Motorcycle Misadventures

The Alps to Atlas journey through Europe and Africa is over

I'm home in the San Francisco after my Alps to Atlas journey on a Ural sidecar motorcycle. You can read my dispatches and take a look at my twitter page for reports on this 2009 journey from Linz, Austria to the Sahara desert and back. The trip took me through a range of environments from cold, high mountains to hot, flat deserts in Europe and Morocco. I'm updating the stories and photos as I can and will let you know when new material is available. Thanks for following the adventure!

Last day in the Alps - The Dolomites - before returning the Ural and flying home to San Francisco.

Catch me on Side Stand Up... now!

Just a last minute notice to tune into the Side Stand Up podcast now, I'll be on talking about my upcoming motorcycle trip to Morocco on a Ural Geaup from 6pm to 6:30pm Pacific Time (9pm Eastern).

Part 2 of Motorcycle Travel Talk with The Motoworld's Paul Nielsen

It just came to my attention via some twitter conversations that Part 2 of my talk with Paul Nielson of The Motoworld podcast is posted. We had a great time in our conversation wandering around the world, talking about the fabulous campgrounds in France, the undiscovered travel treasure trove of Albania, spirituality and navigation in India, frustrations in China, to mention just a few highlights. We also bashed the myth that you need a big expensive touring bike to go traveling, and explored the fear barrier around language and the possibility of breakdowns, not to mention discussing some motorcycle travel writing tips. I hope you enjoy them.

Find part 1 and part 2 of the podcast on The Motoworld or go direct to the audio:

• Part 1: Let's Go Miss Adventuring

• Part 2: A travelin' kind of gal

Technorati Tags: motorcycle travel adventure women books camping

Hong Kong to the UK via Russia on an Enfield

Here's an interesting travelogue on one mans adventure from Hong Kong to the UK via Russia on an Enfield.

As a kid I grew up in India and left at age 15 when my parents moved back to UK for good. There was some talk about going back the overland way but unfortunately at the time the Soviet Union still existed and were in Afghanistan. Iran had just had the American hostage crisis and was also involved militarily with Saddam in Iraq. That meant the way wasn't clear. I have done a bit of sailing and always liked the idea of going to UK from my home here in Hong Kong on some mode of transport that wasn't air. So sailing could've been the way but is too expensive and far more time consuming and I would argue more dangerous (solo) than what I intend to do on the Enfield. Read it here.

Build your own motorcycle trailer

Got more time than money? Who needs those silly panniers, anyway? Here's a nice post on Adventure Rider on how to build a trailer for your bike. Towing anyone?

Etiquette 101: What the World Thinks About Us

They love our movies. They hate our politicians (well, most of them). But what about our manners? We found out what everyone thinks of our behavior—be it good, bad, or just plain perplexing . . . read Etiquette 101: What the World Thinks About Us  -- especially if you're planning a trip.

There are tips for a lot of different countries and a tipping guide, too. Now roll up on a motorcycle, and see how that complicates things!

Cruz'N List of Motorcycle Museums

Now here's a great resource: a Motorcycle Museum List by Cruz'N. All kinds of other photo galleries on motorcycle travel in Arkansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma, too.

Long Dual-Sport Ride: What I packed; what worked; what didn't...

 I love reading other bikers' packing lists. Here's on for a long dual-sport ride in Mexico, posted on the Adventure Rider site: Long D/S Ride: What I took, What worked, What didn't.

And here's a DVD on dual-sport riding techniques, posted, perhaps developed by the same author?

Here's my list of personal items and gear for a sport touring ride around the Adriatic Sea, some of it camping.

Here's the poster's loaded bike: (Oh, don't forget to get loaded properly! Here's how.)

Are Motorcycle Travelers Introverts?

Sophia Dembling's article on traveling to . . . travel, and not to meet people, really resonated with me. Don't get me wrong, I love people, and I can be happy talking, interviewing, dining with, even riding a little while with random people I meet on the road, but then, when I get back on my motorcycle alone and free to turn down this road or that without having to negotiate, I am so happy. Is that escapism? Sure. I'm an introvert. (But hide it well.) Do you resonate?

Here's an excerpt from her essay:

Though I don’t need to talk to a lot of people, I love watching them. Many of my favorite travel memories involve sitting and watching. I spent hours under the midnight sun in the Vigeland Sculpture Garden in Oslo, watching people wander among the statues. In Venice, Tom and I returned several times to a café with tables under a huge tree where we passed some time over snacks and cold drinks, watching Venetians go about their business. In Rome my niece and I ended every day with gelato at a favorite spot outside the Pantheon. Sitting, eating, watching. Conversation optional.

Read it online.

Astrological Reading for Motorcycle Trip?

Even though I usually scoff at astrologists, I always look forward to my Free Will Astrology reading from poet-rock'n'roller Rob Brezsny, who once told me that doing his weekly horoscope column was just a good excuse to write poetry. Nowadays, with all thoughts following the road in my mind to Morocco, this one seemed especially attractive, and I thought I'd share it with you because I just love the "plot twists" that being on the road brings to my life.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "One often meets one's destiny on the road
taken to avoid it," says a French proverb. Sometimes, in fact, you can't
even get properly aligned with your highest potential unless you try to
escape it. Only by seeking an alternate route are you led into the
circumstances that ultimately activate the fullness of your gifts. These
mysteries will soon have personal meaning for you, Taurus. Upcoming plot
twists will lead you to where you didn't even know you needed to go.

Yikes! I'm needing to go to Morocco! Okay, of course the "road" he's talking about isn't the literal road, but the road of life, right? Maybe I'll consult him, for kicks, and get a reading on the trip, a glimpse of the the plot twists in my astrological future. Would that be defeating the purpose?