Way back in September of 2015, while in Panama, I wrote a post called “The Fallacies of the Five Year Plan” based on an article my brother had sent me.

The concept of a Five Year Plan is not new nor is it limited to any one aspect of life. Countries do five year plans. Companies do five year plans. Some people have a five year plan to get a project done around the house that, if they would ever start, would probably only take a day to complete!

And that was the gist of the original article and post: that while a Five Year Plan is a great start, it’s too long and too easy to just keep putting it off and pushing it out, further delaying your goal, until you get distracted enough that it is no longer a goal.

The Five Year Plan concept in the business and government world seems to have died out. Perhaps they all realized after eight or ten years that they were simply planning to procrastinate by giving themselves five years.

In my original article, my intent was to motivate people to set goals, and in particular, to set goals towards a life of travel, if that’s what you want to do.

During my first year riding around the world, I received many comments from people who said “I wish I could do what you’re doing”. My response then, as now, is that you CAN! It takes a major adjustment in your mindset, a plan, and some really serious commitment, but it is definitely do-able.

So, five years later, I’m here to tell you that I continue to practice what I preach.

My views in that original post five years ago haven’t changed. When I returned from that ride, I took what I had learned, and I built a much smaller house, in a much simpler style, using less expensive materials and doing much of the construction myself, with the help of friends and family, to save even more money. I stopped buying “stuff” just because I thought I “needed” it, or wanted it. I stopped going out to eat multiple times a week. I stopped buying five dollar lattes. Well, okay, I still buy one occasionally on a Sunday morning to treat myself. I upped my 401k contribution at work in order to save even more, and then I put everything left into savings for the next trip. Like I said, it took some serious commitment, but if you keep focused on the goal, you can get there.

While setting a goal five years out runs a definite risk of losing focus and direction, for me there was never a question: I was going to get back on the road. It’s an addiction that once you’ve tasted it, you can’t ignore it. I had already proven to myself that the world doesn’t end when you leave your job and everything behind and ride away. In fact, it actually gets better!

I actually didn’t think it would take five years; I was hoping for more like three, but one of the things I learned from the first year on the road was that having a place that was “mine”, where I could return for a month or so every now and then and be comfortable on my own couch and surrounded by my “things”, was important to me. So finishing up the house, simply so I would have a place to take breaks from traveling, took priority. Everyone is different, and not everyone will feel this way. Some people are fine crashing on a friend’s couch, or in their parents’ basement for short intervals. That’s definitely a good option if you are on a tight budget and want to hit the road sooner. For me personally, I wanted to have a “recharging station”. This is without doubt a double-edged sword, as when I left the US in 2015, I had virtually nothing of importance to return to, and likewise had nothing tying me down. No property tax bill. No utility bills. No worries about broken pipes, maintenance issues, etc. My mind was free to focus solely on the road ahead and the people and scenery around me. Having a house is both a privilege, and will present obstacles of my own creation next time.

Ironically, and coincidentally, it is five years later. In the middle of this crazy pandemic, I got married, and started seriously planning the next Round-The-World ride. This time, 2-up on a slightly larger motorcycle.

And now, here we are. Still in the throes of a lockdown, restricted from international travel, but with the sun rising on the horizon, and hopefully moving, if ever so slowly, toward the ability to safely travel again.

So, as I have said from the beginning…If Not Now, When?

Here we go!

Who remembers this movie quote?

“The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here! Millions of people look at this book every day. This is the kind of spontaneous publicity that MAKES people!”

I’m a big fan of Navin Johnson and The Jerk. I don’t know why that line pops up in my head now. It used to be every time I came home to find the new phone book on the driveway I would repeat it. But I’m not sure they even make phone books any more. Now the line comes to mind when my bike finally shows up at the local dealer.

I had a running joke at work for the last few years… I knew the 700 Tenere was coming, eventually, and I had joked that when it finally showed up I would be off on the next round-the-world ride. So about once every couple of months I would pop my head into somebody’s office and ask “Is my 700 here yet?”

It got to be such a routine that people started responding “Soon!” or “I heard yours was backordered”. Except for my boss, who would just say “No. It is not here. And it is not coming”, in jest of course, as a way of subtly suggesting I reconsider leaving again.

But, now, after being home for four and a half years, it’s here.

So it’s time to get to work. Since the bike has been available in Europe for going on two years, I had already ordered and received most of the accessories I plan to install long before my bike arrived.

Let the fun begin!

You know it’s getting serious when you start running out of excuses. Not that I really had any, or needed any. But a couple of weeks ago another big reason most people use — somewhat logically — to keep them from setting off on a round-the-world ride fell away: Diana retired after 40 years in her profession. Forty years is a long time to do anything, and to do something that requires using your hands all day every day can be physically demanding. She loved what she did, and still does, and a big part of that goes to her employer for the last eight years. She has told me many times that she wishes she had found Dr. Bell earlier in her career.

Since Dr. Bell announced her retirement, Diana has received many emails and comments from patients wishing her well and telling her how much she will be missed. It’s a good feeling to know that you not only were good at your job but truly appreciated by both your employer and those you served.

While her replacement is already in place, Diana has offered to help out for a few more weeks while the office searches for a new front desk person. After that, she’s ready to start full-time preparations for our departure.

No pressure on me. Just one more excuse that we can no longer use as we move closer to living on two wheels.

I guess I’d better get moving on some of these projects, so we can get on the road whenever the world opens up.

It’s always fun to “build” a new bike. I especially enjoy the planning and execution of preparing and installing all of the bits that personalize the bike to my specific needs and requirements for my travels. Everybody is different in this way. I’ve never been a “farkle” guy. I don’t attach anything to the motorcycle that doesn’t serve a necessary purpose, and preferably each item should serve more than one purpose. For example, the rear rack has a large, flat, top plate added that serves as a table when we are camping or performing maintenance. The bash plate has a tool box mounted to it to keep a good amount of my heavy tools low and forward. The engine guards not only protect the bike if/when it falls over, but they provide a location to mount side bags. You won’t find chrome doo-dads or skulls or flames on my motorcycles. I don’t have room for that stuff. This motorcycle is our house for the next few years, and our pack mule. It has to carry everything we need. Which is a lot of weight. No need to add unnecessary weight.

 

Here’s a list of changes and modifications I’ve made so far. This should be close to everything I intend to do:

• Rear Rack
• Pannier Racks
• Panniers with expedition boxes
• Touratech fuel can
• Bottle cages
• Rotopax mount and water can
• Garmin Zumo XT GPS, Touratech lockable GPS mount and top clamp
• Oxford grips
• Turn signals
• Barkbusters
• Tankbag w/ powerlet thru-port
• Kriega side pouches
• Engine Guards
• Skid Plate with Tool Box
• High fender kit
• Foam air filter
• Powerlet
• USB ports
• Rear spring
• Greased all rear suspension bearings/bushings, and steering head bearings

The list above is our starting setup. I haven’t had a chance to take it off-road yet, so that’s next up.

My buddy Caleb showed up the other morning on his new 700 Tenere. I had a spare rear rack due to some last-minute modifications, so we installed it on his bike and went for a ride. Seeing as it was just me, and we were only going for a couple of days, I left the panniers and all the camping gear at home. This was mostly an opportunity for me to get a feel for the bike, both on-road and off-road, and gather any feedback for changes I had made and/or future adjustments.

I have a backroads route that I like to take from home out to Luckenbach, Texas (the tiny town that was the subject of the Waylon and Willie song of the 70s; if you’re not familiar with it, now is a good time to have a listen). Luckenbach has a great “feel” to it, even though it’s become a bit of a mini-Disneyland Frontier Town with all the tourists. Still, it’s a fun place to stop on the way deeper into the Texas Hill Country. And if you’ve never been in the area, within a 20 mile radius of Luckenbach there are dozens of vineyards and wineries.

From Luckenbach, we rode through Fredericksburg and on to Kerrville for the night.

We were up and moving early the next morning, as we had some off-roading planned and still a bit of a trek to get there. It had rained overnight, but wasn’t raining when we left. Other than a few light sprinkles, we got lucky and missed the rain, but the roads were wet and a bit slick on the way out through Hunt and headed towards Rock Springs, and the crosswind at times brought back memories of fighting across Patagonia on the way to Ushuaia. Once we left the pavement and dropped into some canyons, the wind was blocked and the riding was great.

