A travel couple
For years we stacked wood onto our savings accounts, ready for travelling. But there was no spark to push us over the edge of our nest. Until the evening we decided, together but each on our own, to travel by motorcycle. Then we had to buy motorcycles. Learn to ride them. Pass a driving test. And wait through a long Swiss winter for that very moment six months later, when we rode out of New York City on fully loaded bikes. Something we had never done before.
A few thousand miles later, we would never ever want to miss the moment that fire started to burn. It has kept us warm through every one of those Swiss winters since.
We're not extremists, not in any way. We are neither mentally nor physically above average. We have no clue how an engine works, and we couldn't survive on a lost island with just a Swiss knife, even though we carry one around. We are the proof that anyone can do this kind of thing. All it takes is one evening when you say to yourself: I go.
I confess: I almost never read other people's travel stories, and certainly not about a country I plan to visit myself. There is no good or bad way of travelling. Follow your dreams, your interests, your abilities and your gut, with a sense for nature. But one thing is true for me and I want to say it out loud: travelling as a couple is a great, enriching thing. Every day is so much easier when you can share the good and the bad. Play to each other's strengths and you won't just widen your range, you'll become an unbeatable team. Anytime, anywhere.
Jazz
Born 1974. Traveller, artist, teacher. Learned to ride a motorcycle because I had decided to travel on one. That was back in 2001.
What drives me
Joy! The joy of life, the joy of riding deeper into it. The desire for adventure, for what is unknown to me. The desire to cut down to the essentials, to the minimum. The desire to find the How, and not the Why. The desire to touch boundaries: my own, the political ones and the boundaries of others. And the desire to feel humble in front of our one and only world.
Why a motorcycle
Whoever rides a motorcycle has to put at least one foot on the ground every time it stops. For some, that's just physics. For me, it's philosophy. The philosophy of travelling by motorcycle. Stop the bike, one foot on the ground: arrive. Put the second foot down: be there.
On a motorcycle I travel in the open. I don't necessarily depend on roads, I can choose my path. I get to experience the country and its people, the animals, the weather, the whole of nature, unfiltered. I smell the scents, I feel the wind and the temperature. I'm touchable. I steer, I brake, I give gas. I'm free to make my own journey.
Phil
Born 1974. Traveller, artist, developer. Learned to ride a motorcycle because I had decided to travel on one. That was back in 2001, too. Sounds familiar? It should.
What drives me
At the core of my urge to travel is curiosity. I'm fascinated by the different systems, by how every society works in its own special way. It's the here and now that interests me, not the past, even though the past might help to understand it. In countries outside globalisation, the differences jump right at you. Everywhere else they are still there, just smaller, a little secret, hidden in the details.
Why this motorcycle
My bike has to be unique to really get my emotions going. Sometimes that's just a design detail. But a travel motorcycle simply has to be the best. Low weight, enough power, a lively engine, direct steering and suspension you never have to worry about. In short: the thing has to be tougher than me, and it just has to work. Always and everywhere. Which bikes made the cut? Have a look at our motorcycles.
Sir Lupo
Born 2007. Dog. Adolescent. Has applied for a driving licence.
We're still waiting for the answer from the road traffic office.
Read on
Still curious? Check out where we laid down our hat, read what happened in the diary, or find out what fits into two saddle bags on the equipment page.