I find your derogatory use of the word 'smackhead' offensive,. I think you mean drug dependant.

laura.
I did a 2 week trip to Finland on my own. My missus thought I was nuts and had lost the plot !
She went thru all the what if's ? and I replied with everything was covered
I went to Finland on my own via Sweden, however I had heard things about Estonia for my return journey. So I teamed up with another couple (who I know very well from my bike club), even though I enjoyed their company I couldnt wait to get back to being on my own to be able to make my own decisions about eating, camping, route and stopping for ciggy breaks.

My next trip will be solo, I just find it so more relaxing and enjoyable. You will always find someone to chat to. Just be aware of your surroundings and try and find your sixth sense.

Cheers
Geordie

I'll second most of what Craig76 says. Give me a solo trip over any group bigger than three anytime. I did a Morocco trip in a group of 13 and it was ****. Riding as a pair can have real advantages but you really do need to be sure you'll get on with your mate. Last trip I did with a mate was with a guy I've known for twenty five years, that worked. I've done day trips and known the other riders would be riding their own trip even if we set off at the same time and went to te same places.

I think the smackhead comment was fair given that said drug dependent person assaulted someone.

Andy

smackhead sounds right to me. its there choice to get ****ed up in that way so why should we show them anymore respect than they show themselves?
ridicule & so forth is the best way society has of showing something they are wrong.

I agree-sympathy where it's due but adult means responsible for your own actions. There are no human rights. Life's tough. If you can't take the heat find a high bridge and jump. Linzi. Anyway, I thought smackhead meant someone who punched you ie a thug.

OTT political correctness isn't one of my strong points so smackhead is appropriate as far as I'm concerned. Minimising what they are by labelling them as "victims of society" or whatever the "PC buzzword" is this week, just makes it more socially acceptable which I find worrying.

The guy (and his hangers on) tried to rob us because my mate had victim written all over him after sampling the many delights of Amsterdam and probably had his drink spiked too. I on the other hand, stayed relatively sober and made it quite clear that we weren't about to hand over any cash or passports. If I hadn't been aware of the situation unfolding, I would have probably been chewing on the glass he shoved in my face.

Although now off-topic, the point I was trying to illustrate was if you present yourself as a potential victim which my mate did, you will find someone who will prey on you.

Funny old thing, but CP teams, ex-police ("evening all") etc etc have one thing in common: they need to stay in a job, so they have to follow the line that only they can sort out the problems.

Anyway, smackhead works for me: seen them, lived with them, put up with them and I would very much like to bury one or two of them.

Rgds,

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Dave

No, actually he means "smackhead", as in S M A C K H E A D: Simple really, nothing to do with the PC word which is really offensive to the general population who manage to get by in life without resorting to drugs.

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Dave

Actually I should be more tolerant maybe. I'm drug dependant--adrenaliine and dopamine. Without them I'm very lethargic and bored. Linzi.

i manage on an espresso in mid-morning and 6-8 pints of Guinness most nights. Then I get up and do it all over again: drug dependent or just a smackhead? Tonight I rely on red wine, but it is a special occasion that equates to 8 pints.

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Dave

Incidentally, if you think that "smackheading" is a great idea, try deep-sea diving while a "smackhead" is looking after your diving gear at the surface: talk about "your life in their hands": get out of here!

That's why British Rail is never, ever going to employ smackheads as train drivers.

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Dave

On my way north, from the south of france last year. I lost track of time and before long found myself on dark roads with no camp sites around. Three times I passed an area what I thought was dodgy to lay up for the night.
It got to about 2300hr and I could not find a camp site. In the end I went back to this dodgy area, parked the bike next to an RV, and got my head down.The next morning an old lady owner of a small camping van, who looked to be travelling on her own, brought me the sweetest tasting coffee, and a big smile.This is one of the fondest memories of my trip.
Dont forget that when your feeling low for whatever reason. A small act of kindness at the start of a day by a total stranger will pull you through and inspire you to carry on.

Good luck

TB

Back on topic, that's one of the best things about travelling alone.

In Italy, I reached Bassano del Grappa at the end of a long day and asked for directions to the youth hostel, in a bar attached to a petrol station. The lad behind the counter spoke no English and I spoke very little Italian so he went to get the girl who ran the place. She spoke good English, asked if I wanted food and invited me to the barbecue that she was having with her mates round the back of this petrol station! I spent a very pleasant evening drinking grappa spritzers and watching some very drunk attempts at karaoke on petrol station forecourt. If anyone knows what is in those spritzers (other than grappa of course), please let me know.

In Germany, an elderly couple from Dusseldorf invited me to have breakfast with them. I think they felt sorry for me in my tiny tent and obviously roughing it. It was actually a good learning experience as they spoke no English and I found my German is actually a lot better than I thought it was. There was a bit of friendly banter regarding accents between this couple and the campsite owner and the joke seemed to be along the lines of, "English? I thought he was from Dusseldorf". The very kind lady also made a packed lunch up for me to take on that day's ride.

I was also invited for a and food by an English couple travelling by motorhome while I was in Berchtesgaden. They actually live about 10 miles away from me but I probably wouldn't have spoken to them if I'd been in a group.

I also got talking to a elderly German man on a Yamaha FJR while at the docks at Ijmuiden. I was heading home and he was on his way for a tour of Scotland. He's been a marshall at the IOM and before he retired, he was a crytographer (code breaker) working in West Berlin before the wall came down. Very clever man and fascinating to talk to. We got talking about the Jimmie Guthrie museum in Hawick and also the Nurburgring and he started telling me about about the training days he did there on his Suzuki TL1000S. Very matter of fact about getting his time down to under 10 minutes, not being too hard but getting it down under 9 mins took him a whole year (he was in his 80's!!!). We also got talking to 2 couples from the Shetlands who I believe use HU also.

Sorry for the ramble but I think solo travelling is definitely the way to go. Even if cost wasn't an issue, I would never consider booking a trip with one of the tour companies, purely for this reason.

Some jorno here wants to ban the Dakar race - too dangerous....

Different people have different limits ... go on your trip and enjoy it. You decide if something feels doggy ... just use your senses and you will be no more at risk than you are at home.

As for that jorno ... I'm surprised that the article appeared .. after all it is a risky thing to get out of bed.

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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

There we go, I knew I wasn't the only one! Thanks for the replies and stories!

I think I first decided travelling with someone for the sake of it wasn't worth it when i hitched to Morocco for charity a few years ago. It's a big fairly organised thing at a lot of UK universities, and the organisers won't let you hitch on your own. If you don't have someone to go with their pair you up, and there has to be at least one guy in every group.

I had nothing in common with the guy I was paired with (none of my friends thought hitching to Morocco was a good way to spend a holiday!!!!!) But I speak French and Spanish, so managed great conversations with everyone who picked us up (including a trucker's hooker heading home after work one morning, a breadknife-wielding mad Dane, and a Belgian-Moroccan guy who didn't want us to leave his broken down truck to walk a few streets away to a hotel because I reminded him of his daughter!!). One driver offered us some unknown greenish powder to snort on, which I refused but the guy took - great points for the stereotyped assumption that he'd keep a clear head in order to come to the rescue of a girl he'd never met before and had nothing to say to!!!!

I've travelled mostly solo ever since, and it's good to know that isn't such an unusual thing, the spirit of independence is alive and well!!!

And re safety, I have possibly one of the best options for a non-restrictive safety mechanism in that my dad works for a newsagency with offices and agents all over the world, so anywhere I go I have a well-informed emergency contact on the end of a phone. Reassures my mother anyway!!

Laura