I can’t remember how long I’ve wanted to ride a motorcycle. I definitely can’t remember how long I’ve wanted to travel. I’ve spent 9,035 of my 9,058 days on British soil, I’ve been to many places, seen many things and met many people, but I want more. I want to see what food people eat in Italy, I want to see what people do day-to-day in Kazakhstan, I want to try communicating with people in spite of an obvious language barrier… I want to see how other people experience life.
I went straight from School to College to University; three months later I was in my first full-time job. There was no gap year for me; I didn’t spend six months in Thailand or a year travelling around Europe. Do I ever wish I had? Not really, I’m actually fairly happy with the way things have turned out, I’m 24 years old, I have a degree and 4 years commercial experience as a web developer, things could be worse. Despite the fact I think I’ve done things right, it hasn’t quenched my thirst for adventure, it doesn’t stop me wanting to see and do all the things I’ve always wanted to do.
In July 2007 I decided it was time to fulfil the first part of the dream and learn to ride a motorcycle, I passed my CBT and bought my first bike a Suzuki GZ125 Marauder. 8 months later in March 2008 I took my full bike test and passed, finally the time had come to get my first “big” bike; a Ducati Monster 695, the bike I’m still riding today.
A lot of people that go on “adventure” trips amuse me, there always seems to be pressure, be it having to stick to a route or having to get to a final destination, it almost becomes a race to get to the next checkpoint, to get to that all important finish line. I don’t want to race to a finish line, I don’t want to be restricted by a route, I want to be free. For me, it’s not about the destination, it’s not even about completing the trip, it’s about the things we do, the people we meet and the places we get to see along the way.
