What defines a wannabee
 

Been reading through the many threads on here and the phrase wannabee crops up a lot so I started to wonder what defines a wannabee. After all Charley and thingy have been around the world, all be it well supported, on bikes but are frequently described as wannabee's. Yet there are some who have travelled through 3 European countries that are described as hard core travellers. Any ideas, just making idle chat.

ummm begs the ??? what am I
most of Europe and Thailand no support :mchappy:

People travel
 

for different reasons, adventure:stormy:, scenery:palm:, the ride:scooter: / drive, the getaway :D, I could go on for hours.

I see hardcore travellers are ones who travels for all and or any of the above. wannabes for me are the ones who admir an image and wants to be it for reasons such as midlife crisis or other personality difficiencies :oops2:

as for what defines the, oooh touchy:smiliex:

Being in my early 20's...
 

I have been planning a massive RTW for 2 years, and am set to leave the Summer of 2012. A few years ago, I was a wannabe, but the lifestyle that attaches itself to the hardcore adventurer is the defining difference. A wannabe says things like, "Whoa man, that's awesome. I wish I could do stuff like that," While he/she is single, no children, renting a house, and debt free... That person is a wannabe.

When you take the next step towards living your life as you ACTUALLY want to, you have taken a step towards, being REAL.

Expressing awe, or respect to someone does not, however, define a person as a wannabe. Especially if that person is married/with children, or is simply enjoying their lifestyle the way it is. Many people want to be the adventurer, but due to legitimate reasons are bound to be armchair travelers, along for our rides. I do not fault them, for at heart, they are as hard core as I will ever be, and would join me tomorrow if give the chance.

I will graduate from University in 5 weeks. Everyone of my classmates knows that I plan to travel the world, I study International Business, and ride to school everyday. Being a rider though does not make me the adventurer. It is my lifestyle that defines me. I love adventure, don't shy from the rain. Laugh at foul weather, and can face obstacles. To every classmate of mine that says, "Whoa dude, that sounds awesome/epic/crazy... etc, I wish I could do something like that," when they hear about my plans, I reply, "Then do it, for now is the time when responsibility is but a choice for us, and you have options." (I'm not nearly as elegant, but you get the picture)

Then, there are adventurers, and HARDcore adventurers. This is the difference between riding around the world and camping 9 out of 10 days, and sleeping in a hotel/hostel and eating out every night. Discrepancies exist, and I wont tackle that now.

It is hard for me to relate to wannabe. But I can understand where they reside mentally. It is not them that is different from the rest of the general population, it is US. The adventuring nomad is not the norm, but rather the exception. Wannabe's dream about being different, while we live different. The pressure to be part of the crowd is the largest factor in my eyes.

Summary: A wannabe is simply that. Someone who has the potential to do something adventurous, exclaims that they'd love to do something like it, but when the opportunity presents itself they balk at the challenge and turn it down.

People say that, "There are no dumb questions." I say there are.

A dumb question exists when someone asks a question that they already know the answer to. Stupid.

A wannabe exists when someone acts like they want to do something, but in reality, really does not.

Thanks for reading my two cents.

--Alex:mchappy:

A Wannabe is somebody who admires the adventures of others, would love too enjoy that lfestyle, but has other commitnents (family, house, career, etc) that at this time in their lives, are of higher priority than longtime adventure. Their own adventure maybe only limited too a couple of weeks at a time living a dream in short bite size chunks rather than taking the whole cake.:smartass:

This is my point why do people describe the famous one and his mate as wannabe's and why if you have clean aluminium panniers are you a wannabe i have even seen it said that if you ride a big German motorcycle to work you may be in the category of wannabe I just find the definition or at least how people view others as odd.

For me the term wannabe simply refers to someone who want to be something else then he/she is.

IMHO they come inn all flavors and colors and can't be identified by the brand of their bike. I'm not sure if C+E are wannabes, they managed to do their daily lives more interesting and I can't see they are claiming they are something they are not.


I have been looking for a word for "pretend to be", maybe pretobe. :confused1:

C&E started the wannabe thing, but they actually did it, so whatever you might think they are not IMHO wannabes.

