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Welcome to the 43rd Edition of the Horizons Unlimited E-zine. All those April showers here in the northern hemisphere really are bringing the May flowers, and summer is just around the corner. It's the time of year for motorcycle travellers to dig out maps and start planning for summer vacations, and perhaps extended trips. We have heaps of new travellers leaving soon for Alaska, Europe, South America and around the world. Also, our veteran correspondents report in from Brazil, Bolivia, New Zealand, Haiti, Algeria, Cambodia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Nepal, Congo, Australia, Iran, Peru,Angola, Sudan and Mexico with exciting and inspirational stories to get you off the couch and back on the bike!

Thanks so much to all our loyal supporters, and a gentle reminder to those who haven't contributed that we still need your help to pay for the ongoing costs of keeping the website running and keeping this global community going. If you know anyone who should be advertising with us (anyone who sells motorcycles or motorcycle accessories, riding gear, camping equipment and clothing, transports motorcycles, organizes motorcycle tours, or has motorcycles to rent should be advertising), please let us know or send them to our Advertising page with your recommendation.

Start your planning with travel books at the Horizons Unlimited books page, and use the Amazon search function for your area to look for what you want. We'll get a small percentage of the sale when you buy anything. Don't forget to visit the Souk for new lightweight fleece vests and jackets or your summer t-shirts. If you don't need any clothes (or you have to work off a few pounds before you can fit into any ;-), we gratefully accept checks in 5 currencies!

Thanks for your support!

Travellers missing in Algeria - good but unconfirmed news.

"...the missing are held by an Islamicist leader Emir Ammari... the tourists have been separated into two groups (this was mentioned a week ago) and are being held in canyons west of Illizi..."

Latest details here on the Sahara Overland website. Poster of the missing travellers.

If you haven't been following the posts on the HUBB, there are currently thirty-one travellers known missing in Algeria. Most are 4wd travellers, but several bikes as well. Since approximately 21 February, several independent groups of travellers have gone missing.

If you have been or are in the area, please check out this link and this link for more details, you may have some valuable information. Otherwise, please check it out anyway to see how you can help support the search effort. Also see Chris Scott's Sahara Overland site for more.

Note that because of this situation we cannot recommend any travel in Algeria at this time.

Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meetings Australia, held April 25-27 in Ulmarra, NSW.

First report in from Ron Durkin to the Oz Adventure Riders (OAR) list, "Good roll up (56) with at least a dozen travellers... Good presentations on overseas travel, some very funny stories and a large slide show & tell in the evening." More details in the Community News. Pictures will be on the Travellers Meetings page and in next month's newsletter.

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who assisted with the Meeting and made it a great success!

Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meetings 2003 - time to plan ahead!

Did you miss last years, (or this years Australian) HU Travellers Meetings? We're on FOUR continents now, so no excuse left - now's your chance to get to one! A great way to meet new friends and fellow travellers is at one of the many HU Travellers Meetings planned for this year. We have organizers busy and dates set for the following:

UK - 27-29 June 2003 - 3rd Annual Meeting - Chris Bright and Glynn Roberts are organizing this again at the Black Horse Inn in Somercotes, same location as last year. The UK meeting last year brought together over 100 travellers from the UK and Europe, and was the highlight of the motorcycle travellers social season. Registration is filling up quickly and numbers will be limited, so sign up today!

Portugal - 11-13 July 2003 - 1st Annual European Meeting - Goncalo Pais is organizing this event in Budens, in the south-western point of Portugal. Contact Gonçalo Pais or me if you would like to assist in Portugal, or can be there and would like to put on a slide show.

Western USA / Canada, mid-September 2003, likely to be somewhere in BC, exact date and location to be announced. We're discussing locations right now, so mark your calendar! We could use some help on this one due to an over-busy schedule, but we are taking the lead on it.

Mexico - Oct. 31-Nov 2 2003 - Juan Carlos and Gerardo Ibarra are organizing this event, in Copper Canyon. If you'd like to present a slide show or put on a talk for the Mexico 2003 event, please let us know.

Bolivia - Nov. 8 2003 - Frank and Ann Schwarzbauer are organizing this event in La Paz. Details on Frank's page. If you'd like to present a slide show or put on a talk for the Bolivia 2003 event, please let us know.

Argentina - Tentatively planned for Viedma late November. If you'd like to help out, please let us know or contact Oscar Knecht.

New Zealand - 2004 - Nigel Marx is organizing this, tentatively in Christchurch. If you'd like to help out, please let us know or contact Nigel.

Thanks to all the volunteers!

So mark your calendars for at least one of these events. This is your chance to meet your fellow travellers, share adventures and travel tips, and incidentally to help support your favourite website, namely us! We are going to try very hard to be at as many of the meetings as possible ourselves, so we hope to see you there!

Please submit news reports, web links etc. to us for inclusion in this newsletter.

We try to link to your website if you have one. And if you don't have a website, we can help.

This newsletter is provided as a complimentary service for travellers everywhere, both on the road and (temporarily;-) off. Your support is greatly appreciated.

your editors, Grant and Susan Johnson, (about us, contact us)

 

Tiffany Coates, UK, around the world, in Brazil, R80G/S,

"As I sat there in that black hole gripping onto Thelma and sensing rather than seeing the dark shapes moving around me, all I could do was follow the lights of Joao’s bike accelerating away in front of me and wonder what on earth I was doing here.

Here was one of the hellholes of Sao Paulo - second largest city in the World and seemingly full of these dark tunnels. I had entered this particular one with my sunglasses still on (not a good move to make), the lighting in the tunnel was non-existent and all the cars were black and without lights - hence the surreal effect. I had been given quite a send-off by the BMW shop in town - I haven’t seen so many people on Beemers since the BMF Show in England last year. I survived the tunnels and was soon on my way to Rio - having been safely led out of the city by Joao - a local rider.

Thelma’s gearbox seal had been replaced and she was now snorkel-less and looking good. Seeing Rio by bike was great - can’t go wrong if I just follow the beach roads up and down the city I thought - hmm, that was until Sunday when all of those beach roads become one way, which led to a few tricky moments.

I did manage to catch up with Lew, Achi and Punky before they departed for the States and got a picture of Punky looking cute on my tank-bag - and for those who don’t know who Punky is you will just have to use your imagination.

After a few days of tyre searching and beach life at Copacabana and Ipanema, where the locals were very impressed with Thelma and I quickly got into the local habit of just parking anywhere on the pavement. I reluctantly continued on my way - it is 5000 kms along the coastline to Belem and the mouth of the Amazon in the north of Brazil.

"Beaching it at Copacabana"

Next stop was Porto Seguro where, by chance, there was a Bike Show - I was warmly welcomed as Star Guest - even though I did confess that I had no idea it was all taking place. I was in search of camping space - but was honoured to be given a bed in one of the organiser’s houses. The highlight was the presentation of a trophy late on Saturday night when I was called up on stage - somewhat carried away with the occasion I waved my trophy above my head and launched into a thank you speech in my still faltering Portuguese - once everyone had got over the shock that a woman had won the furthest-travelled trophy I received a round of applause and cheers. From there I went to the beaches - white sand, coconut palms, clear sea and cocktails at sunset.

'Thelma and I never turn down the chance to have cocktails at sunset.'

When I left I had a horrible day where my shock absorber fell off. OK, slight exaggeration, the bolt holding it sheared off and Thelma looked like she was in pieces. Naturally I was on an appallingly bad dirt track in the middle of nowhere, humid jungle all around me - the ground was so uneven that I couldn’t even put my side-stand down. Using a complicated combination of holding Thelma up with one hand whilst unlocking and removing a pannier with the other hand, I manoeuvred Thelma onto her side resting on the pannier- a passing cyclist was commandeered into helping me to clout the shock absorber back into position - with just a half inch of snapped bolt holding it in place I gingerly proceeded. It fell off twice more before I managed to reach tarmac and then a bike workshop - four hours to cover 30 miles, I don’t think I have ever been so terrified in my life. I have also never felt so sweaty and smelly in my life - oooops, am I supposed to be extolling the glamorous side of bike travelling on this site???

I am currently in Salvador and continuing northwards - loving the laid-back attitude of the Brazilians and the friendliness that I encounter everywhere.

Ed. See Tiffany’s blog here on Horizons Unlimited for more great stories. Tiffany has now completed 5 continents of her RTW trip. Congratulations, Tiffany, and keep reminding us about the glamorous side of bike travelling ;-)

Dieter Zerndt and Hannes Hauser, Switzerland, in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, BMW R100GSPD and Triumph Tiger,

"In February 2003 we continued our trip (around the world?) in La Paz. For more than one year we had our bikes stored at Walter Nosiglia's motorcycle shop in Calacoto. Travelling the way we do, our major concern is storing the bikes at a safe place. And again: we found our motorcycles in a perfect state. Walter and his crew had done an excellent job. Thank you.

Leaving La Paz northbound we encountered a dramatic situation. Crossing the center of the city (plaza de los etudiantes) all traffic was blocked by a demonstration of civil unrest. Due to our mobile bikes we found our way through the completely clogged roads, leaving this place of dramatic uproars in a hurry (the next day CNN reported 20 deaths).

... We tried to avoid the city of Lima, but an unfortunate decision at a marked detour led us directly into this terrible hotspot, convincing us to leave immediately. Northbound we passed two police hold-ups (traffic check-points). They confronted us with their simple world; accusing us of speeding and asking a heavy fine. This we were not ready to pay, so they reduced the fine to a little ‘present’: a simple and blunt example of blackmail. Unfortunately they did not anticipate the talents of German art of negotiations. Finally the discussions ended up in reaffirming Swiss Peruvian friendship, affirming the solidarity of the poor bikers and policemen of this world.

‘Are we having fun yet?’

...Time was running out, so we followed our initial plan to take the ‘Panamericana’ for the final stretch from Peru into Ecuador. Unfortunately on our way down along the valley of the ducks I made a somersault resulting in a broken valve-cover of the right cylinder. No big deal regarding my health, a big deal instead for the BMW. No spares available and no way to repair (glue) the remnants of the cover. So I was on tow on 3 meters distance to Steph's bike for the next 5 hours, going through all kinds of obstacles up and downhill.

Weekend passed and just before throwing all our plans overboard a guy showed up to help me to transport my beloved GS to Guayaquil. What a relief. After a chaotic crossing at the Peruvian Ecuadorian border we passed a few very un-transparent processes but finally all documents carried the right stamps and signatures. And a few hours later we arrived at Guayaquil. Here we handed our bikes to our good friend Jackie, taking care of proper shipment of the bikes to Panama City. "

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Arno Backes and Sian Mackenzie, Germany and UK, Australia via USA to South America, in Chile and Argentina, on BMW R100GS PD and Yamaha XT600E,

"It was snowing when we got to the Moreno Glacier, but not for long thank goodness. It was a bit nippy however, so we glacier watched while wandering around the walkways to keep warm. It really was spectacular, no matter how many pictures you see, the real thing is just amazing. And the noise, I didn’t think ice could be so loud. Every time a chunk broke off and fell into the lake, it sounded like a 5 storey building collapsing.

Not just another glacier, getting really close to this one makes it worth the trip.

Arne and Asher didn’t like the idea of camping out, so left to go back to Calafate. Dieter, Yuki, Rodo, Arno and I hadn't lugged all our stuff to the park for nothing, and besides the camping was free now as it was out of season. The campsite was nice and sheltered, we strung a tarp between the trees, put up our tents and had a lovely evening, warmed by some Argentinean whisky.

The weather improved over the next couple of days and on the first perfect riding day, Yuki and Dieter left for El Chalten. We stayed on in El Calafate for a couple of days to catch up on stuff, eat lots of chocolate and to wait for Peter, due to arrive any minute.

The next day Dieter returned - in an ambulance! He had hit a sheep, 60kms from El Chalten and broken his collarbone and a couple of ribs!

A muddy Arno after his ride back from El Chalten on Dieters bike.

Peter eventually arrived after some mishaps of his own and we tried to lift Dieters spirits. Arno went to El Chalten to fetch the damaged bike. He came back in one piece but it had rained on the Ruta 40 for most of the morning and the sheep had trashed the front mudguard so Arno was absolutely plastered with mud."

For more stories, check out Arno and Sian's blog here on Horizons Unlimited!

Martin Rooiman and Jeannette Boom, a.k.a. De Twee Musketiers, Netherlands, around the world, in New Zealand,

"The time in New Zealand is ticking away. We arrived a few days ago in Christchurch and we met Cliff and Jenny (Batley). We spent one day with them and did the city walk. The rest of the following days we filled with some loops to see as much as we could and to take advantage of the good weather…

Martin enjoying the water crossings

We are still enjoying the South Island of New Zealand very much. But clearly autumn has set in and the temperatures are dropping now. Nevertheless we were really spoiled by excellent weather most of the time (A drought is a nightmare for the local farmers but great for motorbikers). We made nice trips through the remoteness of the South Island and experienced the wonderful hospitality of people we met along the road. New Zealand is great as long as you avoid the beaten tourist-tracks, which isn't any problem on motorbikes.

Jeanette prefers dry roads

"... We're back in Auckland and finished our half-year trip through New Zealand. Although we haven't seen everything we definitely had a proper 'quick' look to see how the country was. And it's unnecessary to say that we loved it. We had an excellent time here but it's starting to get cold and rainy now so it's time to move on and cross the Tasman Sea to Australia. We now have some time here in Auckland to prepare everything for the shipping of the bikes."

Ed. See Martin and Jeannette’s blog here on Horizons Unlimited.

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Peter and Kay Forwood, Australia, around the world since 1996, in Haiti, on a Harley Davidson,

"23/4/03 Haiti is famous for being the only country in the world to achieve a successful slave revolt. 200 years ago it became the second independent country in the Western Hemisphere after the U.S.A. It's also famous for its development of the African based worshipping of Voodoo. It is believed that 90% of the country practices some form of Voodoo, often in association with other more recognized religions. Mambo Kathy, a middle aged white American woman took up the religion more than a decade ago and now practices in Jacmel and does special services in the U.S.A. Her mix of worshipers is of locals and Americans, and today she was having a ceremony to aid in the peaceful death of one of her American followers who is terminally ill. A small band of ten initiates sang and danced drinking small potions of prepared alcohol and herbs till one became tranced and possessed by his 'Loa', his other person. While he was in this state he killed two sacrificial goats, cutting their throats with a knife, left to die on the temple floor, before being taken away and prepared for the evening meal and service.

We were back at Mambo Kathy's congregation for the evening ceremony, which initially followed the same format as the mornings, however Kathy herself called on her 'Loa', a male, using references and gestures, which excited the followers. The cooked goat was passed around with some rum and spiced alcohol with the five westerners participating in the final dance. A true possession of the body by another spirit or a piece of play-acting will be debated by the devotee and the sceptic. A form of evening entertainment to get away from the drudgery of normal life where one can act out fantasies under the guise of an invading spirit, or a religion, recently officially recognized by the Haitian Government. Does it really matter as long as the participants are happy in this poorest of Western Hemisphere nations."

Ed. The Forwood's have been to over 125 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South America. Horizons Unlimited is proud to host their entire trip story here.

Merritt Grooms, USA and Pierre Saslawsky, France, across Africa, in Algeria, BMW F650's,

"Around early evening, we pulled into a middle-of-Nowhere Trucker stop. 100 noisy Diesel trucks, feral dogs, a restaurant that sold nothing but cans of tuna fish in tomato sauce, and enough men to pack a sardine can, but no hotel. We felt uneasy and so decided to pitch the tent 5 feet from the tuna fish store. We planted the tent, meowed at the dogs, bought some tuna fish cans, and then got in a huge fight and went to bed angry. I remember the black sky and counting stars up to a million. I woke still angry and I was presented with the problem of what to do when you want to strangle your mate in the middle of Africa, but he is the only one you know, can trust and who speaks your language.

Ed. Susan can relate to that!

:

In happier times.

...We stopped once again to drink, and a truck pulls up and a man gives us 2 baguettes of bread and welcomes us to Algeria. We laugh at the hospitality and welcome we have consistently received. We are munching on the bread when we see a motorcycle approaching. The Swiss! He looks like Mad Max on his big, black older BMW 800. He speaks French, English and German, and so we compare notes, equipment, stories and decide to travel together.

Pierre before and after...

... Pierre and I want to cross 600 miles of the Sahara on our bikes. Pierre and I have ridden a total of 3 hours in sand. The idea is ludicrous, but today we go out with Lorenz to learn a thing or two. Lorenz is an amazing desert rider and Pierre and I have a newfound belief in angels. He keeps telling us 'Stand Up!! Go Fast!!!' Which of course for neophytes is the last thing your good senses tell you that you should do. But eventually we give in and start getting into riding in the sand. Lorenz is a 5th gear rider and it's obvious riding 100 mph in the sand is the ideal of fun to him. I am at my all time high speed of around 40 mph when I hit deep sand, my wheel twists and I fly over my handle-bars and smash my brains 10 feet from my bike.

Thankfully Pierre is there to see it (if I am gonna crash, it should at least provide some entertainment...). I get scared and cry and say it's not fun anymore and Pierre saves my face, and perhaps his own had we continued, by telling Lorenz we both need to stay on shallower sand...

Perhaps the greatest lesson Africa might give me is to have some humility, accept my limitations, and hopefully destroy a chunk of my ego and to shrink it to a manageable size. It takes a lot of energy to feed that thing. On the flip side, that same ego is in part responsible for pushing me to accomplish and experience many incredible things in my life...

... I am taken aback at the kindness and helpfulness of most military personnel. Riding from town to town we are usually stopped 4 or 5 times at checkpoints where passports are checked and recorded. There are usually 2-6 men, young, with AK47s ranging in age from 'new' to 'hasn't been fired in 30 years'. Twice I have been told, 'I have never seen an American in Algeria before'. They welcome Pierre and I so genuinely and wish us a good journey.

'Welcome to Algeria. Be welcome!'

Today we strike a deal with a man who has two 4x4s who says he will take us across the Sahara. Our guide has assured us no deep sand. Within the first 30 minutes we are in deep sand and we both fall. We continue on better pistes, but then the 4x4 begins having trouble, and we grow wary of our guide. We ride until 4 pm at which point my knees hurt so bad, I can barely climb off my bike. I am administered first aid and under the amazing desert sky we fall asleep. Next day I wake with adrenaline shooting through my arms due to intense fear. Fear of the unknown and what might lie ahead in the desert...

On the 3rd day, I finally lose all fear. It is obvious I have the technique down and can almost say I am a really good rider. So is Pierre and we have good speed and make excellent time. The terrain today is magnificent. Hills of rock and sand that feel like a roller coaster. My stomach drops as I speed over them.We drive straight up the largest dune to make camp for the night. It's the first time we drive up a real dune. The experience makes me hallucinate and grow dizzy as it feels like there is no gravity. Tonight is the most beautiful bedroom I have ever had in my life. We are on top of a dune, and feel like no one is on Earth but us. I see layers and layers of stars in the sky. And am sorry one day I have to die."

Ed. Merritt and Pierre made it safely through Algeria and the Sahara.

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Simon McCarthy and Georgie Simmonds, UK to Asia, in Cambodia, BMW R100GS,

"Somehow we got cajoled into giving blood at the local children's hospital. I hadn't donated in years with the British National Blood Service always rejecting me due to recent vaccinations or having visited dodgy parts of the world. Simon, on the other hand, was eligible for his Blue Peter badge for services to the vampires. We even persuaded a French friend who had never given in her life to join us. You may think that Cambodia would be one of the last places to which you would entrust your immune system, but we were assured that all needles were new and hey you got a free can of coke, packet of biscuits and a T-shirt out of it. It was over and done with quite quickly to my relief, mainly due to the fact that they only extracted 350ml instead of 500ml since as a nation the Cambodians are much smaller and therefore have less blood!

Geography.

Land mine clearance is an ongoing task in Cambodia. Various international charities are spending years trying to make the country safe again. I heard that it cost 5 USD to manufacture and lay a mine, but 500 USD to locate and make it safe. We met some interesting guys working for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), which is based in Manchester. Please take a look at their website at www.mag.org.uk. We were fascinated by the de-mining process and equipment. We later saw other groups in action right in the middle of a village we were passing through. Not even one metre from the road they were meticulously digging down through mud looking for devices. The villagers would have been living over time bombs for 30 years or more.

Mines.

... a short lunch break in Skuon. I just had to savour the town's 'delicacy' of deep fried spiders. It didn't take long to find a tray full of the black hairy arachnoids. I selected my poison and asked the young girl how I should eat it. One advice was to eat it like a crab and remove the flesh from the legs.

Sampling the local cuisine

I didn't fancy dwelling on the matter, so throwing all caution to the wind I shoved the front legs and body into my mouth and crunched hard. I tentatively chewed a little, inserted the rest and then swallowed. The taste? Well it had been heavily deep fried with garlic, which masked any other flavour. I'll never do it again."

For more stories, check out Simon and Georgie's blog here on Horizons Unlimited!

Maarten Munnik, Netherlands, around the world, in Indonesia, Honda Africa Twin,

"I teamed up with Marcel and Flavia Wolf and together we made the arrangements to ship the bikes from Melaka to Dumai. Very easy and not too expensive - 300 ringgit - $80 p/bike including everything we can think of. The boat was a bit small... and loaded with garlic... well, at least we did not have to worry about vampires. Driving the bike onto the boat was easy enough... although the plank we had to use was very narrow... no margin for error. (so of course my engine stalled ;-) but we made it OK.

Maarten, Marcel and Flavia at the equator.

Then we had to take the bus back to Melaka and take a ferry to Dumai. The next day we went to the harbour, accompanied by a bunch of students... very nice to have so many translators and pleasant company. When we arrived at the boat... we got kind of a shock. The boat was about 2 meters below the do ck... So how would we ever get the bikes up there??? No problem, said the skipper... in the afternoon the tide comes up and the boat will be at the right height. So we spend the afternoon with a bunch of super nice people, got invited for lunch and when it was time... we all went back to the docks where the tide was indeed high.

Off to customs and the police for permits etc. Boy oh boy are those Indonesian people great. Helpful, friendly, unbelievable... and they expect nothing in return... It's really great to be here.

Bukittingi

On to Bukit Lawan - a two day's drive into the heart of Sumatra. The jungle, the rain-forest and... more important, home of the Orangutan and the Tiger... wow! We booked a two-day trek into the jungle... and left the next day at nine. Bikes were stored in the private house of the guesthouse staff (again fantastic people) and off we went.

Guesthouse, with comfortable parking for the bikes.

Walking in the jungle is not easy. The path (yeah right... call that a path???) goes up steep slopes and down into deep drop's. It’s a fight for every meter and this is no figure of speech. Within 5 minutes we were all soaked with sweat and mud... Well, not all of us... our guide, who walked on flip-flops as if it were crampons (used to walk on glaciers) did not have the smallest drop of sweat on him!

But... our troubles were rewarded... within an hour we were on the run for an aggressive (and more important) big orangutan which was coming our way, and by the looks of it, not for a friendly chat. Now, at that time we had met another group... so we were with a total of 10 people (including the guides)... and the path was very very narrow... so panic???? Yeah... a bit. The guys behind could not see Mina (that's what the beast was called)... and did not really hurry a lot... The guys in front - oops... that would be me - could see Mina... and... well... we did want to make a lot of hurry hurry hurry... So, traffic-jam.

Luckily one of the guides distracted the orangutan with some bananas... so we all could pass safely and, more important, with all of our limbs attached to our bodies. Later we saw many more orangutans, most of them friendly and not scared of us at all. They came to ask for bananas (really, they did) and even had a chase around us in the trees. One landed almost on top of my head :-)

At the end of the day, and the end of our strength, we reached a camp where the guides cooked a super meal for us. Yummie, I love Indonesian food. We swam a bit at a waterfall and then went to sleep, because the rain forest did it's thing... it rained. Maarten"

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Doris Maron, Canada, RTW, in Nepal, on 750cc Honda Magna,

"Collecting my bike from air cargo in Nepal went smoothly. Two hours and a very few dollars and I was on the road again. Nepal is a beautiful country once you get out of the polluted, dusty, hectic, noisy city of Kathmandu. Horns honking continually, whether they need to or not, exhaust fumes and dust hanging in the air, traffic weaving in and out and around each other – not to mention the pedestrians who walk on the road, the cyclists, rickshaw drivers and the occasional cow. If you can maneuver through all that, you’ll survive.

Doris out on a limb again!

There are some nice roads in Nepal, however, you must contend with the big trucks and buses belching black smoke in your face. The Siddhartha highway from Pokhara to Tansen and the Mahendra Highway from Butwal to Chitwan were my favorite rides. The Siddhartha highway is a narrow road that winds its way through the mountains offering some spectacular scenery and has very little traffic. The Mahendra highway was built by the Chinese and is wide, nicely paved and I actually got to travel at 100km/hr on a few stretches – not a common occurrence on most of Nepal’s roads.

"Looks a little shaky to me!"

I will ride the Tribhuwan highway to the Indian border, which crosses over a mountain range and has more spectacular views and (I’m told) not much traffic."

Glen Heggstad, USA, on the road again, in Mexico, R1150GS,

"Zacatecas is one of the great colonial cities that guide books don’t reveal enough about. It was my kind of town; there was not a word in English in any businesses or spoken in the traditional restaurants. Easter Sunday was the celebration of life in a fiesta of culture and history. The ornate, hand chiseled, stone plazas were alive and brimming with a colorful vibrancy of Latin passion and skillful artisans at work. The streets downtown were blocked from automobile traffic to allow passage for the thousands that streamed up and down the spotless, hand laid brick boulevards with open air concerts, juggling clowns and street magicians.

After two nights in the same hotel you are a friend, after the third night you are family.