Along with a couple hundred miles of pavement, we ended up doing about 150 miles of dirt roads, mostly small ranch roads with several low-water crossings and dozens of bump-gates. Both bikes performed very well (Caleb’s is all stock, and he had already done some off-road with it in Georgia before today). I was surprised at the traction offered by the stock tires in the dirt, and the lack of slip when accelerating hard out of corners. The stiffer rear shock spring and damping adjustments to the rear shock still worked fine even without the heavier loads of the panniers and passenger, though it was definitely noticeable. These tires should take us through the first three or four countries if we are able to stick with our “Plan A”. Then I’ll likely opt for something a little more dirt-oriented, as I prefer to travel that way.

At the end of the day, we parted ways in Bandera, which was about an hour and a half for each of us to get to our destinations that night. We covered about 400 miles that day. A good initial introduction to the bike, its’ capabilities and my alterations.

So far, so good.

It’s kind of amazing how much you can pack on a motorcycle if you have the time to study it and find nooks and crannies to stuff things. On the other hand, I’m fairly meticulous about analyzing what we take along and looking for ways to shrink it, adapt it, or lose it. I spent a lot of time studying other travelers’ gear before leaving on my first trip, and because of that, I didn’t take a lot of unnecessary stuff that I had to ship home (yes, this is a thing).

Much of the gear that I used on my 2015-2016 trip will be used again beginning in 2021, because as they say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. When you live for a year off of a small motorcycle, you learn what works and what doesn’t, what you need and what you don’t, and what not to carry next time.

In 2015, I packed a lot more spare parts than I actually needed or used. This was primarily due to the fact that I was taking a small, low-horsepower motorcycle on a long trip and focusing on off-road riding for much of it. So I took gaskets, clutch plates, levers (including a brake pedal), cables (everybody does?), brake pads, and lots more.

What I learned was that many of these parts are available in places you might not expect. Yes, I had planned ahead from the beginning, and chose a motorcycle that, although the exact model was not sold in many of the countries I visited, the engine and many of the parts were common to other models that are sold in those countries. This is definitely something to keep in mind when in the early stages of planning. For example, when I needed sprockets and a chain in Argentina, I found that shops in Buenos Aires had sprockets for a YBR250 (a street bike version sold there). Same sprockets. Of course, at the time, I wasn’t aware of that. Now I know.

On the last trip, I was on a much smaller motorcycle, but I went solo, so I only had to pack for one. Adding a passenger and all of her gear drastically increases the load. A lot of thought has to go into this, as the load needs to be balanced as well as possible. We have a lot more on the rear of the motorcycle than I would prefer, but I’ve been able to spread some weight forward by installing my heavy tool pouch to the front of the skid plate similar to last time, and I’ve added the side pouches to carry heavy spare inner tubes, and other supplies.

Do we absolutely need all of this stuff all of the time? No. Some people ship certain parts of their kit between locations during their travels. For example, if you know you won’t be camping in certain countries, it might make sense to ship the camping gear ahead, or home, if you’ve finished that part of your trip.

For the first year or so of this upcoming trip, we will be in developed countries. This changes some of the gear we will carry. Also, there will be some side-trips into other countries on other motorcycles that will be totally different, and for those trips it’s likely that all of the gear we carry will be in a small backpack. More about that when it comes.

For now, here’s a complete list of all gear (subject to change), including the bike, all modifications, and everything we will carry on it and on us. If you want to plan a similar trip, you may find this useful as a starting point to decide what you carry. When you look at the whole list, it seems like “everything but the kitchen sink”, but many people will want to add a lot more. We’ve been there, done that, and found we don’t need it. Others will feel we are carrying a lot of unnecessary stuff. As I’ve said, to each his/her own. Everyone has different priorities. It’s important to have an item or two that makes you happy, even if it seems like excess. Even if you’re not planning a similar trip, it’s amusing (to me, anyway) to scroll down the list and marvel at how much crap is on one motorcycle.

With apologies to the late Tom Petty. I have planned on this second long trip for years. I planned the route. The bike and prep. The shipping. The various legs across different continents, at different seasons, with occasional stops at home now and then.

But nobody planned for COVID. So plans change.

