Round The World 202? ( Planning )

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Planned Route ( Route List Below )

I am in the dreaming / thinking / planning stages of a long distance endurance ride around the world. I have always wanted to ride around the world and to as many countries around the world as possible and I have a planned a ride to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America but I think a RTW ( Round The World ) ride would be a better challenge. In 2012 I rode my Honda Gold Wing from Key West, FL to north of Fairbanks, AK and back and it was a great experience. After that ride I was hooked and have been thinking about riding outside the USA.

Riding around the world will be a big challenge and will take an every amount of effort for me to be successful. This will be the hardest ride I will have ever done including my two Iron Butt Rally rides. I feel my past riding experience gives me the experience and knowledge that I need to take on this challenge. I have ridden all over the USA, Canada and even in Japan when I lived there in the 1980's. I ride on average 50,000+ miles a year and I have completed many long distance endurance rides over 12,000+ miles including two Iron Butt Rallies that are 11 days and over 11,000 thousand miles and billed as the toughest motorcycle event.

My plan is to ride around the world in one continuous trip and to complete the ride in less than 80 days. The time limit I put on my self is because I am a long distance endurance rider and I want this to be an endurance ride and I do work for a living and I need to limit my time away from my family and work. Riding around the world in 80 days or less will be a big challenge and I will need to have a great plan to be successful.

I plan on riding in five continents, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and South America and riding in over 35 countries. The map above is my current route plans and below you can see the distance and time between each location. The time I have is riding time between each location and does not include any layover time in places I want to visit or time due to issues at border crossings or the like.

I plan on riding on mostly paved roads around the world and my route has very little gravel roads in it. My route does take me through some places that some would consider dangerous but I have done some research and think I have identified a pretty safe route. In my route is the Trans Siberian road and the Pan American Highway.

Satellite Tracking

I want to be one of the first round the world riders to bring you with me on the ride in real time as I will be posting daily blog and video updates along with real time satellite tracking. I will be using a satellite tracking device that will show my progress with updates around every 10 minutes along my complete route. With this tracking everyone will be able to follow along in a real time basis. I will be posting custom message when I stop for the night and other activities. With these custom messages I can attach a photo. You will also be able to zoom in on the map and use the maps satellite view to see what I am seeing at the same time.

Along with the real time satellite tracking I will be using a satellite phone to also post real time photos and comments to my blog and Facebook during the ride using a automated service that transcribes my voice messages and post them to my blog and Facebook.

Video & Photography

I have a GoPro Hero4 and a external microphone mounted on my Gold Wing that I will be using to record videos throughout the ride that I will be posting daily. The videos will be a great way for everyone to ride along with me as I ride to some of the most exciting places in the world.

I will also be mounting a second GoPro on my helmet that will give the viewer the same view I will be seeing as I ride through places like London, Paris, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Tunis, Naples, Sarajevo, Warsaw, Moscow, Mongolia, Beijing, South America and on.

Legal & Visas

I been doing research related to legally riding my Gold Wing in all of these countries on my route and I found out that I do not need a Carnet de Passages en Douane  ( Carnet ) and this is a very good thing. A Carnet is a bond / passport that covers your vehicle and a form of monetary proof that you have the means to remove your vehicle from the country that you are in and it will not be left there. Back in the days when the Carnet was started it was common for vehicles to be left in a country and that became a burden on the country to remove the vehicle. If I would have needed a Carnet I would have to post a bond for at least $60,000.

I also found I will not need to get any visa's ahead of time except for Russia and China. Many of the countries have a process at the border to allow transit through their country of vehicles. In China I may also have to arrange for a official guide to travel with me at all times. There has been some recent changes in this requirement that may allow me to ride without a guide.

I will also need an International Driving Permit (IDP) which is available for AAA and good for all of the countries in my route.

The best currencies to carry is the US Dollar and Euro. Almost all of the countries I will travel through take one or the other currency.

I will also need medical insurance that will provide coverage in all of the countries I plan to ride through and I found there are a few companies that provide that coverage for around $1,000 for up to six months of coverage. I already carry medical evacuation insurance from MedJet that will fly me home in the event of a medical event.

Another insurance I will need is insurance for my Gold Wing and I also found a few companies that will provide that coverage. I may need to purchase a couple policies so I will have coverage in all of the countries in my route.

Motorcycle Shipping

I have done research regarding shipping my Gold Wing by air freight from the US to London and then from China to Santiago, Chile. It is very expensive to ship by air but not that much more than shipping by ocean freight. Also the time it takes to ship by ocean freight can be up to one month. The estimates I have received is around $2,000 New York to London and around the same China to Santiago due to less air freight fees. In my route I have three legs that will be by air freight one more besides the two I mentioned, Colombia to Panama over the Darien Gap.

Navigation

I will be using navigation equipment from Garmin that will help me stay on my planned route. I will be using the Honda built in Navigation and a Garmin 2797 in a waterproof case. Garmin has maps sets for my GPS's for all of the countries in my planned route. This will really help keep me going in the right direction. Some of the Garmin map sets I will be using are, City Navigator® Europe NT, City Navigator® Europe NT: Spain & Portugal, City Navigator® Middle East & Northern Africa NT, City Navigator® Russia NT, City Navigator® China NT - English and City Navigator® South America NT.

Equipment

I plan on carrying most of the items I will need on the road including tools and medical gear. I normally carry everything I would need to keep me going in the event of a mechanical break down. I have a 4.8 gallon auxiliary fuel tank mounted and plumbed into the main tank, air compressor and plenty of tools.

Planned Communications

  • Press Releases Leading Up To the Event

  • Kickoff Event

  • 24/7 Real-Time Satellite Tracking

  • Throughout The Day Position Reporting With Photos Attached

  • Multiple Daily Blog / Facebook Updates

  • Daily Video Uploads

Planned Route

I currently have a route that I am fine tuning so that I can complete my ride in less than 100 days. I rounded up the miles and riding time for each leg so that I do not underestimate the distance and time. Here is the current route.

Expenses

I have been working on the budget for a ride around the world and it is a pretty expensive undertaking. I will be attempting to obtain sponsors for logistics and financial support. If you are interested in providing some type of support please contact me through my email address, greg@gregrice.com.

Information About Me

So, why do I think I can pull this ride off. This is a big ride because I am going to attempt this ride as an endurance ride ( basically nonstop for 70 days ) and I need some serious experience in endurance riding to be able to pull it off. I feel I have that experience based on my many years of riding experience. I have outlined some of my past riding experiences below.

  • I have ridden over 700,000 lifetime miles

  • Owned over 20 different motorcycles

  • Worked with Honda and other manufactures while living in Japan

  • I ride on average 40,000+ miles a year

  • Over 100 1000 mile plus rides

  • 6 top 10 finishes in top long distance endurance motorcycle rallies

  • Three time Iron Butt Rally ( IBR ) Finisher, 2009 & 2013 & 2015

  • Finished in top 10 in 2013 IBR on a Gold Wing

  • 1st place in the 2012 & 2015 Cape Fear Rally

  • 40+ Iron Butt Association certified extreme rides

  • Only person to certify a Bunn Burner Gold Quattro

  • Florida Keys SS1000 ( 1020 miles in less than 24 hours all in the Keys )

  • IRONBUTT Magazine Article - Rally Planning For Beginners

 

Last updated January 2015

 

 

 

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