The last heart pounding ride left on this journey was Highway 40 West from Durango to Mazatlan, with a frequently fogged in section known as El Espinazo del Diablo, The Devils Spine-- a particularly treacherous stretch of steep hair pins known for its disproportionate number of traffic fatalities on either side of its thousand foot drop offs. It is a twirling ribbon of asphalt beginning 9,200 feet up in the Mexican Sierras that a hundred eighty miles west spirals precariously down to the Pacific Ocean. If not for the speeding out of control truckers this would be a biker paradise of precipitous curves across high desert plains through thickly pine forested mountain tops to the balmy subtropical beaches of Sinaloa. Even at my leisurely pace of allowing six hours for less than two hundred miles, it is a white knuckled ride competing for road space with aggressively piloted commercial vehicles hell bent on keeping to schedules. They have little regard for motorcycles and like on all roads in the third world, size does matter. Half the approaching trucks are in my lane when racing around the hair pins and it is my responsibility to get out of their way which is a bit awkward when there is no shoulder or guard rail.

Ruins in Mexico.

I swung wide around a small diesel fuel spill on a straightaway shuddering at the notion, what if I had hit that on a curve? For such occasions I have used a magic marker to write my name and Joe’s phone number on every readable surface. Since my rides around Southeast Asia in the eighties, it is he who is versed in the dubious honor of bringing me home if things should go awry. In case he has to come looking, I use a brokerage house credit card at least once a day, and through a cooperative member of the firm, he can identify my last known location within seconds. For the rest of the world, I never let on the real time of my next destinations. Once one has played with terrorists, the word caution takes on a new meaning.

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by Keith Thye

"Thye's trip from Lake Oswego to Chile in 1963 was quite an awesome experience. Although I'll probably never have the nerve to do a similar run, it wouldn't be the same as it was back then... I feel like I've been there having read the book. They tell me Thye is a respected BMW dealer in Washington now. His experience with the machine certainly qualifies him as such" Amazon.com reader reviews

Looking for a travel book for someone special? Go to our Books pages, where we have listed some of the best motorcycle travel books, as well as a number of BMW books, general motorcycle books, and travel guides.

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Book suggestions please!

If you have a book or want a book that you think other travellers would be interested in please let me know and I'll put it on the site. Thanks, Grant

Collective nouns;

an odium of politicians, a podium of orators, a twaddle of public speakers, a drain of think tanks, a maze of bureaucrats, deficit of republicans and a dither of Democrats.

Alternative explanation for the collective noun for politicians;
A banana of politicians: They start off straight and green, soon turn yellow and bent, and end up going rotten as a bunch.
A trough of politicians.

"Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil"
Aristotle

"Fear breads lack of experience, lack of experience breeds ignorance, and ignorance breeds more fear. It is a vicious circle summed up so well in the acronym: False Evidence Appearing Real."
Colin Turner, extract from "Born to Succeed"

"Your site has helped me tremendously over the last year, by getting real information and posting questions to the community. This HUBB is awesome! Thanks Susan & Grant!"
Jason Grotte, Netherlands, in Iran

"Please feel free to use this report for your fabulous e-zine or just put a link to it. Thanks a lot for your assistance to the RTW-community. Many regards from Switzerland, also to Susan"
Dieter Zerndt, Switzerland

"Excellent work... Chile is very close to what you have wrote. I have many things to read and learn in your site. Thanks a lot. Saludos desde Chile."
Cristián, Chile

"In researching our trip we accessed your site many times for much useful information."
Murray and Joyce Castle, Canada, in Australia

"Thanks. As I get further into this I may contact you for info, but I'm sure everything I need to know is on the site. It really is great. It's giving me itchy feet."
Gary Inman, UK

"Hi Grant & Susan, First: THANK YOU. A good friend and I made it from Lagos to Dublin on our bikes last summer. Your site helped make it feasible and an amazing experience (We didn't do a log because of time, and connection concerns but we will put something together for the Web soon). We put the stickers you sent me on the bikes though and advertised you across West Africa. Thanks again."
Brian Greaney, USA

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ISSN 1703-1397 Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' Ezine - Copyright 1999-2003, Horizons Unlimited and Grant and Susan Johnson. All rights reserved.

REDISTRIBUTION is allowed, indeed encouraged, but other than the following requirements, only with permission. You may forward copies of the Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' e-zine by forwarding it yourself by hand. You must forward the issue in its entirety, no fee may be involved. Please suggest they Subscribe!

Legal gibberish: (particularly for those in countries that have more lawyers in one town, just for instance, New York, not to name any names, than some whole countries, as another example, Japan. Again, not naming anybody specifically you understand) Recommendations are based on positive or negative experiences of somebody, somewhere. Your mileage (kilometrage if you insist) may vary. We are not responsible in any way for any product or service mentioned, and do not warrant any such mentioned product or service, and are not responsible for any bad things that may befall you. You are responsible for yourself! Act accordingly. We check all links and information given as close as possible to publication, and all info is correct as best we can determine at that time.

"hed," Congo, Tenere XT600,

"I am in Mbandaka now, about 600 kilometres north of Kinshasa, on the Congo River. I am travelling by old Tenere XT600, on my own.

I came in from Rwanda, drove up to Kisangani and then from there took various boats, all the way down here. It was not easy, but it is very possible. Awesome adventure and total trip time about 4 weeks since entering. I spent about a week in Bumba, which is not too far south of the CAR border. I spoke to officials of the MLC rebel group that controls the area, they are quite disciplined and they told me that it is no problem to enter from CAR, and then to travel south to Bumba, via Gbadolite, and from there on further south on the river, by barge. I did the barge bit. I am posting this here as the Sudanese border now seems to be closed, so if you can get thru CAR, this might be a viable option.

Under all circumstances, avoid entering from Uganda, i.e. avoid the entire Ituri province. Please note that whatever, this trip is expensive, the officials are all hungry for Dollars!

E-mail me directly if anyone wants more detailed info or advice, I expect to be in Kinshasa in about a weeks time and will respond then."

Mirjam, Suzuki Freewind, travelling with Markus Rohe, Yamaha Tenere, both from Germany, in Australia

"April 18, 2003 - Hi, this is Miriam, I'm the girl, who fell off her Suzuki Freewind near Marree. I'm already out of hospital, staying with Susan in Adelaide - thanks a lot for that!

If somebody is interested, here is a short version of the accident: we were off from Marree around 10 o'clock, with tanks filled and water reserves refilled and we were really looking forward to riding on the Oodnadatta track. I especially said to Markus: 'I got a really good feeling today, feeling good and no worries!' Approximately 5km later in a slippery dip (it was raining just a little bit) my bike started to slide and I couldn't get control back and off. One of my self-built boxes was badly damaged, off the bike, lying next to it, it was hard to breath for me and my tummy was aching.

Not half a minute later Markus made his return and came to see what's happened, 'cause he realised I wasn’t following. He ask me about my condition, made me stay calm and lying down, and was off on his bike back to Marree. They came back with the ambulance and brought me into Marree, thanks to Elaine (the nurse there)! She decided to call the RFDS in Port Augusta and they were on their way. These guys brought me into Adelaide - another thanks.

In the hospital they discovered that I had blood in my tummy, some organ was bleeding. Some hours later I 'lost' my spleen, then spent a night in recovery, another some days in the hospital with lots of morphine...

But now everything is getting better! The damage on the bike is not as bad as we thought. Only the box, the rack, a mirror and a couple of cover pieces. Thanks for all the mails and wishes! Special thanks to Markus, he was always there, in the plane, in the hospital, now here, helping, supporting... and he already started to repair the Freewind. Miriam"

Ed. Sorry to hear your news, Miriam, and our best wishes for your recovery.

Matt Stackpole and Ed Tarleton and ...well, it varies! USA, to South America, in Brazil, XR600's,

"...we were riding up the central coast of Brasil. Heading out to the waters edge to find yet another sleepy beach. The dirt road we were on had some road work machinery in action, we skirted around thru the deep mud and water, and wondered how the passing bus made it thru such a passage... It had been several weeks since the last dirt, Ed & I were ready! Cruising side by side, headphones in tune, cruising top of fifth gear, standing on the pegs and enjoying the feeling! Suddenly ahead, a large undulation appeared in the road. Never before had we encountered speed bumps on the dirt, as we both saw this ahead, our eyes bulged with fright, this was no ordinary speed bump - this was at least two and a half feet tall. Cruising a good clip we both realized the brakes on this compacted dirt would do no good... bracing ourselves, all systems go, the suspension was prepared and we simultaneously took flight at over 60 miles an hour, Oh... #%&, burst out beyond my helmet for all the grazing cattle to hear! We were motoring and there was nothing else we could do! Touching down was smooth and we both looked across to one another... the smiles were grande and the eyes bursting with enjoyment!

...Jim is a friend who has been riding the past two weeks to catch up to us and travel further north along with us! We just found him today on main street of Pipa, Brasil... as we were departing town, his cycle was parked out front of a cafe... wow, odd how large the planet is and how easy it is to find other moto travelers! We are currently a group of four, soon to be three again, As our Argentinean friend will turn back south to head for home!"

Check out Matt and Ed's blog here on Horizons Unlimited!

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George Migliorelli and Valeria Milani, Italy, around the world, Africa Twin and Transalp,

Update and comments on travels to date:

"Since Kathmandu we have been to Thailand, Laos, (Vietnam), Cambodia, Malaysia and now Hong Kong.

