Lock the door and go, right now.
 

Inspired by handing in my notice today. :)

Assume you live somewhere in Europe. You find yourself in a position where you either have no responsibilities, or are able to extricate yourself from them with relative ease. You don't have an office to go into any more, and your mortgage is easily taken care of by sale or rent. You are not rich, but have been financially paran... er, prudent, so you're not in immediate danger of starving.

You've wanted to do some serious overlanding for a while, and own a bike and a tent and all that, but have not actually done any long-term preparations.

What do you do? Where do you go first? Why?

?c?

Beautifully inspirational stuff ! I love "Lock The Door and Go!" :D

I can only assume you've already seen Eastern Europe? Maybe Russia, maybe more? So, perhaps by now your thinking of "other" places? Other continents?

You did not give us your history regards where you've been, so assume maybe somewhere new could be on the cards?

For me, I'm too lazy to arrange travel to far off places now ... and health issues limit me. I like Mexico and can fulfill my travel desires there fairly well. I just ride there, can be there in 2 days.

Seems to me, from Estonia you can simply RIDE to a lot of places without Air Shipping your bike. Of course, you can ride Eastern Europe, Russia, Mongolia and beyond.

But you can also ride down to Spain and take the Ferry to Morocco. I did this
in 2003. From there, Africa is in front of you. After that? No idea, but seems to me that would keep you busy for a year or so.

Maybe you can offer some tips on traveling in your area? What are best places to see in your area?
Hope you will check in with your plan ... once you come up with one! :D:D

I've been to a bit of Russia, by car rather than bike. Going east is always a possibility, but 1) I'd have to actually arrange a visa in advance, and 2) I speak the language, am fairly familiar with the culture (I think I also still have a standing offer of a couch at a cabin on the shore of Lake Baikal), so Russia is much less of an exotic wondrous place for me as it would be for others.

There's a fairly fascinating discussion to be had on the pluses and minuses of traveling in Russia as someone who doesn't speak the language, an obvious Other - compared to someone who is a native speaker but with an accent and general demeanor that definitely marks them out as Not From 'Round Here. Even the most friendly and open Russians still carry the influence of life in a place where safety requires constant counter-aggression to the environment.

The problem with even Morocco, much less Mongolia, is that my ride right now is very clearly road-focused. I've taken the VFR down farm tracks and sandy pine-forest paths, and I've reached every campsite I wanted to so far, but it's not the bike to go have fun in the dirt with. But yes, the easy option so far would be to start heading North (I've been promising to visit a friend doing a PhD in Lapland), check in to Nordkapp again, then go down the Norwegian coast with no hurry this time. Done a bunch of long weekend trips out there, but never had the luxury of zero deadlines. Keep heading south till I hit... Lisbon? Istanbul?

Africa also needs a carnet (easy enough via ADAC) and visas (seems to require a lot of forward planning). Been eyeing those guys in Peru who will sell you a rebuilt, ADV-prepped Chinese bike for 2,5k with a promise to buy it back for 1,5k. Cheaper than airfreighting just about anything. But that's more of an October idea.

Anyway, it'll be another month at least till the bike can safely come out of storage.

I put a bunch into Destinations. ;)

Very good observation antyx, a bit like putting a kid in a sweet shop and saying "there you go, everything's free"...where to start!? I've chosen southern europe and a little bit east then as it warms up maybe north, or maybe not? Choices choices!

Load up the bike, turn on the engine, follow your nose. Most plans fall apart as soon as you start moving.

Starbucks? :thumbup1: to get coffee and think it over? bier

I read your earlier report about riding your VFR around Europe.

IMO, there is enough asphalt in Morocco to justify taking a VFR there, while riding a lot of the Spanish/French roads along the way.
You can take as long as you like over that trip if you, for instance, use the roads marked in green (the scenic routes) on the michelin maps for each of those 3 countries.

