HU Travellers Meeting Ontario 2018

Michael Anthonijsz 80 Percent Gravel from Cape Town to Namibia and Back Adventure on 650cc rental bikes

Flying your bike to your destination is too costly, especially when you're only going for three weeks. We chose to travel on gravel/sand 80 percent of the time - ideal riding with the single 650cc bikes we rented. Preparation was critical! We were ready for almost every circumstance in case of a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. This meant plenty of water, shelter, and InReach. The two-way global satellite messaging with the InReach was most essential because my buddy is a Type 1 diabetic and things can worsen very quickly in case anything causes us to get stuck for longer than three days. We did camp once in the desert, but the hotels are cheaper in Africa than North America's $15 per person. Most roads are good, packed gravel, but if you slide at 80 km/h, you would be glad you did had your full gear and did not cheap out on it.

MICHAEL ANTHONIJSZ traveled through Europe, the Stans, Mongolia and SA. He prefers to travel with no more than three bikes, staying mostly at campgrounds, unless greater safety dictates staying at inexpensive hostels. This year, he plans to go 4x4ing in Namibia and Botswana.

Joelle Gozlan Ultimate Freedom Travelling solo is also safe for women

Each time I travel somewhere, I am always being asked the same thing: "You are not afraid to travel alone?", and each time I get a little annoyed about it. Traveling alone has so many advantages. So far, the only disadvantage I find is that it is usually more expensive. I have backpacked to so many places on my own and rarely encountered a serious problem. There are many things that one will get out of a trip only by traveling alone. That being said, when you are alone, there is nobody to have your back and, over the years, I have found a little trick to make backpacking alone safer. Not having a good partner to travel with is never a reason to not explore a new place. Now that I am a rider, exploring is going to be even better. Planning too much is not always the best way to go. I share some of the situations I found myself in, and how today they are my best memories.

JOELLE GOZLAN grew up in Morocco and moved to the U.S. in 2003 from Israel. She is currently a highschool teacher and works in order to travel. From Alaska to Asia, passing the summit of Kilimanjaro, she always travels alone. Her travels have always been about backpacking, but Joelle got her first motorcycle just last April and has taken one major trip on it so far. She's got her sights on a cross-country adventure this summer, including Canada. She's also a certified Krav Maga instructor and is offering a tech session... see the "Workshops and Tech Sessions" section below for details!

Lyn Williams & Alan (Curt) Curtis, Twoxtw Roaming Through Russia and Beyond From Two Wheels to Six

Roaming Through Russia and Beyond
Russia, Mongolia and The Stans

Entering Russia from Finland, travelling down through St. Petersberg to Moscow, across to Kazan, Chelyabinsk, through the Stans, then to Vladivostok via Mongolia gave us a good idea of life in this diverse country. We share what we discovered traversing Russia on our two Yamahas and meeting some of the people who have had a very different life from ours. We will give you advice on crossing borders, obtaining visas, and an insight on the accommodation. Also, the problems and laughs with the language barrier!!!

From Two Wheels to Six
Converting a box truck into a home-on-wheels

After travelling around the world on two wheels for a little over three years, find out why we decided to change our mode of transport for touring through USA and Canada. We bought a 16-foot box truck and converted it into our home-on-wheels. What were all of the pros and cons of changing vehicles? We share what can be done with a small amount of money and a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

LYN WILLIAMS and ALAN (CURT) CURTIS left Australia in 2014 to ride the world. Visualize their route: southeast Asia, Germany, all of the U.K., Europe, Morocco, and back into Eastern Europe. Then to Scandinavia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Mongolia, and Vladivostok. They shipped the bikes to Los Angeles and continued through to Mexico and Belize before returning to the USA. In Phoenix, they bought and converted a truck before setting off along the west coast of the U.S. and Canada, then onward to Alaska.

Brian Kennedy, Ride4Adventure My Motorcycle Wanderings A retrospective of 40 years of motorcycle adventure touring

A look back on my experiences of riding a motorcycle on an extended road trip some 40 years ago compared to a recent trip I took in 2016. In 1976, I left for the first of many motorcycle adventures that I would experience over the next four decades. With no prior motorcycle experience, I bought a new bike, loaded it with gear, and headed out to explore the world. My travels would take me across Canada, USA, Central America, Europe, and northern Africa - 60,000 km of travel. Nearly 40 years later in 2016, I again set out for an extended road trip around the world. This time, I had my BMW GS flown over to Dublin Ireland, and spent the next 4-5 months touring around Ireland, Europe, and the Balkans. Find out what's different and what stayed the same.

