HU Travellers Meeting Canwest 2014

Nevil Stow, RTW 2013 London to Vladivostok on a DR650 2013

The planning and execution of the first leg of an RTW, Border Crossings, Corrupt Police, a motorcycle accident and more!

Details the visas/documentation needed for border crossings, explains Transnistria, suggests good routes and what to expect from corrupt police from time to time. Covers England, France, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Transnistria, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

Nevil lives in Canmore Alberta and has worked as a mountain guide in the past. This year he rode from London to Vladivostok on a DR650 as part of a charity Fundraiser. In 2010 he rode to Inuvik and Prudhoe Bay only 9 months after his stroke to raise over $5000 for stroke victims.

Daan Stehouwer and Mirjam van Immerzeel, Netherlands Discover your limits - and check out what's beyond them!

Two Africa Twins through Africa

Africa; it takes some time to get used to. Perhaps we had already tuned in in 14 months through the Americas, still it was quite an adventure to cross this continent. The unpredictable offroading, the animals, the people, the fuel, the cultures...

From HU to the World

It started with a DVD... and ended up with a RTW trip and an emigration! One rainy day some years ago. Daan calls Mirjam at work: 'there is a DVD to buy about this crazy plan we came up with in the pub last week!'

Lots of hours on the HUBB and a few HU-meetings @ Germany. Finally we did it, travelled The Americas and Africa. Yes: it had a massive impact on our lives. But looking back on it, it was the best thing we've ever done! We're hooked...

How it all started?

Janet Wilson and Tom Feuchtwanger, Canada A Global Perspective - Achieving The Art of Overlanding

Janet Wilson and Tom Feuchtwanger have a deep love of Africa, its wilderness, wildlife and peoples. During the early 70's they spent many years living in the African bush where Tom worked as an exploration geologist. Their first overland adventure in 1974 was in a Renault in which we traveled around Europe.

This lifelong love for exploring the world continues and they completed 3 overland trips circumnavigating 80,000km across Africa. Not satisfied they sold up everything in 2010 and drove from Alaska to Argentina completing a 65,000km overland journey in 18 months.

"Nothing is more addictive than traveling off the beaten track across the globe. So why do some set off and others only dream? How did we break free and achieve the thrill of overlanding? We will share our lessons, from planning to risk management. We have laughed and we have cried, we have experienced thrilling highlights and fearful tragedies. And we keep going back for more. 87 countries and we have never paid bribe how do we do it?"

Robert Thode, USA Amazing Africa - 18 weeks and 38,000 K around southern and eastern Africa, the land, the people, the roads.

"I be a wandering old fart, doing the world on the installment plan. For several years I have traveled from 3 weeks to 3 1/2 months every winter. Sometimes I even talk my wife of 40 years to come with me, (sometime she knows I have gone over the edge and makes me go by myself). The last two winters we have been in southern and eastern Africa. Africa is an amazing place, wonderful people, exotic animals, and an abundance of adventure."

This may be why they don't let you ride in on a motorcycle...

Children's center for street kids, Isiolo, Kenya

Boštjan Škrlj, Slovenia Extreme Travel

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it might be yours! Travel in extreme conditions and extreme temperatures. 1-YUKON-Whitehorse-Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk on ice road. 2-Winter ride to the north of Alaska-to Prudhoe Bay - Deadhorse. Boštjan will present his polar travel and how to prepare all equipment.

Ekke and Audrey Kok, Canada Riding to the Great Wall

Audrey and Ekke flew from Canada to Germany in July of 2012 and then rode east. All the way to the Great Wall of China. Who knew that you could simply ride to the Great Wall? Along the way they overcame a few logistical challenges, met wonderful people and had the adventure of a lifetime. 

Ekke and camels

Audrey friends an elephant in Thailand

Patrick and Belinda Peck, Australia Hidden Gem Montenegro, Schengen visa & Road Rules

We are an Australian couple travelling two up on a Yamaha Super Tenere for 1 year every second year since 2000. Areas include Western and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, Laos, Vietnam and Sri Lanka and average 100kms travel per day. We will share some of our knowledge and experiences and how we make it work!

Using photos, we would like to share the unique scenery, roads and historical sites of Eastern European's best kept secret: Montenegro.

We will also talk about the Schengen visa for travelling in Western Europe. Having had no accidents in nearly 300,000 kms we list the important rules of the road we have summarized for our friends and kids to ride safely around the world.

Jordan Hasselmann, Canada Calgary to Ushuaia (via Newfoundland)

After talking about it for years, Jordan and Sandra decided it was finally time for the big trip. Sandra just needed to get a bike. And a bike license. Then they quit their jobs and spend the next 14 months and 48,000 km travelling from Calgary to Ushuaia and back, via Newfoundland.

The presentation is about their trip to South America from preparation to life on the road, with a few side trips thrown in, like hiking Torres del Paine, Machu Picchu and visiting Antarctica.

Onno Kok, Canada Japan - Touring the land of the rising sun

The Land of the Rising Sun has many enticing places to visit no matter your interests. It is a land of contrasts with ancient temples and glittering skyscrapers, high tech gadgetry and old traditions. Discover how accessible this treasure of the Orient can be. Come and learn about motorcycle rental, accommodations, road and driving tips, and more.

"I have lived in Japan for two years and have traveled back on numerous occasions over the last twenty years. Last fall I rented a motorcycle there and toured Japan for two weeks. I am quite familiar with the culture and language and have traveled across three of the four main islands on various trips by various means."

Bruce and Anne Ashton, Canada Five ways to escape Canadian winters by Moto - How we were able to enjoy traveling on a motorcycle during the coldest winter months in Canada.

Bruce and Anne are both in their late 60s. First rode a 250cc motorcycle 35,000 kilometers in Europe in 1968. Took a 40 year break and started again 6 years ago traveling the CN winter months. Three winters in Central America, two winters in Australia and one winter in South America.

Kai-Uwe Och, Sweden Adventure Touring in Scandinavia

Europe's best adventure touring happens in the north: Sweden, Norway, Finland!

The Scandinavian countries have a long heritage of outdoor live, both winter and summmer. Besides being (in contrast to central Europe) sparsely populated there is an ages old right still in force today, which give you the right to camp basically whereever you like. Just throw your tent on your bike, ride for some hours and find a nice spot in the forest at a quiet lake to enjoy a good meal at the campfire.

Kai-Uwe Och is 44 years old, has always been interesting in outdoor live, but mostly travelling by bicyle for many years. Took motorcycle license in 2008 and continues to travel same style as before, just longer distances!

Mike and Marianne Robertson, Canada Touring Africa

Why we sought an organized tour, benefits and challenges, where we went, what we really liked, what we sought out, highlights that have stayed in our memory, what others brought to the trip and would we do it again?

Annette Birkmann, Denmark A Journey to Effortless Living

As a little girl I dreamt about riding a motorcycle. At the age of thirty, I decided I'd waited long enough. I quit my job as an attorney in Copenhagen, sold everything I owned and moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I found work in a small motorcycle repair shop. I didn't know anything about motorcycles and I only spoke a few words of Spanish before I arrived; however, I credit working in the repair shop for providing me with an extraordinary cursing vocabulary in that language.

While in Buenos Aires I bought my first motorcycle – a six-year old BMW F 650 GS Dakar. Eight months later I began a one-year solo motorcycle ride through Latin America. My journey took me from the southern tip of South America to New York through 16 countries and 33,000 miles.

Grant and Susan Johnson, Horizons Unlimited How it all began. The story of Grant and Susan's 11-year trip around the world, without a plan or a clue!

Way back in 1987, before the Internet, two young and naive Canadians set out from Vancouver to ride around the world on a motorcycle. The plan (and budget) was for 3 years, but it didn't quite work out that way!

Nevil Stow, RTW 2013 Bears & Moto camping, the do's & dont's

A humorous insight into what to do and not do in bear country from an ex-mountain guide.

A simple slide show coupled with demonstrations and audience participation. Presented by Nevil Stow and quite possibly Trent Schumann. Lots of props and growling noises made here!

Beware of bear sign in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

Tracey Martin Life in 12 Kilos - Packing for life on the road

Tracey Martin has been travelling the globe for 30 years, visiting 35+ countries by bike, car, truck, bus, train, and ship. Each time she leaves home, she enjoys the expressions of wonder as she walks away with everything needed for weeks or months in just one small bag strapped to her back. Each new trip brings new packing challenges, but the greatest challenge of all was presented by the most recent adventure – 6 months in an Ural sidecar rig through pouring rain and from 45°C at sea level to snowing and below 0°C at 5,000+m.

Tracey and her husband, Miles McEwing, managed to carry everything needed for one low maintenance man, one high maintenance woman and one trusty Russian steed in just under 12 kilos. When you're on a bike as heavy as the Ural, carrying two passengers who are no light-weights, every kilo you can leave behind makes a difference.

Join Tracey to learn from her experiences, both on and off of a bike: What do you bring? How do you pack it? What gear worked? What gear failed miserably? Then join in a round-table discussion where we'll learn from each other's experiences. If there is one lesson learned from many years of travel, it is that there is no right or wrong when it comes to packing. Learn from the experiences of others, then put together a packing plan that works for you.

Kevan Ibbotson (Dirtpig) Best of Bodger Fixes

Can WD-40 fix everything? No, but you would be surprised what you can do with a bar of soap other than wash your hands!

Kevan's humorous and entertaining look at how to bodger repair your bike to get it home or at least to the next town.

This is an interactive session where we will review some of the tools and repair materials to carry with and how to use them to get yourself back on the road. It will be interspersed with photos and videos from Horizons Unlimited members from the past few years to showcase some of their very imaginative get home ideas.

Debbie Hewson, Australia Food on the road: healthy, happy, local

Discover tips for cooking on the road, basic travel ingredients, how to forage fresh food on the road, local markets, cooksurfing. Food is the common language. Eating on the road doesn't have to be expensive or boring. While travel with a stove can bring freedom, security and health (and just a little extra gas for the fuel tank!), eating with locals expands your understanding of the culture.

This workshop will explore tips for one-pot meals, basic travel ingredients, foraging food on the road to shopping at local markets, eating out to cook surfing. It will also include a brief exploratory forage and ID of the locality's weeds aka 'salad greens'. It will explore the ideas of healthy eating on the road, the pros and cons of what to pack, exploration of new food, options for finding ingredients and kitchens.

Foraging for nettles, and a quick lunch before a ferry

Deb has traveled overland through 49 countries, backpacking, cycle touring and motorbike touring. She has most recently returned from a solo motorbike tour from Alaska to Patagonia. She is an avid cook, forager, and seeker of new learnings.

Herman Kovacs, The Seat Man Riding in comfort on a custom seat

"Over the past 25 years my bike travels have taken me to various locations in North America with BMW motorcycles. Before I began exploring Alaska, the Yukon, Northwest Territories and the Arctic Circle along the Dempster Highway, I bought a BMW F650 GS. The stock seat was very uncomfortable and I had a five hour ride home. After one hour my butt got sore and I went into a fabric store in a small town en route. I had to become creative.

Over the years I have made many custom seats for different motorcycles and there are a few key considerations in making a seat. The session will show how a custom seat is made and how anyone can modify and improve their bike's seat with some basic tools and equipment which are in most people's workshop or garage."

Grant Johnson, Horizons Unlimited Fix that flat! How to change a tire anytime, anywhere!

Grant's tire changing seminars are always well attended and appreciated. This seminar covers: how to prevent flats in the first place, and fix them when you get one; the best tools and how to use them for tube and tubeless tires; hands-on practical for beginners to experts, optional tire changing contest.

Grant's tire changing seminar at HU California meeting.

Karen and Kevan Ibbotson Hands on Emergency First Aid Clinic / First-on-scene

Hands on Emergency First Aid Clinic / First-on-scene. How to safely remove a crash helmet, check for spinal cord and head injuries, and what first aid supplies you might bring on a trip away from first world medical care. Bring your helmet and a mat to lie on.

Karen is a trauma nurse (BSN, RN, ERsp) and Kevan is a trained Medical First Responder.

"I have been riding for over 40 years and have put on many overseas miles in S.E Asia, India, Europe and north America. I am an expert in what I call guerrilla camping... That is how to stay in the most interesting placed for free. In the past. I have camped in Richard the Lion Heart's castle in France, a Catholic Monks' abbey in Italy, a grand manor house garden in England, under bridges and in churches all over the world... all for free and usually without hassle."

Jamie Barber on Bullet in India

Grant and Susan Johnson, Horizons Unlimited 4 Easy Steps to Overland Travel! You can do it - we can help! Finding your way around Horizons Unlimited, other resources. Lots of great pics and video clips.

"Grant and Susan Johnson are icons in the round-the-world (RTW) motorcycling community. The Johnsons host - or more appropriately write, edit, produce, manage and coordinate Horizons Unlimited - a global network of motorcycle travelers... and a bona fide adventure motorcycling phenomenon." Dan Hilton, Rider Magazine

This seminar will cover - how to navigate the site since the redesign - mega-menus, search, the HUBB. Includes 'How to' content from the Achievable Dream series and great pics from HU Photo Contest winners!

A demonstration of off-road riding techniques as applied to larger motorcycles.

Michael is an experienced off-road racer, who has raced hare-scrambles and enduros in BC. He's also an experienced touring rider who has ridden many miles on both tarmac and gravel. Michael will demonstrate how to ride off-road, followed by hands on session for riders as well.

Grant Johnson, Horizons Unlimited Bike mods and ergonomics!

Grant will host a bike 'Show and Tell' - bring your bike and show us your favorite travel mods. Critique and discussion.

When you picked up your new bike, did they take the time to make it fit you? You'll learn the amazing difference a properly setup bike makes to your riding fun.

Ergonomics demonstration at HU Canada West meeting.

Border crossings - How to get through borders with minimal stress and cost!

Packing light - Tips and techniques from experienced travellers to reduce weight and bulk.

Regional discussions - e.g. travelling in South America or Asia.

For Women Only - A must for the ladies, so be sure to plan on being there! A chance to talk to experienced travelling women without the men around!

Experienced Travellers Panel - ask the experts anything you want!

Walk arounds / Show and tell!

Stove Cook-off - Everyone bring your stove and let's see what works - and what doesn't! The Pros and Cons of stoves, fuels and pots, recipes, pans etc

Tents and Bedding discussion (in the camping area) - What works, cheap vs dear and which ones keep you dry, warm and comfy!

Bike mods - Show off your best bike mods - homemade saddle bags, toolbox mounts, GPS mounts, seats, side stands, tank panniers, cup holders, etc.