And now we wait…

The ABC’s (and D’s) of Planning a Round-The-World Ride During COVID

We have a Plan A, B, C, and D at this point, all depending on when we can travel abroad. Our Plan A was to leave the US for Europe in May, attend the Isle of Man TT races, and then head to Norway and a big loop of Europe before our Schengen Visa expired (more on that in another post).

Since the 2021 Isle of Man TT races have already been canceled, we don’t have to be there at the end of May. That buys us some time to wait. Those Manx have the island locked down to outsiders, effectively keeping their little slice of heaven safe but severely limiting the national income without tourists. But we still plan to attend the TT in 2022.

Although we have tickets to see Green Day, Weezer and Fallout Boy in concert in the Netherlands at the end of June, we have no idea if that will happen either. So our Plan B is basically just shifting our Plan A European loop to begin around July 15. Assuming, of course, that we can travel internationally by then.

Meanwhile, we have already invited a friend to house-sit for us beginning in May. This is a firm commitment, as she is a “digital nomad”. She works remotely, so as long as she has internet, she can work from just about anywhere. In this case, she will work from our house for six months. This also means that we will be departing in May, regardless. We just aren’t sure where we are headed first at this point. Plan B will send us off to travel in the States, if it is safe to do so at that time, until July 15.

Plan C takes Plan B’s start date even further out, but also because of seasonal conditions, it means we will travel the US from May until mid-September, and our European travel will shift to the southern parts as the temperatures in the north drop.

And Plan D, which is unfortunately looking more and more likely, will keep us in the States for 2021, but we will travel as extensively as possible. This will shift the beginning of our European expedition to early 2022. We are remaining optimistic and hoping that international travel opens up before the end of ’21, but there is plenty to see in our own backyard of the continental US until then.

If all goes fairly well, we have a couple of surprises in store around November.

A lot of planning goes into my long-distance rides. I’m just that kinda guy. I like the adventure, but I like it to go fairly smoothly. I’m not one to just ride off without an idea of where I’m going and what I’m getting into. Perhaps that’s why I love Mexico and Colombia so much. I’m a believer in the “fail to plan, plan to fail” theory.

On the other hand, there are problems with over-planning. Here are the two that I discuss most often with other travelers.

 

The Downsides of Extensive Pre-Planning

First is the idea of “paralysis by analysis”. That is, you over-analyze certain aspects of travel to the point that you are either afraid to launch, or never get to the point of launch. I haven’t had this problem myself, although I have been accused of it, and I may have come close once or twice.

Second is a problem that I did encounter myself during my first trip: I researched where I wanted to go so fully, using the internet and travel guide books, that when I got to those places, I felt like I had already been there and seen it, and it was a bit of a let-down. There is a fine line to knowing where you want to go, and still saving much of the wonder and awe for the experience.

Having said that, I’ve sketched a rough plan of our initial route. It’s always necessary to take into account the weather patterns when planning a long ride, so that’s where I usually start: which hemisphere and how far north or south during which months. I like to try to stay in the early Fall / late Spring climates as much as possible, while avoiding the rainy seasons, especially in tropical climes.

 

More Plan “A” Details

As I mentioned in the last post, our Plan “A” is our “best case scenario” of leaving in May for Europe. Here’s a bit more detail of what we have in mind for the rest of 2021 assuming the world is safe and welcomes travelers (fingers crossed, but not holding our breath):

We’ll ride from Texas to Toronto, Canada, making stops along the way to visit friends. Once in Toronto, we will ship the bike and fly to Dublin, Ireland. As we’ve spent some time in Ireland already and plan to return later, we’ll tour England, Wales and Scotland before heading to Netherlands, hopefully in time to catch the Green Day concert and the Assen MotoGP races.

From there, we’ll head north to Norway, all the way to Nordkapp, which is commonly referred to as the northern-most point in Europe (though technically, it’s not quite). Nordkapp, or North Cape in English, is a typical start/finish point for those doing the “Cape to Cape” route (Nordkapp to Cape Town, South Africa). Then it’s down through Finland to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. At this point, much depends on our timing. We will have been traveling at a pretty good pace, and it will be time to make a hasty exit of the EU due to Schengen limitations.

