Back on the road again

Early January of this year, I realized I could no longer stay in The Netherlands. I had to get back on the road, get back to work and start filming. Returning to South America and resuming my journey to Alaska would not be an option in the near future, but where to go then? Which country will provide me with a visa and what is the best way to organise my motorcycle travels in the current situation we are in?

Motorcycle Travel Option 1, 2 or 3

In my blog budgeting your next motorcycle trip, I wrote about the three options you have as a motorcycle traveler:

• Ship or ride your own motorcycle that is registered in the country of your residence to your destination,

• Rent a motorcycle locally, or

• Buy a motorcycle locally.

After weeks of studying the world map and checking with different embassies whether their borders were open and visas were issued, I came to the conclusion that option 1, traveling by my own bike (Ronin), was simply a bad idea.

The risk of getting stuck in a country due to Covid-19, as it happened to me in Peru in 2020, is still a reality that can happen overnight. Getting yourself out of a country in lockdown will be challenging, but getting your own motorcycle out again is often impossible. It had taken me 8 painful months of emails, paperwork, frustration, and a significant amount of money to ship Dhanno out of Peru. I didn’t want to end up in a similar situation for Ronin.

Renting a motorcycle locally would eliminate this risk. The problem with renting a motorcycle though is that it can get quite expensive in the long run, and you can’t really modify a rental bike to your liking. Often you also have to return your rental to the company you rented it from, or you are not allowed to take the rental bike across borders. Additionally, there are sometimes restrictions regarding riding off-road.

With options 1 and 2 out of the window, only option 3 remained. Buying a motorcycle locally, explore that country by bike, and then sell the bike again when I leave. Then travel to another country and repeat the same process again. It’s not how I had envisioned my travels on a motorcycle, but in this ‘new’ world, it’s the best next thing!

Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, or Nepal?

The next challenge was figuring out where in the world I was going to relocate myself to. I had on my shortlist Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Nepal. These were all countries I hadn’t travel through on a motorcycle yet. And I wouldn’t go there on an overland trip anytime soon either.

When I contacted their embassies, I learned that Japan, Indonesia, and Nepal didn’t allow me in. Pakistan initially was still providing visas but three weeks into the visa application process, they denied my visa because of my Dutch nationality. The Netherlands was classified as a “Class C”- country (whatever that means) and all visa applications were put on hold for those countries. I briefly considered Australia or New Zealand but their borders are still firmly shut for non-residents too.

Until then, I hadn’t considered going to a country on the African continent because I was planning to do a full African tour after I had finished my journey to Alaska. But I realized I had to abandon that idea and live in the moment. And at that time, I needed a new home. A new country to live and ride in! The Southern African countries had just opened their borders again and were allowing people to enter.

After my Pakistan visa was denied, I made the decision that it was time for Africa! Within a week of setting my eye on South Africa, I’d bought a plane ticket, packed my things, got my negative Covid test result, and boarded the plane to Johannesburg.

Buying a South African motorcycle

Upon arrival, I didn’t waste a single day. It was time to buy a local motorcycle. I wanted to start riding and filming again as soon as possible. I’d already searched online for motorcycle shops selling second-hand bikes. There was only a handful of them in Johannesburg, so I selected the one that had the most promising bikes for sale and booked a guesthouse close to this shop.

It turned out I didn’t have to visit any other bike shop. The Honda CRF250L that I had spotted online, the cheapest bike they had, was still for sale. After a quick walk around and a test ride, I was the proud owner of yet another Honda!

I have to admit that the guys at the Fire it Up motorcycle shop, where I bought my bike, were really helpful. Within three days I had bought a bike that was kitted out the way I wanted, and also all the paperwork was done so I could hit the road again. Three days, an absolute record for starting a new motorcycle adventure!

Watch the start of my new Season here.