Adventurer Lois Pryce details the ten things that you should NOT do when travelling on a motorbike
Woe betide the adventure motorcyclist who attempts to stick to an itinerary. That way madness lies! If you are the kind of person who likes to know where they’re going to sleep each night then this kind of thing probably isn’t for you. It’s very rare that you will find yourself genuinely out in the cold with nowhere to sleep, and if you have a tent strapped to your bike then you will always have somewhere to stay.
It’s a perfectly normal human response to finding ourselves in an alien land to feel wary of the strangers around us. However, on the whole you’ll find the locals you meet are more curious than sinister and will be keener on talking to you about David Beckham than pilfering your belongings. For what it’s worth my only experiences of theft have taken place in London. Riding the length of Africa, I had nothing stolen.
Maps rule! Unless you’re blazing trails across the world’s deserts you don’t need a GPS to get around. As well as being unnecessary, it’s one more piece of kit to worry about and using a GPS to navigate cuts down your interaction with your fellow human beings – some of the most memorable encounters on the road are a result of asking a stranger for directions. And... for the cost of a GPS, you could have another month on the road. Convinced yet?
It’s an uncomfortable truth but no matter how skint you are at home, once you enter the Third World, you’re rich. It’s hard to blend in when you’re the only white person on a motorbike in an African village but it really helps if you’re not in all the latest fancy gear straddling a 12 grand bike. A bit of scruffiness goes a long way in building bridges and also, in not getting ripped off.
The final three tips of Lois Pryce's adventure motorcycling don't's
Posted: 10/08/2010 at 22:04
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