The past few months have been a whirlwind. Renovating a house, planning my big trip to cycle the americas, researching and buying kit, winding down at work and getting all my personal affairs in order hasn’t left much time for anything but stress and a lot of long days.

In amongst all this I’ve been struggling to sort out my US visa in time. Following my visa interview last week its become apparent that its simply not possible for me to get my visa processed without waiting between 4-5 months, effectively meaning the North American winter would have set in by the time I have the stamp in passport.

To find this out so close to my departure date has come as a real blow. Having left my job, and let my house out; I find myself jobless, soon to be homeless and stuck between the seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres. Damn.

Whilst there are other options like starting further down in Central America it doesn’t quite have the same appeal riding through an entire continent. I’ve invested a lot of time and energy in to making the trip happen and with a heavy heart I have to accept the trip isn’t going to look like the one I originally planned given the time-scales and budget for the trip.

So what next?

I’ve decided to spend a few more weeks at home relaxing, catching up with friends and family and generally getting my head back in to trip mode.

By August I intend to fly back out to the Himalayas, a region which left a lasting impression on my first visit. Majestic peaks soaring as far as the eye can see along with the kindness of the people living amongst these giants.

My aim is to ride some of the highest roads in the world connecting the Pamir and Karakorum Highway running from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan through China and Pakistan before arriving in India and riding the Leh Manali Highway in to the Ladakh region and hopefully on to Kashmir.

For the moment at least I am immersed in sorting out my visas for the countries mentioned above.

Once on the road I expect a plan will present itself, whether that sees me explore the Himalayas further or whether South American beckons. Watch this space.

11 Comments

  1. Tom Marvin
    03/07/2013

    Hey Mike – what a bummer!

    Still, the new trip sounds awesome. Spent 9 weeks in Tajikistan a couple of years ago, and while I was unable to do the Pamir Highway thanks to some pesky terrorists, I heard awesome things about it. It’s a pretty cool country though, with some great people. No idea how long you’ll get there, and whether you’ll be in Dushanbe at any point, but if you are, check out the presidents palace – meant to have cost 7% of the country’s GDP… sheer lunacy. and avoid any BBQs at the US Embassy – food poisoning was the order of the day…

    Reply
    • Mike
      03/07/2013

      Hey Tom – bummer indeed!

      That’s life, and being philosophical some things happen for a reason. The main thing is I’m in a position to go and do some of these amazing things you can only dream of sat behind a desk with a mortgage to pay.

      I fly in to Dushanbe and have a day to kill obtaining my GBAO permit so I’ll be sure to check out the presidents palace.

      Hope life is treating you well!

  2. Stu
    03/07/2013

    Hey Mike,

    Sorry to hear that – pesky US immigration. I’ve a mate cycling down through South America at the moment (blog here: http://placesivemadetea.wordpress.com/) and it looks pretty amazing so you could just do the southern part after your Himalayan adventures. Also I met another guy in New Zealand who had cycled to Wellington from London so I’ll put you in touch as he can probably advise on routes. Whatever you get up to I’m sure it will be pretty amazing!

    Enjoy!

    Stu

    Reply
    • Mike
      03/07/2013

      Hey Stu

      Cheers for the link will have a good trawl through it later.

      Yeah thats partly the idea with the Himalayas, take myself off for a few months gather my thoughts and hopefully get some psyche for South America.

      Regardless of whats happened with the US Visa, the past few weeks have been truly touching with the amount of support, kind words and encouragement. Its also been quite eye opening in terms of work opportunities and the potential to spend more time travelling every year and less stuck behind a desk.

      Its all positive whichever way!

  3. Jerry
    06/07/2013

    Hi Mike, sorry to hear the plans are changed but he that’s life.

    Have a good new trip and I will send you some pictures of mine !!

    Jerry

    Reply
    • Mike
      11/07/2013

      Hi Jerry

      Yeah a massive change of plan, sorry if I went a little quiet I was trying to sort the whole visa thing out.

      Have a great trip, be very interested to see your photos.

      Enjoy!

  4. Debbie Scholes
    11/07/2013

    Hi Mike,

    I just read about your change of plans – so gutting. I’ve just been through a similar situation of having major life plans change at the last minute, leaving me at a loss as what to do next and how to come to terms with the months of hard work, planning and preparation, and how to mentally adjust to something very new. It’s great that you’re making new plans and cracking on though – a very positive attitude!

    I mentioned before that I’m planning a (much!) smaller trip for the end of the month, just doing the South Downs Way over 3 days. If you fancy that as a mini distraction then drop me a line, you can also read about it on Explorers Connect. Good luck with the next plan!

    Debbie

    Reply
    • Mike
      11/07/2013

      Hi Debbie

      Thanks again for your kind words!

      These things happen, more often than not its how you pick yourself back up and dust yourself off again and move on.

      I guess I’ve been incredibly lucky that I’ve never really been faced with the prospect of being jobless and homeless before and at the time it was both humbling and scary.

      That said things have panned out really well. My tenant was happy to move in a month later, and I’ve had some much needed time to finish renovating my house and another project I’m working on plus get my fitness back to where it needs to be.

      In amongst this I’ve had some interesting discussions on the the work front, which has made me think that my trip may not necessarily be 12 months of solid travel but a number of smaller 3-6 month trips over a longer period of time. I guess time will tell!

      Also thanks for the heads up on the South Downs Trip, I plan to head off to Scotland on a 10 day trip at the end of the month to do some final training and gear testing, but I wish you well with your own adventure and look forward to hearing about it!

      Best

      Mike

  5. shona
    20/07/2013

    Hi Mike,

    Sorry to hear about your visa issues, but glad you’re off to the Hiamalyas- beautiful place, lovely people and a good place to start building up the miles for trips to follow. I’m sure it’ll all come together a little later on- and the Great Divide trails not going anywhere. If you need anything- just give us a shout- hope to see some photos of the bike in front of snowcapped mountains soon.
    Shona

    Reply
    • Mike
      20/07/2013

      Hey Shona

      I was riding the northern section of the PBW yesterday and stood by the monument I was thinking about the ride you and Rich did and the fact I hadn’t been in contact to update you guys.

      I’ll be in Manchester over the coming weeks to sort my Chinese visa so will stick my head in the shop for a catch up.

      Hope you are both well and getting plenty of riding done in this ace weather.

      Mike

  6. India Bound | Mike Howarth
    04/09/2013

    […] two months ago, Cycling the Himlayas was tinged with melancholy. My grand plan changed at the last minute, I was grounded and forced to […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply