Are you (more) a biker or a traveler?
 

Does travelling allow you to undergo your real passion for riding, while visiting sights remains in a second place while you are on the road?


Or did you, an avid traveler, found that motorcycling was the best means to channel your passion for travelling after having tried other means?


And if you were forced to choose only one, what you get, riding or travelling?


Even if you think you are in a sort of total balance, try to make a choice… And please, comment on it! :thumbup1: And tell us the size/type of bike you ride.


Cheers,

Esteban

PS: Same poll for 4WDers. Please, vote only once.

I voted biker because I wouldn't have the same enthusiasm for the trips I do if I was travelling by other means.

If I have to select one I would say that I'm a traveler on a bike. Some places are suitable for going by bike - other are not.

The bike is a tool, but since I'm very interested in both mechanics and riding I also spend a lot of time driving without traveling. I also enjoy spending time wrenching to find the ultimate solutions :rolleyes2: - it's like therapy (I obviously need it).

Size of bike (for traveling) has been 500/600/800/1000/1043. The range 800-1043 has been covered with the same bike.

I'd say the choice comes more from a "feeling" than from a rational analysis (and each one's personal story). It may be a subtle difference, but it makes the difference for you. Thanks Magnon, very interesting approach.

A general example: you are in Thailand and have plenty of time (and $). Everyone's telling you Myanmar is a wonderful place to visit, but you cannot enter with your own vehicle (nor rent any there), are you willing to park your vehicle and jump on a bus or it's "no way"?

Well, you may hate buses, but love trains. Or be willing to cycle/drive.

So, is riding the core... or travelling?

Fortunately, things are not black/white, most of us will suit in that box, isn't it nicer? Although I'm only an appretice, I enjoy my poor wrenching. But I'm a traveler and have traveled far more by car/public transport than motorcycle, not always what I would have prefered, but that's it and still more a traveler. In my case more due to a bad family record of bike (fatal) accidents...:frown:

I started out as a traveler thanks to my family. Found motorcycles in my mid 20's, and soon found that for me a bike was the only way to travel. Haven't owned a car since 2009 save for a 4 month stint this past winter to get me through my final semester in college. bier I voted #2, but both 1 and 2 are more correct for me.

I'm with Magnon on this topic. I wouldnt plan trips unless it was by motorcycle. I use a car when I need to be with my parents or children. I go places on the bike :scooter:

I selected "traveler on a bike". I think I am a biker but if I had to choose between traveling by car or not traveling at all, I would choose the car.
The world is to interesting to limit yourself to your own country.

Traveling is the most important thing but I prefer to do it by bike if it is possible.
Maybe when I'm getting older, or if my wife wants to join me on my trips, I have to go by car. (but then I prefer a 4x4 like the Suzuki I have now)

I would never have travelled from the UK to South Africa by any other means, although in Tanzania we parked the bike up twice - once to go to Ngorogoro and once to go to Zanzibar. Also, when we visit big cities we often park the bike and use public transport to explore. I think for me it's the preferred means of transport rather than a mission to conquer the world on 2 wheels.

Can't make up my mind whether I am a motorcyclist with a passion for travel, or, a traveller with a passion for motorcycles.

Not that easy to put in the box, so I won't bother.

Who is a biker?

Someone who does more kilometers in his car then on the bike?
Someone who takes his bike to the mechanic because he doesnt know to change the oil?
Someone who owns a big harley and a scary looking t-shirt just to ride to the coffee place every sunday?


Who is a traveler?

Someone who hops from hotel to hotel?
Someone who books a all inclusive tour through a country?
Someone who speds more time at home working to pay his house or flat TV then traveling?


Its hard to tell...or not?
Tobi

I can't make up my mind.

I love travel, and travelled before I got my first bike. However now I have a bike I would rather travel by bike than any other means of transport.

I ride my bike pretty much every day now and use my bike for recreation.

I find that it's more enriching if there are both approaches, being none any better than the other, but complementary, especially in a forum like HUBB. Some people can help more in one facet and at the same time will learn more themselves in the other.

I had this idea since long ago, but it recently came up again in a post with answers about how it was clear in some writers (Simon Gandolfi, if I recall) that they were more travelers than biker or viceversa, all this by HUBBers whose opinion in general terms I really appreciate (whether I agree or not). That's why I decided to ask it now, for sure not to put people in any box. If anyone doesn’t feel like answering, no need to do it, needless to say. Sure it may be hard.

In my case, riding is an immense pleasure, something I really love, and I knew it even before the 1st time I did it. But too much opposition at home (with good reasons) and lack of funds made me to postpone it too much (my fault). But, it's also true that when I had money and had to choose I always went travelling. So, I know where I am. Love both, but nothing can beat traveling (instead of investing on a bike). At best, I’d travel by bike, but I make compromises.

A digression, probably for those who ended up on travelling on two wheels. Initially, I loved to backpack (solo), meet sort of like-minded people (not so many in my beloved Andalusia at the time), gather in a hostel and chat, look the landscape through the train window (still enjoy trains) and visit monuments and the like. A chicken bus was fun at the time, part of the experience. Then I enjoyed more going on my own means, deciding where and when to stop. And now what count the most is the local people you meet. Both are essential, but travelling is like breathing, although stop riding with be terrible for me now as well... I’d say that in daily working life, riding feels to me the closest feeling of freedom while not traveling.

Traveller on a bike. My motivations for getting a travel bike was being stuck in the back of a public bus in Namibia in 1992 that was overtaken by a German on a XL500 Honda. In that moment I knew my "destiny" :innocent:.

There have been times when I haven't travelled to certain places because I can't go there on a bike.

I've tried the 4wd thing in Southern Africa. My highlights were non-driving based activities and going for a ride with a biker-friend round Natal on his spare bike. Driving the car was pure and simple a PITA.

I've also evolved into a "biker" too: I commute to work on a little 250cc bike (because I getter better mpg than in my van and it's quicker to cut through all the jams) and I have a shiney road bike on which I'll ride out for breakfast or round the TT circuit.

I tried riding a sidecar-outfit but decided it wasn't for me (I crashed it :()

Chris

:thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1: That was the purpose of the post (as some others before). Each has a personal story and a different evolution, whether from biker to traveller or the other way! Thanks for sharing, Chris, enjoyed a lot the "damn it, look at that German!" feeling.

PS: I do enjoy driving as well, by contrast. I just get mad when I open the window, turn on the radio and go!

Travler on a bike.
 

One of them people who have had bike's longer than most people have been on this planet. ( Me I'm 65)

Have two bike's. One is for solo travelling. A CBR 1000F and the other one is when the lady friend comes out. Suzuki GSX 1400. The seat on the Suzuki is more suited for her cream cake bum.

