I've pm'd you about the topic but if you think it's suitable for a wider audience then post it up here.

Mentioning your 1973 trip brings to mind my experience that year, how it can go wrong and how your life can change as a result. We were two couples with serious relationships on two bikes going UK to Greece over a month or so. It was a trip that had been six months in the planning and we'd overcome some serious objections from my girlfriend's family. They'd only eventually agreed because they'd met the other girl going and thought she was sensible (!).

We lasted as a foursome as far as Frankfurt (one day's ride) when the "sensible girl" decided she'd had enough and flew back, never to be seen again. My girlfriend "survived" the trip but we split up shortly afterwards - partly due to my two wheel lifestyle. The fallout from that trip has rumbled down the years and there's even a loose connection to what I'll be doing this weekend. A few years ago I wrote the whole story down as a book just to try and get the jumble out of my head but the result isn't something I'd want anyone short of a mental health professional to read.

On the other hand I still travel with the rider of the other bike and in a couple of weeks time we'll be starting a seven or eight week trip around the US. It'll be (as he reminded me) the 45th anniversary of our first bike trip together, so I've had a commemorative T shirt printed:








My wife is riding pillion on my bike and it'll be her longest bike trip by some margin. The warning bells from 1973 are ringing loudly in my ears.