“What would it be like if we could travel for more than three weeks? If, after riding to the south for 1.5 week, we would not have to turn around to go home to be back in time to go to work?” If you go on the internet with those thoughts, you will soon find out that we are not the first with such ideas. The internet is full of great travel blogs, with pictures from all corners of the world.
If you search for ‘round the world’ and ‘motor’ you will soon find the website of Horizons Unlimited. This is the website of Grant en Susan Johnson, a Canadian couple that travelled the world for more than 10 years on one motorbike. Horizons Unlimited, or ‘HU‘ for insiders, has a forum to which travellers from all over the world are registered. All information you can think of on travelling, especially travelling on a motorbike, can be found on the website and the forum.
Information about motorbikes, gear, routes, paperwork, bike tech, first aid and many many more. So much information that they even made a DVD-serie with the suitable title ‘The Achievable Dream’. Five dvds, among which Leonie her personal favorite: ‘Ladies on the Loose’. We spent several sundays in front of the TV with the dvdseries if HU. We watched all five titles several times, so often that the travellers that were interviewed soon reached ‘stardom’.
Many of the interviewees were experienced motorcycle travellers with several impressive trips on their list and even movies or books. After the HU-dvds we could continue filling our week-ends with movies from Austin Vince and books of Lois Pryce, Ted Simon and Sam Manicon. And do not forget the TV-series ‘The Long Way Round’ and ‘The Long Way Down’ with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Our own dream was starting to get shape through all those inspiring travel stories.
Horizons Unlimited organises meeting all over the world. During those meetings, motorcycle travellers meet to exchange information. In workshops people tell about their trip, their preparation, their gear, etcetera. In June 2011 we went to a HU-meeting in Ripley in England (at the time still on the Transalp and the Africa Twin). We took the week off and went to England with the ferry to Hull. After some days touring in England (at the wrong side of the road) we went to the campsite in Ripley on Thursday. The atmosphere at the campsite was fantastic, a terrain full of travel bikes, lightweight tents and globetrotters. And everywhere we ran into ‘movie stars’.
We went to many workshops, some with travel stories or technical bike stuff. But also to a workshop ‘Roadkill cooking’, where we learned to clean a squirl if you would hit one. Or a yoga class for bikers, in which you learned to use your sleeping mattress as a yoga cushion. And to the ‘Ladies only’ workshop in which women (in a circle) discussed ‘girl-stuff’.
Highlights of the meeting were the presentations of Austin Vince, R1-Sjaak and Lois Pryce. In a packed meeting room they gave away a great show with stories and pictures.
We received a lot of information, so much I almost got dizzy. But after the weekend what stuck was: “Wow, there are more ‘idiots’ like us out there!”
PS Click here for an overview of inspiring travel blogs, books and movies!