An idea to take the covers off Rhonda and head down to the local Argos store to spend some vouchers on bits failed in the extreme. Rhonda failed to start and I did not want to pester Ogri again, I decided I needed to buy my own Optimate battery charger. I also decided I needed it quick and drove to the nearest Halfords car accessory shop with no success and then to the nearest bike shop I knew. Some 49 pounds later a charger was in my hands and within an hour the flat battery was on charge.

I did go to Argos to spend my 45 quid’s worth of gift vouchers but the item I wanted was out of stock so I came away with a miniature 12 volt tyre inflator which is small enough to fit under the seat and an Oxford first time tank bag. Total cost 39 pounds and I have a 10 pound gift voucher left.  Total cost from scratch…

Bike £3024.1 Total spend £4214.09

The cost of electricity and inflation eh!

The centre stand arrived and with in 48 hours of ordering it. Fitting it was a barrel of laughs as Roger Moor and me pulled and tugged at the large spring which keeps it in situ. In the end brute force and some cunning with levers won the day and the stand was firmly in place. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the Transalp is not a big bike but I am going to have to develop arm muscles like Garth if I am to snap it smartly into the stand when the need for it arrives.

I am now waiting for the Givi crash bars to arrive. These were ordered at the same time as the centre stand but from reading the forums they are notoriously late with dispatching goods but I have noticed they have taken the money from my credit card. Oh well hopefully I will never have to buy these things again. After some experimentation with soft panniers I have also realised that some pannier racks will have to be ordered to keep any panniers from coming into contact with the exhaust. The exhaust on the TA is placed high up to maximise ground clearance. It exits at the exact point the panniers would sit on the rear seat and would burn a hole in the right hand side pannier if not kept away by some means.

Fortunately some scouring on the internet has found a cheap set which as well as stopping the exhaust burning a hole into the panniers should not burn a hole in my credit card which is currently screaming as funds are rolling away at an alarming rate. I will be including the cost of the pannier racks into the bike section as they will not fit any machine other than a TA. The cost of the bike so far stands at £3204.1 and the running total cost of bike and equipment stands at £4126.1. I figure that expenditure of another £2500 is required before the bike and me are ready to roll.

The big trip has been delayed for 12 months at least and while I am sad not to be going sooner it has at least given me another 12 months to save and buy all the prospective gear I need.

I have therefore come up with four categories of expenditure. Firstly the cost of the bike and the bits that will only fit that model and cannot be transferred onto another bike at some point in the future. For example I have spent around 250 pounds on security and locks but they will be transferable to another machine.

Secondly the bits that can be transferred such as tank bags and panniers etc. Thirdly the cost of camping equipment such as a tent and sleeping bag and fourthly all of the ancillaries such as medical kit, special lightweight wash towels etc.

This weekend gone I bought a two-man tent from a camping shop. It was one of a series of experimental tents that apparently were used for exhibition but did not make it into production. It’s a Khyam tent with a quilted and waterproof groundsheet. I have never seen a quilted and padded groundsheet before and I have to assume that it is for mountain use or somewhere cold and snowy where insulation is of the utmost importance. A search on Google did not seem to come up with any thing about the tent either. Anyway I have got it and it will do the job I have in mind for it.

The next item of purchase will be a centre stand for the bike and an engine guard/crash bar. As these two items will only fit a Transalp they will be included in the cost of the bike.

I will make a spreadsheet with a link to it so each of you can see what has been purchased and for how much with a running total at the end.  

I have read so many books about travel and they have all held my interest. However the big question for so many people is how do you go about it? Most of the books I have read from Ted Simon and his travels to Sailing around the world on the Lost Soul 2 and walking around the world by various hitch hikers have all had one thing in common, sponsorship by some one or other.

Only the other day I read about a family who sold everything they had, paid off all of their debts and bought a bus and are currently travelling around the world. This sounded great until I looked at their website and saw the sponsorship given by so many firms that it seems as though they are travelling free. I know this is not the case but it does seem to so many people I have spoken to that unless you can get some one else to pay for your travel than it can’t be done.

So I have decided that after reading so many books including those by the ultimate team, The Mondo men, I am going to include every penny I spend on preparing the bike and organising the trip that I can. I am also going to rack it day by day so that others will realise what the true cost are. In years to come they can work out the inflation rates and do the maths and decide if it is for them or even doable.

So here goes and everything is in pounds and Great British Sterling. I understand that inflation rates fluctuate and so does the cost of buying foreign currency but I hope that it gives a true cost of travelling abroad without sponsorship and any income what so ever. This may spur people on or deter them completely.

I hope to include lodgings, petrol and sustenance and spare parts in this on going blog.

The cost of my trip so far with out leaving the country is thus:

Cost of bike £3010, Getting the bike home £30. Helmet £100, insurance £200. Security in the cost of chains and locks £150. Riding boots free but would have cost around £100.

Also I have noted that I am getting around 42 miles to the gallon at a cost of over £5 pounds to the gallon.

Total cost so far on bike, if you had to buy it all yourself and not rely on hand outs and freebies is £3590.

In the future I will also include the cost of bike luggage, sleeping and camping gear and the amount spent on petrol and camping while I am away.

It has long been known that I want to leave the country and go travelling, eventually hoping to find somewhere that I would like to settle down along the way. Going away for a two-week break in the hope of finding something is so damn difficult that I gave that up some years ago and I have discovered that while you may be able to glean some information from the Internet it is often a long way from the truth. No the only way to set about finding somewhere is get out there and take a long hard look for your self. This means giving up your job and a whole lot of other things that I have come to take for granted.

I realise that it will not be easy and it will be a complete lifestyle change soI have decided to add this section to my blog, in order that I can catalogue details and events in the search for my very own version of paradise.

I have bought a new motorbike, well new to me at least, and after not having ridden one for what seems like a lifetime, I am getting used to being back in the saddle again. The bike seems heavy but I suspect will get used to it. I have become acutely aware of the amount of stuff that I will have to take with me and the list seems endless. Tent, sleeping bag, roll mat, cooker, clothes, spares for the bike, panniers, tank bag, security etc etc.

Keeping the weight down and well balanced on what is already a machine with high centre of gravity will not be easy and I have to teach myself to ride on gravel and off track, as it is something I have not done a lot of before. If I am to achieve my dream of having a beer in Alice Springs with the Tiler one day there is a lot of work to be done and fair amount of money to be spent. Photos of the kit and the bike as it is transformed from a bog standard road bike to a world conquering adventure bike will be posted in the gallery section along with various bits and pieces of kit I will need and have acquired.

Wish me luck.