How secure are you? I asked myself that question while changing a rear tire, cursing, and wondering if I should go with a centerstand. It would make things easier at the cost of a little weight.
What is needed to make your trip a reality?
I'm not talking about the practical essentials like vehicle and medical evacuation insurance. The question is about all those other choices made when we decide to hit the road for 'the trip.'

How much is enough to pay for the trip? Kind of like getting married. How much do you need to get hitched?


Will we ride solo or in a group? Sure there are comrades for some of us that make sharing the experience a delight. Like minded brothers and sisters in arms can be hard to find sometimes.
The bigger the group, the more likely the chance of dissent. Read David Bryon's "Riding of the Edge of the Map" or A.H. Rosenberg's "First Ride" for some extreme examples. Will there be a mechanic or translator in your group?
Solo riding allows you to get up and stop whenever & wherever your heart desires. This freedom at the cost of having a harder time sharing the day's ride at the end of the day or a second pair of eyes when you have to leave it all to find a bathroom.
Misery loves company unless it is the cause of it.


How much stuff do you plan on taking? Less is more??
How big of a bike do you need to carry it all?
Will there be sufficient dealerships along the way?
Will my new bike warranty protect me? Purchased in Canada may not extend beyond its borders.
New or used? Could I leave it if I had to?
Hard or soft cases? Cases can run about 20 lbs.
Stock, spare can, or bigger gas tank? I hate running out of gas.
Chain link lock, alarm, or cover?
Center, trailstand, or rock?
OEM tools, picked and chosen, titanium everything.
Drive or chain? If chain, will it be a 525 which will last longer or the 520 for local availability.
How many extra sprockets? Front and rear?
Hard long lasting tires/tubes or softer easier to change ones?
Wing it with a credit card, Slime, full kit with C clamp, or tubeless repair kit?
Stock or farkle the hell out of it|? "If you cannot afford to lose it,........"
Map n compass, GPS, Spot or equivalent, satellite phone, back up truck? Will I be able to ask directions in another language?
Firearm, bear spray, karate lessons, or a smile and a prayer?
Will I stay on the highway or do I plan to venture off?

This is just a small sampler of the questions we ask ourselves. Kind of like deciding to pull the pin on a hand grenade. Before we do it, you have to ask yourself, "how far can I throw it and is there enough bunker to hide behind?"
I am not so sure advanced age is a benefit or a hindrance on making that decision. Once we old guys reach a certain age and testosterone levels willing, it is easier to say, "@#$% it." The only problem is, are we still physically able to pull it? No pun intended.

Not a dig or anything but... what a hell of a question. I am thinking it would take several reams of redwood to answer all of that.


To answer the very last part are we older guys still able? I hope so although my desire to see the lands I wanted to see in my youth no longer hold the appeal they once did and comfort is now more important than adventure. The comfort bit means I travel with more gear than some younger fitter and stronger people and consequently heavier loads. I no longer believe I am fireproof and therefore medical issue's crop into any planning. This limits the distance and time I can plan to be away and for me also what part of the world I can and want to go to. Unless it is somewhere an EHIC card will be of some use then any travel plans for me are fly and fry short stays.


I know of some much older people than me going around the world on bikes but I no longer have the confidence to even attempt to try this with the limited means and resources at my disposal. Each to his own and their own perceived abilities. Another thing that concerns me is that the British embassy's and consulates no longer have the kudos and respect they used to have and so landing in trouble in some far flung corner of the earth is, for me at least, a truly terrifying prospect. Many years ago I would have not have given it a second thought and just packed up and gone to north Africa, the middle East and beyond.


I am only just on the right side of 60 and next year my plans will be to go away for no more than six week stays and then as stated before only to places where an EHIC card will be of any use. I know there is no right and wrong answer to this and many on here and elsewhere will disagree but this is my answer and I hope helps in some way or other


Best of luck with what appears to be a bit of soul searching?


GM

__________________
www.frothandflames.com
2012 Kawasaki W800
1997 NX 650 Dominator

I think some people just worry too much. I met people crossing africa with a old 2 weel drive car they got for 100 Dollar with just one matres in the back. They just planed to visit marocco but then they went further and further with no planing and no titanium parts.
On the other hand i also met people with their landrover loadet with every custom party you can buy. They break their axel because of all the weight and dont manage to reach their destination because they have planed too well...

youth is a state of mind

Man, some seriously "deep" questions to ponder. But of course ... we all go through these thoughts in our head, turning over all the "What If's".

Some of the questions are more straight forward, can be answered from experience: IE, trying out gear, trying different bike set ups, camping, what parts to carry, repairs et al.

Getting out and doing shorter, closer to home "shake-down" runs is a good way to find out if your Ducks are all in a row ... or not ... and not just your mechanical Ducks ... but that nagging "Duck" of Fear in your head.

Some may find this whole "moto ADV thing" is just not for them. May not be fear either, just lack of interest. :confused1:
Others may become addicted and hit the road for a decade!

Some of the other questions posed are more difficult. Quite subjective, impossible to answer. Some are pretty scary prospects. But most times, once you get out "IN IT" and ON THE ROAD, a lot of that fear can melt away. How does that happen? Dunno ... But it does!

As Tobi says ... you can't possibly cover everything, all the time, so try not to "over think" it all. Some things you will have to deal with as they appear in front of you. All part of the "Adventure" and all that.

If you read the threads in Horizonsunlimited.com ALL your questions will be answered...!

Example for the panniers- http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/sea...rs%20or%20hard

just do a search up on the right box!

__________________
3mountainsadventure

You got it right green..... Soul Searching.

"ALL your questions will be answered...!" Nope, I'd never be able to leave the 'puter.

Got the tire off with the help of a friend and a bead breaker. Could not help but wonder how aligning that rear axle would go in the field with the bike balancing on a stick or a rock. Did not even want to think about trying to right a bike with only one wheel.

Dipping one's toe in the water is a good start before taking the plunge. My extended experiences have gone very well. However, as I become more in tune with my bike, the more there is to consider.

Security or that sense of it, just comes at a price. Which may be as weight, volume, coin, or time.
Looking for harmony. No mas No menos.

Thank-you all for your input. Thanks for looking over my shoulder.

safest way is to do like guys on the Long Way Round movie - hire 2 tracks with all kind of equipment and ask them to follow you whenever you'll be riding just in case you'd need some help... Then call it an adventure

Part of the fun is the anxiety of not being sure... not having that certainty of 'security'... you know, the kind of worry that you so swiftly dismiss when others tell you that you're being 'brave', would 'love to do that trip, but because of..'

We can be too prepared, I know I am. I want to be that rider who just goes and does it.... instead of one that has to plan, and plan, and plan, only to see it all go horribly wrong when something wonderful and unexpected happens on the trip!

Your thoughts are normal, the sanest rider has to be risk-averse, at least to some extent.

Al

Not a question of 'Do I pull the pin?' But more like 'what is needed before doing so?' Finding one's balance between Long Way Round and Mondo Enduro is the key.

Less is More comes with a price, in a 'what if scenario.'
More comes with the cost of time, personal space, coin, and weight.

Find your balance sheet.

I am 61. I find my trips are somewhat shorter these days and seem to find a hotel a little more often, but this isn't an adventure, it is a lifestyle. As I travel, I prefer to make mini home bases, dump all the "stuff" I just can't live without bringing, and daytrip/explore within a gastank while riding with a less load on my bike. After I have explored an area, I move to a new home base…My activities are varied, I shoot a lot of pictures on all trips but add in fishing, upland bird hunting, kayaking (I have an inflatable), coastal play, body surfing, snorkeling and spearfishing. I am poised to overwinter down in the Yucatan shooting Mayan rock piles and ceynotes…I seem to do more 5 or 6 month trips, Some older people have taken care of themselves, they will likely go further for longer, people that don't have their health will just live vicariously thru us...