I'm married, mortgage, **** job to pay for everything etc. Forgetting I used to be single with an F650 with tin boxes and used to think nothing of heading to the top of Norway or Morocco or into Russia. That aside, I'm prime material to be an "Image" rider. The latest "image" is what E&C started. Blokes in my age group with my comittments who havn't a cat in hells chance of getting further than Italy until little Jonny gets a job when he's about 45 and finally gets chucked out of education can buy the image. You go send off for the Touratech catalogue and while you wait for it to turn up you order something for £12K from BMW and get yourself down to Horrible Gherkin for the Arai and a helmet cam. Once equipped with your hard things and laser cut titanium spork you can then dress up and go say "extreme" and "Totally extreme" down the local cafe. They could manage with a set of throwovers on an R1200R, but that wouldn't be "extreme". It's playing dress up just like all those accountants on their Bad Boy Harleys who'd have heart attacks (or tut alot) if anyone did anything actually bad.

I find these blokes odd as I'd buy the throwovers and a lot of petrol (most of it for the *****y lawn mower these days), but each to their own.

Andy

I think you have it Andy they are described as wannabe's but they are in fact image bikers. Have to agree petrol to me is more important than metal mules but hey if you have it why not.

The good news so far then is im not an image biker 3001 km around Thailand on a 250 with throw overs wont get me in that club I guess.

You All Are
 

You all are wannabes in someone else's eyes (and me!)

either that or you have no dreams, ambition or just damned stupid ideas drifting round your mind ......

I think it's just silly trying to classify/look down upon anyon-get on with your own dream!

Reading the contributions from other parts of the world, I'm guessing the "image biker" thing is still pretty limited to Harley and it's associates outside these islands?

For those who are confused we have biker tribes here. The cruiser-pirate-bad boy I'm guessing is pretty familiar to you all, while the sportsbike-power ranger will be known as a squid or squib in North America? In the UK we now have groups of R1200GS's, F800GS and New Tenere's with square, aluminium coloured boxes you could live in for a week roaming at least twenty miles from home to queue up and actually ride through a ford that might be a whole 6-inches deep.

The whole tribal thing, as you will imagine is highly disruptive and counter productive when trying to get sense out organisations outside our little bikey world. I'm reasonably used to European bike clubs where ten riders might turn up on ten different makes and everything from a Harley to a classic Ducati to an XT350. This has a much more positive effect as when the Harley guy fancies a long trip he's more likely to end up with a XT600 and ex-military bags having talked to XT350 guy than a brand new R1200GS and a trillion pounds worth of laser cut ally having googled that actors name.

The trend that will wind me up is some of the rat bike fakers. When my insurance goes up and people start stealing 15 year old MZ's and XBR's because they sell to clowns with pots of matt black paint who want to follow that particular trend I will not be happy.

Andy

A metric
 

What about a metric.

Feel free to add/refine propose alternative measures....

Wannebee hard core travel metric:
If the ratio of the cost of your trip(s) (excluding bike and equipement) divided by what you paid for your bike and equipment is:

• <0.1 you're a hardcore wannabee
• between 0.1 and 0.5 you're definetly a wannabee
• between 0.5 and 2 you're the average traveler
• between 2 and 5 you're a kandidate adventure traveler
• between 5 and 10 you're an adventure traveler
• >10 you're an hardcore adventure travel.

Maybe we should ad a parameter adjusting for the average cost per day of a trip and a multiplication factor for the number of passports you had to replace because they are full.
Negative points for sponshorship, and blogs explaining all the mods and meals
Positive points for nights slept outside, ...

If we do this properly, everyone can easily find out what exactly his status is. With knowledge of your status, you can confidently adopt an apropriate behavior in about any social context.

My defination of a "wannabe" is someone who has "all the gear and no idea".

A stereotypical "wannabee" would be a middle aged man with a BMW1200GS smothered in Touratech goodies sporting a Klim riding suit, headtorch, electric toothbrush with a a titanium touratech soapdish.

Usually supported by a pocket full of excuses why they can never go on that trip that they've spent thousands buying gear for. E.g.

"I'll never get another job with the same benefits if I leave now"

"I'm just waiting for the weather to calm down a little"

"I've heard that the border is closed"

"I'm waiting for my shares to mature"

"I've got to decorate the kitchen first"

"I havn't found a bike that suits my riding style"

BLAAAHH BLAAAAH BLAAAH !!!

The best excuse by far is " I just can't afford it". That excuse is especially entertaining when spoken by the people who have just spent £14000 on a BMW and £5000 on luggage and accessories.

Atlthough, never mistake a newbie for a wannabee ! Even if you're 10 years away from hitting the road, as long as your commited and have the spirit thats kudos enough for me. :thumbup1:

Ewan & Charlie get the "wannabe" tag because they turned their "Amazing, dangerous adventure" into a Thomas Cook package holiday. ANYONE could do what they did if they had enough money to throw at it. ANYONE !!


