Hi guys

Long time listener, first time called as they say. Been lurking around here for the last year or so reading as much as I can and taking it all in.

I'm 23 and have lived in Australia for the last 10 years after I moved here from the UK with my family. Inbetween the UK and Australia we spent five years driving and camping around South America (mostly Brazil) so I am no stranger to overland adventure though I was younger at the time.

About six months ago a death in the family made me decide that I need to do something life defining to draw a barrier between where I am now and the rest of my life. I finished highschool in 2006, went straight into a double degree in Film and Digital Media which I completed in 2009 and then went stright into a full time job working for a film production company here in Melbourne. Needless to say, I'm in need of a holiday.

The idea formed that I'd return to my home country by land, celebrating the ten years I'd spent in Australia. Initially the idea was based around public transport, but I have since been encouraged (by the likes of Nathan Milward, David Stokes and others riding smaller bikes) to attempt to ride my well maintained with 25,000km or so on the clock 1988 Honda CD250U to London.

That was six months ago.

I quit my job, found someone to fill my room in my sharehouse. Sold virtually everything I own and as of yesterday have been living on the family farm slowly going through a list of things I need to do.

I've sorted most of my luggage, just need a way to mount it to the bike. I have always been interested in film and studied film production so I have a pelican case I intend to mount to the rear with all my film equipment. I'm investigating insurance, carnets, shipping companies, visas, passports and alike with the expectation to cover the basics and sort out the rest whilst on the road.

I've set mentals firebreaks for myself. If I get as far as Darwin (still a bloody long way), then I will be content I tried and if I don't feel the need to press ahead then I won't. However, I don't expect this to be the case.

I have a decent amount in the bank, though I intend to camp as much as possible (in australia anyway) in an attempt to scrape it all as far as possible.

I have no deadlines, no pressures and all the time in the world. I have a small reliable bike that can cruise happily at 85 kmph with all I need to stay fed, watered, bedded and dry strapped to the back.

I would love to hear what you lot reckon of my plans. I've been torn between two mentalities; planning and preparing every last detail or just yelling 'f**k it', hopping on the bike and hoping for the best. So I settled on a halfway point between the two. I considered many different options including buying a bike in different countries or swapping a bike with someone else, but nothing quite beat the idea of getting from where I live now to where I used to live using the bike I already owned.

Hopelessly naive? or in for the time of my life?

Cheers

Nick and a bike called Rabbit

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