Look both ways

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Warren

Welcome to my two wheel travel blog. You can view my photos in higher quality by clicking on them and I love to read your comments.

Latest posts by Warren (see all)

• Timeless on the Silk Road - October 21, 2024
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• The Bloomfield Track - August 25, 2024

It is already 8 years since I left Australia with the idea to ride my bucket list before I reach the age where we start making excuses.

I’ve written previously how I felt compelled to not wait until retirement to start the ‘one day’ things so I won’t repeat. Initially I wondered if I had done the dumbest thing ever leaving my career and it may yet turn out that is the case but I am on this path.

Along the way I stuffed up a few times but been very lucky to have had no major dramas apart from that close call in South Africa. You definitely can ride many places in the world solo, without any special bike, for a fraction of what bike tour operators charge.

My biggest regret is not places I put off riding before covid but not spending more time hanging out with my mate in the Philippines. The world will eventually reopen but he will have succumbed to cancer and I can’t even visit before it’s too late.

While travel remains difficult I took a look at the remaining items on my ride bucket list.

• Pakistan – I had this ride fully planned for September 2020 when covid struck.
• Morocco – I was going to combine Morocco and Portugal. Routes are done.
• Turkey (western half) – another ride I had fully planned and was going to include Georgia.
• Argentina – I want to tour out of Salta and combine with Chile and Peru, rough plan.
• Colombia – I actually was booked to go Jan 2019 then big mess with American Airlines, terrible company.
• Mexico – I would combine riding there perhaps with Colombia or other South America destination.
• The Stans – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc. Perhaps a region where I’d join a tour.
• Russia – high on my list and I would choose a tour there also.
• USA – This was fully paid to go July 2020. Now I have lots of vouchers. US west and Canada.
• EU – I have a draft plan to ride from Poland on some of German motorcycle route and few other regions.
• UK and France – I’d like to finish my ride I started in Ireland and failed to complete.
• Iceland and Scandinavia – I’ve seen a bit already and will ride them last when I can afford.

Then the places I want to revisit:

• Indonesia – I was planning to ride from Bali to Sumbawa.
• Thailand – I’ve ridden there many times but love the place.
• Nepal – I have a ride mapped out which includes Mustang valley.
• Vietnam – A much bigger ride out of Da Nang.
• India – I would like to ride to Leh from Shimla via Spiti valley and more of the Himalaya’s.
• Australia and New Zealand – I have a big tour of Aus and of NZ waiting for when travel there is possible.

My target to complete my bucket list is 9 years off but 2021 is lost so 8 years remain. My original bucket list had 50 rides, starting that now would be impossible, achieving what I have left depends on if the world reopens and how I view things going forward as I am now doubting if I made the right choice to move to Japan.

Being vaccinated is a big step and hopefully other things will fall into place.