Fourteen day's min to an extended one one of 28 day's. Try to stay in the EU. Due to insurance restriction. And I always go south for the sun. If I had the money I would up stick's and move on to the continent just to make travel easer. You are never lost when you are travelling.
John933

Like John above I'm old enough to have been biking for more years than I care to remember. I've done quite a number of long(ish) trips not only by bike but also by other methods - car /van / 4x4, backpacking, fly-drive etc but over the long run it's the bike trips that stand out. It's not all been wine and roses - some of them have been disasters, but they've been memorable.

Usually if I'm planning a trip my first decision will be whether I can use a bike. Often there will be a reason why I can't such as there's four of us so a car would be more sensible or I've got a month and I'm going to Japan so it's going to have to be a plane but for quite a few a bike is the weapon of choice.

Which bike I choose has been a decades long game of La Ronde. At the moment I'm in the part of the cycle that says smaller and lighter is better than bigger and faster so I'm planning a downsize from my current hard luggage 600 single to a soft luggage 250. I've been round this cycle at least three times before though and toured on everything from two up on a Honda C50 (not a good idea) to a GoldWing and back again. At the moment I'm planning a Eurotrip on a 70's Honda 400/4 (small and light) but longer term there's a US coast to coast with my wife on an 1800 GoldWing on the horizon so that may be everything coming round full circle again.

Quite why I should be so bike centric is something I've puzzled over for many years. I know a number of people who think the same as me and others who think that long distance bike trips are more torture than travel. I can rationalise it and say that it's cheaper than four wheels and gives you more freedom than backpacking but it's equally possible to say that it's the worst of all worlds - no weather protection or security and you're still stuck with a large lump of metal subject to legal requirements. No real answer but I'll be clicking the traveler on a bike box.

Just to really split hairs, aren't "Bikers" blokes with tattoos who wear studded leather jackets and own cruisers? If you answer yes to that one, would the choice rider or motorcylist result in a different answer in the pole? :helpsmilie: :rofl:

I think the answer for most people here is both. I picked Motorcycle traveller because I aren't into riding in small fast circles or to coffee shops as much as I am to ambling about the back roads to see what's there, but if anyone has free tickets to the Moto GP or wants to drink tea and talk bikes I'll do that too! I don't even think the choice of bike narrows it down, I think we all move from one to the other and take our preferences and knowledge with us.

Andy

Definately not me, I'm not into 'lifestyle' biking but have to say I thought the traveller with bike category was aimed at backpackers (nothing against them - I do it myself from time to time) who rent bikes when they get to their destination.

It is difficult to pin down, personally, I'd never consider an overland journey by any other means than by bike but at the same time I need to travel and have limited time, budget and family to consider so often fly off to destinations that I couldn't possibly get to on a bike in the time frame. Bike trips are about the journey not the destination and it would be a shame not to dedicate sufficient time to them. Not to mention the weeks/months of preparing the bike and planning.

You already mentionned the term I had in mind from the very beginning which goes beyond these categories and which is common place for all us here...No, those bikers are not interested in HUBB, since (fortunately) modesty is a benchmark here.

biker curious
 

very interesting question! I've wondered this myself quite a bit about the make up of folks on these forums that I mostly just lurk around.

In my mind this place seems to be more travelers on bikes compared to ADVrider with seems to be more bikers. Of course there are gradations to each.

I'm definitely a traveler on a bike. I backpacked around with surfboards looking for waves to ride for years after college. In fact I never would have bought a motorcycle without the thought of long-term travel in mind, and Africa in particular. Too dangerous - I'll ride mountain bikes for kicks on two wheels is what I always figured.

I've had a bike for about two years now and just done short trips of 10 days or less and I have to say that I have surely moved further towards the 'biker' end of the spectrum. Its hard for this not to happen I reckon, both with the riding skills and learning how to work on the bike. Its all just loads of fun.

I was definitely a biker before I was a traveller... I caught the bike bug at 18 after getting a job in a biker/rock bar.

In my early twenties after watching E&C whine their way around the world, I thought "WTF are they whinging about". "It looks so much fun".

So I packed up my bike with my now EX and we blasted our way around Western Europe having a grand old time..

Now I'm more of a traveller than I am a biker I think.

As I get older, I'm finding myself doing more non-bike travelling. I think that's because I've done quite a lot on a bike and now I feel like I've missed out on other ways to see the world.. I love bike travel but it certainly has it's negatives too.

I back packed in India at the beginning of the year and I'm off to the Yukon in June using a Canoe to head down the river for a couple of months.

However, there will ALWAYS be a bike in my garage, ready to go !! It gets under your skin.

Just wait until 'SAGA' start sending you holiday 'offers', I think they may be coach and cruise ships, not 'backpacking' or canoe !
I use the bike, but for far off places I fly, then rent a bike, saves shipping.

Trying to apply logic as to why you would travel on a motorbike is a lost cause and really the reason that I put myself down as a 'biker'.

As I've said before I wouldn't contemplate an overland journey by any other means. Apart from the pleasure of riding the bike I like the idea that you can't take everything with you and choosing what you should take and how you carry it is all part of the fun. I also like the fact that you have to be much more aware of the climate and make provision for any changes of climate along your route - leaving for Africa from the UK in January needs some thought.

Security is an issue although in my experience 4x4 drivers become complacent and tend to be targetted by the professional thieves. Bikes and their luggage can often be hidden away (in hotel rooms, for example).

I have met travellers who have acquired a bike thinking that it will give them more freedom to go where they want but have hated the experience for all the reasons I would list as positives (and crazy local drivers).

I think you have to be a biker to the core to overturn the logic that says bikes in many instances are the worst possible choice.

Makes sense... It's the cost that drove me away from using the bike so much.

Shipping and fuel costs have just gone crazy.

I can say with hand on heart that I have only personally come across one bike traveller having something stolen in the 3rd world. And that was a £300 Helmet left on his bike. I've never ever had anything taken in South America or Africa and I only use soft bags.

However, I have met LOADS of 4x4 travellers who have had their windows smashed and things stolen etc. Literally twenty more or so.

I'm not sure if it's a case of complacency of the 4X4 drivers thinking their car is thief proof or more of a fact that a big 'pimped' up overland vehicle is just a flashing Neon light shouting "Rob me, I'm full of loot"...

Beyond the question of “more a biker” or “more a traveller”, which does not try at all to put anyone in a box or raise the differences among us but show the diversity of approaches and different ways each one followed to get here, I've thought from the beginning that OVERLANDER would a broader term where most would fit, since it proves hard to choose. I mean overlander in the sense of preference to travel while touching the ground and at a natural pace, so that you can see how crossing a mountain chain takes you to a different people, race and creed, how a river makes a different landscape and culture and how a desert separates two former empires… For me, it's an amazing feeling. And it applies to biking, cycling, 4WDing and IMHO of course to backpacking if you decide to go overland. It does not mean banning flying, we all do it, but I refer to it mainly as a contrast to a South East Asian trip with 8 flights in less than 3 weeks or an organized one with 3 days in Bangkok, 2 days in Hong Kong and a week in Bali (sounds like a honeymoon).

