ts, those distances really do seem ambitious. If you want to visit and experience some of the places you want to go, spend some time there. What happens when you find a place you feel really comfortable in and want to stay for some extra time? Some flexibility is needed, at least in my opinion.

When Machka and I travel, we have a general idea of where we are headed, but we don't plan meticulously enough to lock us in to a stringent timetable. We often wing it on accommodation, too.

We did a 17,000km return sweep north-south of the US in late 2012 by car. It took us about six weeks, and while the halfway point was to visit Machka's brother and his family in Louisiana and we had to be there by a certain date, the rest of the trip was open-ended. Some of the destinations resulted from invitations from BF members to catch up, including qcpmsame way across in Florida. I could not have imagined doing the trip by motorbike (and yes, I have ridden motorcycles).