2Up and Overloaded - Chicago to Panama

A New Adventure Motorcycle Book

By: Tim Notier

If you only read one book this year that features a couple riding 2Up on a KTM1190, make sure it's 2Up and Overloaded - Chicago to Panama. 

I wrote 2Up and Overloaded while on three different continents, throughout South America, back home in Chicago, and then finished the book in Tanzania. My mind and my body were constantly separated by thousands of miles.

This is a good cover picture of us.. but it's in Botswana... Not North or Central America

The cover's concept art to the final image was a journey of its own. From finding reliable internet, staying in one place long enough to edit the multiple pictures I spliced together, to making sure my computer didn't melt in the relentless African heat. Once everything was almost completed, we found a temporary home in Arusha, Tanzania to piece together all of the final touches.

I Photoshoped out the Baobab tree... but this isn't a good representation of us "Overloaded"

I had a lot of help with the editing of my book from my father, who was a high school honors English teacher (a class that I would have failed miserably), then to a professional editor (and one that I wasn't related to), and finally Marisa looked it over one last time before I nervously pressed publish on Amazon.

It has been a fun project, and I hope it can shed some light on our travels, bring a smile to your face, make you laugh out loud at times, and let you get to know who Marisa and I are on a more personal level than social media and our short blogs allow.

There are over 92 thousand words that will hopefully inspire you. Over 200 pages that detail our hardships, our successes, the mostly good times, as well as some insight into some of the bad.
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I hope you are able to relive our experiences and be part of our journey. We have met many of you who are reading this post, and far more have made positive comments of encouragement on our blogs, Facebook and Instagram. We can't thank you enough for being an emotional support vehicle in some of the tougher times.

Back cover blurb: 
Maiden Voyage: The Prequel to The Adventure of a Lifetime introduced the characters, 2Up and Overloaded sets them free into the world. Join Tim and his fiancée Marisa as they take a leap of faith and quit their jobs to circumnavigate the globe on their KTM 1190 Adventure motorcycle.

You'll feel the wind in your hair as they make their way across the United States, and head south through Mexico and Central America. You’ll be holding your breath as you ride along with them behind smog-extruding trucks in Tijuana, shouting at intrusive bears in the backcountry of Colorado, and pondering how to repair a bike that lies exhausted on the side of a deserted road.
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2Up and Overloaded is an inspiring, witty, sometimes-harrowing, and always gripping story, in which two people prepare extensively to explore the world on their motorcycle, only to discover that their most powerful resource can’t be packed in a bag.

Available in both Paperback and Kindle:

Paperback

Kindle Edition

Take a look at the trailer below I made for 2Up and Overloaded!