And Why a bike?, with the bad things of every world (as backofbeyond mentions)? Apart from the usual reasons as love riding, freedom you feel, closer contact to local people without barriers, etc, I’d say because of two factors: Improvisation and Challenge. It often forces you to change plans (and quite often that’s where the fun lies) and if you are stubborn to stick to the plans, then it’s challenging, with some sort of stamina getting out for body when you have to be at the ferry, it rains, it’s dark and you decide to ride (or drive). For some reason, suffering is also pleasing for many, a mixture of euphoria and relief, by contrast to an organized cruise / tour where all fits to schedule which may become too dull.

Just how I (think I) see it.

I've gone though phases.

Started doing backroad twisties, track days, commuting, and now I'm doing travel riding.

I hope the bloke in the car and 4x4 guy get on, they seem to be rather on their own! :rofl:

:oops2::offtopic:

Andy

You're getting there; finding new, to you, ways of travelling.


Yes, hence your poll was perplexing to me when I first read it, and it remains so, hence I haven't voted.
While it has generated a reasonable discussion it is far too restrictive to my own range of interests which amount to any form of getting from A to B.
For instance, I have absolutely no interest in bungee jumping because it is not a means of transport - but skiiing, trekking, snow shoeing, canoeing, sailing, 2 wheels, 4 wheels, flying by all sorts of airframes etc etc, just bring them on!

Overland, oversea, overair - all good for me!

Yes, the relatively low amount of input about 4x4 interests is a limitation of this particular website; there was a makeover recently, and I guess that has included some feedback from the 4 wheeler community (which was requested in an earlier thread) about what should be in that section; clearly though, the website remains specifically aimed at two wheeled motor transport - that could put off some people who when casting around in the internet for 4x4 information come across this site and move on, quickly - we have all done it when browsing for new information; first impressions count, sometimes with unfortunate results.

Remembering back to when, and I still can, I first got a bike so that I could go where I wanted, when I wanted. So it was to be the means of travel.
But then I got hooked on them! What amazing things they are!
Now I still want to, and do, go places, but don't enjoy it half so much if I'm not on the bike.
If I hadn't got hooked on bikes, ( there have been over 40 of them) I'd probably have had more money to "travel" but I'd have just been one of millions in the queuse at airports.
So I have a bike to travel, but enjoying travel on the bike has become the main thing.
I don't care if anybody says I'm a biker or a motorcyclist, but I reckon anybody who says they are either of those to things, but don't use their bike to go places, is something else.

I narrowed the question because the site is mainly about motocycles and travelling.

The trigger to start this poll was this post: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/the-hu-bar/big-bike-little-bike-63679 Some really nice thoughts came out, just look at the 10 "likes"... Sure, I understand you, I was myself puzzled as well, it kind of feels like "excluding out something, why?", but it's only a question to make one think. I'm sure we all here have other interests... although I'm also sure these two (travel & biking) are in the top 5, at least. However, that's why I said: don't vote, don't have to put you in a box. It may happen one is not (or most are not) with any answer, which IMO is not bad, but the opposite.

Share that vision. For instance, I've lurked around quite a bit there, but never written (yet). It has great things, but I kind of feel it's not exactly my place. Here is more... humble, modest? I like that, I prefer low profile, although I agree they are quite complementary and both great.

I'd like that a lot, really, something to foster: we are all in the same boat, at least we could in HUBB (maybe not in ADV though). Personally, I've travelled much more (which does not mean a lot, but comparatively more) on 4 wheels than on 2. However, in my heart I belong more to biking, so I'm kind of that.

Same goes for cycling, it'd nice to have more of those guys here, they are the real heros IMHO. At least, we have Kayaker heading soon the Yukon...:thumbup1:bier:thumbup1:

It may depend on the thread of choice. I'm pretty much a lurker on the DR650 thread - good vibe with top guys and a library of knowledge over there :thumbup1:

Of course! I've read outstanding trip reports and great bike rebuilts.

Interesting, I've been thinking about this lately...

Most, if not everyone I know from my "normal" life, does the plane / hotel kind of travel, and never see more than what is in proximity of where they booked the hotel. These people see me as a biker, ie. someone who rides a bike.

And I have to agree with them, in the non-vacation periodes of my life, I'm probably the avg. biker, who takes the bike out for going to work, and the odd ride some where during the weekend.

But the times I'm always looking forward to, and plan months ahead, is my vacation where I go somewhere, at an relaxed speed. Most of the time I meet interesting people, and have interesting discussions about life, universe, and everything. That is when I become a traveler.

By my definition a traveler just goes where the road takes him/her, and makes the best out of it. And most of the time have a jolly good time.

I'd probably not travel as much if I didn't have a bike.

Casper

Good thread Este'
To really see my country, Australia, you need a 4x4, unless you stick to the blacktop. 4x4, quad and trail bikes have been my source of adventures in the past. But times have changed, and I ticked the adventure biker box.
I find you get respect from the local peoples when you travel by bike, as this is the main transport for most of the worlds poor, also you get to taste the air, and no bloody schedules. I had tired as a backpacker not adventuring, spotted an Enfield in Nepal and my life changed. (If anyone wants a fully setup Tojo to cross Aus. give me a yell, I'll seriously give anyone from the Hubb a damn good deal) India is where I owned my first road bike, a baptism of fire as it were, it just got easier from then on.
Estabanc, I'm glad you didn't include a check box - Who cares?, you get more lovin' when you ride a bike-, then I would really have been confused. :whistling:

First overseas trip Southern Highlands bushwalking in 1973. First motorbike trip tried to ride to Arnhem Land on CB250 from Sydney in 3 weeks in 1972, that was a silly youthful thing to try( I crashed naturally enough).
Latest trip 40 years later Tokyo to Cape Town 2 yrs ago with my wife on our own bikes. Motor bikes and adventure travelling.... the best way to go in my books.

Very well said - I am a motorcyclist with a passion for travel

I am a bikeler!
Because i see being a biker and traveler as one.

Saludos:thumbup1:

Another 'Traveller on a bike'. I love to ride a bike, even to and from work. But when I ride in unknown areas the love doubles! I love to travel by bike, I have a 7000 km trip planned over small roads to the south of Spain (from Holland). My brother in law asked me why I didn't do it in my car. I told him there would be no fun doing it by car. Well, no fun isn't all true but the fun would be far less. I'm going into Paris and Barcelona, easy on the bike but no fun with a car. I'm going in July to the south of Spain, 40+ degrees Celsius, hot on the bike, unbearable in my car (no air-conditioning!). And many small roads, a joy with the bike, a pain in the butt with a car.

In Seville we say : "in summer at 4pm you only see tourist walking on the streets, they all stop under a public thermometer to take a picture of them under the 47ºC figure". Nobody is that mad to get out!

And when it's hot, the quicker you go on a bike, the more it burns and dries you, because the air is hotter than your corporal temperature, so better to cover well and bring a good camelbak or a similar other hose to a water source. My father was a farmer and used to get hot coffee instead: no Thermo flask could stand long the heat. Spill water over your head and body, so that it evaporates, we do it.

