I narrowed the question because the site is mainly about motocycles and travelling.

The trigger to start this poll was this post: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/the-hu-bar/big-bike-little-bike-63679 Some really nice thoughts came out, just look at the 10 "likes"... Sure, I understand you, I was myself puzzled as well, it kind of feels like "excluding out something, why?", but it's only a question to make one think. I'm sure we all here have other interests... although I'm also sure these two (travel & biking) are in the top 5, at least. However, that's why I said: don't vote, don't have to put you in a box. It may happen one is not (or most are not) with any answer, which IMO is not bad, but the opposite.

Share that vision. For instance, I've lurked around quite a bit there, but never written (yet). It has great things, but I kind of feel it's not exactly my place. Here is more... humble, modest? I like that, I prefer low profile, although I agree they are quite complementary and both great.

I'd like that a lot, really, something to foster: we are all in the same boat, at least we could in HUBB (maybe not in ADV though). Personally, I've travelled much more (which does not mean a lot, but comparatively more) on 4 wheels than on 2. However, in my heart I belong more to biking, so I'm kind of that.

Same goes for cycling, it'd nice to have more of those guys here, they are the real heros IMHO. At least, we have Kayaker heading soon the Yukon...

It may depend on the thread of choice. I'm pretty much a lurker on the DR650 thread - good vibe with top guys and a library of knowledge over there

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bugsonmyboard.org
two wheeled wave hunting dispatches

Of course! I've read outstanding trip reports and great bike rebuilts.

Interesting, I've been thinking about this lately...

Most, if not everyone I know from my "normal" life, does the plane / hotel kind of travel, and never see more than what is in proximity of where they booked the hotel. These people see me as a biker, ie. someone who rides a bike.

And I have to agree with them, in the non-vacation periodes of my life, I'm probably the avg. biker, who takes the bike out for going to work, and the odd ride some where during the weekend.

But the times I'm always looking forward to, and plan months ahead, is my vacation where I go somewhere, at an relaxed speed. Most of the time I meet interesting people, and have interesting discussions about life, universe, and everything. That is when I become a traveler.

By my definition a traveler just goes where the road takes him/her, and makes the best out of it. And most of the time have a jolly good time.

I'd probably not travel as much if I didn't have a bike.

Casper

Good thread Este'
To really see my country, Australia, you need a 4x4, unless you stick to the blacktop. 4x4, quad and trail bikes have been my source of adventures in the past. But times have changed, and I ticked the adventure biker box.
I find you get respect from the local peoples when you travel by bike, as this is the main transport for most of the worlds poor, also you get to taste the air, and no bloody schedules. I had tired as a backpacker not adventuring, spotted an Enfield in Nepal and my life changed. (If anyone wants a fully setup Tojo to cross Aus. give me a yell, I'll seriously give anyone from the Hubb a damn good deal) India is where I owned my first road bike, a baptism of fire as it were, it just got easier from then on.
Estabanc, I'm glad you didn't include a check box - Who cares?, you get more lovin' when you ride a bike-, then I would really have been confused.

First overseas trip Southern Highlands bushwalking in 1973. First motorbike trip tried to ride to Arnhem Land on CB250 from Sydney in 3 weeks in 1972, that was a silly youthful thing to try( I crashed naturally enough).
Latest trip 40 years later Tokyo to Cape Town 2 yrs ago with my wife on our own bikes. Motor bikes and adventure travelling.... the best way to go in my books.

Very well said - I am a motorcyclist with a passion for travel

I am a bikeler!
Because i see being a biker and traveler as one.

Saludos

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Another 'Traveller on a bike'. I love to ride a bike, even to and from work. But when I ride in unknown areas the love doubles! I love to travel by bike, I have a 7000 km trip planned over small roads to the south of Spain (from Holland). My brother in law asked me why I didn't do it in my car. I told him there would be no fun doing it by car. Well, no fun isn't all true but the fun would be far less. I'm going into Paris and Barcelona, easy on the bike but no fun with a car. I'm going in July to the south of Spain, 40+ degrees Celsius, hot on the bike, unbearable in my car (no air-conditioning!). And many small roads, a joy with the bike, a pain in the butt with a car.

In Seville we say : "in summer at 4pm you only see tourist walking on the streets, they all stop under a public thermometer to take a picture of them under the 47ºC figure". Nobody is that mad to get out!

And when it's hot, the quicker you go on a bike, the more it burns and dries you, because the air is hotter than your corporal temperature, so better to cover well and bring a good camelbak or a similar other hose to a water source. My father was a farmer and used to get hot coffee instead: no Thermo flask could stand long the heat. Spill water over your head and body, so that it evaporates, we do it.

But sure it will be great, it's wonderful, you will love rolling over golden fields of (already harvested) wheat over the plains of Castilla, you'll feel it's another planet compared to northern Europe (I'm missing my dry, overheated homeland now). And don't miss the whole province of Cadiz, it's wonderful, and it's so Spanish! Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos.

Safe trips,

Esteban

This is a thought-provoking question and all the answers are very interesting. Ever since I first 'travelled' I've never felt I slotted into any pigeon hole or fitted in with any group.
I've never been a 'lifestyle' biker (to use a term already mentioned), or even, I think, 'a biker'.

So I'll start at the beginning with my earliest influences from parents and family.
My dad and at least 4 uncles were all motorcyclists of the ride-to-work kind, and to the seaside when the sun shone.
For that reason my dad and at least 2 uncles had sidecar outfits. No cars.