BRIAN KENNEDY is an avid adventure traveller and motorcyclist. Over the last 40 years, he participated in over 30 trips by motorcycle and 4x4 across Canada, US, Central and South America, Europe, and Africa. Thanks, also, to my work as an exploration geologist, he's been to some of the most remote and distant parts of the world.

Isabelle and Terrence Porter, 2CanRide South America by Motorcycle Overcoming trepidation and adversity to allow cultural connection

In South America, Isabelle and Terry encountered kindness and beauty at every turn. There was richness in scenery, culture and friendship. There was adventure and great joy. There was help whenever it was needed. There was adversity too: flat tires, crashes, broken bones and the force of the Patagonian wind. Hear these stories and more. Ask questions. Not so long ago, Isabelle and Terry were where you are now, just dreaming. On Sunday after HU Ontario, they will return home to Ottawa. Maybe this workshop will help you to wait no longer and just go!

ISABELLE and TERRY PORTER's colleagues thought they were crazy; their adult children thought they were badass. One of them didn't even know how to ride! Hear how this couple in early retirement prepared for, then delighted in, everything South American during 14 months on two motorcycles.

Joe Enberg, ADV Joe Adventures on Snow! A Canadian adventure motorcyclist's winter survival guide

Joe does not let blowing snow and freezing temperatures hold back his spirit of adventure. He starts his snowmobile and heads out into thousands of kilometers of snow-covered trails of Ontario and Quebec. Find out how to beat the winter blues by listening to Joe's adventures on the white stuff. Travelling by snowmobile gets you to places that you would not normally be able to travel. Much like motorcycle travel, lots of preparation goes into snowmobile adventures, but there are different challenges and things to consider when the temperature gets into the minuses.

JOE ENBERG is an all-season adventurer who, when recovering from two broken ankles, bought a Suzuki bike sight unseen based on feedback from friends who test rode it for him. A guy with good friends like that is someone you can chat with anytime, like, say, at HU Ontario!

Ted Kierstead Yunnan Province (China) and Tibet (Tibet Autonomous Zone)

An old guy and his adult daughter embark on a 4000+ km ride to the "roof of the world". This was a search for Shangri La, the Dalai Lama's Palace, the Yeti, the Silk Road, the Leaping Tiger Gorge, and the Mount Everest Base Camp. This was not a vacation - it was an adventure ride on rented Chinese motorcycles. One of the bikes, a "Jialing Motorsuper", was fuel-injected while the other, a "Shine Ray XS400GY", was carbureted. Elevations ranged from 6,000 ft to above 17,000 ft.

We saw and did more than we could have imagined. On this spectacularly scenic trip, we crossed many of the world's highest mountain passes. Most roads are brand new asphalt, worthy of track status with its hundreds of hairpin turns. The road was interspersed with unannounced rugged detours, sometimes parts of the road were missing and with dizzying heights alongside. There were many long tunnels and numerous police/identity/speed checks in out-of-the way places. Re-fueling the bikes is a story unto itself: we carried buckets of gasoline from the pumps to the bikes and poured it into the tanks. Temperatures on the road ranged from -10 to +30 C. These conditions combined with people encounters, ancient historical locations, the crazy traffic (or none at all!), and the delicious and sometimes unusual food, resulted in a most memorable riding experience!

TED KIERSTEAD rode a few years as a teen, then resumed later in life in his 60s. In the last 18 years since retiring, Ted managed to swing two trips to Alaska, a few laps around most of the U.S., and short rides in Cambodia, Morocco, Spain, and China. He currently rides a "well-farkled" F700GS.

Michelle Solaro Himalayan Histerics A first-time account of riding a clapped-out Royal Enfield in Nepal from a woman's point-of-view

Years later, a "Plenty of Fish" promise turns into a Christmas gift of plane tickets to Kathmandu where Michelle falls in love with exotic, intoxicating Nepal. Upon acquiring her leaky, rattle-can 350 Enfield, she dodges the butt-clenching madness of Kathmandu traffic for the serenity of the Kali Gandaki Gorge before heading west to the earthquake-ravaged Jiri region. From the snow capped Annapurna mountains to the steam of Sauraha's jungles, she clatters her way around a country where neither she nor her mate can read the signs or speak the language. At the end of it all, one brilliant shining moment in a home that fosters children of women in Nepali prisons tattoos a mark on her heart. One day she is told, in no uncertain terms, why you don't see much of women riding motorcycles in Nepal: "Because it's too hard." That's when things get interesting.....