But sure it will be great, it's wonderful, you will love rolling over golden fields of (already harvested) wheat over the plains of Castilla, you'll feel it's another planet compared to northern Europe (I'm missing my dry, overheated homeland now). And don't miss the whole province of Cadiz, it's wonderful, and it's so Spanish! Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos.

Safe trips,

Esteban

This is a thought-provoking question and all the answers are very interesting. Ever since I first 'travelled' I've never felt I slotted into any pigeon hole or fitted in with any group.
I've never been a 'lifestyle' biker (to use a term already mentioned), or even, I think, 'a biker'.

So I'll start at the beginning with my earliest influences from parents and family.
My dad and at least 4 uncles were all motorcyclists of the ride-to-work kind, and to the seaside when the sun shone.
For that reason my dad and at least 2 uncles had sidecar outfits. No cars.

That got me onto a bicycle at a pretty early age, and I quickly built the ambition to copy the journeys my family often did on Dad's outfit. The main one being from home to my Grandparent's house, both the journey and destination being so enjoyable.

So one morning I determined to set off, on my first 'adventure' journey, having persuaded my close friend David to come along too on his bicycle.
This is where parental freedom No.1 came in. It was normal for me to wander off on a ride and not know where to or how far, so my parents seemed to accept they never knew either.
On this occasion I did know, but out of habit there was no need to tell them.

We were both about 11 years old, and I was confident I knew the route from the dozens of times I'd done it on Dad's sidecar outfit. We had no maps.

All was fine as we reached Charing Cross Station at the end of The Strand, about to enter Trafalgar Square. About 16 miles from home so far (Loughton), right through East London and the City.
In those days lots of big London road junctions had policemen permanently on point duty, and this was one such place.
The copper spotted us and came straight over, and in a very friendly way asked us where we were going.
"To my Grandma's," I proudly replied.
"Where's that?"
"Victoria," I said.
"Well, take lots of care as you turn down Whitehall!" he advised.

I was glad of that reminder. When I caught the first glimpse of Trafalgar Square I realised I couldn't quite remember for a moment which turning we needed. Now I knew.

A short while afterwards we arrived, and my Grandma was hugely surprised to see us (no phones at all in those days - what bliss!)
And I sensed parental freedom No.2 - she was definitely proud of our endeavour.
And we had a very nice visit.

Later in the day she asked me, "Does David's mum and dad know where he is?"
That puzzled me - how was I supposed to know? My mum and dad didn't know where I was - as usual.
Well, back home during the afternoon David's parents had been round to see mine. They weren't happy that no one knew where we were, and had asked the police for help.
My dad took a guess at our destination and a local Victoria policeman had been round while we played in the basement.
"I think your parents are a bit angry not knowing where you are!" my Grandma told David. She said that with the same surprise that I felt, that anyone should worry about where we'd got to. I suppose it ran in the family..... Parental freedom No.3.

So later on, to pacify David's worried parents, my dad arrived on his Panther outfit. He too seemed proud of what we'd done. He installed us in the sidecar, strapped our bicycles onto the top, and returned us safely home.
I was very disappointed not to be cycling home, my Grandma was too and gave me a knowing wink. Parental freedom No.4.
Next day my mum explained: "David's in big trouble with his mum and dad. Just because you ride about everywhere all day, you mustn't assume that your friends can as well without their parents knowing!"

I've remembered that "adventure" bike ride ever since, and learned that everyone travels differently.
So that leads me to tick 'traveller on a bike'.


Well, I have 4 bikes between 250cc and 1000cc, and a bicycle (and a car).
At times in the last 15 years I've thought "the bikes are too fast for travelling, I'll use the bicycle". So I've cycled a bit around Europe and N. America.
Now I realise, as well as all the wheels, I have 2 feet, and sometimes think "the bicycle is too fast for travelling" and find myself walking now a lot more than I ever used to.

So, it's back to the old chestnut I think, is there a balance between 'seeing' and 'travelling'? And the use of big engines or little ones......

I joined HUBB before I'd ever sat on a bike. I still don't have a licence to ride the bike I'd like to do a trip on.

For me, a bike seems to be the best way to fulfill my dreams. I want to see so many places but unless I was enormously rich, I don't see any way I could do that without a bike. A car would be too impractical, though I would consider one in some countries, and expensive due to the cost of fuel. I wouldn't like to fly around the world and stay in hotels, simply because it's all too artificial. I wouldn't like to backpack because it'd rely too much on public transport.

For me, a bike seems to be the best of all the possible solutions. Cheap, good MPG, I can carry everything I need, I can stay anywhere I want and I have absolute freedom. I don't think I have that with the other options.

It's my dream to ride a bike around the world but only because it's my dream to go around the world. If any mode of transport was more practical, I'd choose that instead.

I do like motorbikes though. They're really cool but my true passion is travel.

McCrankpin, that was a really nice story.:thumbup1:

You own 4 bikes and are probably more passionate about bikes than many people who consider themselves hardcore bikers, but still you see yourself more as a "traveller on a bike". I find it really intesting. I mean, some people can put more passion in several of their interests than other people can do in their single passion. Some people here are keen photographers, who may consider photography as one of their passions, but probably they may be better photographers that others who consider photography as their main/single passion (is that understandable, I cannot find synomims to avoid repeting "photograph-stemmed" words!)

The reason why I asked about the size of the bike in the 1st post was, as many may have suspected, that I personally feel that "more bikers" tend to go for bigger bikes, since riding is their bigger passion and they may provide more fun, while "more travelers" may go for smaller ones, since cheaper means more money/time/slower pace to see sights while they travel. But, of course, as you wisely stated, there's bike/engine size for each kind of trip. And all of us here have both biker and traveller souls.

Traveler on a bike.

I don't have a hard-on for bikes. I mean, I like them and think that I may purchase one in the future...but I don't have to have one. I don't care to talk about them or mull over the merits of one compared to another.

I bought a bike for this trip because of lessons learned in the military. Get transportation. I've done the backpacking thing before and couldn't STAND waiting around for a bus or collectivo and then find out that I couldn't go where I wanted.

biker
 

you should start another thread "whats a biker"
i for one would be very interested in all replys as varied as they might be.

I didn't vote but in my case it's been an interchanging between sailboats, cars and motorcycles as the tool for travelling.
A bit unfair since I've been born into a family of sailors and was educated as a merchant sailor.

I would claim that sailboats will bring you even closer to nature forces and closer to the roots, to the philosophical understanding of life compared to motorcycles.

Motorcycles come in second for me.
However, my wife and I are more contend travelling the bike due to the ease of acces to remote areas compared to sailing boats.

And then there's the fact that sailboats takes 10 times more gold to buy and run compared to motorcycles.

Cars are just a sorry replacement to bikes and boats for us, except for veteran / vintage / special selected sports cars as they create some feelings of care, love and familiarity that even most modern bikes miss just like a veteran / vintage / special selected motorcycle can.

