One of bike travel’s greatest strengths is that it can be enjoyed almost anywhere in the world, regardless of whether it’s on road or off-road, in the mountains, deserts, forests or polar regions. If there is a will to go, and a suitable bike to take you there, then with the right planning and a little navigational nous then the world can become a very open and accessible place.
However, for many of those who choose to venture to foreign lands – in search of new terrain, new landscapes, new cultures and fresh faces – it is usually not the riding, or the struggles pertaining to the alien environments they may find themselves in, that prove to be the biggest barrier to onward travel. The real navigational difficulty comes in the form of the red tape and bureaucratic restrictions that divide continents, countries, and local regions the world over, dictating where, when, and by what means travelers are permitted to pass – if they’re even allowed to travel at all.
Getting over these barriers can require any number of documents, from letters of authority and special travel permits to passport stamps and – the main culprit – visas. All must be treated with the utmost diligence, but just like the barren deserts, high mountain passes, and cold winter nights, there is no reason why (most of) these bureaucratic barriers can not be overcome too.