 

The Schengen Visa

For those of you not familiar with the Schengen Agreement (like me, a short while ago), I’ll try to sum it up in a short explanation, that may not be totally correct, but for our purposes should suffice. There are 26 countries in Europe that are part of this agreement, and a few others which participate in some but not all Schengen rules. This agreement allows for open travel between countries, particularly for EU citizens. If you are not a citizen of an EU country — for example, a US citizen and passport holder — you will get your passport stamped when you enter the first of these countries. That starts a 180 day clock. You are allowed to be in the Schengen countries for a total of 90 days out of every 180 days. They don’t have to be consecutive. So, as an example, let’s say you cross from England (not a Schengen country) to France on January 1, and start your 180 day clock. If you stayed in these 26 countries for 90 days, you would then have to exit around March 31, and stay out until July 1 when your 180 days expired.

Or, say you started on January 1 and after 60 days of traveling around France, Spain, Germany, and Italy, you returned to England on March 3 for 30 days. You now have used 60 of your 90 allowed Schengen days, and 90 of your 180 total clock. So then on April 2 you return to Austria and Switzerland for 30 days. You have now hit your allowed time in the Schengen area, and must leave until July 1 (your 180 day clock runs out).

Confusing? Somewhat. And restrictive. Intentionally so. But for travelers like us, it primarily means that we can’t just spend a year or more exploring Europe. While it is my understanding that it is not strictly enforced, it is frowned upon if you overstay your 180 day limit by a significant amount. And I don’t really want to find out what happens.

 

Schengen Ignorance is No Excuse

I actually encountered — or more accurately, created — this situation in 2016 when I left from Zurich and shipped my 250 back to the States. I had no idea why the Swiss Immigration officer was giving me a hard time about not having a stamp in my passport for when I entered from England. I had never heard of Schengen back then and didn’t stamp in when I crossed from Folkestone to Calais on the Eurotunnel train. I kept telling him that I flew into London and rode my motorcycle to Switzerland. He kept asking me where my stamp was in my passport when I entered France. This made no sense to me because it was an open border; I simply rode off the train and into France and the rest of the EU. Eventually he stamped my passport and allowed me to leave Switzerland, but he told me not to do it again. I never understood my mistake until researching for this upcoming trip. I am thankful in hindsight that he was lenient. I could have spent a lot of time in the Zurich Airport trying to prove when I entered the Schengen area and how long I had been there. I had the receipt from the train, and I had my GPS track showing my route and dates. That’s the best explanation I could have offered. Now I know better.

Another problem with the Schengen 180 day time limitations goes right back to what I mentioned at the beginning of this post: my desire to stay in the moderate climate seasons. If you have a 90-day limit in a 6 month window, it means that if you arrive in late May, you must leave by late August and cannot re-enter until late November. Or Winter, in other words. Which makes planning a motorcycle tour even more difficult.

So, based on this, we have several options for November through late February. But we won’t be done with Europe yet. Even if we leave, the bike probably won’t.

 

Travel Immunization Passports

There’s been a lot of discussion lately regarding what international travel will look like post-COVID. I’ve seen several articles mentioning the concept of “immunization passports”, and a company in Switzerland has been designing a digital version of just such a thing. (This is also not new; Nigeria has had digital “e-Yellow Cards” since 2019).

I’ve also read responses from people online that claim that requiring an immunization in order to travel into another country is somehow a violation of their rights, as if this is a new concept introduced by the current pandemic. I’m not going to get political here, because I tend to avoid that at all costs, but this is not new, and if you haven’t had a “Yellow Card” or International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) before, then you apparently haven’t traveled as much as you think. The ICVP has been around in one form or another since the 1930s, and has been in its’ current form basically since the 1950s and smallpox. These days it is most often obtained by tourists intending to travel to certain countries where Yellow Fever is prevalent, but is based on a factor of the risk in that country and the country you are coming from. High Risk countries require you to have proof of Yellow Fever vaccination before you can enter, or at least be able to provide proof at the border if asked.

Regardless, we are voluntary travelers. Which means if we want to visit certain places, and those places require us to receive certain vaccines in order to go there, we must make a decision: either we get vaccinated, or we don’t go. We are guests in their country, and we don’t blame them for their decisions. As such, we have weighed the pros and cons, and decided that we will obtain any necessary vaccinations that will allow us to travel the world. This includes Hepatitis A&B, Typhoid, MMR, Shingles (due to our “advanced age”), and a few drugs that we can carry with us. Note that some of these prescription drugs that are considered “typical” in the US can actually be illegal in other countries, so always check the laws in all the places you intend to go.

