That's a great post Paulo and reading it brightened up a miserable wet Wednesday morning. My workshed and garage are full of two wheeled projects with similar long term aims - get them rebuilt, sorted out and go somewhere interesting on them. One of them is even intended to go to Morocco (and should have been there last summer except for Covid).

As you're finding there's always a few bumps in the road between having the idea and setting off. Not just to Morocco but on any journey that takes you out of your routine. Work commitments and deadlines, family concerns, deep down worries about whether you're doing something really stupid, other people telling you you are doing something really stupid ("at your age you ought to know better" etc). You can probably add to the list yourself but take heart from the fact that there's hardly another person on this site who hasn't had to deal with all of that.

When a friend and I first planned a motorcycle trip to Morocco (51 yrs ago!!!) we were told by countless people we'd be robbed, killed, they'd never see us again, don't expect to come back, think of your poor mother, all of it psychological pressure to 'conform'. It took five years before that changed to 'oh he's off somewhere again'. Strangely, few people said 'you'll crash the bike', it was all 'you'll be set upon by 'foreigners'. Most of the people telling us that had themselves never left the country.

I once read a magazine article in which the journalist stated that 'given enough notice I'm the bravest person in the world'. He meant that he'd agree to anything if the timescale meant it didn't happen in the near future. And so it is with overland trips. It's easy to set about doing the planning, setting up the vehicle, sorting the route, the logistics etc when it's a way off but the pressure builds the closer the departure dates get. I once cancelled a trip I'd spent a year planning on the morning of departure when my wife became ill. She wasn't that bad but the delay meant I'd missed my 'window'. It can get very depressing as you see problems multiply as the day gets closer.

It's pity Covid has stopped a lot of the overlanding type events from taking place this year as there's nothing better than getting inspired from seeing what others have been doing. There are a number of Zoom style on-line events but it's not the same (imho anyway). Most of the 'value' I get comes not so much from the formal side of things - the talks, seminars etc (good though they are!) - as just meeting people in the campsites, car parks, bars, round a fire in the evenings and chatting face to face. The positivity you get from stuff like that can often be the psychological reinforcement you need to push the project through rather than giving up and 'postponing' when the pressure builds.

Stick with it, get the truck sorted and take a realistic view of what you're doing. It's a little bit like running - it takes all sorts of mental tricks to get you out of the house, it can be difficult while you're actually doing it but the rewards, both immidiately afterwards and long term, make it worth the pain. You're at a good age as well - this is what I was doing in my mid 50's :