I don't know if this just goes for me, but I think there needs to be certain sacrifices in ones life to earn the renoun of an adventure traveller.

Whatever those may be !! Money, career, creature comforts, lifestyle etc etc !

I'm no expert on the matter though. It's all a bit snobbish and condesending and I hate being like that (altough guilty at times of it too:()

Bikes in Norway is twice the price for a bike in Germany.

So if I go on a trip with a two Germans, Hans with the same bike as me, Fritz with a cheaper bike then I'm double so much wannabe as Hans and four times as much wannabe as Fritz.....

When I tour in Europe I can easily use 4 times the daily budget as I do in Africa, so if I spend a month in Europe I'm less wannabe then if I spend a month in Africa. :clap::clap::clap:

It's all a bit snobbish and condesending....

Quite. Some of you lot should listen to yourselves sometimes 'cos you sound like right wankers from where I'm sitting.

:thumbup1:

A very exclusive club this seams to be getting, I preffer to be a free thinking independant guy on a motorbike.

:scooter:

It's all tongue in cheek ! Hence why it's in the HU Bar !!

Take a chillaxative !! :Beach:

I'm sure there are some who get very elitist over the subject but they just look like over extremist "image" riders in themselves !

It does a full circle !

Ah, Ah, this must be the best reply on here :rofl:


Hardcore and Wannabe are too often bandied about, unpaved and uneven roads in Romania,camping in a storm and people think they are 'hardcore'
For Hardcore travel try Lois Pryce's trip to South Africa solo, perhaps even the Mondo Enduro/Terra Circa trips(although 'team handed'), how about Rosie Swale Pope....running around the world?.
Wannabes, well, I wannabe a multi millionaire and I wannabe the owner of Crystal Palace football club.
When you have done something that you think is 'Hardcore' and want to tell people, try telling it to members of the armed forces in Iraq or Afghanistan that don't know if the next day will be their last.
people that go on waffling about Wannabes are often people that have already done a trip which they then think as elevated them to the status of 'Hardcore'.
:nono:

I remember the first time I went to Norway, riding my TDM on gravel. It felt pretty hardcore to me at the time. The feeling didn't last very long though as 2 guys on Buells came past me going the other way!

It's all relative to what you've known before. Africa would seem very hardcore for me right now, far outside my comfort zone but for a lot on here it's a walk in the park.

As for a wannabe, I just wannabe loved!! Ha ha.

Go easy there, Doc. Just a bunch of UKers itching for some good riding weather. The Ripley meet-up is coming in June; the wannabies are dragging their 1200GS's out and gearing up. but since the weather still sucks, all they do is talk about doing it.

Blah, blah, blah.

Sounds about right. Not? The metric is not trying to compare regional bike prices, but it's quantifying priorities. Do I spend money on the bike? or the trip?

The daily budget factor should deal with the europe versus africa thing. Other variables I can think of:

- Average number of days between showers
- Average number of days between proper toilets
- number of times you had to do with the hose/can provided in the smallest room
- Succesive days being stuck at/between borders
- number of languages where you can use ask the road in and order food
...

How do we quantify the daily expenditure?

Finally
 

Finally someone worth meeting! An exellent,exellent summation!:thumbup1:
Al

For me a wanabee is someone who would like to do something but his current situation makes him or her scared to take the plunge. For most enterprises, the most difficult part is getting out off your armchair. If asked I would describe myself as a motorcyclist. Sometimes I take a ten mile ride and enjoy it, sometimes a lot farther. I just want to ride and enjoy my ride, so in mid winter when it is chucking it down I'd rather be beside my wood burning stove sipping a glass of Bowmores. Life is for enjoying, whatever way you do that is the right way.

Please dont get too serious the whole thread was aimed at having (in parts at ones self) a laugh about opinions of others and how we see the world we live in.

Wannabee or hardcore?
 

In 2007 I spent 3 months travelling round Europe,just me & my tent & my bike (ok,a mate was with me for first 6 weeks) upshot is I loved it,since then have been planning my next BIG trip,hopefully to Mongolia via Scandinavia,Russia etc,does this make me a wannabee? Frankly I dont care,it is MY little dream,one that I am determined to make reality. RTW next? Who knows? I refuse to be pigeon holed.
Dream the big one,all the best;
Andy

Most of the guys I know in the local club here aren't wannabe's. True, they might buy the big 1200 GS and hardly ever get it off the pavement, but they're great people doing exactly what they want to do, not wishing they were someone/thing else. I'm totally in favor of that. If you want to haul a trailer with your bike, go for it. If you only want to stay in motels, fine. If you love to sleep out in the rain with no shelter, who cares?


