I'm leaving on a bit of a short notice, all around the trip planning has been a bit short, I got the idea about a month ago, serious two weeks ago, and leave Oct 4th.

I'm currently awaiting a new passport, got a new birth certificate since both got stolen.
Some crackhead kicked my door in and swiped my laptop at the same time. Vancouver PD know who works this area, but without proof for this theft.


My bike isn't currently insured, I'm wondering if it's possible to insure it somewhere else, the guy who got the idea stuck in my head has his bike insured in the USA, and he's from Oz. I'll be paying about 1400$/year for basic liability here in BC.

I've got blue cross medical insurance here in BC, but I'm not covered for travel, trying to find the cheapest effective travel insurance, has anybody had success with the GEOS service(the people who provide SAR insurance for SPOT trackers) I was thinking of getting a spot tracker, and their medivac coverage, it seems a lot better deal than medijet

https://www.geosalliance.net/geoslogin/orderstart.aspx


But for the basic travel insurance I don't know who to use, blue cross on their website wouldn't cover me more than 182 days.

I'll be getting my full license in the next couple weeks I hope, I have a full drivers license, and L permit on the bike(had that for a year at a time twice now, never got around to the road test)
I think to keep my medical coverage valid I need to get that sorted?

Is it worth getting the CAA international drivers permit?

Once I have all my documents I'll sit and scan and print good copies of all, so I'm not really worried about it for ID, just not sure if it's required.

Much like my HUBB meeting trip, this is being done on a shoestring budget(under 4000$ to go with for a year)
so anywhere I can avoid spending money is good.

Visas I'll try and do at the borders, no time to sort them out before I leave. I think I'm up to date on vaccines except yellow fever, but I'll have to get my vaccine book and verify.

Ummm, where's that little bug-eyed emoticon?

This is about sufficient to buy you gasoline, nothing else, for a year of riding. No visas, no food, no lodging, no insurance, no fees, no repairs, no tires, no tours, no (gasp!) ..... Or at least that's more or less what I spent on fuel.

Best factor in some sort of backup plan, because you'll probably need it.


Mark

As for all of that, I'll be camping a lot, most food will be just whatever I can cook up on top of a pop can stove(Half-Penny version), a family member has promised to teach me how to properly prepare and eat iguanos in Mexico at least
. And not much at all.
But given a choice of or the trip...
I have Visa to help cover the end of the trip, and potentially another bit of money coming in in January but I don't want to count on it until I have it.

Also, the person who invited me down graciously offered to pay for the rooms where we stay once we meet up because he'd have to anyways, not entirely true but very generous!

EDIT: I am mostly kidding about the iguanos.

It's your trip, not mine. But unless you find someone to also pay your gas, Darien transport, import fees, insurance, tires and all else you're going to come up short. Plus, unless you are spectacularly well-suited to each other you're going to get pretty sick of piggybacking on someone else long before a year is up.

I'm happy to be proven wrong. Enjoy your trip and post back here in a year!

Mark

Sorry, there needs to be a funny face on here for silly comments, I'm not going to be piggybacking on anybody, merely stating that it was offered, and that I'm trying to spend as little as possible on extraneous crap that I will never use.

3000$ cash is what I expect to be starting with, after I insure the bike, and buy the last odds and ends my expenses tend to be minimal.

At any rate: I will have some work available on the way, a friend who is selling whatever I haven't got rid of by the time I go, and I am hoping to make more up as I go along. There is a bit more money I am hoping for in January, but not expecting as things tend to go sideways when you expect them.
There is a chance the school I go to may chip in a bit later on.
But every bit of that is dependent on things out of my control so I won't be counting on it until I see it.

but if all else fails, I am riding a 30 year old 500$ bike. I will have a DSLR and decent laptop that should fetch a bit of money if I run too far out of funds, and beyond that my good friend Visa will buy me a ticket home, and I'll start over again when I can, or continue with my pack.
Tires; I am looking at about 70$ a tire, I haven't any choice on those, as the only company making dualsport tires in my wheel size(120/90r16) is Duro. Insurance etc can all go on the non emergency credit card.


This thread is not really intended to be about my finances, more about the paperwork, what I may be missing, and what I can avoid spending money I don't absolutely need to.

Does the IDL fall into this category? 15$ is 15$.
What about insurance for Canadians, is there a cheaper travel insurance to look at, maybe if I am carrying bike and travel through CAA at the same time? With all the temporary insurances I must carry elsewhere, can I avoid paying for more than liability(half the price)and assume that travel insurance will pick up the slack if I am injured and can't work.

I'm not trying to be rude, and I do respect your opinion on the costs of doing this trip, but I need to go, and I've got what I've got to work with, so I'm trying to do what I can.

EDIT: there will be a lot more than a post back in a year, my school is backing me for doing this trip in terms of paperwork, that's the reason I must go now, no go, lose 3 credits. Not enough credits and the student loan people come after me with fees and interest.
I will be doing website/trip report as a requirement for those credits.

Insurance differs by country, state, province (I assume) and whim of the seller. Answers applicable to me won't work for you. In fact, answers applicable to me won't even work in Oregon or Idaho. And most insurance is not obligatory anyway; you're just taking bets on yourself, other drivers, political trends and your own dumb luck. You could go without any insurance at all in most countries, including travelers insurance, health insurance, drivers insurance, whatever. That'd save you a bunch....as long as you don't ever need it.

In Mexico, as many places in Latin America, you'll get jailed if you're in an accident and don't have Mexican insurance (online for US$70, at the border for $100)---maybe for a month, maybe for a year. In Peru there's a cop on the PanAm who's been extracting US$200 bribes from riders without insurance, which is only available locally for several hundred bucks, one year term. In Colombia some borders require it, others strongly suggest it. I always buy for Mexico, not for Peru and one of two times in Colombia. I skipped it in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and other places. What's your risk tolerance?

IDL is generally not needed....until it is. I always carry it, rarely need it, but save on bribes when I do need it.

Get the drift? You need to answer these questions based on yourself and your own situation and willingness to embrace risk, not mine.

Of course in the end you'll be fine regardless. You've got a substantial safety net as a First World citizen with all sorts of plastic cards and connections and possessions to flog off along the way. I'm just saying you need more money to do what you're proposing to do. If you're content to make the necessary adjustments on the fly, that's your choice.

Maybe someone else will chime in more productively than me.

Mark

PS: Did you say birth certificate? What in the world would you want a birth certificate for?