Traveling Like a Fart in the Wind

I keep going back and forth on how much I really need to plan for this trip.  At the end of the day, you are at the whim of what you could cram into 80liters of space on the back of the bike anyway.

There are those who want to plan out every detail, those who want to go with the flow, and then there is me.  I like to plan things out, but I also like to enjoy the moment.  I also know that the more planned out a trip is, the more likely you are to be disappointed. 

In order to find a middle ground, I am putting a few check points into the plan of places that I want to go, or need to go in order to move forward.  The first major milestones that put me on a schedule, are my boat rides.  I need to catch an 8pm ferry ride from La Paz, Baja Mexico to Mazatlan on the 7th of October.  What that means is that I will be cooking through California and Baja.  The other major deadline that I have, is to make it to San Blas/ Panama City by Oct 29th so that I can board the Stahlratte on the 30th and make way towards Colombia.  The final deadline, will be my flight home before Christmas.  It is what it is, I have to be stateside by the 22nd or so of December.  I am thinking that I will probably book an earlier flight, but I need to see if I will really be to Buenos Aires, or if I am flying home from somewhere else. 

Now that I have these dates/ places established, I basically need to keep a brisk pace and monitor my progress between these three points.  Once I see what time I am making, I will know when and where I will have time to get off the road and enjoy the sites.  I know that I will be on the move most days, but I will certainly be taking time to take in the sites and enjoy myself.

I found a website (www.dangerousroads.org) that has some incredible roads and areas listed for each of these countries.  As I find time, I will see if I can use these roads as detours to my direct path I have laid out below.

In the end, the ride has to be fun, even if that means that I do not make it to Buenos Aires.  I am going to see what happens and embrace my adventurer's spirit.   This is also a big part of why I am traveling alone.  I don''t want to worry about meeting someone else's expectations.  I don't want someone else to be disappointed because we did not make it to a certain site, town, country, etc.  I will travel quickly and without expectations, like a fart in the wind.