That got me onto a bicycle at a pretty early age, and I quickly built the ambition to copy the journeys my family often did on Dad's outfit. The main one being from home to my Grandparent's house, both the journey and destination being so enjoyable.

So one morning I determined to set off, on my first 'adventure' journey, having persuaded my close friend David to come along too on his bicycle.
This is where parental freedom No.1 came in. It was normal for me to wander off on a ride and not know where to or how far, so my parents seemed to accept they never knew either.
On this occasion I did know, but out of habit there was no need to tell them.

We were both about 11 years old, and I was confident I knew the route from the dozens of times I'd done it on Dad's sidecar outfit. We had no maps.

All was fine as we reached Charing Cross Station at the end of The Strand, about to enter Trafalgar Square. About 16 miles from home so far (Loughton), right through East London and the City.
In those days lots of big London road junctions had policemen permanently on point duty, and this was one such place.
The copper spotted us and came straight over, and in a very friendly way asked us where we were going.
"To my Grandma's," I proudly replied.
"Where's that?"
"Victoria," I said.
"Well, take lots of care as you turn down Whitehall!" he advised.

I was glad of that reminder. When I caught the first glimpse of Trafalgar Square I realised I couldn't quite remember for a moment which turning we needed. Now I knew.

A short while afterwards we arrived, and my Grandma was hugely surprised to see us (no phones at all in those days - what bliss!)
And I sensed parental freedom No.2 - she was definitely proud of our endeavour.
And we had a very nice visit.

Later in the day she asked me, "Does David's mum and dad know where he is?"
That puzzled me - how was I supposed to know? My mum and dad didn't know where I was - as usual.
Well, back home during the afternoon David's parents had been round to see mine. They weren't happy that no one knew where we were, and had asked the police for help.
My dad took a guess at our destination and a local Victoria policeman had been round while we played in the basement.
"I think your parents are a bit angry not knowing where you are!" my Grandma told David. She said that with the same surprise that I felt, that anyone should worry about where we'd got to. I suppose it ran in the family..... Parental freedom No.3.

So later on, to pacify David's worried parents, my dad arrived on his Panther outfit. He too seemed proud of what we'd done. He installed us in the sidecar, strapped our bicycles onto the top, and returned us safely home.
I was very disappointed not to be cycling home, my Grandma was too and gave me a knowing wink. Parental freedom No.4.
Next day my mum explained: "David's in big trouble with his mum and dad. Just because you ride about everywhere all day, you mustn't assume that your friends can as well without their parents knowing!"

I've remembered that "adventure" bike ride ever since, and learned that everyone travels differently.
So that leads me to tick 'traveller on a bike'.


Well, I have 4 bikes between 250cc and 1000cc, and a bicycle (and a car).
At times in the last 15 years I've thought "the bikes are too fast for travelling, I'll use the bicycle". So I've cycled a bit around Europe and N. America.
Now I realise, as well as all the wheels, I have 2 feet, and sometimes think "the bicycle is too fast for travelling" and find myself walking now a lot more than I ever used to.

So, it's back to the old chestnut I think, is there a balance between 'seeing' and 'travelling'? And the use of big engines or little ones......

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TTR250 - London to Cape Town

I joined HUBB before I'd ever sat on a bike. I still don't have a licence to ride the bike I'd like to do a trip on.

For me, a bike seems to be the best way to fulfill my dreams. I want to see so many places but unless I was enormously rich, I don't see any way I could do that without a bike. A car would be too impractical, though I would consider one in some countries, and expensive due to the cost of fuel. I wouldn't like to fly around the world and stay in hotels, simply because it's all too artificial. I wouldn't like to backpack because it'd rely too much on public transport.

For me, a bike seems to be the best of all the possible solutions. Cheap, good MPG, I can carry everything I need, I can stay anywhere I want and I have absolute freedom. I don't think I have that with the other options.

It's my dream to ride a bike around the world but only because it's my dream to go around the world. If any mode of transport was more practical, I'd choose that instead.

I do like motorbikes though. They're really cool but my true passion is travel.

McCrankpin, that was a really nice story.

You own 4 bikes and are probably more passionate about bikes than many people who consider themselves hardcore bikers, but still you see yourself more as a "traveller on a bike". I find it really intesting. I mean, some people can put more passion in several of their interests than other people can do in their single passion. Some people here are keen photographers, who may consider photography as one of their passions, but probably they may be better photographers that others who consider photography as their main/single passion (is that understandable, I cannot find synomims to avoid repeting "photograph-stemmed" words!)

The reason why I asked about the size of the bike in the 1st post was, as many may have suspected, that I personally feel that "more bikers" tend to go for bigger bikes, since riding is their bigger passion and they may provide more fun, while "more travelers" may go for smaller ones, since cheaper means more money/time/slower pace to see sights while they travel. But, of course, as you wisely stated, there's bike/engine size for each kind of trip. And all of us here have both biker and traveller souls.

Traveler on a bike.

I don't have a hard-on for bikes. I mean, I like them and think that I may purchase one in the future...but I don't have to have one. I don't care to talk about them or mull over the merits of one compared to another.

I bought a bike for this trip because of lessons learned in the military. Get transportation. I've done the backpacking thing before and couldn't STAND waiting around for a bus or collectivo and then find out that I couldn't go where I wanted.

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West Virginia University 2006
Beta Theta Pi - Beta Psi
Ride Report: TAT...and Beyond

you should start another thread "whats a biker"
i for one would be very interested in all replys as varied as they might be.