Thailand
As we are sponsored by Honda, upon arrival in BKK we contacted Honda-Thailand... we found 20 car and motorcycle journalists with assorted photographers. The -Press Conference- and I use that loosely included a host, translator, breakfast, and Honda executives. It lasted 2.5 hours and the net result was that we were in ten Thai motorcycle magazines.

Laos
After all the political uncertainties, traffic jams and congestion, entering Laos was a window to another era. Untrafficked streets, relaxed atmosphere, friendly storekeepers and a people who smile. At the border between Thailand-Laos a Laotian customs official was seeking a US 5.00 gift. Since we maintained a no bribe policy, I spent 30 minutes deciding whether not giving it to him was worth the risk of not entering. We decided it was best to pay only to find that it was lunchtime and he had disappeared, Laotian politeness at work.

In military circles the Hmong are always spoken of with reverence. Small and tough they were noted for surviving months on end in battle with a daily ration of two balls of sticky rice. They fought with the Americans and for obvious reasons there is now a large Hmong community in California. We continue to a Hmong area to find ourselves at dusk with no area to camp, no guesthouse in site. A woman with her son noticed our dilemma and invited us to their house. The home on stilts at the edge of a large field contained nothing except for a few vessels for cooking. Dinner was sticky rice with tuna sauce and breakfast was the same. For a people who have nothing their generosity was humbling. When departing I gave a small compass to the boy and five dollars discretely to the family. I can not decide if it was appropriate. In the garden was the split casing of another B-52 gift that was being used to grow onions.

Cambodia
We do very little pre work before arriving at the border between Laos and Cambodia. Assuming that it would be a normal crossing we soon learn that we arrived at the wrong crossing and the choice was either US 70. to cross a river on a sampan which I was sure could not hold our bikes or 50 kms. through dense jungle and almost no visible road. With the sun setting we postpone the decision until the following day and ask the Cambodian border guards if we could spend the night in their housing complex. We later learned that no one had attempted the 50 kms in over 4 months due to the density of the follow on jungle. With no language in common we spent the evening over home made alcohol, mosquitoes with four border guards and stories of the dangers in the local jungle (tigers). Following morning we decide to drive to the formal border crossing (200kms) from Thailand into Cambodia.

Malaysia
In KL we meet Amran and his local gang who take us out a few times. Great guys. We spend most of the time arranging shipment of the bikes to Perth. KL gives the impression of any major western city but then again; in conversation with a middle-aged, well-dressed banker, he explains, with a straight face, that the twin towers was destroyed by bombs placed in the towers by the US government and that Al Queda does not exist. Dumbfounded, I decide not to reply, there go the rabbits...

Hong Kong
We are presently in Hong Kong, interesting times. No we are not wearing a face mask but this SARS thing really has people scared."

Erwin Thoma and Susanne, Germany, in Sardinia,

"We are now in Arbatax and will leave tomorrow for Cagliary. Sardinia is great"

Seamus, Ireland, to New Zealand, now in Nepal, Ténéré,

In the spirit of helping others... "in Nepal at the moment doing a bit of jungle trekking. My girlfriend has joined me since Delhi. No major problems with the bike, touch wood. I left a rear tyre in Palolem, Goa, in Flavia Paradise Coco Huts... it's off a 1990 Ténéré (rear) there should be a thousand or two left in it if someone is stuck. Ring first in case she has burnt it (0832-2643676), but I asked her to hold it in case it was needed."

Dalbir Singh Jhol, Singapore, to Dublin, in Nepal, Honda Dominator NX 650,

28 April, "I just arrived in Kathmandu today and will be spending few weeks in Nepal and then make my way to India and Pakistan,Iran. Anyone around here, give me a buzz, would be fun to meet up. Cheers, Dalbir"

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Frank Butler, Papua New Guinea, around the world in 1000 days, in Indonesia on a temporary local bike,

"I have left Sulawesi behind and am now in Borneo. It's funny I have only been here two days and have almost seen an orangutan several times. Me and Hardly - hardly uses any petrol - hardly goes over 80 k's, come around a corner and the kids shout Orang-utan, Orang-utan and then point, but by the time I look over my shoulder it has already disappeared into the forest canopy. Still I haven't given up hope. Tomorrow I get a riverboat up the Maharkam Singai to Long Begun, which is serious bush country by all accounts. There I hope to get my National Geo Cover shot.

I will be ready to sell the Jailing Harley Special in Sumatra in the early part of May. It has proved to be a little ripper and I would like to pass it on to a traveller rather than the local dealer... I am looking to recover my investment... a whopping Rp 8 million, a bit less than a thousand US; it's all set to go and suits this country to a tee.

I am still having the time of my life. All in all I have been treated exceptionally well and the people have been great. The day before yesterday I got 172 'Hello Mister, where do you come from?' which is my personal best so far. I have had to invent a wife and family as it is incomprehensible to the average Indonesian that a man of my age is not married - the wife and all three boys are doing very well - Thank you for asking. That's it for now; I'll send another Post Card after I return from visiting the Head Hunters. Frank"

Ed. Sorry to tell you Frank, but a ‘real man’ in those parts would have at least eight children, all boys ;-)

Murray and Joyce Castle, Canada, touring the Southern Hemisphere, in Australia, BMW F650s,

"Joyce and I are travelling NZ and Australia on BMW F650's. Since leaving Canada last September we have travelled 16,367 kilometres on our Beemers. So far in Oz we have done 6090 kms on two wheels. We figure the odometer will click another 15,000 times before we see Sydney again next August.

Joyce in ‘Standard makeup for the average female rider’, i.e. many glamorous layers of dirt.

A couple of weeks ago, Mark Reading noticed our BMW's in Ceduna, sitting unattended. He tracked me down and suggested I get back to them asap if I wanted all our stuff intact. Being intuitive as well as thoughtful, he soon realized he was speaking to homeless Canadians. To make a long story longer, we eventually made it to Busselton many days later and took him up on his generous offer to stay at his home. Mark is an experienced traveller himself, having rode his Yamaha Tenéré from India to the UK in 1999.

Mark Reading with Tenere

Joyce and I thoroughly enjoy two days of swapping stories with Mark, getting the guided tour and sampling the local brew while sacrificing some excellent Ozzie beef on the backyard barbee."

Liam McCabe, Northern Ireland, around the world, in Mexico and USA, Africa Twin,

"Baja was good and the road condition wasn't that bad but in parts (alone) it was slow. There had been a little rain and any hill was just boulders. The road north of La Paz on the coast turns dirt after awhile. It was going pretty good until it starts going into the mountains. It was like a washed-out, uphill, riverbed. It just seemed like big boulder after another. I have had the bike on it's side in every country and probably the same amount again in Baja. I turned back and was only maybe 2 miles from a reasonable road.

I had to camp in a scrap yard to weld the pannier frame back on. I meet a rider from the Baja 1000 and he just laughed at me when he saw me ride in, then when he heard where I just came from he bought me dinner, even invited me to come do some desert riding with him in the future.

...I should be in NY in less than 10 days. Liam"

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Cliff and Jenny Batley, UK, UK to New Zealand, in New Zealand,

"If everything goes to plan we will be returning to the UK at the end of May, unfortunately this means our travels will be over for now, back to work and all that, what a nightmare!!!

We are also looking at changing our planned route in AUS to try and make the HU meet in Grafton AUS. Cliff & Jenny"

Claas Linnewedel, Germany, in South America, KTM LC4 Enduro,

"I reached Ushuaia on Saturday. It took me 5 days to get down here from Buenos Aires. I was really in a hurry, because all the people told me it is snowing already, or will snow soon. Now that I have arrived, I know better. The last two days the sun was shining almost all day long, hardly any wind and temperatures close to 13 degree Celsius.

From here on I will head north again, but a lot slower. I do not know exactly when I leave and to where. Probably I will go for Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru etc. maybe Central America and Alaska, maybe Australia or Africa later. I will decide spontaneously. I do not know either for how long I will travel, probably until I have no more money.

Right now I am looking for other persons to travel with. It is probably safer than riding around alone. Hasta luego, Claas 'timeless.'"

Jason Grotte, USA/Netherlands, around the world, in Iran, BMW R1150GSA,

"... A side trip, 25 KM out of Esfahan, Gharne is a 600 year old mud brick village that is mostly vacant. My Iranian friends keep a couple of houses in this mountainside village as rest homes. Basic mud homes in the village go just $300 US. They then require a lot of work to become liveable.

Mirror tiles and hand painted crests on the ceiling of mud homes.

My first goal is to reach Nepal in late May early June. Like most, I will ship into Thailand and try and see as much of SE Asia as possible. (I will be watching the SARS saga as well).

