those 'foreigners' wanting to kill you and steal your money.:w00t: I get advice about Latin America almost every day here ranging from, 'I wouldn't go there alone' (the foreigners are out to get you) from people who have never been; to 'it's great you will enjoy it' from people who have been. Go figure!!! I know who I trust, and it's not the people who have never had a passport.

The reason for the above observation is that it figured in my choice of route, 'let's start where the natives are known to be friendly and I speak the lingo.'
So I elected for trans Canada first, then head south until I fall off the bottom into the Antartic. Shipped the bike by sea to Halifax,NS, for about 600quid, from Southampton, drove it to the docks,:scooter: met it in Halifax:boat: and drove out of their docks, easy :scooter: :thumbup1: (I love these little guys)

But the weather is a big factor, it is no fun riding all day into rain, snow and windy weather:freezing: :stormy: . I have fortunately only had a very little of each and the cold gusty wind on the high prairie here is no fun, plus some of the towns have few occupants, one I passed through had a town plate either side of a single house, guess the population must have been 2.:confused1:

Canada is more expensive than the USA for motels, but there are many good campgrounds in National and Provincial Parks, although many do close from October to June. Fuel is a little cheaper than the UK in Canada, but only £1:50 a gallon in USA:thumbup1: but only 91 octane at best, so expect higher fuel consumption.

So first I would look at the weather you will meet coupled with the country you will meet it in. Snow in Europe is not like snow in Canada, with upto 190 miles between towns and massive snow falls:eek3:

Plus you will need to check out the political situation, a friend is in Greece heading for Turkey then Iran on his way to Australia, hmm may be a problem there?:2guns:

Also consider that it is the start of spring now in the Southern Hemisphere, so can you ship maybe to Argentina, come north in time for next summer in North America before shipping south to Australia or SE Asia next winter? or visa versa

The world is our oyster, it's just that I don't fancy frozen oysters.

Sorry if this seems a bit of an obvious reply, but I reckon if you do just a tiny bit of homework (which is exactly what you are doing on this forum) it will make your adventure the fantastic thing you hope it will be, and the fantastic thing I'm enjoying right now:clap:

Mexico here I come :Beach: :scooter:

There are a few comments here, like the one quoted, about where costs can be high + I've been reading about the potential to spend nearly £1000 to get a bike without the rider, to and from an island which is reknown to have a high cost of living i.e. Iceland. You can do a lot of travelling for that kind of cash (as the quoted example)!

So, where are the favourite cheap places - not necessarily "cheap" in the sense of thrashy, but cheap/good value?
I sense they are identified in various posts scattered about in this whole forum, but writing them up here, briefly, would be valuable IMO - not necessarily in the detail of towns/cities but by countries/regions/continents.
For instance, this could complement the new sections for good accommodation and workshop recommendations.

Cheers,

Small Step First
 

If you want to travel in a East - West direction, start in Europe and head East

If you want to travel North-South, start in the US and head South (or vice versa).

Answer this question first, then work on the details

No one answer here is the right one...
 

...but here are my thoughts on it.

You're based in England.
You want to see everywhere.
Shipping your bike to one of the far-flung places you want to see isn't a smart use of your money; ride there instead.
That means your first step will be Europe. It does have a lot to offer, so don't sniff at it.
If you think the countries that are closer to Britain (say Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Italy) are not quite exotic enough, then consider Scandinavia. (I've never been, but have a real hankering to check it out—can't imagine it would be disappointing, and FlyingDoctor speaks wisely.)
For a bit of a twist, consider continuing into Russia.
From there you have two main targets: east through Russian, the 'Stans, Mongolia, China; or south-east towards the Middle East. The latter offers two choices: Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey; Russian, Georgia, Turkey. Once in Turkey, you have the Arabian Peninsula or onwards to Asia to choose from.
That should get you started!

Whatever you choose won't be wrong. Get the head down, do some research, and getting going sooner rather than later.

Enjoy!

Ken.

Fuel Octane Ratings
 

From Wikipedia on Fuel Octane Ratings

In most countries (including all of Europe and Australia) the "headline" octane that would be shown on the pump is the RON, but in the United States, Canada and some other countries the headline number is the average of the RON and the MON, sometimes called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), Road Octane Number (RdON), Pump Octane Number (PON), or (R+M)/2. Because of the 8 to 10 point difference noted above, this means that the octane in the United States will be about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere: 87 octane fuel, the "regular" gasoline in the US and Canada, would be 91-92 in Europe. However most European pumps deliver 95 (RON) as "regular", equivalent to 90-91 US (R+M)/2, and even deliver 98 (RON) or 100 (RON).

So Stagbeetle - fear not! Actually, you may be spending too much on gasoline, running too high an octane rating.

Actually, running lower (or higher) octane won't affect mileage pre gallon appreciably. You'll get dramatically better mpg just by slowing down a tad. You're probably getting really bad mpg now in the US - it will improve tremendously once you hit Mexico - guaranteed!

'There are a few comments here, like the one quoted, about where costs can be high + I've been reading about the potential to spend nearly £1000 to get a bike without the rider'

Yes - I agree fully. I don't want to be spending vast amount of cash on moving a bike without me on it. Obviously there are gaps in the dry bits of the World where we will have to fork out on air or sea travel, but ideally we will keep that to a minimum. Couldn't the world not be a little more Pangeaic?! We should have set out on our trip a couple of million years earlier.

