I'm planning on riding from the UK to Asia in a couple of months on a Vespa. This is something I have wanted to do since my mid 20s and I am now 50. I have backpacked and overlanded around the world and also toured around Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia on a Lambretta with my partner/friends. My partner does not want to come on this trip with me as he said its too dangerous and to long. He said I won't be able to do it on my own as I cant navigate or have any mechanical knowledge (which is not true). Ive been made redundant and have saving so its now or never but now I am doubting myself. Help.

Hi MissAdv,

Don’t let anyone to talk you down. Life is full of “naysayers”... Ignore them and surround yourself with positive people who can enlighten your life.

There are lots of people who have zero mechanic experience and they still set off on a bike trip around the world, male, female, solo or not…

You will travel on a Vespa. Any issue you may have on the way can be dealt locally, I am sure. And if it gets beyond repairs.. . you will find a solution. There is always a solution, even if it means changing the engine for a Chinese copy (done and dusted!) or wait a long time for parts to come.


As for danger? There is danger everywhere these days. The most dangerous thing in a trip like that is the poor driving standards in most countries... keep you eyes on your mirrors and you will be fine.


This is something you always wanted to do, don’t let anyone to talk you out of that. Don't live with regrets of what you could have done and did not because some idiot with no imagination talked you out of it.

Navigation? You will be on an overland trip! You can’t get lost, as you don’t have a precise destination on a day to day basis. Follow the sun, the stars, you instinct and your fancies. Remember that the final destination is just a way to define your journey, what matters is the trip itself! Embrace it, enjoy it and do it! And go where the hell you like, even if it is the opposite direction of your destination!
And then, when you come back ,tell us of your adventures.

Come and join us at the HUBB meeting in Wales, next month. There, you will meet great people and make friends for life with people who will respect your dreams! You may even, later on, meet some of them on the road! Or even travel with them for some sections.

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Just go for it

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The road goes ever on and on...and I must follow if I can

What Maria said.

Dear Missadventure - go for it girl
As Maria already said, ignore the naysayers.
Get yourself a workshop manual & learn about your scoot, but then, that's why mechanics were born
Do some homework of others travels too.
Enjoy your journey and we will wait eagerly to read about it

__________________
My memory is becoming that good, I should be able to organise my own surprise party soon

What they all said!

Quite honestly if you are looking for someone to tell you not to go, you are looking in the wrong place.

Yes there is danger out there, but you have to look very very hard to find it in my view, much easier to come acroos "no danger" I take it you don't go looking for danger?

Grasp the moment and go, you can allways turn around if you feel you need to. Miss this chance and you will regret it for many years....

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Regards Tim

Learning my craft for the big stuff, it won't be long now and it's not that far anyway

As everyone else already said: Go for it. It's your life.

A Vespa is a fine choice by the way. There are variations of that engine in use all over Asia and Africa so no matter where you go, you're never far from someone who can fix it even if it does break ( I had one for years and it never did)

There was once a great Italian travel writer who spent over a decade touring the globe on PX model Vespas, sadly his books were never translated into English which is why nobody here has ever heard of Giorgio Bettinelli.
The cool thing about him is that he was never technically minded at all, as I said, he was a travel writer , and a great one, but not a mechanic at all. Nonetheless he never failed to get to wherever he wanted to go, including both East and west routes along the length of Africa, and the road of bones to Magadan.

When asked what he did when his vespa broke he replied; " .....I wait, someone comes, someone helps. Perhaps in a car or on a truck or a camel. An hour, a day. Someone comes, someone helps. "

In the summer of 2015 I rode through Central Asia, and every bike traveler (even the bicylists) told me a story about a girl (dont remember her nationality, but maybe Polish) that rode a scooter from the UK to Central Asia. I was told she did not have a driving license, I was told that she had to hide from the police in France under a truck, I was told at a campsite in Tadjikistan that she could hardly ride up the hill on that campsite because the scooter had not enough power, I was told she teamed up with a German biker to do the Pamir ..... but I never met her, I only heard the stories of people that met her.

Go !!!!

mika

Do it!!! I agree with Maria and it's better to regret something you've done than something you haven't...and I'm sure you won't regret it! Now's the time!


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Please please never doubt yourself?
Everything is possible nowadays, please read some of Mika and Maria travel stories truly amusing stuff.
You will find your only restrictions is money.
As Mika said planning and research is a big part to consider, but that's when all the fun starts.
So good luck and please keep us all up to speed on the HUBB.

Go, you will will regret not attempting the trip for the rest of your life. When you complete the journey you will be elated. Keep us all posted of your progress.

these were taken in a roadside refuge crossing the Andes at around 5000m

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Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement. This has made me feel a lot more positive and you are right in saying if I don't do this I will always regret it. I will keep you posted.

MissAdventure,

I bet I speak for most of us gals when I say we're so often scared of the unknown! I know I am. I'm about to set off in the opposite direction, leaving Australia in just a few weeks. This isn't my first solo trip, and it's probably not even the longest, but I'm so very nervous about it

Things that have helped me in the past:

1) Be scared, be nervous, but if you want to do it, pack your bags and at least START the trip. If you're out there a few weeks and decide it sucks, you can always turn around. At least you will have tried.

2) Make connections with people before you go, and during. Hit up well known traveller's places to meet people on the road, sign up for Couchsurfing.com to meet locals as you go, and always remember there's a new friend waiting around the bend.

3) Read about other women doing it! Check out womenadvriders.com (I'm a contributing editor), which is full of neat women adventurers.

4) Make plans to meet people along the way. For example, if you leave in the next few weeks or months, we can meet somewhere in Turkey or Pakistan or India

5) Do something that MAKES you start, because that's the haaaardest part... Sell your car, rent your house out (though your man might not appreciate that one...), plan a bon voyage party- just something to keep you accountable and make you hit the road.

Well I don't know about you, but that helped me a bit, since I'm nervous of the ride, too!

Take care, and let us know how it goes.

Elisa
travelbugblues.com