The bulk of my trip, so far, has been through Italy, Greece and Turkey. Weather and war has made my journey slow going to this point. The people, sights and food have been fantastic. After Asia, the next portion is make it to New Zealand and Australia by the closing months of this year. If all goes well, and I have the budget and time, I will continue through South America, working my way back to my former home in USA (hopefully). Cheers Jason Grotte"

Chris Kinsey and Gill C, UK, around the world, R80G/S, from a message to the Cape Town HU Community:

"My girlfriend and I are nearing the end of a Cape to Cape trip, NordKapp in Norway to Cape Town and we were wondering if anyone had a spare room for us and a Garage for the R80G/S until we can arrange shipping. We are in Bulwer, South Drakensberg at present, heading south in a few days. Cheers, Chris and Gill"

Daniela Ruegsegger, Switzerland to South Africa, and Tanguy de la Vingne, Belgium to South Africa, in Angola,

"After spending 2 months in Angola we thought it wouldn't be fair not to tell how great it was to travel in this country. You know that feeling you had when you were a kid. Holiday was over and you had to say goodbye to your new friends before going back home. This is a little bit how we felt that day when the guy from the immigration told us: 'this is the last checkpoint in Angola, behind this fence it is the DRC' (something like that in Portuguese). Daniela and I looked at each other. Not that we miss the checkpoints. Damn, every single village you have to register. Not used to travellers (yet!) sometimes they don't really know what to write down. The color of Daniela's eyes?? The countries I crossed?: ‘Belgium, France, Spain, Morocco, ’ 27 of them.

No, it's the Angolans. We were welcome everywhere. In every village the Administracao will provide you a place to spend the night for free. Most of the time it's a ruin (that's all what is left) but it's ok. The land mines? Honestly I'm not sure they are as many as the media says. 7 million? We couldn't find out where they are (lack of information). Of course there are still accidents and you have to inquire before you go somewhere, but there are already many safe roads and tracks being used by cars and trucks. The rule: stay on the track. Roads and tracks? Guys, when an Angolan tells you the road is bad, believe him, it is bad! We often preferred the tracks rather then tiled roads. Some of those roads were bombed. With a broken shock absorber, almost got sea sick. Don't let anybody tell you that Angola isn't safe (like they do in South Africa and Namibia). Just go."

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Geoff van de Merwe, South Africa, UK to SA, in Sudan, Yamaha Tenere,

"As opposed to the few huge pyramids in Cairo, here there are about 30 small ones... and no other tourists to be seen. The pyramids are situated in the desert and have a dramatic backdrop of small reddish dunes, interspersed with weathered volcanic hills. We camped amongst the hills, overlooking the pyramids, where we were treated to two fantastic light shows: Sunset and sunrise. (AB, these were the pyramids you mentioned to me, I have the GPS co-ords for you)

Tuesday saw us head towards the 6th cataract, where we hoped to camp for the night, but for the first time in Sudan, we experienced greedy locals, spoilt by tourism. So, rather than have any further unpleasant experiences, we packed up and found ourselves another campsite in the desert. So now I am back in Khartoum, to sort out one or two more things before heading towards Ethiopia tomorrow.

Of the 4 Arab African countries I have visited, I have definitely enjoyed Sudan the most. Our little trip up to the pyramids has been a fitting end to this friendly and beautiful country, but I am now looking forward to being in a green country which sells cold beer!"

Mike Coan, USA, touring Europe and North Africa, in Spain, Honda GTS1000,

"We discovered a great bar for wine, built into the defensive wall. Inside, the walls of the bar held shelves and racks filled with wine bottles from all over Spain. On the bar itself, groups of wines arranged by region and color were available for buying by the glass. Each glass of wine was accompanied by a small plate of tapas; a few pieces of cheese on bread, or perhaps some calamari or cured ham.

Wandering outside of the walls we encountered a group of minstrels, commonly called Tunas, singing and mugging for a small crowd of teenaged girls. The minstrels are part of a Spanish tradition of university students singing to raise money, dressed in a costume from long ago; velvet bloomers or knickers and long capes with ribbons and patches. I'm not sure however, if they are still students - some of the ones I have seen look a little old."

Ted Simon and Malu Sierra, UK/USA and Chile, "Jupiter's Travels," around the world, again, in India, R80GS Basic,

"I'm waiting, and waiting, and waiting, to see whether Iran will favour me with a visa. Because Pakistan so far has said they won't let me through unless Iran will take me. I'm in consultation with all sorts of people over this, but for the moment I just have to hang cool, and there's no better place to do that than in the mountains north of Delhi. You'll find me in Himachal Pradesh, in a village called Naggar, writing, reading, and waiting. There's a bunch of new pages. You can begin from HERE"

Simon Kennedy and Rachel Delavaud, Ireland, in Australia, Uk to Australia, Transalp and KLR250,

"We are in Melbourne having a great eating experience. A long way from the meat pie regime of the outback. Glad to have a roof. There is only so much to be said for freezing your tits off in a campsite in the middle of nowhere, don't yer know? Probably stay here for the palm sunday demo and then head to Sydney. And then there is a HorizonsUnlimited.com overlander get together at the end of the month south of Brisbane I am tempted by... Am completely won over to the oz way of life. In the cities that is. It is a fantastic existence. Just too far from Europe unfortunately..."

They did end up at the HU Travellers Meeting I hear...

Travellers are getting together to travel through the dodgy areas, as evidenced by this post on the HUBB.

Ralf and Caroline Koebler, Germany, Australia to Europe, on two Honda Transalps, heading west from India wanted to travel with others through Pakistan and Iran. No luck it seems, but there was a number of travellers heading the other way, and all planned on meeting along the way: Paul Phillips, UK; Kemal Altay, Turkey; Oeyvind Johna, Norway; and Jason, Netherlands/USA.

From Phil Gresham in Australia,

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Mutchler and three of his buddies/mates from the US who are in Australia for a 15,897k ride during May ending back here in Brisbane on June 1. That is if they can find Bob's RT1150 Outfit, rumoured to be in Melbourne, they are having trouble tracking the ship that should have berthed last weekend. Bob is traveling with two 1150GS's and a support vehicle. Bob has had polio since a child, thus the outfit, and has traveled the world helping with Rotary's drive to eradicate polio in he world. A most worthwhile program to support. Watch out for them as they travel all states, and say G'Day, they will be doing a lot of press/TV interviews on the road as this is a money raising event. Unfortunately BMW sponsorship here in Australia has not eventuated as promised so if you see them give them any assistance you can, you will enjoy meeting them... their ride plan and log, and main site here.

The outfit has apparently been found. And I'm sure the Communities can do more to support them!?

Lois Pryce, UK, Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Yamaha XT225 Serow,

"I start my Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego trip on the 30th April and now have a website all about it, thanks to my computer wizard of a brother! I have linked it to HU of course. Thanks for everything. HU has been invaluable during my preparation for the trip and I'm sure will continue to be so while I'm on the road.

...It's great that you're going to the UK meeting. My boyfriend, Austin Vince (of Terra Circa & Mondo Enduro) did a talk last time and is doing it again this year. He had a great time. He really enjoyed it. Hopefully see you in Vancouver. Lois "

Lois recovered and ready to ride.

From her website:

"After much deliberation I decided upon what is often (ok, sometimes) referred to as the perfect trail bike: the Yamaha XT225 Serow. The procurement of the Serow meant that I was now in a position to enter the world of off-road riding, a long held ambition of mine that turned out to be every bit as exciting as I had imagined. My first adventure off the tarmac quickly saw me in the local hospital's A&E department after an unintentional airborne ascent in a disused quarry was swiftly followed by a knee crushing crash. Some trail riding sage had offered me the pearl of wisdom: if in doubt, give it some gas. I was obviously in a lot of doubt. Once recovered however, I was eager to return to the dirt and have ridden off road regularly since then, finding that it improves my road riding skills as well as being the most fun you can have on two wheels."

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Steffen Utzmann, Germany, Alaska to South America?

"...my work situation has changed on short notice, thus I will start planning a longer solo-trip Canada-Alaksa-US-Pan America (plus maybe more countries) immediately. Planned start date in Canada is End of June. First off all, I will need to find some time to check all the information on your web-site. And in addition I also wanted to start sending you regularly information on my trip. I did some longer trips in 2001 (US 13TKM, 2 month) and 2002 (5 weeks Germany to Romania, incl. two www.enduromania.net event participations), thus I am not totally unprepared. But this time it will be something like 6 month with open end."

Richard Cook and Simon Rourke, Australia, around Europe, VFR800 and Fazer 600,

"I'm leaving mid May with another Aussie mate (Simon Rourke). We plan to leave England for Ireland, then Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic (maybe Croatia), Italy, Spain, Portugal then back to the UK via France. If all goes well we plan to take 4 months. Simon still hasn't got his licence so it is a bit tense at the moment. Nothing like leaving things until the last minute.