How about: number of bones broken, or number of weeks spent in a 3rd world hospital?

Ride your own ride.............shu

(I just re read this. I think I'm guilty of getting too serious, Trix. :rolleyes2:)

Hey Ted - if you hear a guy in the bar say the same thing over and over and over again people do draw conclusions though. Might be worth thinking about ....

Well the originators of the 'wannabe genre' took my comment a bit seriously, don't you think?

The pseudo-elitism and inverted snobbery that surface in these forums from time to time really doesn't reflect well on some of you guys. Trying to pass it off as light-hearted banter is a bit limp, IMHO - at least have the bollocks to admit you're a knob or have said something knob-ish.

And in case anyone is wondering, I don't ride a 1200GSA; in fact, I don't even have a bike at the moment....(but it will be a Tenere when it comes - the 660).

Sherlock :D

I'm sure Trix didn't mean for people to get worked up about this but GasUp & Docsherlock have fair points. As I have tried to say before the more people getting out there and travelling on motorcycles the better. Better for them as individuals and better for the motorcycle community. There will always be different approaches to the same idea, that's why we travel.

I don't think anyone takes anything said on an internet forum seriously or literally. Especially threads like this in the HU Bar.

You can never draw judgements and opinions from idle type and it would be very poor judgement to do so..

:funmeterno:

I remember sitting around a table, drinking beers and having a fantatastic time with some peopple who had met up and spent a few days riding together. (off another forum). Really great guys. The subject changed to our forum names and people were shocked at the opinions we had drawn of each other before meeting and they were TOTALLY inaccurate ! 2 of the guys were always at each each others throats on the forum turned out to get on great and are now regular riding partners.

If you'd ever met me, you'd know I am far from elistist or judgemental... I'm just a bit of a dreamer and a plonker and really couldn't care less about many futile things..

I'm only on here so much as i've dislocated my knee, can't play out and I'm saving all my pennies for the next trip..


As you say, it might be worth thinking about !!! :smartass: :mchappy:

I AM A WANNABE

I wannabe traveling around the would.
I wannabe with my wife (who isn't a wannabe)
I wannabe outta negative equity on my property
I wannabe not working for a big corporation
I wannabe not having too support my kids
I wannabe dreaming of maybe not being a wannabe
And one fine day I will no longer be a wannabe, but doing

I don't really understand where your coming from there but if it makes you feel better im a knob.

but really im not elitist i fall more in the newbie as far as adventure motorcycling goes (old hand at motorcycling generally ) if you read the post I asked how someone who had ridden around the world could be described as a wannabe, but you obviously didn't see the humour in the post and instead decided to insult people. Thats ok sometimes the written word on the boards is often misinterpreted.

So I hope you get a new bike soon as it may help you lighten up a little.

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!!!

If you're not elitist then my comments weren't aimed at you. I think it was pretty clear my comment was aimed at elitist and inverted snobs - I don't believe I specified any particular posters.

I agree that the written word is often misinterpreted.

You clearly did not see the irony in my posts, but please understand that whether or not you consider yourself a knob has no effect one way or the other on how I feel. Neither does owning something, be it car, motorcycle or whatever.

FWIW, I just think some people on this site are a bit callow, that's all. They just come across badly, which is all I was trying to say.

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 ! :smartass:

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

I wannabee on my bike and not stuck at work today

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

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 :mchappy: :rofl:

Andy

All true...

Whilst I would not have phrased it quite so severely, I do think there is an element of truth in this.

At times, I do get the feeling that some overlanders resent that this is no longer the ultra-niche pursuit it once was, and that the "LWR" crowd are spoiling the party....

Fair point, but isn't looking at a bloke's bike and kit and forming an instant opinion not doing exactly that, only about possessions, rather than typing?




Although I do judge people based on what they ride, I try not to: partly because as I bought and prepped our bike back in '04 for our trip in '06 I must have seemed the architypal wannabe, whereas I was actually a wannago...

As for those that never go, I don't really understand why some people buy shedloads stuff desperately to impress someone they don't even know but I think people like that deserve my pity rather than my derision: they're obviously not massively happy with life...

If they buy it all because they simply like it, then good for them: that's what money's for.

Was you thinking of Nick Sanders on the R1

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?