Trading in her shiny road bike for a rough-and-tumble ready KLR 650 has opened up a world of possibilities for MICHELLE SOLARO as she chases the vanishing point just over the horizon.

Oliver Solaro, Brokentooth Sun Dog Brokentooth Champlain

Sun Dog
A CCM GP450 takes to the Arctic sea ice after hauling a thousand pounds of dog food to Churchill, Manitoba

Shaking the snow off his kevlar kilt, Brokentooth hops on to his ridiculously modified (well, bodged really) CCM GP450 "Frankenbike" for a tear from Gilliam to Churchill, Manitoba. Why? He's built a traditional Baffin Inuit "Qamitik" sled large enough to haul nearly 2000 lbs of much needed supplies, kibble and hay to the dogs and horses of "Polar Bear Town" after floods knocked out the only rail connection to the rest of Canada. All this during what is supposed to be another -50c Polar Vortex February for the Hudson Bay region of Canukistan. Yeah, that's right.... on a motorcycle.

Brokentooth Champlain
Retracing the route of Champlain through New France on a motorcycle... sorta.

After founding the settlements that would later become Saint John, NB and Quebec City, France's King Henry IV had a job in mind for Samuel de Champlain. In 1615 with the help of Wendat and Algonquin First Nations, Sam was sent out to map a route through New France. At the time, every explorer's transport of choice was that Canadian icon we know all too well, the canoe. So what if he also had a bike? A couple thousand kilometers through "The Shield" of Ontario's wilderness and waterways has never in the history of madcap adventures been attempted with a motorcycle strapped in all its top heavy glory onto a whitewater cataraft. Leave it to our resident moto-nutbar, Brokentooth, to figure out how to take an idea that makes zero practical sense and "make it float."

Arctic travel by motorcycle is OLIVER SOLARO's idea of a relaxing "vacation." This summer, however, he also managed to get a little time out on the water...nudge nudge...wink wink.

Faham (Moe) Hanif Three Guianas and the Mighty Amazon River Riding a Suzuki 250 DRZ

A native of Guyana, Faham (Moe) decided to circumnavigate the north bank of the mighty Amazon River via the three Guianas. He shipped his motorcycle from Toronto, Canada to Georgetown, Guyana and started his adventure. He travelled through the rain forest of Guyana to Boa Vista, Brazil, and to the city of Manaus on the Amazon River. Placing his bike on a boat, "Moe" sailed East to Santarem and then on to Port Santana at the mouth of the river. Riding up the east coast of Brazil, he crossed into French Guiana, and visited the infamous Devil's Island; then on to Paramaribo and Nieuw Nikkerie, Suriname. He crossed the Courantyne River back into Guyana and ended the trip in Georgetown where he started 18 days before. Moe shares his excitement, the challenging encounters, his long solitary rides, the fantastic scenery along the way, and the simplicity and wonder of the people he met.

FAHAM HANIF, affectionately known as Moe, was born and raised in Guyana, then emigrated to Canada in 1975. He is 64-years-old, married with two grown daughters and a granddaughter. He is an avid pilot who built his first airplane and enjoys restoring and riding his 1968 Norton Atlas motorcycle.

Jillian Henderson New Zealand on a Modest Budget Escape the Canadian winter in New Zealand & Fiji

Jillian took off to New Zealand and Fiji in December of 2016 for three weeks. She rented a Honda CB500X and explored the North Island solo. The upside of solo travel is you get to make every decision. The downside of solo travel is you MUST make every decision. Jillian explored curvy roads, lovely scenery and small towns while maintaining a modest budget. Highlights include the Cape Reinga, the Coromandel Peninsula, geothermal mud baths in Rotorua and, of course, the many twists and turns of the famous New Zealand country roads. Learn about str etching your budget through the WWOOF program (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) and HelpX.

JILLIAN HENDERSON started riding in 2012. Overland travel experience includes Arizona, Colorado, Utah and eastern Canada. Recently Jillian took off to New Zealand to escape the Canadian winter for a little while and spend time with some friendly Kiwis.

Bill Hooykaas London to China Across the Himalayas / Rally for Rangers: 2017-2018

London to China Across the Himalayans
Four friends head east from London... only ONE makes it back by bike

Four GSs left London. After 20,000 km in 60 days, only one made it back. This is a story about getting on each other's nerves, crashing many times, passing through war zones, dealing with nervous Russian combat troops, having a bike stolen and left with just a wet tent, sleeping bag and shorts... all while not speaking a word of local language or able to read their alphabet! Don't tell us you're not already hooked to hear the rest of the saga.

BILL HOOYKAAS is a self-professed old-timer boxer bum kicking around the globe for over 50 years.

