Hello Mike,

You have really stired up a hornets nest with this one mate! All I will say is if you enjoy riding and travelling do it! Don't worry what people say but don't try and get people to see your side either. And the next thing I believe that you MUST do, is learn to ride a bike!! That will help you greatly upon this adventure.

Good luck on both
Dingo

Please heed Susans warning. From all the posts it seems that you all have Hollywood fever. Mike is a flake!! He pulled this same stunt on another MC site a year and a half ago. Do not fall prey to this bull-crap artist. He is not funded nor credentialed. My $0.02!!

Lizanne, I did read Susan's warning, she was obviously not aware of the data you just posted, it would have been more effective if you had been so forthcoming at an earlier date.
Perhaps we should all, Mike included, try not to create effects in others that they cannot have easily. Being accused of Hollywooding and being forearmed by you is a little hard to take, even for a tough ol biker like me. I think posting with respect, manners, and in a positive way, Maarten's "Colombian friends" excluded, will help forward the Johnson's goal for Horizons Unlimited. If I am wrong, I am sure I will hear promply from Susan.

__________________
Motorcycle Parking Buenos Aires, Argentina
www.xfiltrate.com
Discover how to legally Buy, Tour and Sell a motorcycle in Argentina

Maaaaate!
Long Way Round????? They should have called that "I'll take the high road". Jejeje

Two weeks ago I came home to find my Mum (yeah, right my MUM I'm living with my Mum while I plan my Jnauary trip; gotta love her): watching TLWR to try and experience what her "little boy" (I'm 30+) had been through.

I saw two motorbikes being loaded onto AllWheelDrive trucks, while the boys drank hot coffee from the third of their 7 support vehicles and chatted with... GET THIS!!!... their traveling medico! That is funny. Yes I mean, really funny, then sad, than aggravating, then funny again. This was 20 minute sof television.. I don't get it.

Perspective, man. I had the same river crossing in Honduras. the rains had commenced , so the locals had warned me (this is what it's all about dude) that I had a small window to ride 40 kilometres of rocky donkey trails to beat the the rising river crossing or I would be stranded. I ignored their sperior knowledge of the local conditions (I was already low on petrol).

The ride their through a tunnelled canopy of jungle with birds racing the bike ahead of me cos they were going too fast to re-enter the jungle canopy is possibly the most out of this world thing I have ever seen. ( Bit melodramatic cos I say that about many memories). Rambling... anywaaaaay.

I arrive at the river, waters are rising and I have to get across now or I'm stuffed. (40km of hard enduro is about an hour and a half give or take). I've got my whole life strapped on the back of a pissy little Suzuki DR 200 that I bought in Guatemala (Laptop, 2x cameras, tools, spare tube, clutch, tent hammock and not many clothes or anything else cos this bike was a baaaaby...

I give it the best she's got ; to try and aqua plane half teh river crossing (about 25meters to halfway).

Aqua planing a DR200 is huge mistake, lol. I've made about 25metres of my crossing when the chain hits a rock so hard it flys off and jams in the rear wheel.

Hmmm...No trucks, no NAV SAT, no support crew...

The water is rising, I'm shitting myself. fight or flight????

First instinct:look for help... there is no-one:
Second, drop the bike, **** it I am over this shit. I'm gonna walk the next 25,000 kms!
Third instinct: after crying a little, kicking the water a bit more, cursing a LOT (God, Honduras, Latinos, gringos, myself, Suzuki...)...
I drag the bike, through rapid waters about 45cm deep to a boulder rising from the midst of the water.

Prop the back up, pull out my tools, try and pry the chain loose, (waters rushing along, bike is balancing on a rock, I'm edging toward panic) ... no go!

Drop the rear wheel off the bike, free the chain, put the wheel back on.

I tell you i will never again achieve a 35 second solo wheel removal and replacement again. I have hit my PB. Ferrai F1 feel free to contact me via my email...

Waters have risen about 10 cms more (This is alot!!! I am at about maximum depth before I'm screwed and I'm losing everything.

Revving the **** out of it, i make the opposite shore semi-hysterical; laughing, crying, screaming, punching the air. Sit down o the bank and reward myself with a big Havana cigar and a few swigs from a $5 bottle of rum. Aaaaaaah.

Now, the true hilarity.

A few Hondurans had sat and watched this from high up on the bank, kept quiet and pissed them selves laughing. I am POSITIVE they were barracking for the river. They come down and want to join my celebration cause they hadn't realised I had rum and cigars. (I assure you if they had , I'd have had a dozen guys carrying the bike out of the river).

I shared my rum and cigar, (road rage doesn't exist in the jungle), and to my great pleasure was offered a joint! What a magnificent end to an adventure, smoking a BIGGGG Scoob in the jungle, at the side of a raging river that nearly ended my journey.

Heaven... that truly is the garden of Eden. It is your constant rewrad on the road, that you will visit Eden after the greatest tests. Nearly every time.