Wannabe
 

Hey All,

Reading this makes me think of my times wanting to be hardcore, saving my money and diving into trips for the image and not for the true adventure of seeing the world inside and out. I remember riding to the Arctic circle just to prove to myself and others I could do it and feel smug but actually looked like an arrogant berk.
Since then I've started many things and finished few, so I'll always be a wannabe, I may have slept rough, shat in the open, waited for days at borders, broke down miles from anywhere, travelled thousand of Km's and met many people but have never met anyone yet that has admitted to being 'hardcore' when asked.
If it's the image of 'hardcore' that some people are looking for then good on 'em, the world loves a tryer (and so does Touratech and BMW, LOL) and the people that are generally hardcore would probably love for life to be easier without having to rough it or breaking down in the middle of nowhere, stuck for days at borders, scrimping money and some of the hassles with travelling in foreign countries. All great fireside stories I must admit for those eager to listen and learn, myself included.
So, Wannabes for me........

• People that have just started and are learning, if they continue, great. If they don't, well done for trying.
• People that 'Big up' their acheivements to impress others (a failing that was mine unfortunatley)
• Some that talk about 'it' but never do it.

and Hardcore for me.......

• Having a job, mortgage, career and selling up, leaving the security to go on that lifetime trip.
• Helping other bikers/travellers, time after time without arrogance, bitching or the 'Us and them' mentality.
• Being prepared enough not to expect help but not too proud/arrogant/'hardcore' to refuse it too.
• Pushing your personal boundries yet not taking stupid risks. 'Head for the moon, just make sure you can get back!'

I've learnt to live with the fact that I'll never do everything I want to do, hence I'll always be a wannabe and may not tick all the boxes in the list of adventure biking but I have pushed my envelope and respect anyone else who's done so or is to do the same.

"BARMAN............. SAME AGAIN PLEASE...!"

+1 to what Geoffshing said. :thumbup1:

I agree there'll always be a trip I want to do, but more extreme? , Probably not. Beggers, Borders and Being unable to keep anything down for more than 15 minutes due to the effects of medieval plumbing you can keep unless there is something really worthwhile at the end of it. Same goes for stuff like the Grilled Bear bloke is doing on the telly. I can understand
knowing how to get drinking water out camel droppings might be useful for us to know and something fighter pilots should probably be shown as a practical lesson, but why would you do it for fun? A Bivvy is nice for a few nights in the desert to see the stars, or simply because there isn't a hotel between A&B, but I'm now at the point where if there is a hotel that's better than the campsite, that I can afford and there is no good reason to be outside, I'll be within a dozen steps of a G&T thank you very much.

There are skills that can only be learned by doing, such as getting a good nights sleep at minus twenty by not having half a litre of Schnapps and passing out only half in the sleeping bag :blushing:. I'll do this because standing round a fire and sharing (less) Schnapps in these conditions is fun and the camping actually less hardship than getting back to a hotel to sleep. I can understand people need to find their own skills by pushing their limits. Maybe if some guys are so competitive they need to big themselves up it is better if they just buy the image? We all know about 40 year olds doing the CBT on a Monday, the test on Tuesday, buying the Hayabusa on Wednesday and being on the undertakers slab before the weekend. Maybe the image thing stops the authorities banning solo bike trips on certain pistes etc?

My own learning experience was pre-internet days. We only had Chris Scotts book, which read in isolation does send you down the shopping list route. The learning curve that it's knowledge about how to fix a puncture, not the logo'd titanium lid on your compressor that made for good trips came later. I hope the Hubb makes this easier for the genuine riders who want to do the trips not just the look.

Andy

GeoffShing that was very well written and made me think about a few things great post:thumbup1:

Big Softy
 

Andy,
I agree with you as I spent years in the army 'roughing it' and now work in Baghdad with a gun, minimal comfort, more danger than I could shake a stick at and sleep in a shipping container, to save for my trips. So I've had enough of sleeping under the stars and never want to be too far away from a cold beer when on the road.
I get the 'hardcore' image when I work so would rather have the easy life when I don't. A sergeant said to me years ago when I was a young recruit "If you started today cold, wet and miserable and finished cold, wet and miserable, have you learnt anything? If you finished warm, dry and fed, well done. Any idiot can be cold, wet and miserable!"
If intentionally having a hard time on a trip makes people 'hardcore' Whey-hey! They're welcome to it, I'll be a BIG SOFT WANNABE! LOL!!

P.s, I didn't buy a new BMW GS not because I couldn't afford it but I could get 5 XT's for the same price.

www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/geoffshing

I have to agree who cares if someone buys the most expensive gear who cares if all they do is ride from home to work an weekends,if there doing what they like an enjoying reading about some of the exploits on here good luck to them, to acuse them of being wannabees is snobbery, theres many folks that travel to the furthest places, that dont place blogs dont write about it, because they just look at as another trip,every one to there own i think:thumbup1:

In two words: Triumph Tiger (or Guzzi what-yer-callit)

In 198? we had four choices: R80GS, Tenere, Road bike with knobblies, off road bike with an improved seat. We now have lots of choice but have to try and work out which is the go anywhere do anything machine and which is the plastic covered, lardy, road bike in drag. If probably does no harm now as people can come here for free and be told they don't need an R1200GS like they saw on the telly, but I for one wasted way too much cash and effort worrying if my non-Touratech toilet roll would stand the strain of tough trips. (OK, I didn't, but I bought plenty of shiney ****, so why not have logo'd loo roll :innocent:, I'd probably have bought it during my wannabee phase :blushing:).

Andy

I wanabbe someone whos not a wanabbe but to not be not a wanabbe then I will have to stop being a wanabbe but to not be a not wanabee I will have to have been a wanabbe in the first place to have achieved the things your not when your a not a wanabbe. Bleeding heck do I wanabbe or dont I wanabbe - that sir is the question :confused1:

are you sure thats what you wannabee

I'm beyond making friends now so I'll just be honest about my feelings !! :rofl:

To me, what defines a "wannabe" is what they think when they see this picture:

http://www.touratech.se/content/mc/bmw-r1200gs-sv.jpg


One group of people will think:

"What a fantastic blinged up motorcycle. That will look amazing when I go to the Touratech day and get my book signed by Charlie whiney ass Boreman"

And one group of people will think:

"What a rediculously heavy unpractical overpriced motorcycle. I could of bought a bike for £1500 and spent the other £15,000 money riding around the world on it"


Before anyone jumps on my back, I'm just pulling your leg !! Count to ten and breath slowly :thumbup1:

It's only a laugh ! No one really looks down on newbies, wannabes or people just for their choice of bike and lifestyle ! It's an internet forum, not the G8 summit !! :smartass:

.... and some will think:

"The guy posting this must have a huge problem".

This place is getting worse then Jo Mama.

Wish it was true...

.... and some will think:

"The guy posting this must have a huge problem".

I have many, not just one !




This place is getting worse then Jo Mama.

Whats that about my moma ??



Wish it was true..

As you're fairy godmother, I grant thy wish !


:mchappy:

I still don't understand why some of you resent guys who spend loads of cash on adventure style bike and don't use it for rtw or extended travel - what is your problem with other people's choices in life?

......and unfortunately, I think some people on this site do look down on what they class as "wannabes" and also feel some kind of status if they have done a trip, so also looking for respect from newbies. Sad, really.

Humour is all well and good - but it ain't all humour and you know it.

I think you're taking this all rather too seriously !!

I don't think there is any of that on this site... Maybe a little friendly teasing and ribbing, but that's true of any forum or any gathering at pub, hubb meeting or campsite etc !!

Maybe it's my northern SOH (Or lack of it :innocent:)

My insurance used to be cheaper because idiots fell off £15000 sports bikes, old men kept their BMW's upright.

Metal Mule etc. used to make money from people who did things. Now we are the customer from hell because we complain when the things leak while the mobile adverts above doesn't go out in the rain.

The police used to assume I knew what I was doing :rofl: and could ride at 100 mph safely. They pulled race reps. Now they pull everything (except sidecars :innocent:).

People in car parks look at my panniers and call me Charlie. I don't mind Wallace and Gromit jokes as they were at least a laugh but to be constantly compared to the Actors Special Friend wears a bit thin. People constantly ask me if I've watched LWR/LWU/LWUCA etc. because they want to gush about "wasn't it funny when Charlie ****ed...". I'd rather get some plastic ears and talk Star Trek, or pull out the big book of steam locomotives, at least their fans have more to talk about.

You can't buy 130-17 knobblies in spring because they all buy them up for the "season".

It's like someone walked into the pub, bought all the beer, drank a pint, fell over drunk and got the rest poured down the drain while the authorities work out how to deal with drunkeness.

You are of course right that we can't object to how people spend their money and the fashion trail is now separating from the real use trail in the same way that racers don't buy from the local bike-bling place. I just find it annoying that people come along in hordes, act like fools and I get roped into it. Give it a year or three, they'll all be off buying something different.

Andy

Lets not forget that my/your opinions are just like everyone else’s. They are all personal evaluations of certain situations in a given time. Scratch every opinion and underneath it, you will find a human being, trying to defy and justify his own existence.