 

Plan B and Beyond

As I mentioned in the previous post, our Plan B and C is basically just extending the Plan A start until July or later. But if we wait much later — say, September or so — then we will have to change our route, as it will quickly be too late to be as far north as we want to go. Due to weather, we’ll end up along the Mediterranean and further south if it’s October or later. Yes, I know, it’s a terrible conundrum…Portugal? Southern Italy? Greece? Turkey? Tough life.

And then there’s Plan D, which is looking more likely by the day. Plan D will “D-Lay” our European leg until 2022, and we will set off around the continental US. Even though we’ve both seen many national parks, there is something different about being able to do it at a much slower pace, without the worry of an end date. And there are many parks and sights that we haven’t yet seen at all. Of course, in these times of travel restrictions and social distancing, the desire for families to get outside and travel has grown very strong, and RV sales have gone through the roof in the past year. This puts an extra load on campground reservations and park facilities. We have ways around some of that: traveling on a motorcycle with a tent allows us to camp in places that the average family in an RV can’t or doesn’t want to go. We’re okay with remote sites, and we also will take advantage of the kindness of other travelers when the opportunity presents itself, whether that entails sharing a campsite or letting us pitch our tent in their yard.

I think we’ve got it covered pretty well with no need for a Plan E unless the world changes drastically yet again between now and then.

Next up, we’ll talk a bit about how we travel in places like Europe on a small budget.

We had originally planned to begin this trip in May of 2020. Then, of course, came the pandemic. Everything (and I mean everything) got delayed. Many of our reservations for campsites, ferries, and events were canceled, or pushed to May 2021. The world health crisis continued, and it began to look more and more like the world wasn’t going to be ready to open up for tourists and travelers by May of this year either. So we began to look at alternate plans.

Unlike some people, who set a date in the future and say “That’s when we’re leaving”, then keep pushing that date out until they eventually just give up on it, we set our May 2021 date in stone. So we’re going. We’re just not going where we intended or hoped — yet. But there are plenty of opportunities for adventure in our own backyard. So that is where we will begin. And when the world is ready, and everyone feels good (and safe) about inviting others to their neighborhoods, then we will expand our travel.

We recently did a full shakedown ride on the 700. We loaded all of our RTW gear, and headed out for a three day weekend ride. There were several goals for this trip:

1. Check the comfort of the bike for both of us for a full day’s ride.
2. Check the fit and comfort of our new riding gear (Klim Carlsbad for me; Klim Altitude for Diana)
3. Use the majority of our gear, in order to be sure we didn’t miss anything.

Overall it was a very successful ride. The bike performed very well (granted, this trip was almost 100% paved roads). We didn’t find anything that we forgot to pack, but did find that we still had a small amount of room in the panniers in case we wanted to add an item (we both voted for the hammock). And we were a bit surprised at the comfort level of the stock seat, considering the amount of gear we are carrying and available space. I still want to add a Seat Concepts one piece seat before leaving, but it may not be available in time, and may have to wait.

So the countdown continues. Our immediate itinerary has shifted. We have a couple of “detours” planned over the next six months that will make this trip considerably different from my solo, single-bike ride six years ago. The long-term focus is still to ship the 700 to Europe when everyone is ready. In the meantime, we’ll embrace the detour.

Many times I’ve heard people say “I wish I could travel like you”. Often what they really mean is “I want to spend my life traveling the world.” They rarely mean “I want to live in a tent and eat canned beans and pasta cooked over a tiny gas stove in a field next to the highway.” For us, that’s a part of the reality of being able to travel. We aren’t rich, and we don’t stay in five star hotels. This is our lifestyle, not a vacation, so it’s important to be able to sustain it by stretching our money. We are excited to see the wonders of this world, rather than spend our money while our eyes are closed.

In 2015, while planning my first Round-The-World ride, I made an early note: “In order to extend travel time by reducing expenses, it will be necessary to spend less time in the following expensive places:

1. Europe
2. Australia
3. United States”

Most other areas can be considerably less expensive in terms of lodging and food, the two largest expenses while traveling (the third — for me at least — being petrol or fuel). And an added plus is that many of those places that are much cheaper also have a much more “exotic” or “adventurous” feel, not least because English is not their first language.

