I have been lurking on here on and off for a couple of years and felt it was time to register and say hi

I've had bikes for a couple of years but never taken mine out of the UK. In the past few years I have ridden a bit on hired bikes and quads in other countries (not really sure if I always had an appropriate license before doing my DAS to be honest), and now getting a bike is a must for any trip abroad longer than a couple of days. So far I have done some riding in Greece, Morocco, Thailand, India and Barbados.

Each time I go away, there seems to be more time in the saddle than the previous trip. I should be taking some time off again in early 2017 and I am thinking about travel again, this time maybe a bit more focussed on travelling by bike, rather than staying in a place for a few days and hiring a bike to explore locally. No clear plan yet, but I suspect one will emerge in time.

I don't have any major ambitions for RTW etc... just to keep exploring the world as & when it suits and fits in with work, and keep enjoying motorcycles in general.

Welcome here,

You seem to be developing your own ideas on what you want to do an that sounds like a mighty good plan!

Keep on exploring by bike and enjoy yourself!

Thanks & will do!

A couple of epic journeys most of us are familiar with are the Ewan McCharlie BMW / Touratech infomercials (yes, I did enjoy them, but no, I will probably never buy a GS Adventure). One thing that has always exercised my brain is why, on the second one, did they ship everything from London to John O'Groats to start, then blast straight down the motorway to London again, rather than simply opening the garage door in London and setting off?

The conclusion I came to is that they only did it to make the line down the map look more impressive. When they get into North Africa, they are both really fed up of grinding out big mileages on highways. I think Ewan made a comment that they were just flying through without taking anything in and missing it all. My immediate thought was they wasted 2-3 days they could have spent in Africa sat on the A1 with the cruise control on.

So, what I ask myself is how much of the enjoyment of a road trip comes from setting an epic challenge and completing it VS just enjoying the journey in the moment? How much is a blend of the two?

I don't think its an easy one to answer, and there are lots of different approaches to trip planning (or intentional lack of plan) on the HUBB that go from one extreme to the other. I'm entirely a "just go somewhere and enjoy" person at the moment, but, I can also see some attraction in setting a challenge. I can also understand that there might be some deeper personal value in experiencing the adversity of grinding across the Kazakhstan steppes - not that I imagine many people would choose to fly to Kazakhstan and obtain a bike simply to do so.

Other than riding all 193 countries in my fantasies my overseas riding has been like yours :P
Welcome to the forum

That's an question that is very specific to each individual. I read a few books on adventure travel, glad to do my bit to support those who are up for the adventure, while living vicariously through their writing.

The little motorcycle travel that I do tends to be superficial, and rarely a challenge: being an annual tour of lumpy bits of Europe, recently with my good lady on board. Enjoying mountainous scenery, local food, and staying, as much as possible, in small independent hotels. Oh, and lots of coffee / cake stops. It's possibly the opposite of adventure travel as there is little challenge - other than trying to get the bike gear on by the end of the tour after all the cake - and rarely do we get immersed in the local culture. I admire those who are up for the challenge, or get immersed in the culture of faraway places, and appreciate their motivation. It's just a step too far for us.

It takes a certain level of self awareness to just do what you want, and not feel pressured to do more. Keep enjoying

My OH loves the back seat, but she's just started learning to ride too