RTW 1, a story yet unfinished
It’s been three years since we came back from our first round the world trip now. We had travelled for two years straight through Africa and the Americas on our Husky 701’s. An epic ride it was for sure pursuing our motorbike travelpassion every single day. But both Caroline and I had the feeling the trip wasn’t quite finished yet. There’s still more than half a globe left to be explored. A fact we just cannot deny.
We struggled big time fitting back into our usual lives and although we tried our very best to focus on getting used to the regular daily routines, the desire to leave again was always there. Sometimes in the back of our heads, but as time passed by it became ever more prominent. We had to leave again… as soon as possible. There was no way around it. So we started planning again and the mere idea we were working towards another major travel project, gave us loads of energy. Working hard to get the budget together quickly became our primary focus. And boy did we work hard.
Timing will never be perfect
In 2020 Covid kicked in, kept borders closed and made us postpone our travel plans. Until today. Although we realise the current worldwide Corona situation might be far from ideal, we also have the feeling there will always be a thousand reasons not to leave. Yes, Corona is still omnipresent around the globe, but we also have the feeling it all eased off and a lot of countries are cutting back on the strict quarantine and protection rules. And yes, there’s a terrible war going on in Ukraine, but there will always be war zones preventing us from going to specific places. It wasn’t any different back in 2016 when we left on our first round the world trip.
We sold our house, have the budget together, have two brand new 701’s prepped and a rough route in our heads. We are back on the road since yesterday and the weather is shit. But travel mode kicked in again and we are riding! What an amazing feeling that is! And that won’t change anytime soon. Three years is our travel horizon. What will happen after that, no one knows.
On the road, at last!
We made it to Luxemburg yesterday, winding our way through the Belgian Ardennes, mainly following back roads and a bit of gravel. Luxemburg might not be the most exotic of countries, but at least we are rolling. We booked a cheap hotel for the night and plan to head south from here hoping to hit the Balkan tracks in about 4 days or so. We stopped praying for good weather and will swallow the downpours on our way down. No pay no gain. After the Balkan we plan to head to Greece, then Turkey, Iran and cross fingers we will make it to Mongolia somewhere in July… if Putin allows us to cross some 50 odd kms of Russia. We’ll see, we have a whole alphabet of alternative plans… No stress, no panic. We seize the day.
Needless to say we are extremely excited to finally be on the bikes again and we can’t wait to have you following us on our RTW part 2, either here, on Facebook, on Instagram or in the various magazines we write for (Motoren & Toerisme, Moto Journal, Upshift online).
We are finally back and that’s an awesome feeling!
Thank you sponsoring partners!
This project would not have been possible without the support of our sponsoring partners. Thank you all, for joining our project, for believing in us and for the effort of each one of you. When supply chains were under strain, when we were on the phone for yet another unforeseen practical issue or when we changed our needs last minute, you kept on going with us. You are golden!
Husqvarna Motorcycles
Klim
Mitas
Touratech
Nordisk
Garmin
Sidi
Grondpadman
Perun Moto
Doubletake Mirrors
Cyclops Adventure Sports
Effetto Mariposa
Rally Raid Products
More to come soon…