Gagging for a trip but the my wife's Mum is very poorly and on her way somewhere better. So sadly all holidays postponed until further notice. Bugger! It just makes you realise how "all the planets must be in a line" for things to go your way.

Not moaning - my place is here to support my wife - but just wondered what has stopped your trip happening.?

I guess money is the top answer !

For me, money has got to be the main one... And even if you have it, it's the worry of not being able to get it again when you get back from your trip.

I'm financially destroyed myself in the past to get away and it's not always worth it.....




Whilst away, I've been dragged home with emotional blackmail by previous girlfriends who supported my trips before i went and then changed their tune as soon as I'm away.... Once you get home, you just end up breaking up anyway...

Never again !!!! Don't ever let someone else dictate YOUR life.. Kid's are obviously different.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Loads of things have stopped me doing trips over the years but not in a single case was it because I got cold feet and I've never planned anything I couldn't afford to do. Mostly its been a combination of the "motorcycle widow" filter - see Ted's post above for a good explanation of what that is and the "no man is an island" filter - having responsibilities to others that changed between the planning and the execution of the trip. On one occasion my wife developed a severe ear problem that put her in hospital the day before my departure. It was either catch the ferry or look after the kids.

The only time I have come back early from a trip was when I phoned home ( after not doing so for 3 months ) and found that my father had been in hospital for the best part of 6 weeks and my mother was going in for major surgery......at this point I had been away for nearly a year, so made the choice to wrap the trip up.

Plus I had run out of money.


I have had the almost traditional blackmail from girlfriends who knew full well what I did for a living and the places I work in, but that was easily solved by becoming a singly again....Now I think I have been a singly so long and so used to doing my own stuff, I doubt I would ever change my plans unless it was life or death.

I think money. I took a two week road trip last month for the first time in quite a while. It cost me about $1500: gasoline, camping, food, park fees, some camping equipment, etc. I wasn't living high on the hogs by any means, and spent only 3 nights out of 14 in a hotel - and even then they were only 2-2.5 star places.

This was in the USA; cheaper than some countries, but more expensive than others. I think if I were on the road for a long time I could get the average price down quite a bit lower, but I can't see getting to less than $50 a day. I think when I toured Australia a few years back, I spent about $50 a day for basic expenses, not including flight or rental of motorcycle.

If I somehow stumble into a pile of money, I promise you I will be travelling...

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

Same here. My mother was also gravely ill, just a while back, when we were due to leave for SE Asia on the evening on December-27th last year (2012). The day before - on Boxing Day morning - after a restless night, I said to the missus, "Y’know .. we can’t go tomorrow, it just doesn’t feel right."

Frantic changes to our plans then ensued.

Have you ever tried to re-schedule flight tickets on December-26th? It’s theoretically possible, at a price, up to > 24 hrs before departure time; but working with a Cathay Pacific skeleton admin. crew on Boxing Day is not an entirely straightforward exercise, believe me!

Eventually I managed to re-arrange everything that day. I moved the whole deal forward by two months, hoping this allowed enough time for the family crisis to sort itself out, one way or another.

My dear mum (RIP) passed away 12 days later on January-7th. I had made the right call.

Support your wife through these difficult times mate; the money doesn’t really matter all that much under the circumstances. Think too of the example you should be setting to the other members of your family, the children (if any) in particular.

The road will still be there when all this is over.

Best wishes

Keith

PS - At the end of February we got away - and it all happened. Best trip .. EVAH!!

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Right Way Round ...

Money, kids, depression, the sunless sea at the black heart of the soul...that kinda stuff

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That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing...

It was raining.

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Paul "Every county of England, every country of Europe and every (part of every inhabited) continent of the Earth" 94% done! What's left? Central America, East, Central and West Africa, Australia & New Zealand

Money and guilt. just returned from a trip in Mexico, would have gone at least to Guatemala if I wasn't worried about the money running out and my wife and parents ending every e mail with the same question "when are you coming home?"

My ride report
Off to Meet the Jews in LA then Mexico - ADVrider

Nothing. I've always made each trip I have planed.
John933

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To buy petrol in Europe. Pull up at station. Wait. Get out a 20 Euro note, then ask someone to fill up the bike. Give person money. Ride away. Simple.

Dogs. My Canadian wife insisted we get 2 dogs to help with her homesickness. We split up 2 years later and now I'm left with the dogs. My 6 month trip to South America planned for next year is shelved for the moment
The thing is they are like my kids now and I don't think I could leave them for 6 months anyway. So its RTW in 8-10 years.

Out of the three main things mentioned - family illness, money and women, I am quite lucky in that I am currently only being struck by the latter two....

My original plan to build a classic bike, sell everything I own and hit the road for five years was going pretty well. I'd sold the house, built the bike and was in India heading towards Australia (where I was planning on spending a year to top up the travel funds), when I went on holiday with my on-again off-again (OK, on, then OFF for ten years, then on again) girlfriend. After a month in SE Asia we were about to part company and she was pretty upset. There were two options, break up or be together forever. I can't stand conflict so I did the easiest thing and bought a ring. No problem, I still had time to ride to Australia, work for five months then fly home before my Carnet ran out.

Now I have a month left on my Carnet, and taking the bike to Australia for a measly month is going to cost me over three grand, so I'm doing the sensible thing, ending my trip early and putting three grand in the travel fund for me and my better half (although I may well decide that a really quick bike is a better consolation prize.....).

Luckily for me she is pretty ace and the next trip is going to involve two bike from Alaska to TdF and probably take a few years. She's a nurse and I'm 'accident prone' - despite the fact that plan a is in the bin plan b looks pretty sweet.

The trip might be over but the adventure is never-ending. Until the end, but when your life flashes before your eyes it's OK as long as it' worth watching!

Congratulations Henry. The trip you are about to go on with your girlfriend will probably be wilder than any road journey

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That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing...

Cheers Senno, my thoughts exactly! Plus if I can save enough over the rest of this summer I might have my Metisse rebuilt for a Road of Bones attempt next year, bring it on!

The final drive on a 2004 BMW R1150GS. Oy...what a ride.