Rally for Rangers: 2017-2018 (Film screening)
Screened at HU Virginia in April by Tom Medema. Bill is presenting this film and answering questions on Tom's behalf.

In August 2017, ten volunteers set out to cover 1500 km of the Gobi Desert to bring new motorcycles to park rangers in the Otgontenger Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia. Cinematographer and drone pilot Jeff Colhoun captured the adventure and reward of this incredible journey in stunning high definition. From the Flaming Cliffs and Singing Sand dunes of the searing Gobi, to the glacial heights of Otgontenger, the true spirit of this journey was a successful conclusion giving ten new Yamaha AG200 bikes to park rangers who need them to combat poaching and other threats to special species and landscapes. Learn more about Rally for Rangers' continued efforts in 2018 to the Altai Mountains of Mongolia as well as expansion into Patagonia.

TOM MEDEMA is a park ranger and co-founder of the Rally for Rangers Foundation. Tom's passion and dedication has attracted many like-minded riders to bring new motorcycles to park rangers in remote locations around the world to support their efforts to protect threatened species and landscapes.

Michel Lévesque Dreaming of Africa Our trip in South Africa and Namibia

This adventure trip on the back roads of South Africa and Namibia was decided on the last day of our Mongolian adventure. A trip of 4,500 km in 15 days, riding through the mountains of South Africa and the sand of Namibia. We started in Cape Town and headed north to the Namibian Atlantic coast, passing by the Namib Desert and to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. We then turned south toward Cape Town, brushing against the Kalahari Desert and through the Karoo Mountains, and terminated this wonderful adventure along the south coast of South Africa. I'm still not sure if it was all a dream!

MICHEL LÉVESQUE has been an HU Ontario regular since 2013 (except for 2016 when he was touring through Mongolia). He's crammed in some great adventures in the years that follow and there's no end in sight: a 28-day trip in western U.S. and Canada, Mongolia (which he presented in 2017), and more recently, South Africa and Namibia. Next up in Spring 2018 is a Moroccan adventure!

Dieter Eberhardt Namibia: Gravel, Sand and Dust Some of the best and challenging dualsport riding anywhere in the world

Dieter presents a visual delight with commentary highlighting some of the spectacular, unforgettable vistas and destinations Namibia has to offer. Fish River Canyon, Namib Desert, Sossusvlei, Damaraland, Etosha National Park, Caprivi Strip, Swakopmund, Kolmanskop, and more. Trials and tribulations of riding in an unforgiving, vast, empty, and visually stunning landscape.

DIETER EBERHARDT has had over 50 years of riding BMW motorcycles and spent the past decade exploring with his BMW R1200GS Adventure and his wife, Janice. They've travelled along the Translab, Dempster, and Dalton. Also visited South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Grant and Susan Johnson, Horizons Unlimited How it all began. The story of Grant and Susan's 11-year trip around the world, without a plan or a clue!

Way back in 1987, before the Internet, two young and naive Canadians set out from Vancouver to ride around the world on a motorcycle. The plan (and budget) was for 3 years, but it didn't quite work out that way!

Joelle Gozlan Krav Maga Learn how to defend yourself

Krav Maga is a self defense method invented in Israel during WWII. It is based on natural reflexes and is accessible to all. The techniques are simple and efficient - knowing them will help you get out of arm locks, shocks, someone on top of you, bear hugs, and much more. Whether or not you travel solo, it's important to know some basic moves to stay safe. Krav Maga is also a way of thinking: if attacked, you can't think as a victim... you want to go home, therefore, you will defend yourself and attack at the same time. Knowing Krav Maga will allow you to walk in peace, I know I do. Why don't you give it a try? You will get to practice some basic, but very useful drills.

JOELLE is a certified Krav Maga instructor who grew up in Morocco and moved to the U.S. in 2003 from Israel. From Alaska to Asia, passing the summit of Kilimanjaro, she always travels alone. Joelle got her first motorcycle last April. She has taken one major trip on it so far and plans to ride cross-country this summer, including Canada.

Clinton Smout, SMART Adventures Dirt is not just for potatoes! Practical demonstration of traction loss control in sand and gravel on large dualsport m/c.

I am a passionate rider who has taught rider training for over thirty years. I own an off road rider training school that includes curriculum for adventure touring / large dualsports. I am a BMW GS off road instructor and love helping fellow riders become more comfortable with their own m/c in challenging traction situations.

Initiating traction loss and then practicing how to control it is a great way to develop the muscle memory habits of handling traction problems on loose surfaces. I would also like to illustrate the best way to pick up a fallen m/c, how to mount and dismount a fully laden m/c, how to use your feet to steer a m/c.

