Podcast - Our Origin Story From Chicago to 8+ Years on the Road

- Tim Notier

Welcome to the very first episode of the 2Up and Overloaded Podcast!

The full blog post with pictures is below!

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In this episode, Marisa and I share the full origin story behind our life of long term motorcycle travel. From meeting as teenagers in Chicago, to reconnecting years later after a decade apart, to eventually quitting our jobs and riding around the world together.

Below is the companion blog with pictures that highlight our very 1st episode. Hop over and sign up on Patreon to get all of our content combined all in one home for free, or help support the show and help keep us on the road by becoming a Paid Member for as little as $5 a month!

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Blog Post:

Everyone loves the photos of the twisting mountain roads, jungle landscapes, remote border crossings, and the beach sunsets after a long day on the motorcycle.

But the real question we often get is: How did this all start?

How did two people from Chicago end up riding motorcycles across continents for more than eight years?

The truth is it did not begin with some dramatic decision to ride around the world. It began with two teenagers who met in high school and had no idea their lives would eventually come back together in the most unexpected way.

Before the Adventure

Marisa and I first met when we were young. Really young.

We first met in high school and were high school sweethearts. We went to prom together, but we were teenagers, and life had two separate paths for us.

Marisa left Chicago to attend college in Maine, which is just about as far away from the Midwest as you can get while staying in the United States. We both knew that a long-distance relationship at that stage in life probably was not going to work out.

We eventually broke up, and for the next ten years, our lives could not have been more different.
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Marisa traveled the world as she backpacked across Australia, worked on farms in Ireland, stayed in monasteries in China, and befriended spider monkeys in Guatemala.

Her stories sounded like something out of a travel book.

Meanwhile, I stayed home in Chicago and built what many people would consider the traditional American life.
I bought a house, got a job, and bought a car so I could drive to work so I could pay for the car I bought to drive to work. Responsible adult things… Then I bought a motorcycle.

My escape from the 9-5 was riding down country roads to and from work, and on the weekends I would ride my 1900cc Yamaha Raider to Starved Rock State Park and enjoy the small slices of nature that I could pack into my life.

When Worlds Collide

Years later, Marisa eventually returned to Chicago after spending a decade exploring the world. And she came back married… boo. It was a sad realization for me to hear all of her wonderful stories from “the one who got away” knowing I had lost a golden opportunity in a fascinating woman.

I hate to use the word “thankfully”, but she indeed got divorced, and we reconnected. I knew this time I wasn’t going to mess it up.
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At that point I had my stable life and I suggested that she move in with me, and she agreed. But I knew our two lifestyles were potentially different. Her, a world traveler who had just come back from a life filled with international travel and adventure with the urge to see more, while I was on a career path to be thankful for as a high school dropout.

But she was willing to literally sacrifice the world to be with me. I treasure her more than I can ever express for her not “taking the leap”, but instead settling down for a life that would be far less adventurous, so we thought.

To celebrate our new life together, we got matching tattoos. We both love the stars, so in the spirit of the vast unknown, but now tied together, I got the Big Dipper and she got the Little Dipper (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) tattooed on our hips.

The First Adventures

To Marisa, motorcycles seemed unnecessarily dangerous. She had loved riding horses when she was younger, but motorcycles are a different breed, with a few more horsepower than a lone stallion.

Living in the Chicagoland area, our options for dramatic scenery are somewhat limited. The tallest hill around is basically the pitcher's mound at White Sox Park. So our early trips were modest.
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Marisa would time after time hop on the back of the motorcycle while slowly building trust in me and taking in the fresh air of the woods as we rode through the forests to remote campsites.

And we kept pushing a little farther each time. We started camping near lakes, exploring backroads, and finding small places that felt far removed from the city.

Our love for travel and motorcycles merged into a common interest that satisfied both of our souls.

Around that time we also discovered the motorcycle travel documentary series Long Way Round, where actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman rode around the world.
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For the first time, the idea of an extended motorcycle journey did not feel completely impossible. An around the world adventure wasn’t plausible at the time, but a ride to the American West was an achievable dream.

The Motorcycle That Changed Everything

Eventually we realized our Yamaha Raider was not exactly built for the dirt and gravel roads we enjoyed taking to remote wild camp sites.
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So we made a big decision. We bought a KTM 1190 Adventure. The KTM was capable of riding down roads that I dare not take, but as my riding skills rose, the bikes capabilities would patiently be waiting for me. The 1190 was like a Siberian Husky that would be content with a walk in a city park, but I knew it longed for open landscapes and to be set free into the world.

The Trip That Changed Our Lives

During a transition from one job to another, I left a three week gap between employment and with Marisa having the summer off being a teacher, we planned a “big” 19 day motorcycle trip around the Rocky Mountains.

We called it our Maiden Voyage.

The plan was simple. Trailer the bike from Chicago out to South Dakota, park the car, and then ride through the Black Hills, the Badlands, Yellowstone, and the Rocky Mountains.
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The adventure started in my driveway as I struggled to get the motorcycle onto the trailer. Riding a 500-pound motorcycle up a narrow 6 foot ramp seemed the equivalent of Charlie and Ewan’s Long Way Up. After an hour of gauging the situation, and Marisa getting bored of me failing to commit, I finally said a little prayer and successfully rode up the ramp onto the trailer.

That was the start of the journey.

Once we finally got to South Dakota, a kind hotel receptionist even allowed us to park our car at her house for the week. It was the first of thousands of random acts of kindness we would experience during our travels.

Then we set off on the bike. And it immediately started raining.

The Reality of Motorcycle Travel

We quickly discovered that our gear was terrible.

Our helmets were open faced. Rain soaked through our jackets and our cheap rain gear felt more like wearing plastic garbage bags.

We were both cold and wet, and the “joy of motorcycle travel” wasn’t exactly living up to what we had imagined.

By the time we reached Yellowstone National Park, morale was not exactly high. Long days on the road, cold nights, and crappy gear all snowballed into us questioning why anyone would do this long-term.

Bad prep led to bad moods, and we found ourselves in a serious conversation about our future and whether this lifestyle was something we were actually interested in pursuing.
But the next day something happened that would change everything.

The Proposal
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At Yellowstone we took a hike to a beautiful overlook called Artist Point. I asked a French tourist if she could take a video of us with the stunning scenery behind us.

Then I knelt down on one knee, dug out a ring that I had carried with me, and asked Marisa to marry me.

And I read her a little poem that I wrote:
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From this moment in time, until the day we are grey haired and wear dentures,
I offer this proposal, if you accept, this will be the first of many great adventures.
They say opposites attract, this point could not be proven finer,
Than the joining of the stars above, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Her response?
"No."
"No."
"No."
Several times, no.
The French woman looked on awkwardly, but Marisa eventually clarified that she meant "No way!" in excitement, not an actual rejection. She proclaimed a solid “YES” and I could finally breathe again.

And just like that, our motorcycle trip had turned into something even bigger.
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The clouds parted and the sun came down on us to help celebrate our new commitment to each other. Our ride through Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Park was filled with all the ingredients of a proper motorcycle adventure. Exploring exotic landscapes filled with colorful pools and geysers, buffalo, snow peaked mountains, and roads that we leaned with wide smiles.

The universe had tested us, and the stars were now aligning to create a new sense of wonder and love for each other... and a love of traveling by motorcycle.

A Plan Begins

After returning home from that trip, we knew one thing: we wanted more.

So we began saving. We sold vehicles, paid off debt, stopped buying unnecessary gadgets, and focused on one goal. Our plan was a three-year journey that would take us around the world in three stages. Year one; Chicago to Ushuaia, year two; South Africa to England, year three; Europe to Mongolia.

Our first major commitment was to set a departure date. And due to our love for the stars and celestial bodies, we chose August 21, 2017 - the day of the solar eclipse. That gave us 4 years to dedicate our lives to our new dream, and that date seemed like a million years away until it suddenly turned into two weeks away.
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A far-fetched dream that seemed to always be on the horizon quickly became the day I put in my two-week notice. Are we really doing this?

After we stared at the moon eclipsing the sun in a surreal moment of reflection of what is to come, we nervously packed everything onto the KTM, and rode away from Chicago.

The plan was to travel for three years. That was more than eight years ago. And we are still out here.

The Adventure Continues
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Since leaving home we have crossed continents, visited dozens of countries, and met thousands of incredible people. What started as a few weekend camping trips has turned into a life we never could have imagined. And we sorely misjudged the amount of time we planned on traveling the world by motorcycle. 

We both quickly agreed that we would rather see more of less, than less of more. Marisa and I wanted to absorb the wonders of the world without zooming from one landmark to the next. It has been the best decision we have ever made, one that takes constant commitment, and we are still learning as we go. But over the years I have become a better rider, traveler, and husband. It has been an incredible gift that unknowingly started in high school back in 2002, and the future and its possibilities still present us with rewards, life lessons, and opportunities we are thankful for an a daily basis.

We are glad to have you along for the ride via our Blog, Podcast, and YouTube episodes, but if you want to experience some of the wonders we have encountered throughout our travels, you can Ride With Us in Thailand!

Marisa and I now lead motorcycle tours through Thailand featuring the legendary Mae Hong Son Loop in northern Thailand, and the tour ends in island adventures in the south.

You can learn more and see the full itinerary at:
 2upandoverloaded.com

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Thousands more stories are still to come.

Stay safe and enjoy the ride.

Tim & Marisa
2Up and Overloaded