Check out Voni's latest adventure over at Ayer's Adventures IIRC she and Paul were in Africa for three weeks as hosts.Originally Posted by Grey Matter
Check out Voni's latest adventure over at Ayer's Adventures IIRC she and Paul were in Africa for three weeks as hosts.
-=Brad
It isn't what you ride, it is if you ride
Brad, I can't believe I did not think of this. You know I think I am going to shoot for 2006. I have wanted to go to Africa since I was a kid.
Euelle: Hey, these blow up into funny shapes at all?
Old Timer: Well, no. Unless round is funny...
Rounder Number 60
Logistics? It isn't any more complicated than riding anywhere else. Sure, you need to get the usual cross border documents and possibly a Carnet de Passage. You'd want to carry a few spares and a sat phone.
Well self sufficient touring and organized tours are at the opposite ends of the scale. It all depends what kind of tour you want to experience, the real thing where you rely on yourself, or a fabricated tour. I prefer the tour where I can say "I did this all by myself"; the real adventure.
Plus, $5950 for a 2 week tour? Yikes and you have to add airfare to that and other extras.
Why not organize one yourself with other friends. Don't let uncertainty and fear enter the equation. You might start off in Spain and then take the ferry over to Morocco and Tunisia for starters.
Grey Matter wrote:
That's the beauty of going with a GREAT tour company. Expensive is really a relative term. When you consider there is NO waste of your valuable time finding the VERY BEST roads, the VERY BEST places to lay your head, and the VERY BEST food -and camaraderie! - sharing all that at the end of the day, making lifetime friends. Letting someone else work out the worries. It's not expensive. It's priceless!To me the tour manager would work out the logistics. I would just show up & ride with my gear on my/a bike. That way I could maximize my vacation time.
Voni
still sMiling and remembering
http://www.bigbend.net/users/glaves/
Live fully. Laugh deeply. Love widely.
BMW MOA Ambassador / FOM / Roving Forum Moderator/
Selected Friends of Wile E Coyote/ A Million BMW sMiles
Any chance to ride with the Glaves is worth it!
-=Brad
It isn't what you ride, it is if you ride
Hey, thanks Little Bro ; )
Guess since we're all family here I can let you in on a little secret. Ron will be announcing soon a new style of Adventuring with Ayres, "Semi-Guided" trips in Africa and New Zealand. (Definitely will continue to offer the full ride trips too)
For the new adventures, we'll do all the reservations, provide "The Plan Ahead", maps, GPS routes, etc. We'll provide 24-hour telephone back-up support (we'll even give the riders cell phones) and we'll accompany them for the first night or two to help them get oriented to riding on the left, etc. then they will be on their own. No support vehicle etc. Should make that dream trip just a little more independent for those that want that choice.
Voni
sMiling and dreaming of New Zealand
http://www.bigbend.net/users/glaves/
Live fully. Laugh deeply. Love widely.
BMW MOA Ambassador / FOM / Roving Forum Moderator/
Selected Friends of Wile E Coyote/ A Million BMW sMiles
That will be cool. Do I get a family discount?
-=Brad
It isn't what you ride, it is if you ride
We'll have to check out the Ayres Advantage . . .
Voni
sMiling
http://www.bigbend.net/users/glaves/
Live fully. Laugh deeply. Love widely.
BMW MOA Ambassador / FOM / Roving Forum Moderator/
Selected Friends of Wile E Coyote/ A Million BMW sMiles
Hi Voni,
You've made your point for going with a touring company. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that dream about taking one of those tours, but can't afford or justify the cost.
I wouldn't want readers to get the idea that they can't have the VERY BEST of anything if they choose to organize a tour on their own.
Over the years, I've received countless e-mails asking for touring information; bike rentals, accomodations, maps, etc. The odd time if I don't have the answers, I point them to the BMWMOA Global Touring web site. Anyone planning a tour on their own should visit that site.
I've never wasted a single minute finding the very best roads. In fact, I have driven roads that touring companies don't even know about and you won't even find them in any of those "how to motorcycle tour" books. Anyone considering a tour will most likely be enthusiastic enough to study maps well in advance, and it isn't a chore, its part of the adventure if that is what they are looking for.
I've also never had any trouble tracking down the very best places to spend the night or eat at. And at the end of the day over supper, I have a multinational group of riders to socialize with. What better way to find out about other cultures.
And some of the advantages that you don't get unless you tour on your own are, when and how long to stay in a particular area. I also decide how long to stay and chat with other riders that I meet along my daily route. I can stop for as many photo ops and for as long as I like when I find panoramic vistas. And the following day, I decide where I will head to. Just a very few of the advantages.
And the best part of it all, all for about half price to do a tour that is my tour.
I can understand your pro organized tour motive. I'm just providing readers with the other side of the coin. Hopefully, some will have their dream come true.
Just got back from Edelweiss AZ tour...
...and LOVED it!!!!!!!!! We are new riders, have never done anything like this and don't ride in groups, so it might be our perspective. Plus, we live in flatland Illinois surrounded by farmland. There are some pretty rides, but nothing to compare with what we saw on this tour. Our tour guide (TR - if you get a chance to be on one of his tours, you will have a BLAST) could not have been a better guide or more accommodating. He is a very skilled rider very focused on safety who offered us riding tips, and a great person who kept us laughing. Both are invaluable to us. Plus, we met up with BMWMick (who actually became the official photographer for the tour--thanks Mick), so we actually ended up with two tour guides and a photographer. You can't beat that! Mick rode with us on the first day and he and our guide talked about the best places to take us for the other two days. It worked out GREAT!!!! We thought the hotel was beautiful, but pricey (as resorts typically are). The weather was a bit rainy, but we managed to miss almost all of it.
And to top it all off, we ended up making two new friends in the process.
We couldn't be happier with our experience!!!!!!
(I have pictures to post, mostly taken by our new friend Mick, but have to figure out how to do so. They are too large right now.)
D',
It was fun meeting you and Joe! Just size the pictures to about 640X480 and they should upload with no problem. It will lose a little quality (the sign actually reads Sasabe Left and Tucson Right).
Mick
Tucson
Thanks Mick! Great meeting you as well. I need to resize the pictures at home and then post them while at work (dial up only at home), so hopefully some time this week!
Thanks again for the pictures!
It's taken me a while to get this worked out, but I finally have some pictures to share! As you can see, we had a BLAST!
The plane ride there was a bit adventurous. Notice how calm everyone else was. We don't fly much, so maybe we were just a bit timid when the plane went upside down.
Me and STRESS with our new friend, BMWMick, at Kitt Peak. What a great day that was! Thanks for joining us Mick!
Us at Chiricahua National Monument - absolutely beautiful! I LOVE this picture!!!
Me and STRESS riding through Saguaro National Park.
Yes, we are aliens. "We come from France."
D'Lilah,
Thanks for keeping the picture dark enough they can't identify me from that picture!
Mick
Tucson
No problem, Mick. That was our deal. Just doing as promised! We wouldn't want you to be stalked or anything!
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