I will be riding a BMW GS or a Yamaha Tenere. I will also suggest ways to setup your m/c for extended off road riding (tire pressure, bar and peg adjustment, shut off ABS and traction control etc.) Lastly, I would like to demo slow speed control, counter balancing, and tight turns.

Grant and Susan Johnson, Horizons Unlimited 4 Easy Steps to Overland Travel! You can do it - we can help! Finding your way around Horizons Unlimited, other resources. Lots of great pics and video clips.

"Grant and Susan Johnson are icons in the round-the-world (RTW) motorcycling community. The Johnsons host - or more appropriately write, edit, produce, manage and coordinate Horizons Unlimited - a global network of motorcycle travelers... and a bona fide adventure motorcycling phenomenon." Dan Hilton, Rider Magazine

This seminar will be an overview of 'How To' travel overland topics. Includes content from the Achievable Dream series and great pics from HU Photo Contest winners!

Grant Johnson, Horizons Unlimited Fix that flat! How to change a tire anytime, anywhere!

Grant's tire changing seminars are always well attended and appreciated. This seminar covers: how to prevent flats in the first place, and fix them when you get one; the best tools and how to use them for tube and tubeless tires; hands-on practical for beginners to experts, optional tire changing contest.

Grant's tire changing seminar at HU California meeting.

Grant Johnson, Horizons Unlimited Bike mods and ergonomics!

Grant will host a bike 'Show and Tell' - bring your bike and show us your favorite travel mods. Critique and discussion.

When you picked up your new bike, did they take the time to make it fit you? You'll learn the amazing difference a properly setup bike makes to your riding fun.

Ergonomics demonstration at HU Canada West meeting.

Walter Romanowski Suspension Clinic

Walter will cover how to get the most out of your stock suspension with a few adjustments. You will learn how to improve the way your motorcycle feels and handles, with getting the most out of the suspension that came with your bike.

WALTER ROMANOWSKI has enjoyed motorcycle trips to states and provinces including Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Maine, and Florida. Western states included Colorado, Arizona, and Utah. The Central USA rust belt states are his favorite travel areas.

Greg Powell Budgeting for Adventure Travel

After completing his 11-month, 14-country, 65,000 km solo motorcycle journey across the Americas, Greg was often asked "How did you afford to do this?" Find out how some very simple techniques can have you saving enough for the big trip sooner than you think! Greg covers a lot of ground, including: everyday money saving tips, budgeting for your trip and life, personal tax, common spending traps and how to avoid them, budgeting while on-the-road, other sources of income, and much more.

GREG POWELL is your host for HU Ontario, a fellow adventure traveller, and weekend warrior who earns his living as a professional accountant. Greg is a Certified General Accountant – Chartered Professional Accountant in Ontario, a Fellow in Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the U.K., and Certified Fraud Examiner with over 20 years of professional experience ranging from personal taxation and small business to multinational public companies. (Yeah, we're confident you'll get solid info here!)

Wolfe Bonham Long Distance Riding Making the Dream a Reality Fly and Ride

Long Distance Riding
An intro to modifications needed to ride 12+ hours/day & tales from the Iron Butt Rally (11,000 mi in 11 days)

Several years ago I got into long distance riding. This led into competing in long distance motorcycle scavenger hunt rallies, culminating with the Iron Butt Rally last summer (11000 miles in 11 days). I also organize day long motorcycle scavenger hunt rallies several times a year in Ontario. This talk will cover the basic modifications that are made to motorcycles in order to be comfortable riding for these sort of times and distances, as well as an introduction to long distance motorcycle certification rides and competitions.

Making the Dream a Reality
How to create a PART-TIME travel lifestyle

Not everyone is able, or brave enough, to sell everything and take off traveling. This talk will focus on ideas on how to create a lifestyle that gives you large gaps of time in which to travel, while still allowing you to return home to 'reality' between trips.

Fly and Ride
Arrive in-country, grab a set of wheels, and GO!

Many times my trips have either been too short to warrant shipping motorcycle to the destination, or the costs have been prohibitively expensive. So instead I've flown in, rented local bikes, and made my way around just like I had my own bike. This has included several SE Asian destinations, Egypt, Dubai, and Australia. I'll cover tips, tricks, scams, and dangers involved in the Fly and Ride idea.

WOLFE BONHAM has ridden motorcycles all over the world and last summer competed successfully in the Iron Butt Rally (an 11-day, 11,000-mile motorcycle endurance competition).