I'm riding a 98 VFR800, I think Simon will be getting a 600 Fazer. We had planned to travel overland home, but with the current political situation, lack of time to plan and this being our first trip on bikes we decided to stick to Western Europe. Thanks for your help. Will keep you posted on the trip." Wise decision there guys, getting a little experience where it's easy is a great idea - have fun!

Bob McKeithen, USA, to Costa Rica,

"I will be traveling to Costa Rica by motorcycle in June...

You have the most informative and interesting site I have found on the Web. And it has been very helpful in planning the trip I will be taking this Summer. I know it must be a huge undertaking and the motorcycle community owes you a debt of gratitude and support.

My trip is not on as grand a scale as most I find described on HU. Still my trip from here to Costa Rica and back will be more miles than most riders cover in a year or two or three."

William (Nick) Palmer, USA, Round the World via Europe and Russia, BMW R80G/S,

"Trip to Ottawa and on to Heathrow has been delayed for a couple of weeks (due to surgery). The doctor has prescribed near term rest. 04 May 03 tentative start date. Best regards, Nick "

Ohad Cohen and Sharon Arem, Israel, in South America, KLR 650,

"Hello Grant!! I’m so glad you wrote me, me & Sharon are pretty new to motorcycle traveling so it's very fun to feel part of the big bikers family. We’re both from Israel, both from the same kibbutz in the south & both very much like traveling. We bought the motorcycle here in Buenos Aires; it is a KLR 650 U.S registered, in a very good condition, at least we hope...

I know it's not the ideal moto for two up but after reading in your web site about the couple that bought the cheapest bike they could find & managed to travel with it for long time... I believe we can make it, & if not it will be a good preparation for the next trip.

In a few days we start heading north, hopefully not too late to travel the Brazilian coastline. I forgot to mention that we are both young travelers in our 23rd, I don’t know if it makes a difference but I always thought that motorcycle travelers are much older, anyway it will be great to hear about bikers that are traveling here & everywhere.

If you have any good tips about traveling, I’ll be glad to hear, I’m sure it will be helpful for us. Cho gracias & see you on the web... "

Michael Kerr, USA, 49 states in 6 months, BMW R1100GS,

"In May of this year, I will be embarking on a momentous motorcycle journey. In a period of six months, I hope to reach all 49 US States on two wheels. My story up to this point in my life, approaching the 33-year mark, (a magic number for drinkers of Rolling Rock I hear) is not especially exciting. I have moved around quite a bit looking for the perfect job or place to live and always searching for a little more meaning to my life. I have worked in acoustics most of my career with some pretty interesting projects and pursue a part time professional music career playing bass guitar and string bass. But it always happens; I stagnate, and dread the thought each day of showing up to the same place and performing the same repetitious tasks. I am also becoming less and less in tune with the entire corporate mentality and more and more alienated by the technology in which I used to happily immerse myself.

I am the proud owner of a 1999 BMW R1100GS, my companion for this life-affirming journey. Even before my recent motorcycle purchase I started conjuring up this seemingly irrational plan. Inspired by the writings of others who have felt similarly about the therapeutic nature of long distance motorcycle touring (i.e. Pederson, Bealy, Peart, etc.), I came up with the idea of doing all 49 states. The six-month time limit is due to budgetary concerns, as is the idea to stay mainly in the US. I plan to visit as many National Parks as possible - taking a tent as my only shelter as I try to infuse myself in Nature, something that has been deeply missed in my corporate/urban way of life.

For approximately the last eight months I have been selling most of my personal belongings and researching and acquiring the necessary gear for the trip. The preparation has felt like a full time job, but I feel as ready as anyone could be to take this journey on. As I write this today (April 9, 2003) I have about three weeks until departure. I am dreading giving my notice at work since the boss tends to take these things very personal. I don’t expect to work any of the two weeks of the resignation notice. Back soon with more on preparations."

Ed. Good luck Michael! See Michael’s blog here on Horizons Unlimited for stories of his trip.

Heiko Neumann, Germany, Europe/North America 2003-2004, BMW R1150GS,

"I am 49 years old and a latecomer to motorcycling: not having been bitten by the bug earlier, I only decided to take up motorcycling 5 years ago. I have since enjoyed touring. Having had a full-time job in finance, my trips were limited to the odd 1 or 2-week vacation in and around Europe.

But – something was working inside. In the end, I decided to take the leap of faith, quit my job to take an open-ended leave of absence to live the dream. Two longer tours are planned: from mid-May to September 2003 Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Baltic States, Russia-St. Petersburg, Finland, Norway (North Cape), Sweden, UK (incl. Isle of Man), France, Spain/Portugal). Later in 2004 (May to September), the North American continent: U.S. incl. Alaska, Canada, Mexico.

This is the outline of my 'experiment', which is open to change as things develop. The means of travel is my BMW R1150 GS, two years old and about 30k on the clock. I intend to keep an online record or journal, with write regular up-grades, once or twice a month while I am on the road or maybe irregular 'status reports' between the two trips.

The estimated departure date will be on or around May 10th, heading for the Czech Republic."

Ed. See Heiko’s blog here on Horizons Unlimited.

Chris and Erin Ratay, USA, around the world, in Mexico and back in the USA, two BMW F650s,

"The Aduana (customs) in Mexico quickly processed our papers for the bikes and stamped us out of the country. Mexican immigration we didn’t even see and then we crossed directly over to the US side. There were no gates or guards to ensure we were fully processed on the Mexican side. On the US side a few yards away there was one single line with exactly one car in front of us. The officer asked me if I was a US Citizen and I said, ‘Yes’. He then asked me where we were coming from and I told him a town in Mexico. He waved an electronic wand over the bike searching for contraband, and then waved me through. That was it. The same for Chris. No big searches, no asking to see our passports and ask us lengthy questions as to why we had been out of the states for so long. No comment on his NZ registered bike. It was all very anticlimactic. That's it! After 4 years (OK, 3 years, 11 months, and 5 days, but who's counting?), we rode across the border and back into the USA!

... Our first night, we splashed out for a room in the Roadway Inn for $29.99, and it is one of the nicest room we’ve had in years! A big king-size bed, cable TV, air-conditioning, and a sofa, coffee table, desk, and huge bathroom with big fluffy white towels-----ahhh, luxury!

Saturday morning we woke early and arrived at the BMW Dealer, Ironhorse Motors, exactly at 8:30 am when they opened. Chris had called them the day before and they knew to expect us. They were very welcoming, let us pull apart much of the bike ourselves to save on labor charges, then they did the compression and leak-down test. Looks like the exhaust valves are the major culprit, although the intake may also need work. There was a faint breeze in the crank case, so will also need to check the rings and the crank case breather (again). We will have to do a major overhaul soon!

Later that afternoon when we got my bike back together, we got on the long, straight, windy I-10 again and headed for Phoenix. Gerry Elam is a nice guy who has been communicating with us via email for over a year now. We were going to visit him and his Brazilian wife Sandy for a few days and relax a bit after the last few long days of riding."

Gerry and Sandy Elam, celebrating the 24th anniversary of his 21st birthday.

Ed. Not even home but already planning their next trip (!), Chris and Erin write:

"...Hola Amigos, Well, looks like we may have a couple of weeks to explore north of Vancouver in June -- Not sure if we will have time to get all the way up to Central Alaska, but could certainly take a good look at British Columbia. Sure, we could ride many hours/miles everyday, but that's not what we're after on this trip -- we prefer a few 150-300 mile days, followed by a couple of days of hanging out to explore... Is it worth it (sights, animals, vegetation, etc) to ride up to Prince Rupert, just below the Alaska border? Maybe even Haynes? Maybe take a boat south back to Vancouver/Seattle? Any thoughts would be appreciated."

Ed. Of course! That's a no-brainer! :)

Alon Carter , USA, to South America,

Some Statistics:

Miles Traveled: 17,000 miles.

Countries Visited: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and, not really visited, but I was on a river boat that was briefly in Paraguay!

Most of Peru's roads are much better, but many are like this. Tiffany, who I met in Quito, took this photo.

Time Taken: 5 Months. Okay, a little less. Leaving on September 5, I got home on my 60th birthday, January 28.

Bike Used: Honda Transalp, 600cc, 1989 model. Left Albuquerque with 7,500 miles on odometer. Bike was stripped clean and reassembled and everything well checked out on departure. Motosport Aluminum Panniers, special home made mounts for sleeping bag, spare fuel can, and tool boxes were used for the gear. Home made and commercial cable locks for security. I also put on a larger windshield.

Mechanical Problems: The owner/rider frequently had a screw loose, but the bike lost a carburetor pilot screw in Bolivia, a speedometer cable in Chile, both replaced in Santiago. The pilot screw was manufactured new for less than $4.00USD and took a few hours. Also a dashlight bulb burned out somewhere. In other words, no real problems.

Number of Flat Tires: None. Pirelli Scorpion tires were replaced in Argentina with over 12,000 miles on them. Rear needed replacing (though if home would have ridden it for a few more thousand miles), front was good for many more...

