A few years ago he quit his job and got on his motorcycle and proceeded to ride around the world. Alone! During the last 3 years he rode 62,000 miles on a BMW GS motorcycle through 35 countries on 5 continents. His name is Allan Karl, an author, photographer and brand strategist. And as you can imagine his adventure is full of amazing stories he wants to tell to all bikers.
As with any adventure there were highs and lows. While in Bolivia he crashed and broke his leg, in the Colombian jungle he was escorted to a remote waterfall at gunpoint, and the governments of Syria and Sudan had to be pleaded with for passage through those countries. The high was of course the amazing camaraderie among riders, whatever the brand of your motorcycle, that can be experienced all over the world.
Back home, Karl is now turning to crowdfunding to help realize his vision of a unique oversized, full-color, coffee table book which will let readers experience the world through fascinating personal stories, 500 stunning photos of people, of landscapes and of tasty local food from these 35 different countries.”“I want to dedicate this book to every passionate adventurer, traveler, dreamer, home chef, and motorcyclist”, Karl says.
His book, already named “Forks. There Countries. Five Continents. One Motorcycle” and subtitled “A Quest For Culture, Cuisine And Connection” is already written and ready to go to print. Today he is launching a 30-day Kickstarter campaign to finance the 1st edition. To support him, go to Kicksarter. Rewards start at $10, and books can be pre-ordered for as little as $45. Ccollector-edition postcards, photographic prints, personalized coaching sessions and keynote speeches are some of the other rewards that supporters can expect from pledging on Kickstarter. An intimate dinner party is another of Karl’s rewards. “I would love to travel to your home, help prepare meals from the book and share more stories of adventure”, adds Karl.
I currently ADV ride around the country. Being self sufficient and able to camp anywhere. Around the world on my Tenere 1200 is a dream of mine. This ADV life style is yet another fantastic slice of the motorcycle community. I still like my Harley’s and customs, but this is a whole new adventure. For folks that arnt familiar with this style of bike or life style, a great web forum to look at is Advrider.com. Go check out ride reports, you will be impressed and blown away. I really enjoy it. Crawl out of your tent with the sun in your face, have a great day !
Buy a KLR650 and do it yourself.
One day I will do it.
Pretty awesome. I’d love to do something like that, even on a much much smaller scale.
How cool is that……. way to go Allen…… 🙂
Thankfully there are still some “rugged individualists” among us that haven’t been sucked into mind numbing conformity by the likes of the NEA , PC police, or pop-culture TV stars.
Somebody needs to tell OhBummer that there are still people who “can do it by themselves.”
-nicker-
Way to go indeed. I reckon this is one of life’s ultimate adventures on a bike. I’m currently building up 2x 1944 and 1945 Indian Chief’s for 2 of us to ride around the world on. These bikes were ideal in WWII and still are today for this type of adventure. Simplicity in design is key. Ride em, don’t hide em. Enjoy life.
Kiwi Mike, now THAT .. sounds like a novel I want to read! Keep the Blog updated and share the pic’s!
Mike we didn’t cover that on our last interview with you. Will have to have you back on to go over the big plans and details. Will have to get a hold o Allen and have him on the Hog Radio Show as well.
Gee I meant to say Karl!
Hey thanks for the nice notes here! I’m happy to say that my book will arrive soon and be officially on sale worldwide on June 1, 2014 — still a handful of preorders available on my website, after that it goes to the distributor, though I’ll sell distributor copies on my site too.
Enough business.
First, Steve you were right it’s allan! I’ve been cursed with two first names. But it’s Allan and send me a note through the website and let’s do that interview and get you a book!
Everyone else, do it! On a KLR, A KDX 250, on a Sportster, Road King, Teneare or an old Africa Twin. Hell, do it on a Vespa if you want (tongue in cheek) — just do it.
Meanwhile, check out FORKS you’ll love the stories, photos and the food.
I appreciate each of you and hope to hear or see you from the road!