Lend Your Support
There are no global corporations sponsoring me, no billionaires bankrolling my journey.
This trip is supported by you and me.
Send some coffee my way. The mountains can get cold.
Hi everyone, I’m currently in Turkey and getting so close to the end of my world record attempt. For most of this trip, I’ve thought that this part of my route was going to look much different than it actually looks right now. As some of you may know, I began this trip with a Russian visa in my passport, intending to complete my circumnavigation by crossing from Turkey, to Georgia, and then into Russia to ride through all of Russia and Siberia before ending in Vladivostok and shipping my bike back to the U.S. Unfortunately, when I was in South America, I received a message from the Guinness organization informing me that all record attempts including routes that pass through Ukraine or Russia should be immediately rerouted or postponed. Ever since then, I have put countless hours of research, conversation, and contemplation into devising a new route across the Middle East and Asia. I originally chose to cross Russia in large part because it allowed me to avoid needing to get a Carnet de Passage, a very expensive vehicle permission document needed for some Eastern countries. However, my route now includes five countries (Oman, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal) for which the carnet is unavoidable. On top of that, I have arranged an Iranian visa and guide through the country, an additional unexpected expense. Lastly, I will also need to airfreight my motorcycle over Myanmar, because I cannot cross the land borders with my motorcycle. For all of these reasons, my initial budget, funded by my personal savings and my crowdfunding, is simply not enough to cover all of these big, unexpected expenses. I am so honored to have already received so much support in my journey, and I want to be transparent about my budgeting and expenses. To give a brief summary, here are my expenses to date:
$3,397 on fuel
$1,553 on accommodation
$4,446 on food
$2,576 on maintenance, repairs, and replacement parts
$3,673 on borders, customs fees, visas, insurance, parking, ferries, other transportation, etc.
$3,431 on miscellaneous
$3,000 on Kiva’s salary as my manager and editor
$1,130 on shipping across the Darien Gap
$2,200 on shipping from South America to Europe
It varied by region, but I have been on the road for almost one year now, and spending approximately
$1,748 per month, not including major one-time costs like shipping. There are many considerations to take and ways to travel; this is not a blueprint for how someone should travel, just sharing how I did it. You can travel in a similar manner for much more or much less money, it just depends on your limitations and priorities.
Unanticipated expenses that I am now trying to fund include:
$3,700 (approximately) for my Carnet de Passage
$1,670 for Iranian ferry, visa, and guide
$750 for shipping from Nepal to Laos, avoiding Myanmar
And finally, eventually I will need to pay around $7,000 to ship my motorcycle from Southeast Asia (likely Malaysia) back to the U.S. to complete the requirements of my record.
This is perhaps a good time to mention my plan for what to do with any donated funding that will be left over after the trip. Ever since my initial GoFundMe campaign exploded when my CNN article was published way back in Mexico times, it has been my plan to donate any money left over at the end of the trip to a scholarship fund for young motorcyclists. Being a young motorcyclist myself, it is clear to me and so many other young people that I talk to that the number-one barrier to entry into this type of adventure traveling is cost. I hope to use any excess funding to pass along the generosity I’ve received to a few other young people, so they can get their foot in the door of adventure travel and discover the freedom and growth opportunities for themselves.
Thank you again so much to everyone who has donated. I am overwhelmed by your support and have felt honored to take on this mission with so many people standing behind me. I really appreciate your support and understanding in this final push to complete my world record attempt. I can guarantee you that I am a different person since starting this trip, and your support has never gone unnoticed. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or thoughts. THANK YOU ALL!!!!!
$3,397 on fuel
$1,553 on accommodation
$4,446 on food
$2,576 on maintenance, repairs, and replacement parts
$3,673 on borders, customs fees, visas, insurance, parking, ferries, other transportation, etc.
$3,431 on miscellaneous
$3,000 on Kiva’s salary as my manager and editor
$1,130 on shipping across the Darien Gap
$2,200 on shipping from South America to Europe
It varied by region, but I have been on the road for almost one year now, and spending approximately
$1,748 per month, not including major one-time costs like shipping. There are many considerations to take and ways to travel; this is not a blueprint for how someone should travel, just sharing how I did it. You can travel in a similar manner for much more or much less money, it just depends on your limitations and priorities.
Unanticipated expenses that I am now trying to fund include:
$3,700 (approximately) for my Carnet de Passage
$1,670 for Iranian ferry, visa, and guide
$750 for shipping from Nepal to Laos, avoiding Myanmar
And finally, eventually I will need to pay around $7,000 to ship my motorcycle from Southeast Asia (likely Malaysia) back to the U.S. to complete the requirements of my record.
This is perhaps a good time to mention my plan for what to do with any donated funding that will be left over after the trip. Ever since my initial GoFundMe campaign exploded when my CNN article was published way back in Mexico times, it has been my plan to donate any money left over at the end of the trip to a scholarship fund for young motorcyclists. Being a young motorcyclist myself, it is clear to me and so many other young people that I talk to that the number-one barrier to entry into this type of adventure traveling is cost. I hope to use any excess funding to pass along the generosity I’ve received to a few other young people, so they can get their foot in the door of adventure travel and discover the freedom and growth opportunities for themselves.
Thank you again so much to everyone who has donated. I am overwhelmed by your support and have felt honored to take on this mission with so many people standing behind me. I really appreciate your support and understanding in this final push to complete my world record attempt. I can guarantee you that I am a different person since starting this trip, and your support has never gone unnoticed. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or thoughts. THANK YOU ALL!!!!!
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