a month ago I went up to the northern tip of South America Punta Gallinas and the alto Guajira Peninsula one week trip from my home base Bucaramanga
Up north from the pavement and back was 600 km of mud water rocks and lots sand
You need a guide it is law. 4 of us 3 Colombian nationals and I Canadian
1200 gs, 1250gs Royal Enfield Intercepter and my f700gs The 1200s were a pain in the ass getting stuck and crashing all the time I had my moments but at least I could pick my bike up if I did not crash on a downhill slope Thats when I needed assistance the air temps were 39-40 normally and on one salt flat it was 46
this desert is large and you can get lost very easily and run out of gas there are no gas stations you buy gas in 1or two liter coke bottles from the local indigenous the Wayuu
Because of the loads on your engine 100 km of sand takes a tank of gas
I realized why that no wonder Avriders on there South America journeys have not been here Id guess exploring SA is going to Ushuaia
Everybody likes to say they have been to Tuk and Ushuaia but have you been to Punta Gallinas so far this is the best trip I have been on this is a special Place next time I will go on a DR350 Less work more fun at 61

Hello

That is what I mean with "you have to search for it".
It is a dead end route in the wrong direction from Ushuaia, not on the route from a to b.

You need time in Colombia to go up there.

sushi

__________________
My RTW:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrXt660ztenere

I believe that RTW riders usually stick to the major roads and only occasionally they meander off their planned route to visit places of interest. IMHO people simply don't have the time/money to travel around the world for years on end. But to travel extensively in remote areas on tiny back roads you need time.
That's in my opinion the difference between RTW-touring and explicitly visiting and exploring a certain region.
Take for instance Southern Africa: When you read the travelogues of most RTW riders you find the Garden Route, the West Coast route (Cape Town to Namibia) and in a few cases the famous Sani Pass.
The Garden Route is rather boring, and to really get to know the countries you need time to explore the backroads. This is where the beauty and the gems of the countries are hidden.
So my conclusion is that choosing the route depends on your aim: Cover big distances or visit and explore a country.

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

IMO it depends on what you see as RTW: one bike/one shot doesn't have to be the only way to do it; I met people who have one bike in asia, one in africa and/or one in south america. You take 1-2mo go to Siberia for BAM then come in winter and do some riding in SA, the world is your oyster.

That sounds like quite the adventure The sort of thing I'd enjoy on a small trail bike

our guide had a 125 bald tires it was 4 years old and it locked like it was 20
on our big bikes we were sweating to death Coyote our guide was having a jolly old time not even breaking a sweat He is Wayuu Indian

its what you want in life and situations I am a empty nester divorce parents dead and kid grown up. semi retired living in Colombia I have a bike in Canada that I rarely ride TF cold for my liking and every summer in BC and Yukon is burning like hell it seems like summers are a pain in the ass smoke and road closures
Plenty a adventure down here even with the borders closed I am happy just seeing Colombia

the point is yes its out of the way and anyone can go to Ushuaia or Get a university of TUK sweatshirt TUK U I have one I worked up there in the early 2000s for a couple years
If going to the Northern tip of SA was easy everybody would be doing it and that's what makes this place So Special Google map it and you will find not much there even the government has abandoned this place Im serious there is no water or infostructure Road maintenance does not exist the roads are where ever you drive mostly trails when it does rain it is now you can't go
too much mud in low lying areas
Hell you only need 4 days from Santa Marta

I found on the Garmin if you set "avoidances" to Interstates and Major Highways it'll take you down all sorts of interesting little roads. Much slower if you're going somewhere of course, and it doesn't actually take you off piste should you be in an open desolate terrain. But if you head out on a dirt track or across country at least the satnav will keep indicating the general direction you want to head, just combine that with a bit of dead reckoning.

But I think Vaufi hit the nail on the head: most travellers are going between A&B and will tend to gravitate towards paved or at least recognised routes. It may not be easy to find dirt tracks especially in the developed world. It's the difference between travelling and just taking your time and exploring an area. Not all of us have the time, money or inclination for the latter.

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.
Yes big bike are great for racking up the miles, but how much scenery do you miss when your flying past at a ton+.
I’m planning to do a 2 - 3 k trip next year on an XR125L. Easy to find parts for, light enough to pick up, and I get to enjoy the scenery more at a slower pace.
We do these trips to enjoy it, slow it down and it enjoy more!


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Absolutely this, me and my other half were touring on road bikes in Europe and found that excluding motorways on the Garmin wasn't enough - excluding the main roads too resulted in taking the nice twisty pre-Roman roads. That was what turned it into a fun little adventure rather than just a trip.

What prompted me to create this post was a lack of time/money/inclination for going between A and B on paved / recognised routes

I love the idea mentioned above of going somewhere and just renting a local-type bike to cover a small area in lots of detail ... since the original post I have found a few accounts of doing this, which needed a little more digging to find. I guess because if it's not RTW or long distance it's less headline grabbing.

Problem with rent that you are looking at $100+ a day, a couple weeks would run you more than buying a bike and selling it with the loss at the end of the trip.

As for excluding main roads in GPS trick it works everywhere be it Kentucky or Cinque Terre. Just be mindful where you are at and be ready to track back or at least consult with locals; following google maps blindly in Sierra Madre may get you in more than you bargainned for

Well....I've rented locally for one to three week periods fairly often. I've paid from US$10 to US$150 per day, for everything from well-used, Chinese 125s in Africa to (once) a late-model Africa Twin in Georgia and (another time) a very buff Ducati in L.A. Sometimes the cheap 125 suits perfectly. Other times, I can get the bike I want by renting rather than ones I don't want by buying and selling--I'm thinking of Vietnam and Laos, but this has also been true elsewhere.

What's more, on a short trip I don't want to spend my time with purchase and re-sale even if I'd save some money; I'm taking short trips because I'm working at home, and up to a point I've got less time than money. In some places, rentals come with helmets, jackets, repair kits, rain gear, and more, saving me the trouble of hauling my own thru airports and train stations before and after my riding. On these short trips, much of what I value is convenience, not saving a buck or two.

In places where this is commonly done it's not difficult to find trip reports, so I'm not sure why it's been a problem; I've written a few and read a great many myself. In other locations it's worth remembering that people who post on internet forums are the minority no matter what you're looking for, so sometimes you've got to plunge ahead and make a pathway on your own.

In my experience, you can get off a plane almost anywhere outside the developed world, ask around, and find a local rental at a very reasonable price within a day--two if severely jet-lagged. Even if there are no rental companies, there are always folks looking to earn some cash letting you ride their bikes for a couple of weeks. They can be found--or will find you--by asking your taxi driver, at your hotel, or at any local repair shop, no matter how seedy or plush.

Just a counterpoint to the $100/day scenario. I've done that too, but it's certainly not the only way.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Hello

Where or what is the University of TUK?

For those who think most riders on a RTW go just from A to B with missing so many small tracks, please feel free to post here where you rode on your already done or planned RTW.
But please only the small alternative routes to the mainstream A to B, not the dead end day trips from A back to A.
I'm curious.

cheers sushi

__________________
My RTW:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrXt660ztenere

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuktoyaktuk

Don't know anything about the "university," but I've got enough t-shirts.