Niklas

Why don't you start it?

Does the name "Biker" have to be associated with HD ? nope or MC Gangs ?nope Biker is a name for one who lives to ride and rides to live, one whom has no need for training wheels, two wheels work just fine no need for four.
I Voted biker because that is and always will be where I come from.In around 1962 a biker bratt was spawned into this world to a very large family 70 full patched and around about the same number of wannabes.Same old life as all of the rest of the world with the biggest exception being very few owned a vehicle with more than two wheels.I have raised my children the same and they also have very little need for anything other than a motorcycle.I am now traveling all over the world ona MC been living on the roads and hiways for almost a year with no plans of ever returning to the starting point,Does this make me a MC Traveller ? Hmmm... Nope,I'm the same person that was labeled "Biker".
I have to ask what is the differences between biker and MC Traveller. My clothes are the same as everyone else's but I do not ride a HD,I used to ride my BMWs to the coffee shop almost daily but so did everyone else.Now that I escaped the rat race I still find myself going to coffee shops if they can be found.
Did I mention how I dislike in a very strong way the (Name,Term,Label,Association with HD) "Biker"

While I enjoy both I think it would be easier for me to give up long distance travelling than riding my bike. I travel once in a while, but I ride my motorcycle darn near every day.

now I can do both at last.
 

Was a frustrated biker / traveller for a long time! Watched LWR and it reached boiling point ! Could not afford either until recent years due to family commitments, starting business blah blah blah. I know for sure there are many more "wanabe" guys & gals around. It's tough but sometimes you have to put other people / things first. I guess it is tough when you can't do that too ! :offtopic:

My luck changed. Kids older ( Don't do Mum & Dad Holidays) Work is okay.

I had to coerce my wife into the bike bit to start with, she will never ride herself but has loved every trip so far as pillion.

Just a shame life is 90% work 10% travel and not the other way.

I am with out a doubt a traveler with a passion for bikes.

For me bike overlanding is (to paraphrase Jack Sparrow -Pirates of the Caribbean 2003):

..."The entire wo'ld. Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a BIKE is, you know. It's not just wheels and a seat and a engine and a couple of panniers, that's what a bike NEEDS but what a bike is... what the Anubis really is... is freedom."


For me it is simple.. I love travel and will do it anyway i can. I love bikes. so the combination of the two is simply perfect. But as other have said. If i could only travel by "other mean" I would still travel. I hope to never stop riding or traveling..

Nice one Jon933 Bloody hell 65 and I thought I was pushing it at 62!!!

All power to your carbs brother.

Remember "Its not the destination but the journey thats everything"
That was written by Socrates, Im not sure what bike he rode but he obviously got lost on the way.

Traveller, by whatever means fits best.
I guess I have this need to see around the next corner, what its like to be there.

My roadtrips have always been on 4wheels, (except western France on a pushbike,) just cos its been easier that way, but I can see how 2 could be more fun. The 4 wheels covers ground, carries food and provides a place to sleep but its the journey that I'm there for not the driving.

I like to travel on foot, I get to some beautiful places, sometimes I could be the first person ever to have stood there (or thats how it feels) and theres time to look around and really see..but not so practical for really big distances!
For work each summer I walk 1200km and around 120000m of vertical gain/descent, its amazing how much ground you can cover, with time..

On ski or snowshoes, better than foot in the snow, beautiful, enjoyable, something magic sometimes making your own track, frost crystals sparkling..you get to places you never could by machine, the world looks pristine, silent

I've done short trips by snowmobile and 4WD both also a lot of fun in their own way too.

I see the bike as another tool to enable me to travel when I get the chance. Each mode of transport has it's own set of pro's and cons.

With plane transport you can get there very quickly but see nothing of the way there. Also now days the rigmarole with airport security makes the whole experience very unpleasant unless you go by private plane.

Train transport you get to see a lot more of the route but you can not stop to look around you, it is much cheaper outside the UK especially in asia. It is also far more convenient. you can take more with you and that includes a bike for not much extra costs.

Boat transport is nice too but you are limited to water.......... How ever a river cruise can be fun. (more interesting scenery)

Car transport you come and go as you please, you try to choose an appropriate car but there are always compromises ;-) you do get to see a lot of what you travel through but you are a bit removed. You also have the benefit of weather protection and may be a/c too!

Bike transport you come and go as you please, you try to choose an appropriate bike but there are always compromises ;-) you get to see a even more of what you travel through, you are so close you can even smell it, feel it and get wet too!

But the bottom line line is you Travel, and if you are luck you get to meet wonderful people from different cultures, learn a little and become a bit more tolerant of other cultures too.

so me I am just happy exploring the world any way I can! but I do prefer the freedom that comes with my own transport.

Depends. I don't travel to go anywhere specific. Just for the ride, and move about every day. Just did a 1 week 3000 km trip with my son as pillion. we stayed in a different place every night. I guess that makes me a biker as its not about the travel, but the ride.

Then again, I don't fit the biker image. I don't belong to any MC clubs, detest group rides or making a spectacle of myself my bike groups, bike venues, or ridiculous clothing. I love bikes, but not the bike scene. The whole thing of clothing, tattoos, long hair etc seems ridiculous to me. what does it have to do with riding a bike? And why do I need marshals, road captains, colours, vests, rules and regs etc to go ride my bike? I avoid places such people go and I don't want to be associated with it.

I once met some chaps in Belgium who were the Freedom Riders Rebel Motorcycle Club or some such name. They had a road leader, back markers, printed sheet with the route, risk assessment and a treasurer with two assistants. They struck me as neither free nor rebels but had a *****y good time.

Possibly good in the right sized dose?

Andy

I love to ride motorcycles! I love the feel of acceleration as it slides me back on the seat. I love the feel of the tires gripping the pavement on a mountain road.

I also love to travel, backpacked through Europe, Middle East and South America. I bought my first bike in Cairo, Egypt in 1982 after reading Jupiter's Travels, hoping to follow in Ted's tire tracks. that ended badly but the passion remained.

So I throw my tent and some clothes on my big bike and follow the twisty roads wherever they take me. Last year that was around the USA and Mexico. Next South America. Riding fast on challenging roads, stopping in villages, towns and cities to experience life and culture. Sure, I may miss that rare flower on the side of the road, but, flowers don't interest me anyway.

I will never ride one of those buzzy little toys that some "travelers on bikes" use so i guess I'm a biker who travels.

I identify pretty much equally with a label "biker" & "traveller" although I always see my motorcycle as a tool to go where I want, it's a means not an end. :)

Is there much of a difference? Biker or traveller? What's a biker and what's a traveller? To most question, you have to understand the question to get a half decent answer.