So... dude... standing around whining while your 10 wheel, All Wheel Drive trucks cross your bike for you? Hardly good TV. That wasn't riding mate, that was The Ewan McGregor Show. No more, no less.

POST NOTE: JUST REALISED THIS WAS SUCH AN OOOOOOLD PSOT> Uplate...lol. But will leave it here cos I went to teh trouble to write one of my stories down....
(aren't I feeling dumb!)

Deadly story, boss! Makes me want to head out the door right now!

What would the perfect Website include?
Girls, girls, girls....pornography is the highest grossing EBusiness in the world.
What would the perfect Website include?
Please see above
What qualifications should a riding partner meet?
Please see above
Which motorcycle to use: Avantages, disadvantages, cost, comfort, reliability?
Any thing that goes, that you can walk away from... cause you might have to. there is another post about chinese ZzhongShen bikes... try one of them I reckon.
Is sponsorship really necessary?
Necessary? Nothing is necessary, except for a bit of food, a bit of alcohol, and a lotta patience. Georgey W might think about throwing in a few dollars if you ride through some Coca Plantations...
What charities do we support?
Ummm Step 1: Make the monay... step 2: Decide how to spend the monay. Cart:Horse... no the other way around....lol
The evil of marketing: Were do I sign?
Hire Ewan McgGegor
Legal Consultant required?
Pedro-Ishmael the Third. If you get caught crossing borders with Charles... shouldn't be a prob tho' I accidentally found some Honduran magic when I cleaned pack in Colombia...lol
Best Bike Modifications (Bike Bits)?
One piece of tie-wire, one set pliers attached to bike for later use.
What to see & do?
Duhh! R U kidding? Latin soap operas are to die for. Literally.
Will just any motorcycle photographer do?
Theybahve a moto that will take photos??? Has Japan invented that already? What WILL they think of next?
What route should we take?
Head south... (Be careful of the End Of the World tho, so you don't drop off)
What to take on the trip: Spare parts, equipment, gear, supplies?
A good strong Southern Accent, a bad haircut, spare underwear (Mum said always wear fresh undies in case you end up in hospital), a copy of your voting card PROVING you didn't vote for George W Battleprone, some Pesos.
Best videoing and filming strategy?
If its getting dull zoom into the winning applicant (see answers 1, 2, 3)
Is a Satellite phone really necessary?
Who you gonna call...(ain't 'fraid a no ghosts)... Ghost Busters!
Which shipping drop points for sending out film and getting new supplies?
Shipping Drop Points (or SDPs as they are referred to by my corpoarte denizens) have been proven to be myth made up by Gerge W to perpetuate the other myth that anyone CAN access the media to enforce their right to free speech. CIA Disinformation section invented this myth about a myth strategy in the 1960s.
What to eat and what to avoid?
Eat: Beans, Pan, fried meat and potatoes... there is nothing else.
Avoid: The beans, the pan, the meat and the potatoes.....Oh, and the police, and the robbers, and the right extremist paras, and the left extremist guerrillas, and the middle extremist conservative socialists.
What are the dangers: Diseases, sickness, accidents, theft?
The dangers... avoid these, all these and keep shooting your assistant, constantly, for the whole trip. Keep shooting her, and avoiding all the fun, danger and disease. E Business=porn, remember. Danger = adventure.
To Chase or not: Can the trip be successful without a chase vehicle?
If the vehicle tags you is it ur turn to chase? Is there a ball involved? How will you fill those long days along the Peruvian coastline without a bit of bumper tag?
Should a Life Purpose consultant be consulted?
What the fukkkkk is a Life Purpose Consusltant?
That sounds so cool. (not)
Will he have a life-profit based approach or a fairness and equity principle that should be adhered to for longer term life sustainability.

I know a GREAT Life Purpose Consultant that will find you anywhere you are in Central/Sth Am... his name is CHARLIE......
Fitness trainer real needed pre-trip?
Assuming LPC (above) will keep our mental fitness up to scratch, I am thinking RICHARD SIMMONS would be cool celebrity alternative to Ewan MGregor.

(That would honestly be really, really cool. I'm actually selling myself on this, Richie, in tights, on a bike, in the Heart Of Drakness Darien Gap)
Health, Digestion, & Diet Consultant: Hollywood hype?
Definitely, someone to tell you "eat more beans"? Perhaps Jamie Oliver? Richie Simmons and Jamie Oliver.. yeah, I'm feeling it man, I'm feeling it.
What to expect at Borders Crossings?
Expect to enter a new country, eat more beans, fart a little and move on to the next border crossing...

Cheers mate,
Good luck,
Thirty days.... ummm, perhaps a cooking show.

Jeeze, you have way too much time on your hands Cpt Barb!

__________________
Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

LMAO!!
You sure you weren't suckin' down on a scoob while you posted that, Cpt.?!

Thanks John, I checked and these will work on standard DVD players in the US? So I'll order them up.
Mike[/B]</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



[This message has been edited by motorbikewithmike.com (edited 10 February 2006).]