I gotta admit it. I have the Don Quixote Complex and I've got it bad. Old guy 63, spending his time reading about ride adventures. Taking the nag out for longer more exotic escapades. Looking forward to the day I leave for that ultimate windmill.

It has been a while since l last read the book. If memory serves me correctly, there is a part where the Don is going through his antiquated armor in preparation for his ride. He finishes with insight.... do not put your trust into the material, for it will eventually let you down. It is the faith in the quest, that ultimately survives.

You have started a thought process,categorize it , do your research -organization is never complete,act on your work and if need be take your ride in steps to verify your research to where they are -somewhat findings but enjoy the voyage. Security best met with preparation,some more than others.

Now see what you've started. I've been philosophising for weeks about how to reply to your original post but every time my fingers touch the keyboard I freeze in a crisis of existential angst.

What do I know about bikes or travelling anyway. Is 40yrs enough experience
What if the computer crashes and everything is lost?
What will they think about my spelling / grammar?
Do I have the right to interfere in another person's decision making?
Will they take my post in the right spirit or will I be abused, insulted and belittled?
Does it really matter, have I not got anything better to do?

Well, for what it's worth (and for as long as the tablets calm me down) here's my 2C worth (or whatever the equivalent is in UK money):

Firstly - stop reading other people's ride reports / stories. They are all (even the ones I've done) works of fantasy, being at best a third generation (and usually Romanticised) copy of what actually happened. They bear about as much relationship to travel reality as a rom-com film does to falling in love with your wife.

Secondly - understand that whatever you do it will be wrong. Planning a trip - any pleasure trip, but bike travel has unique planning issues, involves trying to predict the future. Some things you can probably guess at - how many miles till this tyre (I'm in the UK so I spell funny) wears out etc but most things can't. You'll take stuff you don't need and forget stuff you do. I've lost track of how many bike trips I've done and I still mess up entry level stuff.

Thirdly - believe in yourself. Your spirit is far far more important than your planning list. Unless something life threateningly serious happens triumph and disaster are the same thing - although I admit you might not think that when you're stuck at the side of the road overnight. If you actually enjoy riding a bike you'll know in your heart of hearts that many of the items on your worry list are really non issues. I think I took a list of Honda dealers in Europe with me on a trip I did in 1971 but I've not bothered since.

Fourthly - get a grip on the age thing. I'm the same age as you so I know what works and what doesn't. A friend of mine (also 63) who lives in N.J. had to go down to Baltimore a couple of weeks ago for some medical investigations and (out of choice) rode down on his Triumph and camped overnight in a rainstorm before going to the hospital. Via a few sightseeing detours that turned into a 1000 mile trip. There was no staring into the fire embers at home beforehand and worrying about running out of fuel or punctures. He had to go to Baltimore so he got on the bike. A couple of years ago he rode the same Triumph out to the west coast to visit a list of business customers rather than fly /drive.

Lastly - recognise your list of issues for what they mostly are - anxiety. Rather than looking for a bunker to hide in when you throw the hand grenade, wonder instead what it looks like when it blows up. The whole point of this is to see what's out there.

BofB how could anyone tyre of a thoughtful reply?

I cannot help but disagree with your first thought. Reading is what stirs up the imaginative juices and tames the soul, at least until the quest. True, it is artificial, but anyone can take Disneyland or Las Vegas albeit for a short while. If it were not for maps and reading, my wife would have a much harder time living with me.

Heck, my second major road trip 2k miles was three years ago on a four year old used Honda Shadow. I did not really know the bike having had it for only five months. My thought process was should I run into a problem - try to fix it, flag down help, rent a U-Haul and ride her to a shop or home. Worst case scenario, remove the plate and leave her on Route 66.

Second point is valid. It is one's insecurities that make us want to add stuff in a feeble attempt at controlling a future situation. Did Scott or Fulton beef up their suspensions?

Thirdly, spoken as a true Don.

Fourth, face it, there are only so many Chicago to Patagonia trips left in a lifetime.

Any Sanchos out there? Ole!