Questions And Answers:
There are going to be questions when people look at a website and an adventure like the one I am going on. Some of the questions are simple and others are more complex and or personal. I have nothing to hide when it comes to preparation and planning, or to the financial's of how I am able to go about such a long trip spanning so many years/countries. Listed below are some of the most Frequent Questions and Answers
Are you rich? NO!! I actually grew up quite poor and have worked all my adult life starting at 16 until now at 37. I Have been saving for this trip for over a year and a half. I also have a job I love, but dont make much money at. My current income is about $25,000 US before taxes. I am living on $250 a month to save enough.
How much will you save for the trip? I will save between $35-40,000. So if I keep on my budget while traveling of about $15-$18 a day I should be able to travel for 5 years and have a bit of a cushion say $5-8,000 for the unknown as well as the know like visas, bribes, travel, theft...
Were will you sleep? I will be using a tent for I hope 90-95% of all my sleeping. I will however take any offer of a place to sleep if I feel it is a good idea. I will also be taking advantage of Couch Surfing as well as staying in firehouses as well as Churches along my route. If you look at the route page and you think I will be close to you and you want to host me, I would be glad to swap some stories for a place to crash.
What will you eat? The main idea is to cook as much as possible to save money. I will eat whatever I can that is going to be high in calorie count per cent spent, so rice, oats, noodles...at least in the US and Canada. After I get into Mexico and beyond I am open to whatever I find , the more local the better. I have no inhibitions about food I like to try all types and flavors. I love spicy, and foods with bold flavor are great, so I will try to Spice up my camp meals as much as possible.
Are you afraid? I wont say that I am afraid if is was I would probably stay home in my comfortable bubble of life and never go out in search of whats in this big world. I will however say I am a bit scared of the unknown, but I am also very fascinated by it as well and have a healthy fear of all the dangers that are present.
Will you post a Blog for updates? I dont like the Word BLOG!! So I will be updating this site with journals and pictures as well as GEO spacial information so I can be tracked on my journey, about once a week when it is feasible less when it is not, it all depends on access to internet.
How many countries will you visit? If you look at the route closely it shows approximately 60 countries. if I stay on my route I would visit a minimum of 60 not being entirely sure which others I want to visit, or how the route would change.
How long will it take? a Year? One could go all the way around in only 9 months, but I would ask; What have you really seen? I chose the route I did because it takes me on the longest way through more countries taking more time, about 5 years to be exact. In taking the "long way" I hope I will be able to meet more cultures and see some of the natural wonders we have here on this beautiful planet.
Will you take Buses, Trains, Planes... I have set a goal for myself to ride/walk every inch, but I am also not a fool if it is deemed that a ride is needed for safeties sake be it natural disaster, man made threat or my own stupidity I will take other forms of transport besides my bike. I will not take transport because the wind is too strong or it is raining or the MTN is just too high this is just personal and if you take a ride I am not judging, it is fine to do so. I am taking a plane from Maui to Prudhoe bay *my starting point* and a Plane or a Cargo ship from Buenos aires, Argentina to Cape Town, Africa. After that I might take a ferry from Egypt to Turkey or go through Israel into turkey. Then it should be overland until I reach Singapore.
How will you protect yourself from disease? There is NO sure fire way to protect yourself against all the known diseases out there all I can do is get the proper vac's and be diligent about hand washing and sanitation.
What vaccinations/precautions are you taking? I have been told for international travel I should get the following vaccinations some prevent other just buy you more time:
Pre Rabies exposure: *buys more time*
Japanese encephalitis
Yellow fever
Tetanus
MMR
Malaria meds
Do you have a family? I do not have a family. But I do have a Parent She is worried but understands the need I have to go.
Do you accept Donations? Yes ! I am Not one to say no to a gift. I am however not a charity so I cant offer a tax break or anything like that. Any amount is what it takes to continue for one day of travel. If you want to donate to my more than worthy cause and keep me in vidles for another day I would be greatfull beyond belief, you can just click the button !!
You dont need a Paypal account, but it helps to make it quicker.
I would like to come along for a section, how do I go about it ? Got a bike and a bit of time on your hands and cant seem to figure out what you would like to do? May I suggest a ride in an exotic or perhaps not so exotic local. Tagging on to my trip is easy; pick a section you might like to see, keep in contact with me through this website my Journals and emails. When the section you want to ride gets close , sell the house, hawk the kids, kiss the other half goodbye for a few weeks and hop on that big 'ol' jet plane, train or alto bus and join me for a dusty, dirty camped in the wild good time. There are a few rules; I am camping 90-95% of the time if it is safe to do, so come prepared. I am NOT a vegetarian, fruitarian or vegan, and I pretty much could care less what I eat as long as it tastes good and or has high calories, so be prepared to eat what is available. I wont go on long treks to find a fruit salad, a pumpkin patch or a non-fat frozen decaf latte frappa whatever.... I am not in a hurry so if you are on a major time constraint I am probably not the person to ride with. You must be easy to get along with and LOW stress, with a carefree attitude about being dirty, eating cheaply, mingling with the locals and going slow enough to count the cracks in the road if boredom gets the best of you. OK! so you can agree with all that and have the time, now you may ask do I need touring experience? a little is good but none could work, as long as your prepared as you can be, we'll help each other with the little details. Hope to see you on the trail !!