Even camping in some countries can be expensive, “expensive” being a relative term, of course. “Expensive” to someone from Bolivia or Honduras can mean something totally different than to someone from San Francisco or Tokyo. I’ve seen tent sites range from free to $80 per night or more. For a small square of land large enough for a 2-person tent and my motorcycle. And the next motorcycle and 2-person tent (and loudly snoring occupant) is within reach of my door.

However, it is possible to keep your expenses in check even in these more expensive countries.

Reducing your food expense is fairly simple: don’t eat in restaurants, eat simply, get invited to others’ homes or pot-luck dinners, etc.

I set a goal of averaging not more than $25 to $30 a night for lodging, and I mostly stay far under that. For each night I spend wild camping for free, it increases the amount I have in reserve for a later campground with a shower, a hostel, or a hotel. More importantly, it extends how long and how far I can travel. By using these methods, we have stayed in a number of private castles and other incredible places (for reasonable rates) by saving a few dollars along the way via camping, hostels, and guest housing.

There are many ways to reduce your average weekly or monthly lodging expense. Being a bit of a hermit, my preferred method has always been wild camping. Not only does this add to the “adventure” for me, but it also allows me to be in control of when and where, while not having to worry about reservations in advance. Some countries have specific laws that allow camping on nearly any piece of unfenced land, so long as you are a certain distance from any primary buildings. I love this concept and these places, and people for the most part respect the land and the owners.

There are many web sites these days devoted to finding free campsites, cheap campsites, cheap rooms for rent, etc. A few include Campendium, AirBnB, HipCamp, ADVRider’s Tent Space, couchsurfing.com and Freecampsites.net. Even an Instagram post can result in an invitation to stay and/or dine for free. One of my go-to sites for finding free camping has always been iOverlander.com. You may have to sort through all of the listings for Wal-Mart parking lots and roadside rest areas to find the true gems for tent camping, but there are plenty.

House Sitting

It wasn’t until the very end of my 2016 travels that I learned about house-sitting. I don’t recall who mentioned it, but after visiting a few of the web sites, I was convinced that it is possible to stay in these places and spend a lot less (and live quite well also). If you’re not familiar with these sites, here’s basically how it works:

There are two sides to the site: one for prospective house-sitters, and one for homeowners looking for a sitter. For a fee, you join one or the other group, and can apply to care for someone’s home and pets, or place your home and pets on the site in need of a sitter. Typically, home- and pet-owners are looking for some to care for their pets, home and garden while they travel. This can be anywhere from a weekend to a year. There is usually no charge for staying in a nice home. It’s a win-win for the homeowner and the sitter.

We joined Trustedhousesitters.com and have already cared for the homes and pets of three families. This builds reviews for us, hopefully making it easier to book future sits. The competition for housesitting can be strong, and many homes get multiple applications, so we have to plan a bit in advance, but we are usually looking for sits that are only a few days to a week. This gives us time to relax, recharge, cook and sleep in a real home, and prepare for the next leg of our journey. And a little time spent with fur friends can be a plus also.

We also placed our home on the site. Within 24 hours of listing it, we had two dozen applications from all over the world, and now have a sitter coming to care for our home and pets for the first six months of our travels. The Digital Nomad trend, bolstered by the pandemic shuttering offices, has made it easy for more and more people to work from home, regardless of whose home or where in the world that home may be. Of course, in the last year it has become difficult for Digital Nomads to cross borders easily. This has had the dual effect of increasing national sitters, while creating a backlog of sitters who are chomping at the bit to travel internationally. This will undoubtedly flood the housesitting sites as countries open up again, creating even more competition for the best sits. We will be included in that sparring.

We also believe in “Paying It Forward”. We have hosted many world travelers while home in the States, and believe that ultimately it will come back to us when we are abroad and looking for inexpensive/free lodging.

By using a combination of all of the above, we intend to stretch our time in Europe, Australia, and the United States, as well as our total time traveling, as far as possible. While we intend to practice what we preach with regard to avoiding burnout on the road by returning home once or twice a year, the expense of flying home more often than that can be better put towards touring. Therefore, the ability to settle into a home-away-from-home from time to time can make a big difference, both in budget and mental wellness.