Ride your world ~ part 2

For me the weekend was invaluable, not only was it fun to be back under canvas (or in this case rip-stop),amazingly well catered, sometimes in torrential rain, courtesy of the 'Fletch school of haute camping cuisine'


and the evenings highly amusing (I'm even learning the alcohol thing after 20 or so years tee total) but to meet and mix with so many like minded individuals touched some kind of chord in me. People who in the first instance don't assume you must be a hells angel or a thug if you are dressed in leather and sporting a very fetching 'helmet hair-do' and who secondly don't assume you must have completely lost every vestige of sanity to even consider ditching your life (what life? I hear you say in my case) and leg it to some distant parts on two wheels for a time. Like minded individuals who maybe just want to perhaps experience another kind of life and who in many cases have done it.

I suppose up until now, despite having some loose plans to travel, the whole issue seemed in some ways rather freakin' scary big and unwieldy, maybe too awe inspiring to really believe it might happen or that I would be able to cope with all it's demands but one session in particular dispelled all of that for me. I attended a 'women only' presentation which whilst it spent a degree of time on information regarding 'womens things' in in the back of beyond, also provided information on woman specific safety and the various traditions that one needs to respect in different parts of the world, Muslim countries in particular.

But most of all it was an opportunity to talk to women who have acually done it, not only with a companion or in groups but entirely alone and to hear their stories and experiences and to realise that they are just flesh and blood like me, not superwoman, was a real eye-opener. One in particular was an amazing inspiration, Lois Pryce. Lois rode over 20000 miles across the Americas completely alone!. She has a great deal of grit, courage and tenacity, way more than I could ever muster but the fact that she was so approachable and 'normal' gave me some confidence that it really is possible.

But hey...let's not get carried away here, first stop Europe in August, as many countries as we can hit in 16 days....it's a start! :o)

(Can I go now please?....I can't wait!)

*For Fletch's take on it all go HERE.