Mate, I really couldn't give a toss what anyone thinks about any of it one way or the other. I've actually laughed out loud reading this series of posts at times. :D

:thumbup1:

Hilariously funny, and frighteningly true! It gets tiresome.

My advice: go someplace where you don't speak the language. Preferably, someplace where there are few (or no) television sets. Before you know it, your local interaction will consist of answering the two basic questions of gas station attendants everywhere: "How much did it cost?" and "How fast will it go?" Eventually, you might find yourself craving some in-depth analysis of Ewan and Charlie and the fantasy world in which they live.

Mark

(busily attacking the large platter of mango slices served free for breakfast, somewhere in Bahia, Brazil)

I wannabe serious for a second. Strikes me the old hands did it on crap bikes tied together with string because that was all that was available.

Forgive us newbies who've earned some money for our foolish ways of wanting a bit of comfort and reaching for the Touratech (thank god as sponsors they don't read all the criticism, or Grant & Susan would be facing a major shortfall in income) catalogue because it's there, and because we know no better.

Forgive us the sin of enjoying E&C even if he is a farting a**ehole because it gave us some inspiration, and showed us a bit of the world.

Forgive us for buying the adventure gear which we can enjoy owning and looking at and which makes us feel we're on the way when we're stuck in shit jobs because right now we can't/don't want to up sticks and go.

Forgive us for riding to the shops with panniers on, we don't have the room to store them.

And forgive us for coming on here and reading all your trips and getting a bit jealous and thinking that camping for a long weekend is in anyway about enjoying being out and about on a bike, when of course to be true adventurers we should be getting shot at between borders with killer diahorrea.

a real wannabe
 

Although it has mainly good humoured there are some serious points in this thread. Like Alexlebrit I too get jealous reading about all the exciting places that people have been to and I wana go to the same places. I have spent two years stocking up on the best gear i could afford (which is a long way from the best there is) and circumstances are still not right. (damn recession) By the time circumstances are right I may be too damn old or unhealthy enough to actually get out there and do it.

In the meantime I am just a weekend warrior like lots of others and am brushing up on skills like riding over rough ground (mainly picking my bike up off the floor) and sleeping under canvass. If I never get to go for the BIG ONE then at least I have had fun and met lots of interesting and in the main friendly people.

To all who have completed the BIG ONE congrats and to all those who are trying to do it but for some reason cant at the moment the best of luck. I feel no shame at being called a wannabe by those that have, only envy because I really wanna do it!

People
 

In my eyes there are 3 different people in this world and all of us belong in one. (Which one are you)
1. People who make things happen !
2. People who watch things Happen !!
3. People who wonder what the F*#@ happened !!!

Cheers
Paul:D

The "stuff" is unimportant until you use it. There is no best gear. There are no old bikes tied together with string (tried, doesn't work, you need baleing wire :rofl:). There are no ultra-reliable new bikes that never break down.

Instead there is your gear and someone elses gear. Your gear is what you like and above all know. Your gear is what either never breaks or is easy to fix when it does because you know it. Your gear is reliable and comfortable because you know what works for you.

Someone elses gear (unless by luck they think the same way you do, are the same size etc.) is unfamilair and therefore not what you need when it's throwing it down on a bank holiday in Mongolia and something won't play. What is worn out (regardless of age and place of manufacture) will fail, what is new tends to be complex and need help from outside less developed areas.

I too thought buying half the Touratech catalogue and a new BMW was the way to happiness. The TT boxes leak (still got them, too battered to E-bay), the F650 ate it's waterpump in the desert. TT were not interested in leaking boxes and deserve potential customers to know that before another Metal Mule comes along and takes more of their business simply because (like BMW) they used to be very good and now trade on the past but could be good again if they looked at their designs not their ability to sell more to people who really don't know better. I ended up walking in the desert because TT don't sell an F650 waterpump kit and no one told me to carry one because new BMW's are reliable. The BMW I could have fixed once it got home, but it was learning tool in these things and consequently had all the schoolboy errors built in. If I'd bought a used F650 and a set of throwovers I'd have had enough cash to go back to the desert the next year and prove I'd learnt the lessons of that long walk.

Seriously, it's what's in your head not which catalogue you got stuff out of that matters. Staring at your latest purchase and thinking "I'll never end up walking in the desert, I've got a XXXXX" isn't going to help when the YYYYY breaks.