How much weight will you carry ? How much does your bike and gear weigh ? I get these question a lot ! so here is a bit of a break down. I dont know exact weights for each item so we wont go there , but I do know that the gear packed in the bags weighs about 36.28kg/80lb. So if you add that to the weight of the bike at 23.58kg/52lb you have a total DRY weight of 59.87kg/132lb. Now this is as I stated dry weight meaning NO water on board I will be carrying about 2 gallons of water at any given time so add 7.25kg/16lb to the weight for a total minimum weight of 67.13kg/148lb give or take a few pounds. When I travel in the desert I will carry more water/food, I have read that some people were carrying 8 gallons into the Atacama , and Gobi desert so the bike could get real heavy at times up to 90.71kg/200lb. UUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHH !!!!
What will you carry with you ? The answer to this question can be found here
Will you follow the seasons ? What happens if you hit winter in South America, or Russia ?
I am not purposely following the seasons as a means to travel, if I were then I would have to Hurry along as the seasons change from one to the next. I have calculated that I may end up in a Patagonian winter, It just seems to be the way the seasons work in the South being all backwards to the us here in the North. If that happens I wont travel in a long winter, especially into places were the temp can drop so low as to cause death, not to mention the amount of severe winter storms that race through the area. So my plan if it looks I will be traveling in a country that has a bad winter season I will store my gear with a friend and sign on with Tour d Africa. Tour d Africa is company that does 6 different tours in some sweet parts of the world. So I would be a guide, cook, Mechanic....whatever for the 4-5mo the tour is going on , then when it is done head back to my route not having skipped anything and start again, I will even have more money in the pocket as well for my trip. This is the plan but like all things subject to change without notice. This general plan is also to be implemented if I see a Russian, Mongolian, Tibetan....or any other place I am traveling turn to cold to ride.
There are going to be questions when people look at a website and an adventure like the one I am going on. Some of the questions are simple and others are more complex and or personal. I have nothing to hide when it comes to preparation and planning, or to the financial's of how I am able to go about such a long trip spanning so many years/countries. Listed below are some of the most Frequent Questions and Answers
Are you rich? NO!! I actually grew up quite poor and have worked all my adult life starting at 16 until now at 37. I Have been saving for this trip for over a year and a half. I also have a job I love, but dont make much money at. My current income is about $25,000 US before taxes. I am living on $250 a month to save enough.
How much will you save for the trip? I will save between $35-40,000. So if I keep on my budget while traveling of about $15-$18 a day I should be able to travel for 5 years and have a bit of a cushion say $5-8,000 for the unknown as well as the know like visas, bribes, travel, theft...
Were will you sleep? I will be using a tent for I hope 90-95% of all my sleeping. I will however take any offer of a place to sleep if I feel it is a good idea. I will also be taking advantage of Couch Surfing as well as staying in firehouses as well as Churches along my route. If you look at the route page and you think I will be close to you and you want to host me, I would be glad to swap some stories for a place to crash.
What will you eat? The main idea is to cook as much as possible to save money. I will eat whatever I can that is going to be high in calorie count per cent spent, so rice, oats, noodles...at least in the US and Canada. After I get into Mexico and beyond I am open to whatever I find , the more local the better. I have no inhibitions about food I like to try all types and flavors. I love spicy, and foods with bold flavor are great, so I will try to Spice up my camp meals as much as possible.
Are you afraid? I wont say that I am afraid if is was I would probably stay home in my comfortable bubble of life and never go out in search of whats in this big world. I will however say I am a bit scared of the unknown, but I am also very fascinated by it as well and have a healthy fear of all the dangers that are present.
Will you post a Blog for updates? I dont like the Word BLOG!! So I will be updating this site with journals and pictures as well as GEO spacial information so I can be tracked on my journey, about once a week when it is feasible less when it is not, it all depends on access to internet.
How many countries will you visit? If you look at the route closely it shows approximately 60 countries. if I stay on my route I would visit a minimum of 60 not being entirely sure which others I want to visit, or how the route would change.
How long will it take? a Year? One could go all the way around in only 9 months, but I would ask; What have you really seen? I chose the route I did because it takes me on the longest way through more countries taking more time, about 5 years to be exact. In taking the "long way" I hope I will be able to meet more cultures and see some of the natural wonders we have here on this beautiful planet.
