Nooo!!
I'll continue it with this:




Yes, Thanks for that, I've not seen it before.
Another 'man who would not fit in' is the Ancient Mariner in the Rime of the same name (S.T. Coleridge).

Lots of dramatic images of someone on an adventure who 'Travelled to the Beat of a Different Drum', but maybe not for the best.

I came across this poem at school and it's stayed with me ever since.

549. Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The Oxford Book of English Verse

Richard Burton's recitation is quite something to listen to.

BACK to the original question - how do you afford this lifestyle?
All I can say is a bit of hard work and luck.

But also as mentioned in a few posts here - priorities. You've got to get them right, and clear, which isn't necessarily easy.

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TTR250 - London to Cape Town

THERE IS A GOOD SITE WWW.EUROPEBYCAMPER.COM or something like thjat . This couple really crunched the numbers and cost it out really well!

IMHO,

And like most here, bikes and travel have been the driving force for life since I was old enough to experience "freedom" first hand.

How I have managed to get quite a few miles on a consistant bais is to work jobs that give even time off, many oil, mining and sea going companies have on offer. Some rosters are 2 weeks on 2 weeks off up to 6 weeks on and 6 weeks off.

Ok not the obvious choice or career path for all although the positions often pay well and once you get employed on a permanant basis you will get paid in your time off. A little study and a few courses and tickets and you will find yourself in a position to start applying for the numerous positions available.

The beauty of it is you can rent the house out, or not pay rent at all, fly straight from work to your destination and bike and hit the road for 2 - 6 weeks then fly back to work.

I have managed to do this the last 17 years and have managed to keep the house payments up (just) and get plenty of miles under belt on all manner of bikes, mostly the cheap n nasty although all great fun. Keep in mind this is not entirley conducive to good savings !

I now like many before me here have decided to sell up and head for the hills on a permanant basis.

Best of luck to you all in finding your way forward

as i sit and reed what great thoughts we all have my only question for all is how long are we dead for ???? as for me i don't no so i am going to live the life i no NOW !!!!

I'm always fascinated by the ways in which people fund their tours. More often than not i'm left looking on in envy.

I'm late twenties/early thirties, and don't really have any assets to speak of.

I passed my test in Feb 2008, quit my job in May, and by August rode 5,500 miles to the Black Sea and back. Ever since then I've had the motorcycle travel bug.

Bar this year when my position was made redundant, I've been fortunate enough to do a short 17 day tour every year, despite having low paid jobs.

My ultimate dream is take a 36month tour of the world.

I find it difficult to adjust to the regular 9-5 rat race at the best of times let alone after a tour, so in order to fund my tour my aim is to create a (mainly automated) company, that will pay me at least £600 a month and allow me to carry on touring after any initial saving run out.

I have already started my own company, but it barely makes anything, and I might have to look at other options. In the mean time I've taken on a decent paying 12 month full time work contract to try and get some savings started (I have nothing so far). I'm expecting to be able to save about £5000 in 2013. I'd happily leave with £17,000 and figure out the rest on the road.

The aim is to leave within the next 3-4 years. It's a tall order, but it's good to dream right?

Apart from the full time job, you're pretty much exactly the same as me...

I think you shouldn't wait as long though. Just budget better.

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

I'm heading to Canada on the working holiday visa to try and get started in the Oil Industry.

If you can't find high paying work where you are, move elsewhere and look for it.


£5000 sounds a fairly low amount to save in year. I'm currently managing to save £150 a week despatch riding in London, I might have to have pinched a little bit out of my savings by the time I'm finished (well alright, by the end of Jan when the double whammy of vat and tax are due at the same time ) but it's mostly a fairly credible savings regime, and could be a lot better if I hadn't got used to daily heavy drinking and living off fast food.

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UK to Mongolia 2009, on a DR350

I believe this to be one of the most vital threads thus far. Take my word for it, as I've been lurking for quite some time now.

Anywho, as we started to set our departure plans in soft stone, we've also started to prep for it financially. Meaning: we started by clearing out decent items at yard/garage sales which were held at inopportune times by the sellers, and stashed the items in the garage, waiting for spring to have our own sale, in hopes to generate a small profit. Stash away profit, re-use operating capital, buy - sell. Rinse - repeat.
Caveat; our vehicles remain parked outside the garage throughout the winter.
Upside; it's personal sales. No sales tax, no 'profits' to speak of, and a nice supplemental chunk of change that goes in the pink pig.
Combine the above with going out less, eating out less, selling the low MPG truck, etc. Money doesn't come easy, and it certainly doesn't come fast, but it comes, and that's the entire idea of the "gameplan".

Not much input, but maybe something to consider for some of you.

M.

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Never regret. Always ride.