The Decision

For the last year I've really been dreaming about getting out of Vancouver. Once I got to a point I was confident with my mental state, I realized that putting aside my travel dreams to continue the path I was on would not bring me what I want in life... at least not yet. I don't doubt that at some point the 9-5 life (or 8-6 or 6-8 or whatever it may be depending what you do) could fit me at some point, especially if I get to a point of having a partner and kids, but certainly doesn't fit me now!

My first travel idea once I decided I needed to leave was the increasingly standard trip of riding a Honda Win from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh... and then it snowballed! That trip has become such a common thing that I wanted to do something new and different, maybe a little harder, and so the research began... and I found Lea Rieck. Check her out at www.got2go.de. After reading through her adventures, and continuing on to so many others (Alex Chacon, Earth Roamers, Destination Unknown... Races 2 Places... the list is endless!), I decided that I wanted to find a way to ride Meg, my 2012 Triumph Tiger XC around the world. I'll get to that at another point, but due to the upgrades I would have liked her to have for at least 50,000km of round the world touring... and a strong desire for some upgraded technology (cruise control please!), I've decided to leave her at home for the future Colby to enjoy (and probably beat up).

So here I am, looking across this great big world and trying to decide what to do, and when to do it, and how to leave a comfortable job, when my dad suddenly gives me an out. "I would love it if you would come down and help me sail my boat from Panama to at least Honduras or the Cayman Islands in January. I'd need you for at least a month". While they could give me that much vacation time this close to the end of a project, my bosses were extremely understanding, and knew I couldn't give up an opportunity like this. So, they amazingly worked with me to hire someone to take my position, and I had 3 months to train them while planning my escape.

As more and more research happened, far too much of it at work (sorry Matt!) I quickly realized that  I wanted to circumnavigate the world by motorcycle, and I knew I wanted to go across some of the last travel locations in the world where travelling is more of an adventure as it was back when our parents generation went about the world. With this in mind, I immediately looked towards Central Asia and Russia. As I have lots of family in New Zealand, and friends/acquaintances in Australia, I also knew I wanted to take advantage of my Kiwi passport and visit them. I have a fantastic friend that lives in Stockholm, and I knew a trip around the world wouldn't be complete without a stop there. I'd never properly explored Southeast asia, and China has always intrigued me, so how could i incorporate that? Is there any way to safely cross Africa? Whats the best route from the tip of South America back up to Canada? I've realized that since I want to go everywhere, where I start is not important. The most important thing that has happened is I've decided to go.

And so here I am, November 30th, T-23 days until work is done... the decision to leave is final but the route and the ride are still in progress! Next post I'll try to piece together a route!