Costs: Less Than $50 per day. Fuel was the largest single expense followed by lodging and then food. My rule was to stay where there was hot water, sometimes it didn't happen. Other bikers traveled for much less than I did. If it was hot, and I could buy air conditioning, well, I did. I camped out only one night when darkness overtook me and Tiffany in the high Atacama desert near Ollague, Chile.

Currency Used: ATMs! They are everywhere, and make travel much easier. I also carried $2-3 hundred USD hidden on me and bike for emergencies. The $2k USD I carried in travelers checks were never used.

Number of Falls/Accidents: 10! Yes, after 30 years of riding a motorcycle with not one fall, this is an embarrassing statistic. Five of these drops were moving violations, the worst being the one near Abancay, Peru where I scraped a good chunk of my pannier off on the asphalt. The rest were in soft sand or mud. All of the other falls were really because the bike was too tall for me. I have already lowered the bike two inches since I've been home, not a task I could do on the road.

Worst Days: El Salvador/Honduras Border Crossing, and Peruvian Police at the Bolivia Border (tie). A distant third is the illness in La Paz when I left my ATM card in a street-side machine!

Rob, Alon carter and Tiffany Coates

Best Days: Countless! Mexico dinner with a long-ago motocross champion in his restaurant; Motorcycle Police escort in El Salvador with siren assist to the correct road; Costa Rica language school and the Bolanos family there; Meeting the other bikers in Panama; Meeting Ricardo, Tiffany, and Anthony in Quito; The sidewall riding from Nazca to Cusco; The floating islands of Puno; The Potosi mines with Finbar and Laura; Meeting the famous Harley riders Peter and Kay Forwood on a remote Bolivian dirt highway; Riding the Salar with Rob and Tiffany; Taken in to the Molina's home in Santiago; the ferry down the Chilean archipelago; Ushuaia, the end of the road and the Southern Cross; Meeting Javier & Sandra at their motorcycle shop in Buenos Aires; Iguazu; Taken in by the Salles family in Sao Sebastiao; and the days when I got e-mail from my children and friends.

Regrets: (1) Not going on into Venezuela and quitting in Rio de Janeiro. Wish now that I had done it. (2) Not spending more time in Mexico. (3) Not using a modern digital camera. (4) Not doing it 30 years ago.

Gregory Frazier , USA, in Thailand,

The "GT Rider" David Unkovich and I are two of the three founding members of the North Thai Tea Drinking Society, a semi-secret group of motorcycle adventurers. Using a base of Chiang Mai, Thailand, the society serves as a source of information for motorcycle travelers as they pass through this part of the world. The third founding member, Don Duvall (the "High Thai Rider"), has spent the last several years exploring the quiet and dangerous places of Asia on his 600-cc Honda with little more than a backpack. Duvall has been slowly moving around the world on his sailboat with his Honda tied to the front. The money he saves by not having to pay to fly or ship his motorcycle over water more than makes up for moorage costs, and he always has a base to work out of.

The GT Rider (front) and I (wearing helmet and protective lenses in back), worried about security, escort a single lady from a hot spot in Luang Prabang, Laos, the local disco. The Tea Drinkers (who seldom drink tea), also help little old ladies across streets, adopt homeless dogs and mend the broken wings of wounded birds.

Next stop for me as I wander around the globe rather aimlessly is Alaska to work on a second edition of my book, Alaska By Motorcycle. That book, with two other books under contract for the coming 12 months, may have me stuck in front of a computer screen. The light at the end of the tunnel is knowing the North Thai Tea Drinkers will be holding meetings in Chiang Mai as soon as the first snow flake flies at my home in Montana. I stored the Tenere with my Asian riding gear, and left part of my heart there too."

Didier Martin, France / Australia around the world for World Vision, F650GS,

"I went through Rome without blinking (the pope was not expecting me anyway). I stopped briefly to have a look at the tower of Pisa. Then I had to get onto the Autostradat (freeway) to the French border. I crossed into France at 3pm but there are no more borders, no custom officers to celebrate with, and no immigration police to tell a French joke to...

Pisa

That is the end of the first part of this journey; I have now covered 30,000km in just over 5 months (6,500km in the last two weeks). I will take a little rest for awhile, just enough to organize my Russian visa, get the bike in good order and spend time with my family. That should be enough to give a chance for the weather to warm up in Russia. Stay tuned as I will be back very soon with all the latest news. Au revoir et à bientôt."

Lew and Achi Waterman, USA, North and South America 2001-3, in USA, KLR650,

"After extremely frustrating and aggravating negotiations with Azteca shipping agent, Marcos, at the Rio international air cargo terminal, we finally reached agreement to ship Critter for $606 including his fee, customs documents, and transporting Critter on Tam Airlines Rio - Miami Sat. April 12. A crate had to be made, Critter partially disassembled put inside and transported to the airport for another $200. The negotiating process was mind-boggling. We made numerous 2 hours each way trips on public transportation to the airport. Each time the price went up another hundred bucks or so. I told Marcos that if the price went up any further, I wasn't going to ship the bike. He said, 'So, what will you do with the bike?' He obviously figured he had me between a rock and a hard place. I replied, 'My wife, having money for rent and food is more important to me than the bike. I'll leave the bike here.' He relented and dropped the price back down to the original level.

...We will have much to reflect on upon our return. The difficulties we've faced have been a real test of the strength of mine and Achi's commitment and Punky's durability. What a dog."

Brisbane Community hosted the First Annual HU Australia Motorcycle Travellers Meeting April 25-27 in Ulmarra, NSW.

First report comes from Ron Durkin to the Oz Adventure Riders (OAR) list, "Good roll up (56) with at least a dozen travellers (and good participation of the BMW Bris GS team). Good presentations on overseas travel, some very funny stories and a large slide show & tell in the evening. Only let down really was the weather. Simon (UK) was there still looking for that sunshine (Mate ... come to Brisbane this week, it's here now!)

The OAR list got a good nod from HU's Brisbane Community Champions (Ken & Carol) It seems nearly all travellers are aware of or use our list and have to varying degree sampled OAR hospitality (I have even meet some that have never heard of Nunawading!) OARs Mike & Jane also did great support for the event and it seems that this could become a regular event.

Mind you I want to change the logo of the event tee shirt though!

From 'One World - Two Wheels'... to
'One World - Two Wheels but no Kalashnikovs! (thank you very much)'. Cheers"

And from Tink,

"Grant, I had a great time at the HU meeting. Great dirt roads to get there, met up with some good friends, made several new friends and enjoyed lots of interesting conversations. Ken and Carol (and others) did a great job. I think the same time and same place next year is an excellent suggestion. Cheers, Tink, F650 Dakar, Brisbane, Australia."

Thanks to all the hard workers, and to all those who came to the First of Many great Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meetings in Australia!

New Communities:

Wow - we've hit over 220 Communities in 63 countries! A big thanks to all those who took the first step and established the Community in their area. New Communities are in Edinburgh, Scotland; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia USA; Nottingham, UK; Emmaboda, Sweden and Guadalajara, Mexico.

John Kennedy , (kcfire) USA, wrote on the HUBB:

"Before you go, check with the Horizons Communities on your proposed route. You may be able to find people to help you find cheap places to stay, interesting things to see, things to avoid, help with authorities, etc. I think it would help you have a more interesting trip."

Take the hint folks - John has it exactly right! The Communities want to meet YOU too, so drop them a line.

For details on how you can join a Community in your area, or use the Communities to get information and help, or just meet people on the road or at home, go to the Community page. Send me some photos - with captions please - and a little text and you can have a web page about your Community! A few links to web pages about your area would be useful too.

Just a reminder to all, when you JOIN a Community in your area, send a note to the Community introducing yourself and suggesting a meeting, or go for a ride or something. It's a good way of meeting like-minded individuals in your own town.

Support the Horizons Unlimited E-zine - check out the HU Souk for fleece vests and jumpers / pullovers, t-shirts, hats and other products with the new logo and a variety of slogans! Just in time for Christmas presents for your favourite motorcycle traveller!

Thanks! Grant and Susan

Please recommend

Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' e-zine
to a friend! Just forward it to them, or send them the link to the newsletter on the website.

I am working on a listing of people who have ridden around the world, as well as what I call 'significant journeys' e.g. the first across Africa. Any information you may have on this topic, please let me know. Preferably e-mail me direct. I currently have information on over 100 world travellers listed, but there are many more. See Bernd Tesch's page for more. Bernd lists around 245 long distance travellers. And there's at least 30 enroute to an around the world. Have YOU done it? Let me know!

We hope you've enjoyed this issue, and do please let us know your thoughts. It's your newsletter, so tell us what you want to know about!

It is not the unknown, but the fear of it, that prevents us from doing what we want...

Grant and Susan Johnson

Live the dream! at:
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

All text and photographs are copyright © Grant and Susan Johnson and their respective authors or creators, 1987-2003.
All Rights Reserved.