Hi guys,

just out of curiosity: Have you guys got kids?

How do you work your overland trips in with (or around) the little ones?

It seems to me that people doing trips like these are either "older" with adult kids or childless people/couples.

I am curious!

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'Normal' is just a setting on a washing machine.

None that i know of.

Mezo.

I have kids...they are still young...actually the youngest is just over two years old...that didn't stop me from going through west Africa on a motorbike for two months.

Cheers

Why do people have kids anyway? Honest question!

got a 4 year old and inherited and now 14 year old, then 8 year old when I got married. Has curbed my travelling quite a bit.

Partly for financial reasons but also I didn't want to take the little un on trips until she was older and a bit more robust. Took the time to get my truck rebuilt! reckon she's ready now. All I have to do now is find some money!!

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1990 Landcruiser H60. Full rebuild completed 2014

My long trips were curtailed once I had children, however, I gave my wife 10 years notice that once our youngest entered Uni (at age 17 in 2008), and there were no more private school fees to pay, that I wanted to take 6 months off to ride through China and Russia. Since then, my wife and I have taken two fortnightly trips overseas each year, renting a bike in each location (our ageing cat is now the reason that my wife won't leave home for longer).

During the twenty years prior to that my travel was limited to periods of 2 weeks to a month away, with the occasional family road trip of a month at a time. I was also fortunate in that I had lots of business travel during this period, which sated my desires for further travel somewhat.

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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman

I want to take my daughter with me....... she is 7.

Does make the prep more challenging, and limit when I can go though!

But she will get to see a bit of the world I hope!

I don't have kids and I don't have a life. I work and I save my vacations and make arrangements to go on long motorcycle trips. To me, it's the only thing worth doing. There is culture, reading, movies, but that's not "doing".



I want some, eventually, when I've done a few round the world, like at 40 years old. It just seems more healthy to be living in a family of love then to live by myself or with just a girlfriend, but that's just me.

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http://solomonde.blogspot.com
http://euromoto2015.blogspot.com

I feel the same really, have quite a long list if stuff to do before I'd think about settling down and having kids, I guess finding a rewarding and fairly well paid job would be one of them (could be some time!). There's just no way I could live the way I live now with kids, but that's not to say I want to live like this my whole life. But I kinda imagined (maybe too cynically) having kids for many is because once they have a comfortable job and a house they just get bored or if not, pressured into it by their wives (judging from my friends).

Go for it. Your daughter will learn more in one trip, than a lifetime of pictures & tales
Mine are all grown now & the grandkids have started sprouting in numbers whilst mine were young, the kids came with me when we just did weekends away & trailering.
They are all riders themselves now

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My memory is becoming that good, I should be able to organise my own surprise party soon

I have one daughter. She could pitch her own tent by the time she was 5 years old.
We went on several long trips together - I just pulled her out of school and hit the road (you can do that in Australia).

In '06 when she was 16, we spent 5 months two-up on a scooter thru the Swiss Alps, Germany, Italy etc
Got her bike licence as soon as we got back to Oz.

She is now obsessed with travelling - currently scuba diving in Iceland, backpacking thru Mexico then sky-diving in US. No idea where she gets it from.

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Postie Notes - "you're not seriously going around Australia on a postie bike??"

People and animale reproduce, its the way life work.
But i must admit that not having kids makes a lot of things more easy, especialy traveling.
But having kids is also a lot of fun and joy for me, you laugh a lot and you make eachother happy!!

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Yes, as I get older in definitely more open to the idea - I met an amazing and super generous family from Poland who were going to Patagonia in an RV they bought in Peru. They had 3 kids! We did the south-west circuit of Bolivia together. It was funny to open my tent in the morning at 4600m and see three blonde haired blue eyed kids spill out of an RV on to the altiplano! They were obviously having an amazing time. It was a real inspiration to have met them and it definitely changed my perspective on things.

Go visit a pre-school for a couple of days RTW. You will get over those evil thoughts

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My memory is becoming that good, I should be able to organise my own surprise party soon

Lida and I have a 19 year old son. Before his birth, we both rode bicycles, for four years at one stretch, and attempted to continue with a child. Whilst I did end up taking up BMX riding with him, (and being the oldest rider in the state for a while), the long term tours by bicycle came to a close. I did do a Brisbane to Sydney ride over a few weeks with him, when he was about 10, but that was the end of our bicycling days. When he turned 15, Lida purchased him a second hand Motor Cross motorcycle. This in turn saw myself commence to ride again after 33 years, and Lida went on to learn to ride, get her license and has now completed some 45,000 kms. Three weeks ago we both ordered new BMW motorcycles, fully equipped to suit our future touring needs, and we await their delivery while we plan our future trips. Occasionally, we get our son away overnight on his DR650, but at his stage in life, the motor car holds more appeal for him. We have discovered airbnb and have even gone back into a tent again. The advances in camping equipment are wonderful and truth be told, I haven't minded the camping experiences again. Something I said I would never do again. The last three years has seen us cover large areas of NSW, QLD, Victoria and South Australia. So, the years with small child did really come to an end and we are enjoying motorcycling to the max! Rod