Of course there is no such thing as individuality

Have you not heard of fashion:
In clothing designers design, fashion houses copy and everyone buys the product.

Holidays: A few Brits go to Spain for a holiday, 30 years later we have communities out there complete with Fish and Chip shops.

The list is endless, wake up and take a look around you sometime.

For what it's worth I enjoy watching it, the Long Way Down too.

Yes, I do ride, a CB 500, but when I go to Tunisia with my family I take a Discovery, been 3 times now but for me it is an adventure every time.
We'll camp at Ksar Ghilane, 1 ground tent, for the kids, one roof tent, me and the wife. We cook on a coleman duel fuel, sit in camping chairs and fetch our own water, pretty basic stuff.
Then, along comes this damn great 4x4 "lorry" (truck), fully kitted out, shower, double bed, hot water, cold water, toilet, etc etc.
So, who's having the adventure, who is doing it the correct way?

We meet convoy's of 3 or 4 vehicles, they're armed with GPS and they're off to El Borma via the dunes. They've not done the route before, there are 4 vehicles and they're pretty well self-sufficient, no TV quality cameras though. Are they any different, is the adventure not there? Ewan and Charlie have support but then so does a convoy of four independant travellers.

Is it not the case that most of the first explorers recorded their expeditions using the equipment of the day, has it stopped others doing the same trip with more modern equipment.

It's just what we do, we are all different, but then are we?

__________________
www.4x4-travel.co.uk

The difference is how you present the trip. If you present it as group effort then there is nothing wrong. If you present it as "Two guys, two motorbikes", then there is difference.

This thread started 8 weeks ago and at that time I’d read some of the new book Long Way Down. I’d read the Long Way Round and watched it on our copy of the DVD series when it was released a while back. On 31st October I said, Well I’ve been reading the comments here and now watched the Long Way Down series on DVD (Christmas pressie). I stand by my earlier comments. The series made my wife and I want to jump back on the bike and ride off again (we just completed 5 months around western Europe). Best we can probably do though is to plan 3 or 4 months around USA and Canada in 2009. Now maybe our sort of bike travel isn’t as adventurous as undertaken by many on the HUBB (westernised versus undeveloped/developing countries), but isn’t it the sprit of the thing?

There is a strong sense from some on here that they seem to need to defend their thing as something more adventurous and “out there” than what “other” people do. I understand this but don’t really think its necessary. I used to jump out of aeroplanes (over a 1,000 jumps, an instructor, and competed at National level in the sport). If ever I was “defending” my chosen pastime against comments by whuffos (non-jumpers), it was usually done a bit tongue-in-cheek. However there was never a need to put down those already engaged in the sport. The common bond was strong.

It reminds me of the meeting Ewan and Charlie had (on the first trip) with Ted Simon (author of Jupiter’s Travels), where Ted said: This is the common bond. Ahto, there is a lot more footage of the rest of the Long Way Down crew in this second series and I see no trying to hide the fact that they have a lot of support. In fact at the beginning of every segment, they repeat the details of the back up resources. I think though the unsung hero is Claudio. He’s there for it all, filming the lot, and with little exposure.
You’ve struck a chord Kevin - its called “airheadism”. If you haven’t already, read Shelly Gare’s book, “The Triumph of the Airheads (and the Retreat from Commonsense.)” It covers it beautifully – I recommend it.
Cheers

Hear, hear!

John, I think you said everything that I was trying to, in an educated way.

Cheers,
Kevin

__________________
www.4x4-travel.co.uk

No individuality? Come to any Horizons meet and you'll see individuality! By the shedload!

But you were talking about the average person, the followers.

Surely, "Hubbers" are individuals they are the leaders, but you appeared to be talking about the masses, the people that aspire to do, but maybe they never actually make it.

Everyone to their own, we're all individuals, some are better at showing it than others.

Live your own life Caminando, and let others live their's.

Love,
K

__________________
www.4x4-travel.co.uk

Sorry K, I think you're a little bit confused here. But please dont explain! Happy New Year! (tho' you may have started early!)

I dont think anyone here genuinely dislikes Ewan or Charlie, nor do they have sleepless nights in pain or agony over what they are doing. I know I dont anyway.

I think we all like poking fun at them just like anyone with a bit of "real" overlanding experience likes to have a little laugh at the noobies or the Sunday GSers. They clearly love riding and overlanding its not important how "real" they keep it.

As for my comments, Its all meant tongue in cheek and in good humour. I´ve been on the recieving end of jokes and tutting when I started out (and still am). Its all part of the game.

There are no rules !! I dont understand the Elitism of some people.

If they showed up at a Horizons Unlimited meeting , would any of you guys shrug them off or not give them a warm welcome ?? (thats if you could see them past the UKGSers getting their DVD´s signed)

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Don't poke fun! I was in that cue and I don't even own a GS! (okay I once rode one and promptly fell off)

Charlie is a genuine guy when you meet him, I don't know him at all and only get that from the very brief 'hello' when I asked him to sign the Dakar book at last years bike show.

It's sometimes really hard to weigh all these things up... Long Way Round ignited a bit of a travel bug in me, which lead me to Ted Simon and then I discovered Mondo Enduro - yes it's easy to be snobby about those people who have 'done it for real' - but it essentially boils down to what we think this lark is all about - something we explored in depth in the What is Adventure Biking? thread.

For me it's the Harry Potter argument. HP is considered in the lit' world to be rather beneath 'real' lit' works - but the fact is is appealed to a very large, broad audience and it got kids reading. I see LWD and LWR in the same light.

__________________
------------------
http://thelondonbiker.com/blog

Watch some of my camp cooking videos

AIM: mattcashmore
SKYPE: matthewcashmore
MSN: matthew@matthewcashmore.com

Actually, that a very good comparison and it makes a lot of sense !!

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

We all have had great fun ripping them apart, me included, and I will admit to being glued to the programmes........ The thing IMHO that "grated" with most of us was the " 2 Blokes, 2 Bikes" Bullshit!
sure they needed some backup if they were gonna do a film of it, that is a reasonable and allowable necessity.

The people I feel sorry for are the guys that have bought BMWs on the Back of that programme and found out that they ARE just as hard to handle off road as Ewan and Charley made em look! Big heavy Elephantine things that they are....... I Love my XT I do!


Martyn

so the thing is about LWD....

um I forgot what I was going to say.

m

(the website was very very good though)

__________________
------------------
http://thelondonbiker.com/blog

Watch some of my camp cooking videos

AIM: mattcashmore
SKYPE: matthewcashmore
MSN: matthew@matthewcashmore.com

So where would something like this fit in?

http://www.cannonballbikerun.com/

A "real" adventure or a jaunt for the boys?

Sorry, Craig, this site only sells stuff. Doesnt tell you about the event, as far as I could tell.

None of us who use this site travel unsupported, as we get answers to most bike-travel related questions from the hundreds who take the time to share their knowledge and experience.


Just a thought.