It’s the second year of the pandemic, and it seems that with vaccines, there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel – but does it mean that freedom to travel is now fully back, and what are some of the ADV lessons learned from 2020 and lockdowns? Having managed to stay on the road throughout 2020, albeit with delays and a multitude of plan changes, here is what 2020 has taught me moving forward:

1. Freedom Is Precious

It only took a couple of months in quarantine and total lockdown to start truly appreciating the freedom to travel we’ve had before the pandemic. Perspective is a huge thing, and lockdowns have taught us all just how precious freedom is, how quickly it can be taken away, and for me personally, how grateful I am to have been able to travel freely before. And it’s not just pandemic-related: being stuck really hammers it home just how privileged we are with our Western passports that open doors around the world, the resources and the bikes at our disposal, the luxury to choose whatever lifestyle we want, and the ability to move around the world with few obstacles. Pandemic or no pandemic, one of the biggest lessons learned from 2020 is gratitude.

2. When There Is a Will, There Is a Way

To this day, international travel isn’t what it used to be; PCR tests to cross every border, mandatory isolation in some countries, land border closures – all of that is still a reality, and riding around the world now is a little more difficult than it was before 2020. Still, it is possible, as long as you’re up to date with border information, COVID tests, and lots of flexibility to change plans last minute – or, better yet, stop planning altogether and simply go with the flow. Travel is now slower, there’s more paperwork and more responsibility, and you can never be sure whether your destination country is going to let you in – but with patience and a little creativity, riding around the world is still an option.

3. Responsible Travel

That being said, 2020 has made us all pause and think just how responsible it is to travel, especially to more remote places where you may be bringing the virus to smaller, more isolated communities. And if we now think twice before deciding on a destination, perhaps it’s a good time to think about the impact of travel on local communities in general, not just in terms of the pandemic. Are we always gracious guests? What do we bring to the table, besides a little income to the locals? Overcrowding and overtourism issues aside, as overlanders and adventure riders, can we positively impact the local communities, and what are some of the ways to give back?

4. The Balance of Uncertainty

As motorcycle travelers, we deal with varying degrees of uncertainty on a daily basis. Things like finding a place to sleep, the possibility of a landslide or a closed border, the chances of flat tires or breakdowns, fuel availability – on the road, so many things are uncertain, and we learn to deal with it along the way. The pandemic has significantly added to this uncertainty: which land borders are going to remain closed, will we need vaccine passports to move about freely, are there going to be more lockdowns, what are the safe destinations around the world? The old sentiment that “the only certainty is that nothing is ever certain” is now more true than ever, and managing all this precariousness on the road is now harder than ever.

5.放手的艺术

2020年学到的最大经验教训之一是维持某些程度的理智和希望，让失望可能是最好的政策。随着如此多的不确定性，需要坚持一些幻觉的控制是巨大的，但至少对我来说，更好的工作是完全相同的。我越努力控制事物 - 制定计划，顽固地抓住旧想法 - 在我接受它是更明智的停止战斗和拥抱禅宗之前，这就是所有的回归。正如他们所说，“放松，没有什么是控制的”：它可能是可怕的，但奇怪的是，它也是令人难以置信的解放。

6. The Plan B

我从来没有一个计划B，C和D;每天都在来到这里，我很少计划超过6个月，而有时候会被回复，它为我工作。现在，经历了拥有你的运动自由和持续总锁定的自由的东西，很明显，毕竟，有些计划B可以是一件好事。一点点储蓄，一个选项在本地骑行，一个项目自行车建造，一本新书写作 - 从2020年度学到的大量教训是从不把你的所有鸡蛋放在一个篮子里，因为如果是adv，无限期 -The-Road basket is busted, what’s left?

你从2020年吸取的一些经验教训是什么？分享在下面的评论中！