When Ricardo Fité (Barcelona, 1974) plans his vacations, he does not do it thinking of paradise beaches or five-star hotels. No, he imagines remote landscapes uploaded in his old Honda. With it he has traveled the most remote and dangerous roads on the planet such as the Pamir, one of the highest in the world.
Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Siberia are some of the destinations that he collects in his last book Five summers by motorcycle (Ed. Diëresis) where he invites to abandon the comforts and let himself be carried away to enjoy both the landscape and the people who appear in the road. This professor and graduate in Physical Education, as an expert traveler, gives us the ten essential keys to enjoy a motorcycle trip with an open mind:
1.LIGHT EQUIPMENT
Wear little clothes, don't mind going dirty. At the end of the day according to what places everyone goes as little neat as you, so this will be the best way to go unnoticed. To store it there are many tricks, "in my case I carry everything in four departments," shares Fité. The first: clothes to ride a motorcycle. The second: clothes to wear when I have already found where to install. The third: pajamas or sleepwear. And the room: dirty clothes. Each of these departments is composed of one piece or at most two. "As soon as I have the opportunity, I make a washing machine for everything and the next day I am like new."
2. COVER AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
From traditional campsites to secluded landscapes through farms, there is always a good place to camp or even sleep in the open.
3. BASIC FOOD KIT
It includes some food to, in case of emergency, have some dinner available because you never know how, where or when the adventurous biker's day will end. A can of sardines, some bread and some fruit can be a relief for the stomach if you have not eaten all day. Anything that supports the heat of the desert, from cookies without chocolate or extras to nuts, tuna cans or pasta for cooking are also a good option.
4. DO NOT FEAR THE FAULTS OF YOUR MOUNT
It is rare that something so serious happens that it cannot be continued. Nor should we think that the locals do not know how to repair a modern motorcycle, because it is surprising what local mechanics are capable of doing (on the other hand, the lack of spare parts will always be present, so it is best to relax and let people do your work). In any case it does not hurt to include in the luggage a kit to repair punctures, an air pump, a piece of chain and some spare bulbs .
5. HEALTH AND DOCUMENTATION
"In my basic kit I include a stomach product called Yovalex that goes very well, but in any case what every traveler has to carry is always a good travel insurance ." It is also important to have all the papers in order and well ordered (passport, visas, permits ...).
6. OPEN MIND
Renounce hotel and restaurant amenities . Accept the proposals made by the locals both in terms of accommodation and culinary. We have not come to rest and eat well but quite the opposite.
7. LESS MOBILE, MORE ENJOY
Stop looking at screens and live the lonely hours with maximum naturalness. Serve the people who are watching you, who are curious about you, be respectful and instead of taking a picture and posting it on social networks , chat with them and spend time.
8. LEARN TO LIVE WITH THE INCOMODITY
Relativize the problems. Traveling by motorcycle breakdowns, getting lost, eating something you do not like and sleeping in the street or in uncomfortable places are common situations that you should not live as a major obstacle, rather as a simple setback that will soon end.
9. RESPECT FOR THE PLACES
Don't haggle with people poorer than you. "I have agreed with Westerners who have not hesitated to haggle a couple of euros and have even asked me to help them translate to get what they wanted." It just isn't fair.
10. INVEST THE MONEY IN TRAVEL
Do not worry too much about the travel budget. Ending all the savings for having lived an unforgettable trip is priceless, offset by the amount of accumulated experiences, incredible landscapes, new friendships that are made along the way and why not, even to write a book.
Ten basic rules that have allowed this motorist to overcome the risks of Kurdistan at war, enjoy the immensity of the Iranian deserts, be intimate with the hard types of Russian motorcycles and enter the most indomitable Siberia. Now he has his eye on Africa. "My next destination will be to see Ujiji, the town where Stanley found Livingstone" ... but that will be another book.
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