[RideApart] - Expedition 65: The Adventure of Preparing for Adventure

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Expedition 65: The Adventure of Preparing for Adventure

Motorcycling jack of all trades Alfonse Palaima has spent the past several months preparing to join the RawHyde Adventures team on a journey from Cartagena, Columbia, to*Ushuaia, Argentina. The team is calling their "little tour"*Expedition 65*- so named because it will cross 65 degrees of latitude.*We've asked Alfonse to send us "postcards" along the way. But before the team can go, it has to get ready to go...

It is often said, if you want something done right, you do it yourself. But the steps involved with preparing for such a journey as Expedition 65 are numerous and detailed. Here’s what you need to know to get it right the first time:

Beginning with the body, before turning to the motorcycle, I’ll show you what you’re up against even before you roll your first mile, or, more appropriately said, kilometer.*Book, organize, and plan for all of these things at your own pace - and on your own schedule of course - as this is merely a checklist of to-do items.


A journey this big takes more than just a year of planning, it requires a support vehicle. We chose the Ford Transit van, boosted it, wrapped it and shipped it with the motorcycles to South America.Part 1: The Rider

Even before we get the wheels rolling, there’s a litany of legalese and preparation (paperwork and pills) necessary to do such a ride. Most of which we started thinking about a year ago, but didn’t actually get to doing until recently. Tsk tsk!

Starting with a few travel guides, my favorites include a full complement of Culture Smart and Lonely Planet books, one for each country. The Culture Smart series are small and packable, and filled with intelligent information on history and etiquette. I buy one for every country I visit now. The Lonely Planet books are loaded with lodging and restaurant data that I tend not to use as an adventure motorcycle traveler, but the maps and attraction information always keep me interested. Plus, they can be purchased as either analog ink-on-paper or digital objects (even better for two-wheeled travel).

Since we’re headed for foreign countries, so you need a passport. You’ll also need at least one open page for stamps from each country you visit, and your passport must be valid for at least 6 months - be sure it isn’t expired or soon will be.

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