Hmm, that's tempting, but I don't think I can afford an R1200GS Adventure right now. :innocent:

I have half-baked plans of doing a Melilla/Tangiers circuit, but what I've heard is that it would be a waste to go to Morocco and not go off road...

Depends on lots of aspects
 

Yep, that feature has become prevalent i.e. if you aren't screwing around in mud, sand, dust, fesh fesh, boulder sized rocks or something outlandish then "you really are not having an adventure" no matter where you happen to be, no matter what you happen to be riding, no matter what experiences, pleasure and satisfaction you might achieve for yourself.
However, your last ride report on here proved otherwise.

Lots of the motorcycling websites have gone down that particular (off)road. :innocent:

Before arriving in Morocco, you could travel through a dozen or more of the national parks of France,Spain and Portugal without even entering their historic towns and cities: just take your pick.

Oh, I agree that there is more than enough great riding to be done on a road bike in Europe, and especially in Iberia. I also expect there's a fun ride to be had on sealed roads in Morocco. Just that... to go there and not be able to go off into the dunes would be annoying. :P

This is my exact position right now, and I leave in 5 weeks to hit the road with no return date set, pick your route then work out how long it’s gonna take. Work out how much money you need (depending if you wanna spunk it up in a fancy 5 star) or tent and live like a hobo. Apply for your visas paperwork then hit the road! You don’t need long to prep I’d say 2-3months, although I started planning 8months back


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I'm one of those who feels that just going is a viable plan. Even if you don't plan perfectly, there are stores to buy whatever you didn't bring and you will always find some place to sleep. Once you shut that door, hundreds of others will open. Good luck

I agree, no off road is limiting. I would not pick another VFR as a travel bike. Too limiting, lack of comfort.

The real beauty of dual sport bikes and some ADV bikes is their fantastic versatility combined with comfort and practical layout for travel. They are a breeze to pack up, go two up or whatever.

Now add good to excellent handling that is good on just about any sort of "road" and well suited for "some" off road as well.

I enjoyed my old 2000 Honda VFR for high speed sport touring, loved it's ability to sit on 100 mph for an hour or so with ease (Murder on fuel economy).

But that was 15 years ago, priorities have shifted to more practical on road based solutions and also using different bikes ... for different rides.

A R1200 GS would be nice, an amazing bike. But IMHO, way too expensive for many. Here in USA they sell for about $25,000 USD new. Several competitors to the GS ride nearly as well and can cost $5,000 to $15,000 USD less. :oops2:

Some even match or do better than the R1200GS off road. Maybe better sport touring choices? No question the GS packs up brilliantly, is fast, handles way better than it should ... but, IMO, is limited off road unless you are a Dakar God.

But for most travel, it's perfect riding typical groomed dirt roads and even rugged mountain roads you may encounter. With a good rider, the GS can go just about anywhere Busses or cars can go. It's no trail bike however.

Many other good choices either NEW or USED out there:
Triumph Tiger 800 or Explorer 1200, KTM 1290, 1190 or 1090R for the tall and wealthy, Yamaha Super Tenere' or 660, Aprilia Capo Nord, MotoGuzzi Stelvio, Suzuki Vstrom DL1000 or DL650 and even the very expensive Ducati Mulitstrada 950 or 1200.

I prefer travel bikes in the 650 class but realize most current ones are not available in EU.

You can find the 660 Yamaha Tenere' and KTM 690 Enduro ... both good bikes in some ways (not so good in others), but mostly Europe won't see iconic bikes like: Suzuki DR650, Kawasaki KLR650 or Honda XR650L.

You may find them used in EU, but many are beat on old nails from what I've heard. You can buy all of them save the Yamaha in USA (new or used) for substantially less money than in EU. They are commonly available and quite inexpensive compared to the big ADV bikes.

