My main motivation for the big trip was that I was in dire need......quite likely in dire medical need...... to wander off and chill out for a substantial amount of time. I was working in the middle east in a somewhat stressful environment and fortunately saw the warning signs that the job was starting to badly effect me.

So, I quit my job and a week later was back in the UK and browsing through The Hubb for inspiration, as to where I could effectively disappear for a while.

I had quite a substantial amount of money saved up.....this was not luck, but damn hard and somewhat risky work that funded those savings, it really does annoy me when people assume that you are lucky to have saved a good fighting fund in the bank.

Within a few weeks I had sourced the hire of a DR650 for eight months in Australia ( incredibly low rate, that I was indeed lucky to get )....Placed my own R100GS into a workshop back in the UK to get rebuilt and packed a travel bag with camping and off-roading gear....and got the Visa/medical/travel cheques/insurance etc for a year.

Two weeks to sort out a one year trip....yeah, I know its not some far flung, foreign speaking/culture but it does show you do not need massive amounts of planning.

When I was being good and focused I was spending very little a day...maybe £20 just mooching about, other days I would have to triple that in fuel costs for covering distance if the mood took me. Then I discovered my inner party animal again after many years of lying dormant and spent the rest of the trip effectively partying after a hard days/weeks riding with the backpackers etc......a little more expensive with the added tokens.

Got back to the UK, discovered there had been/was a recession on.....could not get a job in my particular trade....so decided to tour around Europe for another year.

Got back, after spending my allocated funds, and got a job that allows me to take a fair bit of time off unpaid to still go off on some shorter trips ( nine weeks off the other year )