No problems Ted - consider my thinking cap on. ......

Ha - I am worse than a wannabe - I'm a dontwannabe - I don't ride a bike or have a massive urge to!!!

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

I'll join you part way on that one. Can't be bothered with endless border hassle and I do eventually feel the urge to do something anti-social to trinket salesman and people offering to "guard" my bike. Basically I have no urge what so ever to ride in certain parts of the world having tried a few similar places. Give me Alpine pass or the outback and you'll get a different answer and different again if you rent me the bike (which is a what you'd call a holiday BTW not Extreme Adventure or whatever). I'd score badly on the wanabee/hardcore meter.

I'll hold my hands up the eliteist thing if you mean I have less respect for guys who think owning a certain bit of kit makes them special than guys who've done things or even got plans. When some nutter takes hostages they don't call for a Regiment who owns black balaclavas they send for an elite one. Inverse snob doesn't worry me either, it's a lot more interesting getting a rat of a C90 somewhere than a new R1200GS simply because more happens. If that upsets the shoppers who want congratulating for owning certain bits of kit we should agree to differ simply because we have different insights into similar things.

The label and wanabee/hardcore thing is a bit mad to me. People call me hardcore for camping in the snow. If you do it wrong it's ****, if you do it right it's fun. I don't get why anyone would want to do it the hard way so they can talk about, or just buy the stuff and say they are thinking about doing it.

Andy

You're definately more hardcore than me anyday !! Sod that for a game of soldiers ! I'd rather dodge bullets at African border crossings !

I'm shivering just thinking about it and the pictures of the Crompton mini meeting put ice on my already frosty bits. lol

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

It'll get like the Monty Python Three Yorkshiremen sketch if we keep this up

Changing tack slightly, what actually is "hardcore"? One persons "holiday" is surely another persons "Hardcore Adventure" while something else (Desert on an RT with road tyres/Finland in January with an Argos sleeping bag etc.) is just stupid for stupids sake? Is is possible to pass through hardcore and just be a nutter? The bloke who did RTW in 12 minutes and 9-zillion caffeine pills on a Honda Fireplace springs to mind (but unfortunately not his name).

I'm all for riding rather than yakking. Looks like my days loan of a nice new Scrambler to tempt me out of cash I havn't got is going to be damper than I'd have liked, but heyho, put the waterproofs on and think how hardcore it is

Andy

Was you thinking of Nick Sanders on the R1

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

I was, thank you. Had a picture of that Grilled Bear survival bloke in my head which was creating a serious mental block!

Andy

I guess the term wanabee is determined by what your situation is now?

If you don't have a bike then you are a wanabee who is hopeful to get one.
If you have a bike but don't yet tour then you are a wanabee who wants to.
If you just tour the UK then you are a wanabee hoping to get abroad ...

... and so on until you wanabee the person who can buy a new GS and take off round the world.

I'm 54, bike owner, regular UK and occasional european tourer who is planning a bigger and longer 2011 trip (with another guy on here and hopefully a couple more..). I've made plans to take my pension early at 55 next year and quit my present job (I will get something else when I return). I have already sold my house and am in rented accomodation which I can then vacate and get a new one when I get back, and am learning as much as possible by visiting the HUBB often to get best advice on equipment and paperwork etc. In my eyes that makes me a serious wanabee for a long Europe/Scandinavia tour, maybe in readiness for a much bigger Asia tour in 2012 perhaps?

But I'll always be a wanabee as there will always be a trip I'd love to do - when does that ever stop being the case?

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Live life now - you only get it once.

I wannabee on my bike and not stuck at work today

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.