I would get OFF that VFR. Sit up, look around and lose that stiff neck from being hunched over too long. :smarts:

In my experience, the VFR's discomfort is way overblown. It's no CBR; as long as you have the correct body positioning, and the core strength to keep your weight off the wrists, it's fine, even for all-day-long rides. And I do have a history of spine problems. It's certainly more comfy than my old Gladius that I took to Nordkapp (getting an Airhawk for subsequent trips helped tremendously).

I could get an early R1200GS or a low-miles KTM 990 Adventure for about €6k. I don't really believe in brand-new bikes, other than for availability reasons (i.e. I would love to get the modern Africa Twin, but only once it's done depreciating). But after riding a CB500X around NZ and an XR150 around the north of Vietnam, I'm definitely sold on small, location-appropriate motorcycles, and low weight for offroad use.

Actually, if I were to spend nearly-new-R1200 money, I would just get an S1000XR. Now that's an object of desire. Wouldn't trust any of the Italians for long-distance touring, and my eyes just glaze over when I look at the Tiger. I'm sure it's not a bad bike, but Triumphs look either boring or ugly to me (the latter more for the bug-eye road bikes). There are a bunch of XT660 variants around, a colleague of mine owns an R, might borrow his to see what it feels like.

There was a guy on HUBB a few weeks ago selling a fully built Rally Raid CB500X. Now that's the bike I'd take on a proper RTW.

I wouldn't trust any of the Germans as well, although today not sure if you can afford trusting any brand anymore.

Welp, this discussion will stay theoretical for a little while more, due to a combination of being offered a new job for more money, and wiping out on black ice this weekend. -_- Nothing that isn't fixable, but the VFR is not going to be intercontinental-ready for a bit...

"They" will always get you that way!!

It's a shame about the bike but so long as you came off it OK then alls well.
Bikes can be replaced but human body parts not so easily.

Bikes WAY cheaper to fix than body parts! :D Hope you are OK ... many bikes can work for travel.

New Job? Very tempting! I think I would take it ... at least try things out for a year or two, see how you like it. Being happy in a job is rare ... if you find a situation like that, you should stay a while, save up some money, plan for future.

I worked in Film production over 20 years. Mostly loved it, especially Documentary, being paid to travel RTW. Lots of long breaks between jobs, good pay, interesting work. (sometimes!) I also did lots of movies and TV which was NOT so great! (70 hour weeks can get old!)

Retired from it all ... I really miss the income! So think about that before walking away! (just don't wait too long! or you'll be old and useless like me! doh )

Well, I was in the old job for 13 years. Started back in college. Turning 34 next month. Quit the old job for unrelated reasons and, had I not gotten recruited to the new place (and also gotten into a new relationship as the old job was deteriorating), I was definitely into the idea of going off to travel for as long as my savings would allow, one way or the other.

Very lucky to live in a pretty healthy economy and have some sufficiently obscure but in-demand skills that I was not worried about being out of work long term. Worst case scenario, I go drive a cab.

Documentary filmmaking does sound like a dream job, when you're getting paid for it. An old childhood acquaintance is an accomplished documentary maker - I did some translation for her - was considering asking if she'd be interested in producing a movie from my travels, or, more likely, if she had some film students she'd been mentoring who would be interested. I've done a bit of editing just as a passion project, and it's hard work - a setup where I can just do the travel, get the footage, dump it on a co-author to do the backend fiddly work would be ideal.

Oh no! I was looking forward to hearing about some potential touring details but I am sorry you've had a fall instead.

As for bikes to tour on, I am biased to the Japanese stuff... you only need to see how many clapped-out old Hondas and Yamahas you see just running and running and running to realize they're built to go the distance.

Good luck with the new job and recovery.

No damage to me other than a sore thumb. Sold the VFR for about its market value minus the cost of a set of Chinese replacement fairings. Wanted to get a Crossrunner instead, but ended up with an '08 Yamaha FZ1S - it already had pretty much all the toys I wanted, up to and including a Givi tankring for my existing bag!

I might be able to arrange a week in Norway some time in August, but otherwise vacation time will be tight for a bit.