When & Where To Go

Firstly, thanks for the encouraging emails that some of you have already sent. I suspect that lots of people wish that they could do an adventurous overland trip on a motorcycle, but once they face the reality of the sacrifices and logistics involved, many are discouraged. Getting encouragement from friends and family helps set aside the many "what if's" that can sabotage an adventure like this.

Right, back to the trip planning! The first thing that we did was to decide on a departure date, and having spoken with people who have already done these kind of trips, this is actually very important because it focusses your planning effort. As with almost any goal in life, if you don't have a target date for achieving it, more often than not the goal is not achieved. However, there are a few things to consider simultaneously, with the main ones being: where do we want to go? how long are we going for? and what sort of climate conditions will we be travelling through?

Thailand is 2 continents away, and neither Ness or I have been there. Sydney would also be a great final destination, but we are only going for 6 months and it might be just that little bit too far if we don't want to feel rushed. There is also the trip from Dover to Cape Town. Or around South America. Thailand is currently our preferred destination.

To get things going, Ness and I have decided on a "divide and conquer" approach to planning the trip, rather than "management by consensus" which hasn't really worked on our house renovation. Ness is in charge of the itinerary & finances, while I am logistics (a dream job for anyone with the male gadget gene who is into bikes).

For now I'm not going to say too much about the route (Ness' department you see ;) ) except that it will take 6 months, goes through very hot and very wet climates, and includes the highest road in the world (afaik). We would like to leave at the beginning of July 2008, and will be flying home at the end of December 2008.