One year ago, I’d never been on a motorcycle or a scary mountain pass. That didn’t stop me from going on one of the most challenging motorbiking trips you could possibly do. We had 7 days on a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail through the Alps, hitting the Stelvio Pass 4 days in – one of the most famous driving roads in the world and the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps.
You have a lot of time to think both on and off the bike, and some core outlook shifts happened in that time. I learnt a lot about Harleys and the other bikers on the trip. I also learnt a lot about practical planning and gained some lifelong perspectives I’ll be taking off the bike with me:
Planning and operations are essential.
You cannot go into anything remotely new or dangerous without ample preparation. I had to do a lot of reading on minimalist packing, I never knew you could get washing liquid packaged as thin as a sheet of paper! I practiced being on the back of a bike with my partner steering. Which isn’t easy, I swapped out the seat through training which would have left me in a lot of pain, on such a long trip. I reached out to others in group chats and communities and even had to research laws on travel.
Don’t leave things to the last minute.
It only creates additional unnecessary anxiety. The bike cleaning was postponed continuously and we only discovered six days before the trip that some spokes on the back wheel were broken. The entire wheel had to be replaced. Not an easy feat for that type of bike, we needed to lean on our network! We would’ve never survived the trip without repairing it in time.
Things don’t go according to plan.
You need to prepare for obstacles and cultivate a problem-solving mindset. After we started going through mountain passes I quickly realised it wasn’t for beginners, it’s scary and our luggage wasn’t arranged properly for balance. We had setbacks along the way including a breakdown. You need to be flexible in your plans, adjust, refuel, and carry on. We were caught in traffic with an overheating bike and had to improvise to avoid any nasty incidents. Rigidity in plans means we suffer undue stress when, as naturally occurs in life, things do not go to plan.
Do not give in to group pressure.
When you’ve got a strong belief in and understanding of your own capabilities, be assertive with them. Others on the trip with touring bikes could go much faster and the pressure was on for us to keep up. We weren’t giving in to the pressure to compromise our safety or enjoyment and had a much more relaxed time at our own pace.
Work together as a team.
At a junction, you always had to ensure you could see the last person of the group in your rear-view mirror before setting off once more. If someone didn’t wait, it would de-rail the entire team! People could get lost, losing everyone’s time just because one team member didn’t play their part. It’s quicker to support and wait for those slower team members. Others have different levels of experience and add value in different ways. That’s okay and happens in every team.
We all have different ways of getting from A to B.
Yet we still all get to the same destination. During the last part of the trip, we split off from the group and did the slower but more scenic routes compared to the race on the freeway home. We all completed the ride, no route is more intrinsically valuable than the other. Just because one is the most-trodden path, does not mean you need to follow it to get to the same place.
Believe in what you do.
I made a promise to myself – “I’m going to live my life for the adventure and do whatever I bloody want”. That’s exactly what this trip was about. We didn’t have the experience for this specifically, but you apply what you do have. We knew the bike extremely well and how it behaved. My partner was exceptional with it despite never having completed such a challenging pass in 30 years of biking.
Ego will not get you anywhere.
You could boast about your experience ease of speed and your journey compared to others. But most people when spoken to on their own admitted they had struggled. The ‘experts’ then admitted they did indeed nearly drop the bike on the pass.. Be honest with others and yourself, you do not need to put on a façade. Nobody can do everything and often it’s harder to ask for help when you’ve told everyone you do not need any.
Enjoy what you do.
Being on a motorbike you need to be completely in the present. Take the time to enjoy the scenery. Everything we do in life is our own journey. Nobody made that trip to stay still and race back to the start. Impatience will only mean you miss the glorious sunrises, villages, mountains, and small achievements on the way.
This was an experience I’ll celebrate and look back on in years to come, knowing what I’ve achieved. Make sure to recognise and appreciate those things in your life.
If you’re questioning whether a motorbike trip could change your life, I say “Hell Yes!”