Andy

Just on a serious side, i do think that it matters not a stuff where anyone has been or not been, you have to do this for yourself. Do not put people on a pedestal cos they rode around the world - while you brought your kids up or went down some other road in life. Its a lot easier to move on to the next place and have no ties, than it is to dig in day after day doing a job you maybe dislike/hate or are bored with to keep your family and life together. Maybe your real adventure is just travelling to the Alps or to Norfolk. so what it does not affect anyone else, some people like to ride in groups or on tours some solo some like to go to hot places some to the cold ones none of it really matters. You can listen to other peoples adventures and dream if your happy to do so or have a ride out to Norfolk - in reality if it makes you happy do it. Travelling has as many downs as ups and it can be very lonely at times - some people have the right personality to meet and mix, others are dark, gloomy and hard to talk to even when they are happy - everyone's different - If you really want to ride the world well get on any bike set off and do it - if you feel you can - it may be just what you need but if your doing it to be like the ones on that pedestal, or to be able to have ticked the box - done that then you are no further forward and it wont cure all the ills or empty spaces in your life - but have four weeks going somewhere different (like Norfolk) you will meet strange folk, with strange habits none of which you understand and as for the language it will lose you - it would have been the trip of a lifetime.

+1 to that. One mans holiday is anothers adventure and a third's journey from hell. The reaction to "I've been to X" is going to vary from "Wow" to "That's nice" to "Why?" to "Are you *****y stupid?", which is how it should be.

From my point of view Givi might be an alternative to Touratech for Norfolk though and will leave more beer money? Of course if TT floats your boat looks wise, so be it.

Andy

Well said 950

A couple of long trips doesn't make anyone a better person and they certainly don't belong on a pedistal..

You will find many people who decide to take long, extended trips into the wilds do it for very selfish reasons ! I'm definately one of those people. I'm constantly on the run from responsibilty and having to settle down etc.

Many people hit the road to escape personal problems or to prove something to themselves. I've been there, and I know many others have too.
It's the absolute minority who fleet around the world without a care in the world. Maybe they won the lottery or inherrited a lot of money etc etc.

For those who can't ever see themselves going on a longer trip for whatever reason, please don't think that those who do have buckets of money and free time and are just leisurely trotting off around the world without a care in the world. Spending their evenings under the sun laughing amongst themselves at the "little people" who can't afford it.

Many of us (me included), make huge sacrifices in order to travel. I live in my mums spare room and work crap hours for crapper money as I'm never in one job long enough to rise through the ranks or gain proper experience.

I'd love to have the big TV, new mobile phone and being able to take my girlfriend to fancy resturants or just to have the cash for some decent clothes to wear for that matter. Instead im buying spare clutch cables, scouring ebay for second hand riding gear, welding pannier frames or working into the night trying to get my cheap battered bike to stay running. It's not glamourous and it's not sexy !!

I spend most of my time looking up to those who manage to stick to their jobs, raise their children and devote their time unselfishly to their friends and family but I do get fed up of people who are constanly going on about why they CAN'T rather than how THEY COULD !

That was what my original jibe was about. Having a £15,000 Adventure bike and using the "Im broke" excuse for not going anywhere on it.

I don't think anyone on the hubb should ever feel that they are being looked down upon by anyone else. Nor should they ever look up at anyone.

I can't see anyone doing that on this thread in the first place.. Maybe lost in translation !! :confused1:

The hubb is a friendly place and 99% of the members are decent, honest, non judgemental types. You will always get the odd ribbing, poor taste joke or lack of understanding but that's just a symptom of not talking face to face.

Just so I don't get it in the neck and for the politically sensitive souls on this forum Norfolk can be replaced with any number of other places thats suits your mindset - Sunderland, Liverpool, Cornwall, wales, Scotland etc. Other than it having no hills and being very flat i quite like Norfolk. !!!

At least Norfolks believable. You'd have to be well off your head to come to Leeds for the trip of a lifetime :nono::rofl:

Touring Ted for President :thumbup1:

Andy

[QUOTE= Nor should they ever look up at anyone.

[/QUOTE]

I look up to every one Im 5ft 4 makes my xt more fun though :D

Get yourself some coyote bags that last forever and forget about racks, some sidi boots and klim Dakar pants (what happened to your riding gear from your last trip?) that last forever and a new(er) 400E and 28l safari tank which last forever when looked after and go already. :Beach:

Buying cheap shit is false economy.

hehe.. My bags are £30 old army bags, my racks were home built and cost £15 in materials, my boots are from my last trip and my helmet has been reprayed..

As for my pimped up XT600 and riding gear, I sold it all in Colombia because I couldnt afford to ship it home !! It paid for my flight home and to pay off one of my high interest credit cards ! :innocent: