They had the so-called normal life. Simone was a florist and Frank was a manager at a financial institution. Both were passionate about travelling with motorcycles, but only able to do so during their holidays. Though they dreamed of long travels, they had to live by the book.
“We never seriously considered leaving our established life behind us. In our minds it could only happen in the conditions of a lottery jackpot or an early retirement.”
But life came up with another solution. When Frank faced a crisis at work, he saw a way to turn the problem into an opportunity. “I had already survived some nasty mergers and outsourcings,” he says, “which made me feel miserable and downright sick. When my department was sold again, I couldn’t stand the hitting and stabbing once more. That was the moment when my girlfriend Simone and I realised: what looks like a big disaster is actually a chance. If we don´t go for our great ride now, we will never go.”
And so, off they went!
After seven months spent sorting through a medley of organisational tasks, bureaucracies, storing old motorbikes and finding new ones, they flew overseas to Canada and hit the road on a pair of Honda Transalp XL700VAs from 2008.
They first rode north to Alaska and then back south, all the way to Argentina.
A second flight took them to New Zealand, the starting point of a road trip through Asia, the Middle East and Europe. All in all, they crossed a whopping 64 borders!
Check out their route below:
As you can imagine, they have been to breath taking places. In their opinion the Indian Himalaya (Ladakh) and the southern parts of the Andes (Peru, Argentina and Chile) are places you definitely shouldn't miss. And absolutely spectacular in their ability to drop jaws were Machu Picchu in Peru, Perito Moreno Glaciar in Argentina and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
“Though crowded with tourists, those places did impress us! However, often it´s just a quiet, beautiful place somewhere in the middle of nowhere that moves our soul. For example, bush camping in the middle of the Australian Outback with no other human being for maybe over a hundred miles or more.”
As for the best country for motorcycle travelling, Frank and Simone choose Iran for its “extremely hospitable people, stunning landscapes of all kinds, Persian culture, cheap fuel and bush camping possible everywhere.”
But being on the road for 3.5 years has its ups and downs. As Frank says, “the tough parts are not the challenging off-road sections or the other threats, that might come to your mind spontaneously - like robbers, diseases, dangerous animals, and the like. The biggest challenge is the social aspect: friends and family are far away and you are with your travel buddy or partner 24/7.”
“Quite often the nerves are raw and situations tend to escalate. It´s very important, that both of you are willing and able to de-escalate. Otherwise the whole thing can explode."
"Another conflict-inducing aspect of travel is that you have to make decisions each day in consensus. Not big issues, but many smaller things like these: When should we leave, where to stop for breakfast, what to eat, what´s the next destination, next night hotel or bush camping, etc. For some, it´s unbearable over a longer period to discuss every tiny point instead of having the freedom to decide autonomously.”
Riding In Four Continents
Having first-hand experience of motorcycle riding on four continents, Frank points out the different aspects of each one. Costs, Culture, Borders and Gear are some of the things to take in consideration.
The expense of a round-the-world trip usually discourages dreamers. Since fuel and motorcycle transportation claim top spots on the expenses list, Frank recommends you choose a route with few or no breaks in riding, like the odd ocean or off-limits countries.
“The Americas or Europe are good for that, whereas Asia is difficult. On the other hand Europe is the most expensive continent when it comes to fuel. Roughly spoken, it´s 60% more than the average of the rest of the world.”
Culture-wise Frank and Simone have preference for the exotic. But during this long trip, they were surprised by how challenging that was.
“We consider ourselves open-minded and tolerant. So we were really surprised when we discovered our limits in some countries.” Says Frank. “Especially in India there were moments when I couldn't stand the ruthless behaviour in traffic any more. Even more frustrating than the situation itself was for me to realise, that I was emotionally overwhelmed and no longer able to control my feelings and reactions. But overall it was a great thing to experience all these other cultures and religions ourselves. Quite a different thing to watching TV documentaries about them. And the number of positive experiences we had far outweighs the negative ones.”
So if you’re someone who prefers easy-to-handle languages and familiar cultures, then North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe are the places for you.
They’ve also discovered that crossing borders can take a lot of your precious time. Specially in Central America and some parts of Asia.
“Border crossing procedures are a pain in the ass. The US, Canada, Russia and Australia are great countries just because of their size. You can travel within them for weeks or months without having to cross a border. In the European Community it´s nearly the same situation.”
And gear-wise Frank and Simone did send stuff back to Germany, but most importantly they learned that how much your gear weighs shouldn't always be top priority...
“If you go hardcore off-road riding or if you just go for a short holiday trip it might make sense to minimise your luggage. But if you live on the road permanently, you might consider carrying some pieces of luxury, like a camping chair, an extra strong mattress, spyglasses, tools for advanced repairs, your favourite cooking knife. The list goes on. Don´t reduce everything to its physical weight – some heavier things make a very positive impact on your mood. For example, we met a couple that carried a small machine to make a special kind of noodles. It was very important to them and it gave them an excellent way to say thank you to hosts: with a typical meal from their region.”
Back At Home
One would think that returning home after such a long trip would be quite difficult. It definitely isn’t a walk in the park, but for them it was a process that changed their lives for the better.
They both tried themselves in entirely new professions. Simone started an apprenticeship as a nurse. “A brave thing at 40+ years of age in my opinion” says Frank who became a full time motorcycle travel storyteller.
“I´m writing books and articles for motorcycle magazines, and I do a lot of live multimedia shows on the topic. From a financial point of view we have a ‘poor life’ compared to the one we lived with our former careers, but it feels much better than the old one.”
In Autumn they will hit the road again for one year: six months in Spain, Portugal and Morocco and six months in the Caucasus region. After that their plan is to permanently split time between being home and on the road.
“Let´s see if it works” says Frank, “we have learned not to worry too much about the question marks lying far in the future. We've also learned that it's far better to try things and fail, instead of backing out and regretting a missed opportunity for the rest of your life.”
Frank and Simone have written two books about their outstanding three and a half years ride around the world. They are available as paperbacks and ebooks here.
Keep track of their adventures on:
