WHERE DID THIS EUROPE MOTO EXPEDITION IDEA COME FROM?!
Updated: Jan 25
OCT 6, 2021
You may be wondering how this idea came to fruition. It seems like I just up and left! Not quite, this idea has been a long time coming.
It started when I first had the idea to backpack Europe when I was in college. But of course, in life, we balance the triangle of truth, the 3 sides of: time, energy and money. In my early 20s, I had all the time and energy, but no money for such a trip. So I got my degree, put my head down and starting working. As I climbed the corporate ladder and my backpacking dream was pushed off to the side as I focused on my career growth. My dream turned into a "Do It One Day" with no set timeline. For 10 years, I focused on my career, but still made it a point to travel to one international country each year, and even up to 4 in 2019. But I thought, how am I to see the whole world one country at a time? I'll be 200 years old by the time I finish. During this time, started to pick up hobbies like motorcycling, camping, running, hiking, and backpacking.
And as the old saying goes, When one door closes, another door opens." I was laid off from my corporate job in 2018. A thought circuited through my mind: Am I ready? My gut answer was no. I had never even traveled outside of the country by myself, how could I embark on a world trip without practice? I planned a trip to Iceland where my best friend was suppose to go, but he was not able to, so I went by myself! I rented a car and drove around the entire country Iceland for a week by myself. It was one of the most amazing experiences I had. Traveling by yourself shows you how self reliant, resourceful, and powerful you really are. I previously always traveled with friends, but going by myself wasn't so bad. I loved it so much, I planned another trip to Cuba by myself.
After Cuba, I asked myself if I was ready to embark on a big world expedition. No, I wasn't. I still had Asian guilt/ was still stuck in the Bay Area Rat Race drive and found another job. I was still stuck in the system. But soon, I got laid off a second time in 2020. I took this as a sign and it felt like the right time. I finally started planning for my world trip! I had finally found the perfect balance in the triangle of truth: I have time, energy and money saved for this very purpose!
And then Covid happened. Long story short, I developed depression, circumstantial anxiety, and got shut in for a year. While being trapped inside with Covid shutdowns made me feel one of the lowest points in my life, I also picked up long distance mototouring. That's when I had the bright idea: Riding a motorcycle is a lot faster than walking with a huge backpack everywhere, let's evolve my life dream into a moto expedition! As the world slowly started opening up, I monitored the news on when the EU was going to open travel to American citizens again. Europe finally opened up August 2021. The hurricane of planning began. I tidied up my life in California and started working on the exit strategy of my life in the United States. My last obligation in the US was my cousin's wedding in August and one of closest friends' wedding in October where I was officiant.
After the wedding, I left the United States a week later and flew to Croatia to pick up my motorcycle. And that was that! That is the evolution of how this expedition came to fruition. It didn't happen overnight. Sometimes dreams take time to simmer for the right time