Will you take Buses, Trains, Planes... I have set a goal for myself to ride/walk every inch, but I am also not a fool if it is deemed that a ride is needed for safeties sake be it natural disaster, man made threat or my own stupidity I will take other forms of transport besides my bike. I will not take transport because the wind is too strong or it is raining or the MTN is just too high this is just personal and if you take a ride I am not judging, it is fine to do so. I am taking a plane from Maui to Prudhoe bay *my starting point* and a Plane or a Cargo ship from Buenos aires, Argentina to Cape Town, Africa. After that I might take a ferry from Egypt to Turkey or go through Israel into turkey. Then it should be overland until I reach Singapore.
How will you protect yourself from disease? There is NO sure fire way to protect yourself against all the known diseases out there all I can do is get the proper vac's and be diligent about hand washing and sanitation.
What vaccinations/precautions are you taking? I have been told for international travel I should get the following vaccinations some prevent other just buy you more time:
Pre Rabies exposure: *buys more time*
Japanese encephalitis
Yellow fever
Tetanus
MMR
Malaria meds
Do you have a family? I do not have a family. But I do have a Parent She is worried but understands the need I have to go.
Do you accept Donations? Yes ! I am Not one to say no to a gift. I am however not a charity so I cant offer a tax break or anything like that. Any amount is what it takes to continue for one day of travel. If you want to donate to my more than worthy cause and keep me in vidles for another day I would be greatfull beyond belief, you can just click the button !!
You dont need a Paypal account, but it helps to make it quicker.
I would like to come along for a section, how do I go about it ? Got a bike and a bit of time on your hands and cant seem to figure out what you would like to do? May I suggest a ride in an exotic or perhaps not so exotic local. Tagging on to my trip is easy; pick a section you might like to see, keep in contact with me through this website my Journals and emails. When the section you want to ride gets close , sell the house, hawk the kids, kiss the other half goodbye for a few weeks and hop on that big 'ol' jet plane, train or alto bus and join me for a dusty, dirty camped in the wild good time. There are a few rules; I am camping 90-95% of the time if it is safe to do, so come prepared. I am NOT a vegetarian, fruitarian or vegan, and I pretty much could care less what I eat as long as it tastes good and or has high calories, so be prepared to eat what is available. I wont go on long treks to find a fruit salad, a pumpkin patch or a non-fat frozen decaf latte frappa whatever.... I am not in a hurry so if you are on a major time constraint I am probably not the person to ride with. You must be easy to get along with and LOW stress, with a carefree attitude about being dirty, eating cheaply, mingling with the locals and going slow enough to count the cracks in the road if boredom gets the best of you. OK! so you can agree with all that and have the time, now you may ask do I need touring experience? a little is good but none could work, as long as your prepared as you can be, we'll help each other with the little details. Hope to see you on the trail !!
How much weight will you carry ? How much does your bike and gear weigh ? I get these question a lot ! so here is a bit of a break down. I dont know exact weights for each item so we wont go there , but I do know that the gear packed in the bags weighs about 36.28kg/80lb. So if you add that to the weight of the bike at 23.58kg/52lb you have a total DRY weight of 59.87kg/132lb. Now this is as I stated dry weight meaning NO water on board I will be carrying about 2 gallons of water at any given time so add 7.25kg/16lb to the weight for a total minimum weight of 67.13kg/148lb give or take a few pounds. When I travel in the desert I will carry more water/food, I have read that some people were carrying 8 gallons into the Atacama , and Gobi desert so the bike could get real heavy at times up to 90.71kg/200lb. UUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHH !!!!
What will you carry with you ? The answer to this question can be found here
Will you follow the seasons ? What happens if you hit winter in South America, or Russia ?
I am not purposely following the seasons as a means to travel, if I were then I would have to Hurry along as the seasons change from one to the next. I have calculated that I may end up in a Patagonian winter, It just seems to be the way the seasons work in the South being all backwards to the us here in the North. If that happens I wont travel in a long winter, especially into places were the temp can drop so low as to cause death, not to mention the amount of severe winter storms that race through the area. So my plan if it looks I will be traveling in a country that has a bad winter season I will store my gear with a friend and sign on with Tour d Africa. Tour d Africa is company that does 6 different tours in some sweet parts of the world. So I would be a guide, cook, Mechanic....whatever for the 4-5mo the tour is going on , then when it is done head back to my route not having skipped anything and start again, I will even have more money in the pocket as well for my trip. This is the plan but like all things subject to change without notice. This general plan is also to be implemented if I see a Russian, Mongolian, Tibetan....or any other place I am traveling turn to cold to ride.
