Often these same questioned come up from curious fellow dualsport motorcycle riders we meet. We’re happy to share information.
What will you do when you return? How could you quit your job?
Well, it is always difficult to get back and start a normal life again. We struggled the first time round to get back to work. It takes time to adjust. As we are on a continued trip taking a break every now and then is a good thing. Luckily we do not have jobs where we work for people. It’s actually easy once you have made up your mind to pack up and leave a solid job or business.
How do you fund your trips?
We have invested money over the years that is supporting us with income and we have a small business that is not always dependent on us. It is not a lot but if you work sparingly it is possible to keep going for a long time. Creating passive income is the key and the name of the game. In the same breath, there are numerous ways to earn money when travelling. We wrote some articles that might help on the subject here
Where are you going to sleep?
Mostly in our tent, cheap hostels, and then there’s, House Swap and similar websites to find free accommodation if need be. We really loath freeloading and begging for funds to keep going. It is not feasible in the long run and eventually, you lose all dignity and respect by begging for people to host you. We do not want to become bums with bikes. But the odd time being invited by people to stay for a night or two is always welcome.
What happens if one of the bikes breaks down?
It is never a nice feeling as it strains the budget and can end the trip. But, hey, shit happens! That’s all part of the adventure. We have an emergency fund for such situations and a big part of our budget is going towards maintenance, repair and upkeep of the bikes. After all, it’s either riding the world or hiking the world. Being able to deal with these situations makes us better people, so bring it on! Not all in life is easy or fair.
How do you carry all the stuff on the bike?
We don’t carry much stuff, to be honest. We take a lot of time to plan what we need and how to carry it on the bike. The lightest & most compact equipment available, simple set of clothes and try to keep nonsense at home. We normally carry some dried food and enough water to keep us going for 2 days if something unpleasant happens. We try and limit our gear to 30kg each which include everything except riders and fuel on the motorcycles.
How much planning do you do before the trip?
Not much, we sort of know the general route we want to take. Then do the basics and figure out if we need visas or a Carnet for the bikes. Then try and get in touch with travellers that we might meet on the road as they are always a hugely rich source of information. We tend to not follow the beaten path of other travellers and try and find new undiscovered routes or the road less travelled
How do you decide how long time to spend travelling at a time.
It depends on the funds. If we have lots of costs, like bike repairs it shortens the trip. But generally, we never try and be hardheaded that we MUST finish a route. If we like it in a place we stay. It is much more rewarding to really appreciate a country and the people than just rushing through the country just to tick a box. Take it easy and enjoy the world, it’s not a race or for breaking records. The easiest way to limit spending is to stop and sit still for a week or a month.
Why do you not get sponsors?
Sponsorship is a double-edged sword. If we take sponsorship goodies from companies we will be working on the trip and not do what we want to do in the first place and that is a travel and enjoy a country and the experience. If we do not perform what we promise we would forever feel like assholes for not keeping our word to a sponsor, and that’s just not how we roll.
Our opinions and reviews must be sincere, unbiased and trustworthy. That said we love to support brands with damn good quality products and aftercare service. Coming from both sides we have experience with a brand and travel and wrote some thoughts on that with this article.