Holy Shite guys.

I'm with Dan... Motorcycle travel is not 'The Next Big Thing'. This is not pilates. This is not kabbalah. This is about getting away from the bluffers and wankers that clog up modern capitalist society. This is about escape. This is about self-sufficiency. This is about seeing how and who we are away from the safety nets of sat phones and breakdown trucks and travel guides.

I´ve been on the road from Alaska nearly 9 months now and it's not been enough, and the best days are probably the ones when i don't even think about the camera. When I feel the road, smell the land. I think if you organise a trip south in 40 days you will loose completely the essence of the journey that you are seeking. Perhaps an option is to allow more time, take the cameras without any preconceived ideas and just see what drops out at the end, or perhaps that's just wishful thinking.

If you film a trip, you film a film trip, if you ride your bike south.... you ride your bike south.... if you know what I mean, they are two different experiences..... I threw my video camera away in the first 4 weeks because I felt it was ´ruining´ my experience....

That's my cents worth....

www.oneworld-twowheels.com

__________________
Four wheels moves my body.
Two wheels moves my soul...

One more thought.

I am not so sure a competition is the way to go however, because anyone who has all the REAL info you need is either on the road or has done the trip. They may want to do the trip with you, but they are not the ones you want to do the trip with you. They will know the way, know the tricks, know the language and know what to expect, a boring combination for a good film. Perhaps the cameraman should have done it before, and keep his mouth shut, so he can ride 5 miles ahead of you and get the really good shot of you in the air when you hit that almighty pothole in Costa Rica......etc....... Ewan and co messed up because they were too prepared... and even when they weren´t they had Mummy at the end of the sat phone.

Keep it green if you know what I mean. After all, it's just a day out on the bikes, except at the end of each day you stay somewhere different.

[This message has been edited by Revolucion (edited 10 February 2006).]

__________________
Four wheels moves my body.
Two wheels moves my soul...

hello all,

I am with Dan, he spoke out of my heart after reading the b.. s... from Mike.

Mike, go and make a movie about life consultants.

You want to create a 40 days adventure hero in your movie, this is the wrong place to search for an actor, go to Hollywood.

You could give me all the money you own and I would not ride with you.

Mika Kuhn
around the world 1999 - 2005
on a yamaha tenere
www.weltreise-motorrad.de

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I thought motorcycle travellers and posters on the HUBB were supposed to be a tolerant bunch?

Ever since the Long Way Round came out bikers who have done the solo trip without cameras / back-up teams /life consultants etc have started looking down on anyone who does it differently. I personally prefer to travel solo and have spent the last two years of my life having the most fantastic experience riding by myself. But I also know other people prefer to do it differently, either with other riders / 4WDS or maybe even camera crews.

I went through a period of several months in southern Africa where at every camp ground I would meet commercial overland trucks, carrying groups of passengers. They did bugger all towards appreciating the local culture and at the time I looked down on them and thought of myself as a superior traveller. It was only afterwards that I realised what a dickhead I was becoming, because the whole point about travel is to make you happy, not to impress others.

So who really cares if someone elses form of travel is different to yours - it doesn't make it any more or less valid than your own trip. Sure, doing a solo trip is significantly more demanding and in my view ultimately more rewarding. But that doesn't make Ewen & Charlie's trip or Mike's plans any less valid.

And if Mike wants to make a buck out of it, good luck to him. How many people on the road have you seen with some minor forms of sponsorship, whether it be free kit or consultancy fees from publishing articles etc. If I could afford to fund a lifestyle of permenant travel on a motorbike, I would be tempted to do it too.....

Lets just all remember why we travel in the first place and keep things tolerant.

I can sense with my wonder wand that Dan lives. He has moved on from international correspondent for emap, but is yet move onto the greener pastures of life running a bar by a beach in belize, or taken to writing ads for 60's repo fords in Buenos Aries.

Obe One feels for Dan and thinks people are trying to imitate the blessed one, but deep down in wookie world Obe knows they dont have his famous pull, nor his witty comentary.

Obe feels a bit dumb especially when his first border guard tells him stick his photocopied documents somewhere dark, but bleeting mate just puts it down to a cultural phopa and has him name drop to the embassy.

These special qualities are what makes our movie so cool.

Mike the death star is full.

__________________
I had survival training but couldn't use a petrol bowser, let alone ride a bike. Claudio! Claudio!

Mike,

You did a very good job of "shooting down" Dan's comment. Congratulations.

What did you gain by it?

Nothing! You just lost the little bit of "faith" (I should call it hope) I had that you actually would make a real movie (and not a piece of theatrical shit).

I know you can also brake down my comment for the simpel reason that english is not my "home language" so it is easy to win a discusion.... But that does not make you right or good.

Lets put it this way, if you kill some one... and get released on a technicality, you won..... but you are still a murderer.

Please let me know when you go through Colombia en what route you will take. I have some friends that would enjoy meeting you.

Maarten


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- www.maartensworld.com -

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