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.