I knew a bit about bikes because I have owned so many but this was different.  We don’t want to ride on interstate highways, we want to see small towns and visit with local people.  Maybe the roads will be in bad condition or maybe no roads at all.  Another mitigating circumstance is that we are living in China and one can’t simply go down to the local motorcycle shops and compare brands.  Chinese motorcycles are limited by law to 150 cc engines (Changs fall into a different category because they have three wheels) and western/Japanese manufacturers don’t sell their bikes here (except maybe in Beijing and other large cities).  Then Clay Jones, a fellow teacher who used to live in Changchun introduced me to the Chang Jiang and I thought I may have found an answer.

I also knew about camping equipment, or so I thought, because for years we backpacked in the White Mountains in New Hampshire and tented in the Canyons of southern California while we rode dirt bikes with our kids.  All with a tent and sleeping bags, the requisite Coleman stove and other standard gear.  But then when I started looking at camping gear I discovered that someone was busy with technology.  Oh sure, some things were the same but the modifications, fabrics and new items were enough to make our heads swim.  And then came the riding gear, helmets, luggage and so on.

To do a RTW, there must be a route.  This was to be the fun part, “Hey, Honey, where do you want to go?”  Not quite so simple, I had never had to handle anything more difficult on a motorcycle than crossing the Mexican border on my way to Ensenada in Baja.  Now I had to be aware of traveling in something more than 40 different countries.  OH, then there was the problem of Import Duties and Customs in countries where the officials were afraid that you would sell the bike and not pay the duty or try to rip you off for some alleged offense.

Don’t get me wrong, solving these problems has been a wonderful part of the adventure – sometimes smooth riding, sometimes a bumpy path and sometimes utter and complete frustration.  Nevertheless, the more problems we solve up front the more the troubles on the road should be minimized and the joy of riding to the places we most want to see will only be heightened – I think, I hope.