There have been a few key events in 2016 that have really inspired us, including The Adventure Travel Show in January, HUBB UK in June and The Overland Event in August.
The Adventure Travel Show
This was our first ever 'travel show' and I had purchased the tickets as soon as they were available including tickets to the 'Adventure Motorcycle Seminar' run by Austin Vince and Lois Pryce. It was really useful as a first step and a good push to make some life-changing and hopefully life-enhancing decisions. There's nothing like sitting in a room full of people with the thirst for travel, and two great presenters who have so much experience between them and still have a strong desire for travel. It was here that we decided; one, to actually go on a long motorcycle adventure, and two, where to go. We decided on South America primarily due to the ease of visa acquisition and also the need to only learn one language, Spanish (and possibly a little Portuguese if we go to Brazil), plus the bonus of the alphabet being the same as ours. Kelvin originally was hoping to go to Russia, the 'Stans' and Mongolia, however that will now be moved on to our 'To Do' list! Overall it was a good first experience; however had we not had the tickets to the Motorcycle Seminar, I don't think we would have gained a huge amount from going.
HUBB UK
We had heard about Horizons Unlimited (HU) back in 2015, and it was firmly in our 'Favourites' bar. In fact, Kelvin had ordered me some DVD's from HU for Christmas, however due to Kelvin's excellent planning skills (cough) he left it far too late. Luckily for him, Susan Johnson (one of the founders of HU) was amazing and somehow made sure that everything arrived on time. The other half of Susan is Grant Johnson, and we had the pleasure of meeting them both at HUBB UK in June, a four day show specifically designed for overland travel enthusiasts. It was a fantastic event, with a vast number of informative and inspirational seminars, and plenty of stands to test our slowly developing frugal living skills. We also met the lovely Kathy Wood from Motofreight, who I had sent about a hundred queries to since January. We met so many wonderful people at the show and I had so many questions. Luckily I had taken a notebook and pen to scribble down key pearls of wisdom and useful contacts. Between all the people we met there was a huge wealth of travel knowledge and experience, and we just couldn't wait to get out there and really do it. Unfortunately we won't be able to attend HUBB UK 2017...but maybe we'll be at the mini HUBB in Argentina in December 2017!
The Overland Event
This show was a very last minute decision due to the fact that Kelvin had an ACL reconstruction (knee ligament) a couple of weeks before and was on crutches. Riding a motorbike or camping were out of the question. As luck would have it, we somehow managed to buy tickets and dorm beds with the assistance of organiser Paddy Tyson, who was really friendly and helpful, and is also the editor of Overland Magazine. I am so glad we managed to go because it was such a great event, the weather just about held and fortunately for Kelvin there were plenty of places to sit and drink tea (and cider). Again, there were some really informative and inspirational talks by people who have been there and done it, planning their next escape, or actually on their travels. One of the highlights was meeting the legendary Ted Simon, who wrote Jupiters Travels (obviously I had to get a signed copy). There were plenty of other amazing and friendly people, many of whom I recognised from HUBB UK. I didn't realise that the Overland Event was only born in 2015, so for only its second year it was fantastic with a great vibe. I really do hope it becomes part of the permanent annual motorcycle orientated travel shows.