A few years back we submitted an article to the BMF Journal (and others) about our travels in Africa which were probably very tame by Walters standards. We received a very strong letter from the editor telling us that it was extremely irresponsable of us to undertake such a trip and that he wouldn't consider publishing the article as it may encourage others to take on similar risky adventures.

However, I don't agree that "Horizons Unlimited exists to help people find the right risk-reward balance for themselves. Thats what all the information is here for in the end." Some people in here are just looking for information on travelling to foreign parts, equipment, bikes etc or just enjoy reading about other peoples experiences. Not many, I suspect, consider the risk factors before they set off on their first trip especially related to the type of terrain or the medical support. More people worry about not speaking the language than they do about exceeding their riding abilities.

While some of the questions on HUBB are regarding procedural questions, most of them seem to be in some way related to assessing risk or degree of difficulty. Road condition questions, language necessity questions, etc are all related to risk return evaluation. Most route planning discussion is either about how difficult a route is or what is worth seeing there - 100% a risk return discussion. Even bike selection is all about risk return. The return being the either tge Fun u have on a particular bike or maybe even the personal satisfaction someone gets for riding his super tenere across the Gobi when others said he is nuts to bother trying. The risk being either mechanical or the risk of not having fun.

Sure there are some questions like where is the best place to apply for visa x or what oil is best, but most questions do somehow come back to risk vs reward and trying to clarify how much risk and how much reward there is is in a particular choice.

I gotta say I REALLY don't consider my stuff particularly risky. I tend to research stuff pretty thoroughly. Thats a huge uncertainty mitigator. I think someone else unprepared and without language doing exactly the same trip could be taking on a very different level of risk. Level of risk is specific to each set of circumstances. Many aspects of recent trips I have done I would never do alone, as the risk would be too high for my tastes. Yet even with a single co-rider, I feel happy with the risk level. Even number of and riding skill levels of your companions is a big factor when it comes to assessing risk. I dont ride as aggressively when alone as when I have the back up factor of having companions with me. There are some routes I would not do alone, but would be comfortable even with an off road novice as back up (like the Old Summer Road).

There are some bikes I have been considering for years but have not pulled the trigger on getting one and building it up because I am concerned that the lesser reliability of a certain bike introduces a whole new layer of risk, which bearing in mind the remoteness of areas I like riding, becomes a risk factor too far.

So not only is the appropriate amount of risk an individual wants to take on very subjective, but even the objective measure of that risk is totally unique for each individual trip, and depends on such a diverse amount of factors including the number and riding skill of your companions, the reliability or perceived reliability of your and your companions bikes, as well as the more obvious ones such as the political stability and general security of the area you are travelling to, your riding skill level, your adventuring experience, your mechanical skill as it applies to your motorcycle, your ability to speak local languages, your preparedness for local road or trail surface, weather, food conditions etc.

Risk, and how you shape and manage that risk is very much an individual thing. There have been 3-4 trips on here (a couple of cycle trips, a car trip and a moto trip) in the last 6-12 months that have made me think ... Fu@k me thats a much ballsier risk appetite than I have - and that's in areas where I generally feel most comfortable - former soviet Eurasia. But thats just my outside view. Maybe on the inside it wasnt that risky. Maybe they did the research and found its actually pretty do-able and the risk is manageable. Or maybe they just have a mega risk appetite. Either way, I dont think my own risk appetite is particularly high. It might look that way from the outside, but on the inside I have a lot of risk mitigating factors working for me. There is method in the madness.

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A bike journal lecturing on risks and safety. That's a good one.

What a load of BS to talk up risks overseas. Where is the boundary there? Before immigration or customs?