A Traveller's Research
One of the best ways of exploring vast lands is by overland vehicle. Think adventure travel, often over vastly changing terrain. Being independent and self supported for an extended period of time. Think along the lines of driving from Alaska to Ushuaia, exploring along the Pan-American Highway for a couple of years, or a drive around the world over for 4, or 36 years. The ultimate road trip. #YMMV
Snow tires are mandatory from November 1 to April 1.
According to Allegra Zagami, writer for Lonely Planet, on a drive along the Pan American Highway in 2019 »
The Icefields Parkway, or Canada’s Highway 93, is one of the most scenic drives in the world with over 144 miles (232km) of adventure and overwhelming natural beauty between Banff and Jasper National Parks.
Resources » Parks Canada, Icefields Parkway Continue reading
BMW Motorad’s Ride and Talk podcast » #22 Sam Manicom and his spirit of adventure!
Within three months of throwing his leg over a bike for the first time, Sam Manicom set off on an R 80 GS to travel the length of Africa. But when he got to the Cape, he didn’t want the trip to end, so he just kept going. His planned one-year trip turned into an eight-year, 200,000-miles overlanding odyssey across 55 countries.
The four motorcycle travel books that came out of that trip are inspirational; his talks and presentations are truly memorable and his main ambition in life now is to encourage others to explore and learn about the world and themselves. Listen to @sammanicom.author in this podcast and be inspired!
Sam Manicom, Under the Visor Interview (2015)
Sam Manicom discusses his book Into Africa (2013)
Ashley Harrell » Lonely Planet »
Some of the most interesting, little-explored destinations are only accessible by car, and for the adventurous traveler, there’s simply no substitute for freedom.
In some cases, the drive itself – and all the striking scenery along the way – becomes a highlight of the trip. For those with the desire and the 4×4 (almost certainly necessary if you are planning to drive off the highway), here are the country’s top five nerve-shredding road trips.
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The roads in some areas are poorly marked, curvy, pothole-ridden, flooded and occasionally non-existent; do your research and check road conditions before setting out.
1. Cerro Chirripó in Parque Nacional Chirripó
2. The Monkey Trail – A shortcut between Playa del Coco and Playa Flamingo
3. San Gerardo de Dota – a charming town set in a high-altitude cloud forest where one of Central America’s rarest and most beloved birds – the quetzal.
4. The drive to Drake Bay.
5. Rio Celeste – The forest surrounding the river is lush and wild, providing a home to an abundance of Costa Rican fauna, including the iconic jaguar.
A full length (1h:10m) documentary video of a four-month motorcycle adventure from London, UK to Sydney, Australia, taken by two friends — David Darcy and Darren Higginson — back in 2012.
In 1989, at the age of 51, Gunther Holtorf quit his job as an airline executive, packed up his 1988 Mercedes Benz 300GD he lovingly named “Otto”, and took off to see the world. A year later he was joined by Christine, 34, who later became his wife. The original plan was explore Africa for 18 months. After 5 years and about 100,00 km – 62,000 miles – exploring Africa, they decided to keep on driving.
Otto completed the journey with few modifications, retaining it’s original 3-litre 88-horsepower diesel engine. The original gearbox and transfer case have never been touched. It also the original axles and differentials. The journey was completed without electronics and little technology. They, for example, didn’t have a GPS, and only near the end of the journey did Gunther acquire a basic mobile phone.
Christine’s journey came to an end in 2010 when she passed away from cancer. Gunther continued on with her son, Martin, to honour Christine and to fulfill a promise he made to her.
In 2014, at the age of 77 Gunther returned home to Germany after being on the road for 26 years and having travelled 897,000 kilometres – approximately 560,000 miles – through 215 countries.
Gunther stated the best part of travelling independently overland is having the freedom to decide where and when to go.
Otto is now on display at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart.
Gunther and Christine are incredible inspirations.
Expedition specialist Mac Mackenney talks you through some of the options.
Home By Seven
Steph Jeavons is the first British woman to ride a motorcycle on all seven continents. And she did it solo, all on one trip, aboard a small Honda CRF250L. Her adventure took her to 54 countries over 4 years.
And she’s written about it in an upcoming book entitled “Home By Seven – One woman’s solo journey to ride all seven continents on two wheels”
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Twenty years later, and armed only with a stern tone of voice she reserves for naughty dogs, drunk Turks, Iranian taxi drivers, semi-conscious British soldiers and Saudi truckers, she rides her trusty steed Rhonda the Honda solo around the world, to the highest, driest, wettest, hottest and coldest corners of the earth. She gets caught up in a Himalayan landslide on the highest road on the planet, sails her motorcycle across the Drake Passage to Antarctica, crashes it in Colombia, and claims an unwished-for title as the first person to fall off a motorcycle on all seven continents, as she heads for home up the length of Africa.This is a powerful and honest memoir written from the perspective of a liberated single woman taking on the world with a dogged determination to complete her mission at all costs.
This is a journey of self-discovery born from a need to shed some light on the darkest crevices of the soul. An inner drive that propelled Steph forward into the unknown and forced her to find her strengths, while exposing her weaknesses.
In 1982, at the age of 23, halfway through her architecture studies, Elspeth Beard left her family and friends in London and set off on a 35,000-mile solo adventure around the world on her 1974 BMW R60/6. She returned 2 years later to become the first British woman to ride around the world.
‘I first rode a motorbike when I was sixteen; a friend was taking his Husqvarna down to Salisbury Plain and asked me along. I can’t say I was instantly hooked but in 1979 I bought a second hand 1974 BMW R60/6 with about 30,000 miles on the clock. It gave me an immense sense of freedom and over the next couple of years I gradually travelled further afield. My first trip was a tour of Scotland, then Ireland, finally progressing to a two-month trip around Europe in the summer of 1980.
‘The following summer I persuaded my brother, who had been picking apples in New Zealand, to meet me in Los Angeles where we bought an old BMW R75/5 and rode together across to Detroit. All these trips gradually built up my confidence, so when I got back, I bought a Haynes manual and set about stripping down parts of the engine to get my bike ready for a bigger trip across the globe. It was already eight years old and had done 45,000 miles so I replaced all the cables, bought a new battery, changed all the oils and put new tires on. I also took the cylinder heads off to fit an extra base gasket in order to lower the compression. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I had been told by a friendly mechanic at the BMW shop that this would be a good idea!
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‘Travel helps us to understand other cultures and not just rely on what the media tells us. It’s easy to be afraid of things you don’t understand – that’s why it’s really important that people go and find out for themselves. Those two years on the road completely changed my life and made me the person I am today. They gave me the confidence to take on anything life throws at me without any fear. The truth is, you will always be able to come up with reasons why the time isn’t right. Put aside your fears and just go.’
Read the whole article at Marie Claire »
https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/travel/elspeth-beard-660605
More » Ultimate Motorcycling
The Trans America Trail is a roughly 8,000 km / 5,000 mile vechicular route that crosses the United States using a minimum of paved roads. It is meant to be for leisure, travelled by dual-sport motorcycles, off-road vehicle, or touring bicycle.
He has sold thousands of self-made paper maps and road charts containing his idiosyncratic directions. Some people travel Correro’s trail for a weekend; others traverse all sixty-two hundred miles of boonies, from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Port Orford, Oregon, crossing fourteen states.
In the course of the summer—the best season for dirt roads—Correro estimates that there might be as many as six hundred riders on the TransAmerica Trail. There’s no way to know for sure. He does know that people ride it using motorcycles, bicycles, four-by-fours, Land Rovers, dirt buggies, pickup trucks, Pinzgauer military vehicles, and horses. One person did it in a Volkswagen Jetta for fun; another couple rode it coast to coast for their honeymoon, with the bride in a motorcycle sidecar. One cross-country rider was just eight years old. The oldest may be Correro, who is eighty. He likes to say that he has ridden every single inch of it, and that is true, but also an understatement, because he has ridden parts of it countless times. Though he has given up his motorcycle for a Chevy Tahoe, he still checks the trail to make sure that its roads are passable, that its bridges haven’t been condemned. He modifies his maps, charting new routes.
Read the whole article at The New Yorker »
More » TransAmerica Trail, Wikipedia, GPS Kevin
Quebec is the biggest province in Canada, and there’s a whole lot to see and do.
Destination Canada has put together seven wonderful road trip routes which will take you to some of this provinces’ most beautiful wonders and sought-after experiences.
Some of these trips are short, while others will take you quite a bit longer, and really embrace that road trip spirit.
1. The New France Route – 56 kilometres / 35 miles – Road trip highlights starting in Quebec City include Domaine de Maizerets, Maison Girardin, Montmorency Falls Park, Auberge Baker, Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area
2. The Fjord Route – 235 kilometres / 146 miles – Highlights include Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, Musée de la Nature, the Musée du Fjord, Saguenay Fjord National Park
3. The King’s Road – 280 kilometres / 174 miles – Highlights include Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade church, the Quebec Folk Culture Museum, the Old Prison of Trois-Rivières, Lake Saint-Pierre
4. The Wine Route – 138 kilometres / 86 miles – Highlights include many vineyards, Brome Lake, Mont Sutton
5. The Navigators’ Route – 470 kilometres / 292 miles – Highlights include Centre de la Biodiversité du Québec in Bécancour, Îles du Pot à l’Eau-de-Vie archipelago and Île aux Lièvres, the Musée maritime du Québec, Bic Provincial Park, Pointe-au-Père Maritime Historic Site
6. The Whale Route – 880 kilometres / 546 miles – Highlights include Cap-de-Bon-Désir Interpretation and Observation Centre, Daniel Johnson Dam and Manic-5 Generating Station, Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse, Vauréal Canyon
7. The Gaspesie Tour – 1,230 kilometres – 765 miles – Highlights include the Rimouski Wildlife Reserve, Reford Gardens, Exploramer, Bonaventure Island, and Gaspesie and Percé Rock provincial parks
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