Ken has also hit my nail on the head (in a non-homosexual way.) I think what we are going to do is turn left out of the gate, try and get across Europe quite quickly, and hit some Stans. I know Europe has a lot of treasures, but they are in our back yard, and we can see them quite easily without undertaking something of this magnitude. I am excited about Stanning around already, then from there we would like to somehow get down Asia, to Australia somehow, work for a while there as menials, then see where the world wants us to go.

That is as much of a plan as we want to make really, too many plans ruin all the fun! The only problem we forsee is getting from the Stans to Asia, the route seems to be a little dodgy for someone like myself who might not get awkward Visas easily due to my past.

On the plus side, I have my final interview for leaving my current job tomorrow! WOOHOO! Things are starting to happen, I'm so excited I could wet myself.

Oh, I already have. Bugger.

Happy Riding.

Gotta' be Cape Town.
Through Turkey, Istanbul,
Right side of red sea, (Saudi etc,
Cross at UAE.
half way down east coast of africa
turn right,
final leg down west coast luanda, namib desert etc, Into C.T.

Any particular reason(s) for this, as per the original thread question?

A choice of continents
 

I thought this was a great question when the original thread was opened and I have been watching for some more input on the lines that I raised here in the quote.

As a further two cents worth, I have been inclining toward thinking that Africa is not worth the effort because of:-

a. The volatility - getting stuck at the Kenya border is no joke and, now, the competitors in the Dakar rally loose a fortune at 24 hours notice.
The continent is going to the dogs at present?

b. The cost of crossing a multitude of borders - the cost of both visas, which we are told are not cheap, and a carnet.

c. Can't be bothered with the corruption.

d. There are other, "better" continents to travel - what say you?

Really good way to kick things off from the UK is a little jaunt down into Morocco. It's sufficiently far enough away and 'not Europe' for you to feel like you're really on the road, and with your Middle East experience you shouldn't experience any of the downfalls normally associated with a first time visit (getting shafted for cash etc!).

So nice little run down through France, Spain and then right down into the Sahara, before coming back up into Spain and then southern Europe, Italy and then maybe back over into Libya, Egypt etc?

Nice thing about that little route is that you can take off at any time you like into more adventurous journeys or quickly dash back into the comfy EU if it's all a little much, then push back out again - by the time you've been doing that for six months, pushing out to the far east and over to Canada will be a breeze!

Good luck and have a stunning time. Take loads of pics (of the women).

Well how about getting the boat from Harwich to Esbjerg and turning left to Skagen at the top of Denmark, a lovely place. Then turn right and head down Denmark. Drop in and have a break and then carry on South. Drop into Germany and turn left towards Poland and then wing it.

By doing europe first you will get used to the road and find out if you really like it.

Couchsurfers.com may help you decide where to stay.

Steve

21 and ripe with wonder lust. Where to go? Any place your not.

Ride down to South Africa then up to Asia then over the Pacific to the Americas.

Dont wash the bike and it will fit right in. The ladies always expensive in one way or the other the beer always cheap when some else buys.
Stay out of places that are expensive and where all the tourist go. Take pictures where ever you go.

Europe and Russia can pricey Asia is cheap north America is not bad south America is cheap. Camp, make your own food, ride more miles were its expensive and go slow eat out more where its cheap.

The world is smaller than you think.
Its the ride the travil not the destination I remember the most.

Thanks people.
 

'Really good way to kick things off from the UK is a little jaunt down into Morocco'

I totally agree with you there, and in your subsequent comments. I spent about a month rolling around Morocco a couple of years ago, and absolutely loved the place. I could see myself settling one day in a little qoria on the edge of the Sahara. The scenery is fantastic, the prices are low and the life slow, and the people are supernaturally nice. So over hospitable in fact, that last time I went, I got accidentally married to a young muslim girl at her families insistence. But that is another story. (Ah Zahara, my beautiful Saharan flower...)

'Whatever you choose won't be wrong. Get the head down, do some research, and getting going sooner rather than later.

Enjoy!'

Thanks, good advice. My research tends to err more towards fleshy daydreams and lounging in boozy sundrenched brain patina than flow charts and border regs, but my heart is in the right place! Sooner can't come soon enough, unfortunately we are both tied in jobs with long contracts to play out, so that keeps us here for a bit longer. Sensible I suppose, otherwise I would leave tomorrow with nothing but a spotted bundle and some kendal mint cake. I'm spending this summer in the Middle East again, to stash some cash.

Thanks to all of you so far who I haven't acknowledged in quotations. I still don't really know where we are going, but I do realise that I don't need to. In reference to my first post, at least I know which way I am going out the gate - left - the rest is in the arms of God or Allah, or providence or luck, or any one of those million unseen hands that make us believe we have free will.

Birdy.

Happy riding

Nice one Birdy, that last post of yours - I like the plan to turn left out of the gate.

For your specific question here - I was reading a webpage some time ago about a guy who rode RTW with one visa only. He was a USA citizen and he got around the northern hemisphere by riding East to West through Russia and into Europe via the Baltic states, avoiding Belarus along the way (he then shipped the bike back to the USA, so he did not enter the southern hemis, or go anywhere near it, thereby avoiding the need for any more visas).

Thereafter, the borders in South America appear to be easier (this is a generalised "bold" statement!!) on average, than the multitude of problems that can occur in Africa.

Now, let me see, have I forgotten anywhere else??!:rolleyes2:

where to start
 

start your trip at the mexican border and go south for 1 year and the turn north for the 2nd year
the hotels and cervesas are cheap i don't know about the women
but i know there all hotys