From irregular (in many senses) Sideburn blogger Kirk Gee in Pasadena. He's a ex-pat Kiwi by the way. You'll read why I mentioned that in his post. GI
Of all your adventure travel options, obviously the enthusiasm here is for the two-wheeled variety. Be it something epic like traversing a continent, civilised like one of the excellent Sideburn x MotoAventures Morocco tours or something a bit more feral involving Royal Enfields, rain and some solid waves.
For the latter, here's 'Lost Track', an hour-long distillation of four months of motorbike-based surf travel in New Zealand from surfer Torren Martyn and filmmaker Ishka Folkwell. The pair have been friends since they were wee lads and have made a few films together already, an all the more impressive feat as they've done it more or less unaided by the sort of sponsorship money that gets thrown at such endeavours, and not for a lack of offers.
Torren has quietly become one of the world's most influential surfers, riding usually longer channeled twin fin boards that are nothing like the standard modern surfboard and have sent the big companies off madly reprogramming their machines to (usually badly) recreate the designs. He's done this while working with one shaper who still carves the boards out by hand and works from his shed, so there's zero marketing budget. A little travel support comes from Need Essentials who make non-branded and quality kit at minimal price (and are run by another old mate) [and, for this project, Royal Enfield] but it's hardly luxury boat trips to exotic locales. Torren still lives in a caravan on a friend's property and seems more concerned with his ducks than any sponsorship action. Definitely a financial sacrifice but then again is there any other elite athlete willing or able to drop off the radar for 4 months at a point where they are becoming a star in their field? Especially to be uncomfortably wet and potentially skunked for waves. New Zealand may produce the world's finest minds and handsomest contributors, but it's meteorologically fickle, especially when you're riding an overloaded bike with what is essentially a bloody great wing attached to it.
Even if you could care less about the surfing, dive in – it's a grand little adventure even when viewed from a comfortable couch with a warm beverage to hand.
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