I'm a summer rider. Ride six month's of the year. SORN for the winter month's. They sit in my garage with cover's over them. Come April re new the insurance, tax, and MOT. A MOT is something all UK vehicles have to have done each year. Once they are over three year's old. It's to make sure that they are fit for the road. When the MOT first came out 20/30 year's ago. It was a case of if nout fell off it passed. Now day's it's getting harder and harder to get a crap vehicle through, Must be a good thing. Any way I'm off on a tangent. When the weather is good I'll get the bike out and have a local day ride round. Then put it back. But then I plan twice a year to travel. Each time putting round 5k miles on the bike. So when I'm not traveling, I'm a rider.


John933

This topic does seem to have run and run. I had to look back at what I said a couple of years ago to check I'm not about to contradict myself :confused1: :rofl:

I have wondered many times over the years if I'd bother with bikes if it wasn't for the travel. I'm most definately not into pirate garb Harley cruising or power ranger fastest kids on the block or the hangin' out together tats n trikes "bikers".

I'm not even sure the fast appreciating old clunker scene holds much appeal these days since they changed from being engineering jigsaw puzzles to stalwarts of the fine art market along with Premier Cru wine and Chippendale furniture. As a rule of thumb it's time to move on when something's being sold at an auction with a printed catalogue and a description of its "provenance and patina" rather than a list of previous owners and which bits are too rusty to use.

So bikes are tied up almost inextricably with going somewhere for me. They're transport but they're more than that, they're an approach to travel. I would have used the word "adventure" had it not been completely debased over the last five or ten years by corporate marketing. In the old sense of the word going somewhere on a bike is adventurous. In the new sense of the word promising or selling "adventure" seems to be merely another method of separating the gullible from their money.

As the years have gone on though the margins have narrowed. Years ago I would just load the bike up and head off somewhere. I'd camp or just sleep at the side of the road because it was cheaper but tell myself that when I was older and richer (somehow the two always went together - now I know better doh ) I'd book into decent hotels. These days, (in my 60's) sleeping at the side of the road just makes me look like a vagrant so I'm forced into hotels whether I like it or not. I've even noticed some campsites giving me quizzical looks when I arrive on my own as if to say there's something not quite right if someone your age is staying here alone. Strangely I don't get that if I turn up in a classic car!

I tend to divide what I'm doing into one of three catagories - it'll either be:

Excursion - a day trip somewhere or maybe a weekend and probably within the UK to somewhere I either know or have some experience of. No real degree of preparation needed, particularly in the summer.

Exploration - A longer multi day or multi week trip. If it's in the UK it'll be to somewhere obscure that I don't now well or in Europe it'll be to what would have been (pre 89) Western Europe.

Expedition - Anywhere out of western Europe, where planning / paperwork is a significant part of the process and where bike choice and prep may mean I have to start from scratch. May include significant winter bike travel in Europe.

So I have a minimum requirement for owning a bike and I own what I do because it enables me to plan and execute those plans. In some respects my travel plans and my bike riding are opposite sides of the same coin. It's hard to have one without the other.

Could it just be that when you ride a bike you go somewhere ??

Of course a long ride would mean that you go further :)

Now that I've been riding outside of the USA, traveling has taken on an entirely different form. Still, if I couldn't ride, I'd still be happy to stuff a backpack and hoof it.

Travelling Biker
 

The two are so closely connected - since by virtue of being under power and moving you are travelling...

I used to travel by boat, since I didn't like being landlocked. Now I travel by bike, because I don't want to be gridlocked!! I guess I will always travel, and if at some point for whatever reason it is no longer by bike, I will find the next thing....

I find it's the best of both worlds for me since l was able to buy my own bike lve always had one sitting around somewhere, and now lve got the travel bug and my recent trip thru Thailand lve found the perfect match. In Thailand lve got a Kwaka 650 Versy and here in Oz just picked up a 2015 Triumph Explorer to do the big K's on :scooter:

True that. I'm finding all this debate a little pointless as well. But it seems like we're in the labeling age.

Sorry, but no intention of labeling. Anyone here is obviously passionate about bikes and traveling, so no restriction. When someone said that he had 4 bikes in his garage but was still more of a traveller, you may understand many things. Maybe because I have two singles and consider myself more of a traveler, even though I love bikes.

Probably I was unable to explain the idea in the opening post, but some people missed the point. Nonetheless, I found it very interested (being away too long, but got this notification).

However, I've had the impression that those who considered themselves bikers were more annoyed by the fact of choosing. I may be wrong too, but I justo wondered why.

Rest assured this is not trolling, that's not me. Not to annoy anyone, justo chat and understand others with similar intereses.

Keep riding and travelling, happy and safely.

Esteban

I like to travel around on my bike but I have never tried long distance travelling. It doesn't feel safe but I also envy the people with the courage to roam the globe on their motorcycles. Who knows maybe one day if I buy a decent bike, I might take my wife on a long journey.

Travel outdoor bike!
 

Cycling season is upon us, and while the U.S. may not be the most well-known biking destination, there are many places across the nation that are perfect for pedaling. For a cycling-centric weekend outdoor getaway to remember, pick one (or more) of these.

It's real simple, If you go and ride your bike, even if you have no where to go, just for the sheer fun of it, you're a biker. If you also travel on it, you are, a Biker who travels.

If you are someone who ravels overland using whatever method available, you are a traveler. If you decide that a bike is a good mode of transport, you are a traveler who rides a bike.

If you are both of the above, you are, like me, a Biker and a Traveler.

Traveler on a bike. What ever bike I can get my hands on in whatever corner of the world.

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I like riding my bike(s)--to and from work, around town, up to the mountains or out to the deserts and seashore.... But I was traveling long before I learned to ride: hitchhiking, walking, using pushbikes and freight trains, then finally cars and trucks.

Overland motorcycling has been a blast, and has taken me a lot of worthy places. But for me, it's been a part of my aging process, in which I pay increasing amounts of money to travel in more and more luxury, fending off most of the real adventure by application of even more money. As a scruffy backpacker I got lost in the minefields of Mozambique as the war wound down, then hopped a freight as the only option save walking and potentially starving. I rode the tops of old buses all over Asia and Central America, discussing sex, politics and the intricacies of personal finance with bright-eyed young men. I hung with deserters, thieves, forgers and violent offenders when they, unlike the folks with more to lose, invited me in. And I traveled way up-river in any number of places--off the maps, where concepts like streets and highways were hardly more than vague fantasies.

None of that ever happens any more, because I carry cash, plastic cards, and proper papers. I ride well-maintained machines, purchase insurance policies, and I research all up and down the internet. Little goes seriously wrong anymore, and when it does I've generally got an out.

The other key piece here is that I'm getting old, stiff, and fragile. For me, overland motorbiking was a means to continue adventurous traveling without most of the risks and discomfort of my backpacking prime. Riding a bike is first and foremost easy. But with comfort and convenience comes predictability and control. I can more or less know where I'll be from day to day, and I'm far less susceptible to the kinds of life-threatening glitches which used to provide me with the real adventures. It's like carrying a cell phone (or a tracking device or satellite communications), like studying up on the HUBB before leaving home--it sure is convenient, but that doesn't equate to rugged, resilient, or "adventure."

