Motivation !

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Travelling alone is sometimes hard.
I’m not talking about the additional risks, especially in the event of an accident on an isolated track. We know that; it’s always somewhere in the back of our minds.
I’m simply talking about finding the motivation.
I’ve been off the road for more than a month.

This time, the rainy season has really begun. It rains for a good part of the day, proper tropical rain: heavy and intense. The tracks have become impassable. But these days, there is asphalt, so it’s not really a problem anymore like it used to be.

But after several weeks without riding, you have to find the desire to get back on your steed.

It’s easier when there are two of you. There’s always one to motivate the other. When you’re alone, no one pushes you.

And as you get older, you have to admit, it’s not always easy to tell yourself: come on, let’s go. Especially when you know what’s waiting for you: the heat, the rain, the thirst, the aches and pains, the hardships.

For the past few days, a dull pain has settled in my lower back. It’s there as soon as I get up. It’s a nuisance.

And despite that, I have to leave again.

So yes, it’s decided: tomorrow, I’m leaving.

But I’ve been telling myself that for a week now… morning after morning.

The bike is ready. Fully loaded, too. All that’s left is to strap the duffel bag onto the back.
She stares at me with her two headlights, seeming to say: “So, is it time? Are we going? I’m waiting for you!”
You bloody bitch! Without your little tantrums, we’d already be a long way down the road!

Travelling alone also means being far away. Friends and family sometimes end up forgetting you after months or years of absence. Time and distance take their toll.

I’ve been through periods like this before. It’s not the first time.
I remember feeling this same kind of low mood in Uzbekistan, in the middle of December. In the morning, when I got out of my tent, everything was frozen. The water in my bottle, the tent fabric, my motorcycle seat.
Nobody spoke English or French.
I was alone. It was cold. Snow was falling.
I somehow found the courage to take the road south to find some warmth on the shores of the Strait of Hormuz.

Today, I’m longing for blue skies.

It’s grey.
Grey in the morning.
Grey in the afternoon.
Grey in the evening.
And black at night.

Yes, blue skies. Finally.

Just 2,000 kilometres south and I’ll see them again.

So yes, tomorrow, I’m leaving.

Yes, really, I promise you!

I have to: my visa is almost expired.