{"id":28837,"date":"2025-01-08T00:01:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T08:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/?p=28837"},"modified":"2025-01-05T10:37:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T18:37:29","slug":"the-new-year-comes-with-new-adventures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/01\/08\/the-new-year-comes-with-new-adventures\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Year Comes with New Adventures"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Mike Huber<\/h6>\n

Having spent 11 months abroad and successfully (I am the one gauging the definition of success, by the way) traveling through 7 countries (some multiple times) returning to my home country of the United States of America was a welcome way to round out 2024.\u00a0 The past month has been filled with catching up with family and friends, as well as catching 3 mice and 12 flying squirrels that seem to have filled my vacancy in my parent\u2019s house in Maine.\u00a0 The break was also filled with replacing some of my gear and clothes that were \u201cgently used\u201d throughout my travels in Oceania and Southeast Asia.\u00a0 Outside the occasional waking up at 3:00 a.m. and freaking out that I am sleeping in my old bedroom at my parents\u2019 house, homeless and unemployed (clearly, that should be my intro if I ever join a dating site), it\u2019s been a really productive month.<\/p>\n

\"\" With the New Year approaching my plan was to begin traveling through South America for the entire year by motorcycle.\u00a0 In November that plan quickly changed (imagine that) when a fellow rider I had camped with four years ago in Death Valley National Park messaged me and stated that he and another rider were about to embark on a 1-month motorcycle journey through India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh in February on Royal Enfield Himalayans. I wasn\u2019t too impressed as I figured it would be some BS tour with a guide and not really count as a motorcycle adventure.\u00a0 He replied stating that was not the case and it was just the two of them.\u00a0 It took me about 15 minutes to reply stating that I was in.\u00a0 He promptly let me know that he wasn\u2019t inviting me and was just discussing the trip with me.\u00a0 At any rate I invited myself and they seemed okay with that.\u00a0 I mean, who wouldn\u2019t be?\u00a0 I am an absolute joy to be around.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This will surely be one of the more challenging adventures for me in quite some time.\u00a0 It really began to hit me while packing my gear in freezing cold Maine.\u00a0 Even though this nomadic lifestyle has been my life for the past eight years, there always is some anxiety that comes when the reality of the adventure begins to sink in.\u00a0 After India, per my usual I have no plan and must mentally prepare to face isolation yet again for an unknown amount of time.\u00a0 Of course, that is until I meet 100 new beautiful friends, which is sure to happen. Another issue I am concerned with is I sold my BMW GS1250 to my friend who was babysitting it and fell in love with the bike (that’s not hard to do as it\u2019s a great motorcycle).\u00a0 Well, he sold it, and with it my helmet, jacket, etc.\u00a0 So, riding these countries with rental gear is something I am apprehensive about.\u00a0 Buying new gear really isn\u2019t an option as once this trip is wrapped up there is still no definitive plan for my next location or activities. As in the past, I place that as a problem for \u201cFuture Mike Huber,\u201d and he is pretty good at figuring these things out.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, there are still a few weeks to kill prior to motorcycling India.\u00a0 I thought scuba diving Mexico would fill that void. Mexico will also serve as a solid way to ease back into traveling and rebuilding my confidence for what is sure to be an adventurous New Year with plenty of stories to come.<\/p>\n

Happy New Year to all.<\/p>\n

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