Standard caveat: The above is about me, not you. It may apply more broadly, or not. Mileage varies, sometimes notably.

Mark

Edit to add: I'm not entering the poll, which gives polarized choices--either this or that, but not in between. Life is a dialectical process, not a series of hard, categorical definitions.

Old thread but very relevant and worth a response.


I read first two pages then skipped to the last one (will go back and read all) and recognised some of you contributors !! Basically it is difficult to tick a box and apply the label but if I had to be honest here I am a full on biker, always have been. I see travelling as one of the aspects of being a biker and also a by product.


I've raced bikes, I've built bikes and now I travel on bikes. Nothing though prepared me for the moment when I discovered that 'wonder lust' feeling and realised that my new obsession in life and one that will now be a permanent fixture was overlanding by two wheels..!!


There is no better feeling in the world than hitting that starter button after de-camping, bike loaded, belly full of breakfast & coffee, brief idea of intended direction and setting off settling into the day ahead aboard a two wheeled automotive device.......

Ditto..all of it..me too.

I got my drivers license in June 2016 and we left for a trip around the world in July 2016. Absolutely started as a traveller instead of a biker but by now I see myself as both, my wife is absolutely still more a traveller. Most of our time we spent in Africa while riding so far since November 2016, we are still in Africa so riding all different grounds what makes it very nice for me :)

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In my opinion, traveling by motorbike is the best way to travel, period.

As for a breakdown, I'd say I'm 50/50.

1. 81R80GS just because
2. 13DR650 for anywhere far ... and everywhere close ... Alaska YT and NWT (my home range)
3. 13Yamaha 250XT for single track and old age
4. 15R9T for the twisties and town
5. 10R1200RT for sweepers/iron butt on the hiway

Riding on four continents in the last 50 years makes me traveler who rides ... or a rider who travels. Can't imagine travel that doesn't include "a ride." If just one ride ... it's the DR650 ... and i don't own a harley ... so i can't be a biker (8->}

I like to travel and prefer to do so by bike. But I only travel a few times a year, whereas I ride everyday. So I guess it'll be more accurate to say I'm a biker who travels.

Bikes I regularly used in the past 15 years (in order of longevity of use/distance covered):

1. XRV750 Africa Twin
2. XL1000V
3. CRF1000L Africa Twin (current - replaced the 750AT)
4. XT600 Tenere (x2 and x1 current)
5. 1100 GS
6. 955 Tiger
7. XR600R (current)
8. NXR350L
9. VFR800 (current)
10. XR650L
11. ZXR750-H2
12. FZR1000
13. 640 LC4
14. Super Tenere 1000
15. XT500
16. XLV600 Transalp (current)
17. 950 LC8
18. 990 LC8
19. XT550 (current)

Hi. I'm most certainly always a rider first, and happy to do so most anywhere. I have done lone rides in other countries but know with certainty that if I had a bottomless bank account I'd be happy just riding back roads throughout the Pacific Northwest. I live in Whitehorse, and work as a consultant, riding my bike to contracts around North America. I've ridden from the north and southern Canada, to central Canada, Florida, and the Caribbean. And while I'm on contract my down off is spent on the bike not in the bar unlike most of my coworkers. During my time off I am exploring Backcountry routes in British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska these past couple of years. I happily rode from Whitehorse to Yellowknife for a short two-week engineering contract.

Living in Southeast Asia I had a variety of bikes, but in northern Canada, I spend my time between a BMW GSA here in southern Ontario, a KLR for playing at my new house on Vancouver Island, and a WR250R ready for play in the Yukon. My riding changed even before I turn 50, I won't take the GSA down the Dempster anymore, but it's the bike I take across the country. I bought the KLR 10 years ago, but over 55 k of its 60k has been ridden in the last 5 years, it's my preferred bike for backroad riding with camping gear. I have attended to Horizons unlimited meetings 1 in British Columbia and one in Chiang Mai. I joined the Forum here to find other riders to ride with across Northern Canada and North to the Arctic Ocean with.

Cheers

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Hmm, this is a hard question to answer. I started out traveling without a bike, but that very desire to explore is what drove me to see other means of transportation. Guess it happens that on a bike is my favorite mode of all... but I would have traveled without it anyway. Besides, I am still about to embark on that long journey... perhaps my answer will be different by then.

Traveller -> Biker -> Traveller
 

It has changed over the years.
Life is a journey with several phases.

1: I started as a biker. Fun tool to ride on gravel roads (illegal)

2: Than I bought a Moto Guzzi 850T. To become a traveller.
My girlfriend and I used it to discover" the world.
Trips in Sweden. Down to and around in France. And Norway-Finland.North cap. Very low budget. Cheap tent that was not waterproof, rain "suit" from a gas station. Hard life. But best time of my life. We were such a a tight couple. And did everything together.

3: Than I was drinking to much during some years to be neither. Only an active alcoholic.
But now sober since decades...

4:With work, family, kids: back to biker. Driving to and from office. And tours on Saturdays. "All in" biker. Full patch holder. Officer in MC, driving chopper. ...And I spent a lot of time restoring and building bikes. Maybe "builder" should be separate category.

5: Now back to traveller. I have no family, no work and life is in small scale. I have the time and possibility to discover the world. So now the bike is used as a tool to discover the world. The bike exposes you to the world, people, environment, culture... as almost nothing else. I am not interested to take the bike to major tourist attractions. and meet up with buses full of tourists. Nio, the bike is perfect to get behind the curtain. And see the real world.

6 But I still drive around from time to time on a 2-stroke or side valve bike.
Just for fan. So then I am a ??

Know what you mean about rubbish tents and starvation level biking. This was one I used for a couple of years at the start of my 'travelling career' when it was all I could afford -

https://i.postimg.cc/13wxJYQj/1972-10.jpg

This was the last night of a trip back from Italy. Black and White so it's either 'arty' or a very long time ago. :rofl:

Probably biker first, traveller second.

Bikes were my first form of transport and remained so for about 13 years before work required me to buy a car too, but bikes remained. Bike trips were once a year and one year that translated to a fabulous 3mth trip to South America.

However, since then my bike travelling is not something frequent sadly. In fact nor has riding been. Over the last few years my annual riding dropped from close to 30K km a year whilst between commutes, Sunday rides and trips in the UK to a mere 200km last year.

Having kids, a place to keep in the country and dogs have all meant that the bike was almost never an option and before I knew it, the Estonian winter was already back on the horizon.

This year, the opportunity may exist and I'm ceasing it!
All we need is for the road borders to open!

I have never known how to answer this question and still don't but I have gone from describing myself as a motorcyclist who cycles to a cyclist who motorcycles, but still a traveller.

I'd like to update my original answer (whatever it was) to indicate that I'm no longer much of either. Mostly, I sit around at home and wonder whether I'll be too old and decrepit to motorcycle or travel by the time I'm again permitted to do one or the other.

Needlessly glum, I know. Originally, however, I was supposed to be packing for Tajikistan right about now.

