Something with a sense of trepidation, fear or uncertainty as Tim said.

But as Mark said, you have to be doing something PRETTY dam knarly to get a nod of respect these days. Everywhere is so 'Facilitated'.. It's only fun if you refuse to pay someone to do half of it for you.

I remember doing my first 'big trip' in about 2003 when I was in my early twenties. I was so hyped up, paranoid and nervous. I set off with an Readers Digest of Europe as a map, a tent in a carrier bag and a very volatile but bendy lady friend.

In the trip was a massive anti-climax. I still had a great time but the realisation that I'm just 'on holiday' came very quickly. At least there was no GPS then so getting lost daily was 'An adventure'.. Point is, it was too easy.

Isnt that the point of doing?

Thats why people sign contracts and buy expensive BMW bikes. Theyr looking for "respect" but become a slave of a bank and cant repair anything but allways have to pay someone to do the adventure for them HAHA

On my first bike trip my friends started a pool-make it to the city limits, state line, into Mexico, back in a pine box? I did not make it as far as I wanted, but I collected a lot of funds for my next trip. These days I get a cup of coffee, check the obits, if I'm not in its an adventure.:D

To tweak Rene Descartes's saying, If I think it's an adventure, it is one.

An adventure is something that motivates you to go out and experience life and people.

I've lost my virginity more times than I can count :rofl::thumbup1:
My vision of adventure is loose planning & no timetable :mchappy:

Pretty much the same here. When four of us went off to Greece on two bikes in the early 70's just about everyone - friends, parents et al were convinced it would be a one way trip and we'd all end up mangled in a ditch somewhere. After all everyone knew the Germans were psychotic, the Italians anarchic and the Greeks lawless. If crazed Italian drivers didn't get us some Deliverance style community in the Balkans would. And no, I'm not making this up, people were really pleading with us not to go.

I suppose that's the contradiction of youth though (and quite possibly the essence of "adventure"); enough naivety to believe it'll all be ok without enough information or experience to know what you're actually getting yourself into.

These days Greece by bike is a kind of entry level trip with people more interested in how you pack your luggage than what you saw on the way.

I leave on trips................but mostly return having had an adventure

You can't have a life without adventure, be it a trip to the nearest fast food chain, or backpacking through multiple countries.

Definitely number 1. Make sure you ride into your local Asda or Lidl (Or Mr BoB: Waitrose) standing on the pegs (arms and legs straight = great for speedbumps) and with GoPro mounted on top of your helmet in that special Tellytubby look. Ignoring the height restriction/anti Pikie caravan 6 foot 2 barrier makes things particularly adventurous.

Quite recently, I met a 60+ American lady, and her trip to NZ was her first trip out of the USA. She seemed terrified of everything
- wouldn't sample any of the breaded items on a shared platter because she couldn't see what they were (despite the menu describing them as prawns, mushrooms & chicken)
- didn't think she could get a 'decaff' coffee in NZ, so had never asked for one
- paid for everything on her credit card because she didn't understand 'foreign' money (NZ uses dollar bills)
etc .....

Her concerns may seem perplexing, but I am sure she will mark the trip as her greatest adventure. Adventure is how you perceive it.

I think there's a little bit of that in all of us - out of our comfort zones and fearful of the unknown. I've seen it in many people and recognise it in myself from time to time, where, for example, it's easier to head for KFC rather than try to work through strange looking menus in a language you don't know (not the case in your NZ example I hasten to add :rofl:).

I once read a bike trip report where the mature (UK) rider had been to France for the first time and spent the whole time surviving on filling station snacks, crisps etc and wild camping as he didn't speak French and was fearful of making a fool of himself trying to ask for things in English. And if that's what happens in Europe where you have a choice of half a dozen foreign cultures a short ferry ride away how much harder must it be if you're from e.g. the mid west of the US where it's exactly the same for thousands of miles in every direction. I presume that's why package type tours are so successful as they remove much of that uncertainty.

The older I get the more I see people (of similar age) settling for what they're comfortable with. And not just with travel, I see it in all areas of life so I'd guess it must be part of human nature. We're all supposed to "settle down" once the frantic entry of youth passes. "Adventure", I suppose, is the process of pushing those boundaries and there are surprisingly few people willing to do it, at least not without taking a bubble of home along with them anyway.

Agree with ChrisFS. For me adventure is a cauldron of excitement mixed in with a generous dollop of fear then topped off with large portions of uncertainty!
For some, that may be the feeling when they finally pluck up the courage to go to Lidl or Tesco, for others it might be their first wingman suit experience!

Adventure is trying to find the way back to your wild campsite in the pitch black darkness after too many shandies in town..

beer:oops2::rofl:

Probably anything that can take you over your comfort zone, that first step into the unknown, into situations and events way beyond your control.


The more I travel the less I feel I am beyond my comfort zone, the less I feel the anxiety but also the tremendous excitement of my first big overland trip. Internet and current Apps have also made our life easier on the road, more organised and less prone to unexpected events.


Last summer, riding 3 months around Russia and Central Asia, it just felt like a long holiday, not a comfortable one, and with many problems, but certainly not an adventure.

Or maybe I am just getting old and grumpy...