Motorcycle Explorer October 2014 Issue 2 | Page 38

Sam Manicom
Being out on the road makes you feel as if
you are really alive. Sure there are hard times,
but isn’t there some sort of saying about the
hard times making the good times feel even
better? And you know its people that make the
world go round. It’s the people you meet who
allow you to really learn about the places you
are riding through. Without them you’d be
doing no more than floating across the surface
of a country. How sad would that be? The other
thing about people is the fun and laughter that
can be had. Those travellers who leave shyness
behind them, and aren’t afraid to talk with the
locals, add a treasure chest of experiences to
their journey. You might start off your
adventure jaded by a few personal experiences
and the misused power of the media, but the
sheer kindness and open hearted hospitality of
the vast majority of people you meet will
rapidly melt any fears and prejudice you might
have.
As Sir Richard Burton wrote, ‘One of the
gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is
the departure upon a distant journey into
unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty
effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of
routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery
of home, man feels once more happy.’
"So, who are
overlanders?"
They are people with powerful dreams who
have been able to make the opportunity for
their dreams to come alive, or have happily
stumbled into the situation that they are free
enough to go. What makes a motorcycle journey
allowed to be called an Overlanding trip?
Combine two wheels with the time to hit the
longer road and that’s overlanding. Are
overlanders nuts, amazingly lucky, or is it that
they are driven? I don’t think that an adventure
traveller is anyone out of the ordinary. In part
it’s that Overlanders are people who’ve realized
that we live in a magnificent world. They like
the idea of finding out more about it and
themselves, but the key is they’ve clocked that
the best way to do this is via firsthand
experience. And, well, is there such a thing as a
standard Overlander or Adventure traveller
anyway? Erm, no. Each is unique with a
completely unparalleled journey in front of
them. If you have a yearning to be one and can
escape to the long road, just do it. You’ll enjoy
the ride; well, most of it! MEM