You and me both. Each ache and pain I didn't have yesterday just makes the slippery slope just that little bit steeper. All my plans for this year - even the ones I thought 'yeah, yeah, even with the virus I'll be able to do that' - have ended up in the dustbin of broken dreams. We even booked a country cottage miles from anywhere for a family get away in Sept and now we can't do that. Nothing to do with the virus - not directly anyway. Our daughter's hospital work shifts have been moved around because of preparation for virus phase 2 and her holiday dates didn't make it out of intensive care. I'm still hoping I can at least get to France but UK restrictions for travel there seem to be on a knife edge.

You could always pop along to Sturgis as a consolation trip - that seems to be in full swing at the moment. Until they all start coughing anyway. :(

May I interject into the glumfest?

Whatever your position on the virus, and I doubt many would disagree we need to be somewhere between sensible and cautious depending on age and health, in England we fortunately remain free of the utter stupidity they have elsewhere. Amazon must love the Welsh Junta's ban on supermarkets selling books and underwear and the Garda are burning up hard earned good will with cordons every 3 miles.

There is nothing to stop us popping out for a couple of tank fulls, helmet on being as good as a mask, take your own food (what we used to call a picnic) , ride carefully, visit the empty corners of this green and rather soggy land. I can appreciate the effects on key workers, my wife is working silly hours making sure people get their furlough cash and business grants, so priority is having a G&T ready at five past five, but getting out will keep you sane. Sanity will make the whole thing better for everyone and coming out ride ready improves your chances.

This does indeed possibly make me a biker now, but I aren't dressing like one of the Village People until they have a theme night down the pub (and then I'm going as the Soldier because doing the Actionman Eagle eyes gets a laugh).

bier

Andy

Yes, desperation does give you strength. There's only so much covid goody two shoes you can put up with. Plus you can't discount the amount of political power playing going on under the guise of public safety. Communities are having their freedoms restricted not entirely as an anti virus measure but because 'power crazed' regional politicians want to create some vote generating clear blue water between themselves and Westminster. Because of the patchy nature of the outbreaks this is a perfect time to play breakaway.

I spent a good part of September (the warm dry bits!) buzzing around on one of my ancient two strokes, on the basis that if I couldn't go on any long distance trips on a reliable bike I could do short distances on an unreliable one. The voyage into the unknown element is much the same. :rofl:

Voyaging into the unknown was very much to the fore when I had to go to France a couple of weeks ago. Who knew what I was going to find over there? The answer was, well, pretty much the same as always but with less people (only about 10 cars rattling around on the cross channel ferry!). Now that I'm back though the adventure really begins. I'm required to self isolate for 14 days in case I'm contagious. But it seems (from various surveys) that only about 10% of people do the entire two weeks in the approved manner - mainly because nobody checks / enforces it. So here's the moral dilemma I'm facing - pragmatically abandon it all or responsibly sit staring out the window for the next week? Answers, lectures or character assassination diatribes written on a £10 note only please! It's so much simpler when all you have to worry about is do I have enough fuel to get to the next town.:rofl:

For my ten quids worth, be sensible (no mosh pits etc.) and don't get caught :innocent:

Someone should do a pHd on the subject but it took me about 2 days to remember skills last used to confuse the Stasi. Things like having a bag and shopping list on you to create an essential journey.

Stay safe.

Andy

Or, as the joke goes, buy one of those turkeys you cook in a wooden box so you can claim it's a funeral and have 30 people round for Christmas :D

Something that has changed for me is that I would now describe myself more as a cyclist who motorcycles than a motorcyclist who cycles, around 4 out of 5 journeys are by bicycle now and the only two trips I have made this year have been by bicycle, the Kennet and Avon canal and the South Downs Way, both great off road rides that you cannot do with a motor vehicle.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

Well, traveller in DNA, but freedom of motorcycle is something extraordinary, so special, so free, so awesome....

Not sure which answer is right, but all I know is that, biker or not I feel so caged, to the pain, not being able to travel.

Just hope and wish, that all is back to some sort of normal, that we can get out of cage, and spread the wings once again and travel free, on motorcycle or not but just go....


one love, people!!

Yes things have changed due to covid
I am normally out on my motorbikes 3/4 times a week . but due to lockdowns this has not been posable ..... but my saving grace is my new E bike which i ride 3/4 times a week near to me . Have done nearly 2.000 miles in 6 months and enjoyed it as much as my Motor bikes .doh

Why do you travel by bike
 

There seems to be two major reasons.

Some persons want to achieve something.
To ride from A to B, or ride the route... or.
And they will try to achive this by any means.
When done, the tick in the box is the end.
"I have driven from A to B. Or drive around... "


For others, the journey is the goal.
They travel becouse they want to see things, experience things, learn from other cultures and people. Collect memories.
And they have no urge to "achive" a certain driving.


What description fits you best ?

Seeing this thread from before I was a member has caused a bit of clarity ... I have been a biker for most of my life, but now I'm becoming more of a traveller - my interest in the bike is lower priority than where it can get me.

I think a large part of that is being in a place where exploration is available despite my health problems, so I can do it in bite-size portions.

If I had to emphasise one aspect I suppose it would be "biker", since I was a biker long before long distance travel, and given that I'm not as young as I was I expect to be a biker long after it's wise to go long distance travelling on my own.

But again, there's bikers and there's bikers. I don't get those people who want to do massive daily mileages, all on tarmac, and stay in plush hotels in the evening. You could do that much closer to home, and "been there" bragging rights are so boring unless you've actually experienced something more than a grey ribbon in front of you all day. Take time to smell the flowers, you can be a biker and still be a traveller.

So you don't have an Iron Butt then :rofl: This topic has been going on so long I think we're well into the next generation. I think I said something about it but so long ago now that my opinion has bound to have changed. So traveller or biker? These days I find myself using any of my bikes less and less for short trips and it's more the journey than the ride that attracts me. It has to be something worth doing or I'll take the car / bus / lace up trainers. Having said that, even if (when) the travel insurance people price me off the road to nowhere I'll still keep a bike or two but they'll be for fine weather pleasure riding. So, still a foot in each camp but most of my weight is tilting onto the traveller side.

My ten year old answer hasn't really changed.

Don't do leather stuff, be it one piece baby suit or black with studs, so still think motorcyclist is a better description than biker. That said, a clear road and suitable bike is still a fun way to pass a few hours.

I don't actually get to travel much. When I do it's a case of tools for the job. I actually quite like trains, you get to have a beer and not worry about parking. Motorcycles can be both fun and a tool on the right journey though. I certainly aren't one for slogging motorways on a bike just because I've fixed on that mode of transport, I'll never buy a Goldwing.

If the two choices I'd pick "traveller" just because I have no desire to join a patch club.

Andy

Are you (more) a biker or a traveler?
 

Trains hey Andy!

I have spent weeks trundling around Japan on local country trains just watching the scenery roll by - Kirin Beer and bento box at hand :)

Life’s simple pleasures


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