Thirty-five bikers joined me on the final lap, and escorted me back
to my starting point in Dorchester, which I left two and a half years
earlier. So, how does it feel? Well, I can hardly believe it's over.
I have ridden 54,000 miles on this BMW, and at least 5000 more
miles on two other bikes.
I've been through 48 different countries, survived two bone-breaking
accidents, fallen in love again, and seen what astonishing changes
have taken place in the world since I was there last.
My first ride around the world ended in 1977. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be setting off on that same journey 24 years later.
Then I was already 46 years old. To do it at the age of 70 would have seemed impossible, but that is just what I've been doing.
This new adventure began in January of 2001. It took me the length of Africa, around the Americas, through New Zealand and Australia, and across Asia to Europe.
Why follow the same route that I took before?
Because after 25 years I was still haunted by the memories of exotic places and wonderful people I might never see again, but most of all because it was a rare opportunity to see, close up, how the world has changed in a quarter of a century.
What I did not count on, of course, was how much the world would change while I was on the road.
As you follow my journey you will find out what nine-eleven looked like from Brazil, and you will get a different slant on how the new waves of war and terrorism affect the world.
All in all, it has been a stunning experience: always intriguing, not always comfortable, but charged with all manner of insights that have given me, I think, a privileged view of where we are all heading.
For three years I have been recording my adventure, in pictures and words, on my web site. Now I have put the whole thing on a CD, and expanded it with a good deal of extra material.
Following it on the web undoubtedly gave it the virtue of immediacy but it is so much easier to read and enjoy on a CD. You will find a wealth of detail that you would have missed.
I think I can safely say that nothing as comprehensive as this has ever been attempted before.
Here are a few sample pages to whet your appetite:
in Colombia
in Egypt
in Kenya
in Sudan
in Australia
in Bali
I have left the last part of the journey on this site, and you can follow me home from here:
Or, if you prefer, scroll down past the camel and explore the background to this ambitious project.
When I slept in the Sudanese Desert, a wedding was going on in the tents
next door. Here's the groom, parading before me in all his splendour
To find out a lot more about the route I took, or about the bike I chose and the equipment I took with me, or how the idea of this adventure evolved, please click on the pictures below.
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HAVE YOU READ THE BOOKS?
First of all there was Jupiter's
Travels
At $24.95 it's available everywhere, but now you
can buy a copy directly from the author, signed and dedicated to you
For 25 years this book has been a favourite for travellers
of all kinds, but in the world of motorcycle travel it has been a true
phenomenon.
With sales approaching the half million mark, it's a
"must read" for anyone who thrills to the spirit of adventure.
And then there was Riding High.
$16.95
The Jupiter journey was just too much for one book,
so Ted wrote another one. When you've read Jupiter's Travels
you'll want to follow it up with Riding High
To read more about these books, you can go to this
link
And now there's the CD
(jetzt auch auf Deutsch)
It works just like a web site, except that on your own computer you can move around at lightning speed. There are close to a thousand pictures, from all over the world, and more than three hundred pages to read.
All of this for only $25 plus postage.
TO ORDER
Wherever you are in the world, just send an email to
Ted Simon at: tsimon@mcn.org He will explain what to do. That
goes for all his books and CDs.
To find out what it will cost
and how you can send money for the CD or for books, just click on the button
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