So I said to my wife one day, "Let's both get motorcycles. It looks like fun!"

Then later on she says, "OMG! It *IS* fun. Let's ride track/go dirt-biking/become motorcycle instructors/make every vacation a riding road trip!"

We ride all over North America. And then have to return home. We fly to Europe and ride over there. And have to return home. We fly to India to ride the Himalayan Mountains. And have to return home.

This having to return home really sucks. What can we do to solve that?

I'm not sure which one of us actually said, "We should totally quit our jobs, sell our house and just keep on riding. That way, we never have to return home!"

But I remember there being no argument against that, so that's exactly what we did!

Six years, six continents and hundreds and thousands of kms later, we find ourselves sitting inside our tent in Africa watching monkeys play on our motorcycles. Actually, I think they're trying to pry open our drybags, looking for food...

I guess that original idea of just getting bikes kinda escalated rather quickly...

No enlightenment. Just loved riding and didn't want to turn around and go back home. Ever.

I mean, we had a really nice home, good friends, well-paying cushy jobs. But we just liked motorcycles and traveling more.

Definitely found what we were looking for! We haven't gone back home yet, at least not permanently, so don't know what that tastes like.

I don't think "normal society" has to necessarily equate with "shackles". What exactly is so restrictive about it?

Hate your job? Hate your boss/co-workers? There's more than one job out there.

Mobility? You can always move to another country, get a job there, go riding and explore that country for a bit. When you get bored, do it all over again?

If you managed to do it once before, there's no reason why you can't do it again.

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Your right Gene, as I said before, I guess the only shackles we have are the ones we impose on ourselves. Lord knows I'm no stranger to this.

Reading back my initial post, maybe my choice of words was a bit harsh. Just to clear things up, I'm by no way in a dire situation in regards to either my job, co-workers or life in general. Life is pretty good and I'm doing quite well for myself. I just feel that I'm missing out on something and I'm trying to rationalize leaving a good situation. I need to tell my brain to shut up and learn to listen to my heart a little more and go out there and have some fun! After all, life is suppose to be an adventure ... isn't it??

Maybe you should meet up and talk to someone who's done what you are contemplating to do.

For a long time we wanted to cut the strings and go, but there were always fears about money, about having to start over again, gaps in the resume, etc.

But there were a couple of encounters that definitely helped to push us over the edge.

A few years earlier, we had just wrapped up our latest motorcycle vacation in Europe and were prepping the motorcycles at the cargo warehouse in Munich airport to ship back home to Toronto.

We had just completed a whirlwind 32 days, riding pretty much all over Western Europe and it was kind of a bummer having to abandon our trip to go back to work, and return to, you know,... the "shackles of normal society"...

We just happened to meet a guy there who was picking up his 650GS Dakar that he had shipped from the US. Talking to him, we discovered he had just done 9 months riding from Argentina to Alaska.

It was such a brief conversation, I don't think the guy even looked up at us while he was busy unwrapping his motorcycle and putting it back together. But it made such a lasting impression on the two of us... that maybe you didn't need to be rich British actors sponsored by BMW to undertake such a long journey. (We had watched Long Way Round and scoffed, "Wouldn't it be nice to be rich and have the whole trip paid for by someone else?!")

That set the wheels in motion, and we did all the research. We found another couple in Toronto who had just returned from 12 months (ONE WHOLE YEAR!!!) riding from Deadhorse to Ushuaia, then from Cape Town to Kenya. I immediately invited them out for lunch and we picked their brains for hours.

Sure, we spent time talking about logistics, but I was also interested in hearing about their re-entry. What were they planning on doing for jobs now? Was it difficult getting re-hired? What was it like coming back?

They were managing just fine. They had an adventure of a life-time and with minimal set-back.

But it's difficult convincing yourself of that until you meet real-life examples.

It goes both ways.

About 3 months into our trip, on our farewell tour of Canada, we met a couple in Calgary who I had just known on-line. They invited us out for dinner and peppered us with a million questions. Fast-forward a year later and they too had quit their jobs, sold their house and went back-packing for a year around the world.

They've now re-located and are having a fabulous life in Nova Scotia. They had the adventure of a life-time with minimal set-back.

Another couple we met in Seattle also quit jobs, sold up, and hit the road shortly after meeting us. They traveled for 2.5 years. Relocated back to San Diego.

Both of them told us that talking to us had made the trip tangible and achievable. I know it's not because I'm not a smooth-talking, master persuader. It's because when you meet someone with the same background and means as you, the barriers preventing you from undertaking the same journey crumble and fall. You start to think and really believe: "If they can do it, so can I!"

The Travel Bug is quite contagious. And it seems to spread much more rapidly upon up-close contact.

edit: If you can't find anyone locally that's sold up and left, perhaps ride to a HU meet?

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

We've never met, but I'm pretty sure your a smooth operator!

I agree with you Lightcycle, being around people who have done it makes it tangible. I did participate in the Ontario H U meeting a couple of years ago, but haven't been able to make it back because of work obligations.

I'm getting my ''stuff'' worked out and doing the research for when I do make the move in the near future. Meantime, I'm making the most of what I have and enjoying planning my future project.

Getting inspired by other people (or just getting good advice) is a great way to get into it, and to see the options. This was also the case for us.

However, in my opinion it will not answer any reason why you want to do such a trip. People will give their reasons, but they are not you :P

Yes you are right. Everyone has their own reason. I was just curious to see what inspires people to embark on such an adventure.

The above describes in some degree what I've done on and off for last 40 years.
Every country I've been in I thought of how I might work and survive there and weighed the positives/negatives as a long term "home".

If you only ever do whirlwind tours (like most do), you may never discover what a particular country or region have to offer in the long term. So think about becoming an "ex pat".

Many will be on the road for a year ... but they are CONSTANTLY on the move, so never get a real feel for living some place else. Just something to consider. many seem more intent on collecting stamps in their passports than anything else.

And no reason you can't return home from time to time to re-set, re-energize and evaluate future plans.

But like Gene, for me it was more about the riding than anything else. These days, I'm pretty happy riding closer to home, but still plan longer tours in future.

Some folks just like to go ridin' somewhere different. Does there need to be a better explanation than that?

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

Your right ... there doesn't have to be a particular reason and it surely doesn't have to be the same for everyone. To each their own.