Focus: This internet thread will follow our adventures going as far as our motorcycles, jeeps or legs will take us. We didn't start out as experts but we are learning the ropes and getting the job done. On this journey we will be highlighting the things we do right and the things we do wrong while filling this site with quality adventure travel photos and stories. The goal here is to help you achieve your vision of adventure travel, regardless what that is.
History: JustAdventureTravel.net started December 2004 while Heidi and I were preparing for a 9-month jeep adventure through Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. This website started with a focus on independent adventure travel; the planning the execution and the lifestyle, from start to finish, the good and the bad. This website continues on in that spirit today. Enjoy: If you have some time please check us out now and then and browse around. We will try to create a site rich with content and photos so you can learn more about and enjoy the type of budget independent adventure travel we promote.
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NEW! Dominican Republic 2024':
-> Dominican Republic Motorcycle Adventure. The DR is much more than the beach.
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Featured Title Starts Here- 'No Return Ticket' 2 People, 2 Years, 1 Motorcycle -
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Heidi & Tom's First Adventure Together: -> 2 years Dominican Republic!
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Ramping it up and learning: - Mexico Belize Extreme Motorcycle Adventure
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The birth of JustAdventureTravel.net: Wow and Wow! - Mexico - 9 Months by Jeep
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Cool Tropical Report: -Dominican Republic- 6 month Tropical Motorcycle Adventures
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Check This Out! --> 'Poco Loco' Solo Baja Motorcycle Adventure Super cool!
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3,000 mile motorcycle camping adventure > - Other way to Sturgis
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Motorcycle Racing in Mexico - the Adventure > -The NORRA Mexican 1000
JustAdventureTravel activities went wild starting in 2016’ with a six-month road trip to Mexico's Baja peninsula. The main point of these chapters is not about Baja motorcycle racing, although there’s plenty of that, it’s about the power of ‘You’ and your ability to change course on a dime and point yourself in a complete new direction. The dreams are the easy part, we all have dreams. It’s the planning and preparations thats important. Here we explain the whole process we went through becoming a desert motorcycle race team in Mexico from scratch! Never raced a motorcycle before, started at age 59. This is exciting and informative stuff. You may like it.
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The Latest Motorcycle Race in Mexico-> Vintage Class (Say What!) -The 2022' NORRA Mexican 1000
We are looking to do something new so a switch to vintage class. Fun stuff and a new oppertunity for a bike build project.
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Heidi and Tom we are alive! Another ultimate Baja adventure --> This is fun. San Felipe Baja Mexico GO! 2023' We have wrapped up our Baja racing career at least with a motorcycle. It was a great run for Team Cavebiker Racing (Heidi Tom and good friend Tom C) Six years, three 1,300 mile races, two trophies and one special award. A dream come true in so many ways for both of us. A report of how this all got started is right here->Ultimate Road Trip 2016’ report. What a blast, it's still hard to believe. While racing we learned what to do, it felt automatic after a while. Spend as much time in Mexico as possible, practice riding a desert race bike in the desert and have fun while staying in top physical shape, no brainer. During that time we came to love living in Mexico, it just happened. Now that our crazy racing days are behind it seems obvious we have to go back, just for fun. Ha, here we go, road trip Baja Mexico.
The race bike is transformed back for civilian use complete with passenger pegs for Heidi.
Continues Here! San Felipe Baja Mexico GO! 2023'
Adventure Travel Links:
Horizons Unlimited, the website by and for the motorcycle traveller. Bulletin Board, Community, free Monthly E-zine, Travellers' Stories, and plenty of tips and info.
Adventure travel Information: Our Links page and Adventure Stories page is filled with travel information and practical travel tips. We will also post our live stuff to do list and equipment selection list of our adventures.
More Tom & Heidi's Adventure Reports and Photos:
--> The Border with Haiti -- Solo Extreme --
--> Heidi & Tom ride the Samana Peninsula, just beautiful. --
--> Sturgis 2-Up on a Sportster. It's not what you think ;)
--> Mexico Belize Motorcycle Adventure :Extreme! Still a #1 google search report for over 20 years.
-->
Another Extreme solo Motorcycle report Copper Canyon Mexico 04':
--> Las Vegas Ride 04'--> Adventure possibilities between Wisconsoin and Las Vegas are just super.
--> Dominican Republic 95' This is the start of it all. Heidi and Tom do a two year Caribbean adventure.
Page 1: Dominican Republic Adventure --> 2024 Go!
The Big Loop- Tom Junkans
Time for a big motorcycle adventure. I have been riding this island off and on for almost 30 years now doing many shorter rides. It has been great and has filled my life with unreal experiences and adventure that I will never forget. Life is short and the older I get the more friends I lose the more I understand that the time to Do-It is now! There is no waiting for tomorrow and Some Day is not on any calendar. Here we go! Hang on!
I recently read an article of a woman breaking the Guinness World record for Longest Continuous Journey by Motorcycle within a Single Country. I thought that would be fun to try to set the record for just the Dominican Republic, using the Guinness rules. The rules are simple, you cannot cross or touch the same section of track and the attempt needs to be well documented with photos and GPS tracks. Perfect, maybe this will catch on. At least for now it will get me to places I would not otherwise go to and it should add to the fun, we will see. This is not a serious attempt but rather a recon mission to see if certain tracks are doable or even there. Fun stuff!
The motorcycle is waiting, new chain and fresh oil change, perfect. The team at X-Trem rental Sosua are a great group of people willing to help anyone make their dreams come true. YES!
This is a good bike for the DR. I have plenty of room to strap gear on the rear and it feels good for Heidi riding 2-Up, those are the main things. It feels low on power but I can hit 60mph on the flats easy, faster them most bikes on the island. I am not in a race so I do not need to go any faster.
My first mission is to ride into Puerto Plata for adventure supplies; emergency canned foods, bungie cords, a fender pack to strap on the rear and a large road map of the island. I arrived on the island with my own motorcycle cable and lock but did not need to, the store I found the fender pack has an assortment of cables and locks. And yes, smart phones are great and I would not have found this book store without one but for any big road trip like this you cannot see the big picture details like you can with a paper map.
Here We Go! Any loop of the country must include the Puerto Plata Malecón, always a must stop. Enjoying a coffee ocean side here is easy, just pick a cafe and park.
The Malecón is so clean now. Heidi and I miss all the food and rum carts that use to fill the sea side back in the nineties, but we do not miss all the garbage that was everywhere. Wish there could be a compromise, food carts and clean Malecón. ??
The goal today is either Luperon, Punta Rucia or Monti Cristi depending on the roads and how it goes. A perfect ride plan in my books; always have a contingency in case things do not go as planned. In the past
I have learned ride planning can be tricky on this island depending on the area. Some areas have no motels and even finding food can be hard sometimes. In Puerto Plata I stock up on cans of tuna and protein bars just in case. And I carry 1.5L of water and an energy drink just for emergencies like a flat tire repair in the heat. Just outside of Puerto Plata I fill up on gas, water and empanadas at the last station on the West side of town. Day-1 joy is well under way!
My route today hugs Bahia del Maimón on a dirt road heading West.
The road follows the coast and passes a couple beach communities. Rustic food shacks with umbrellas and lawn chairs, fun looking area.
The dirt road is much improved compared to other years. Although there are some whooped out areas I am having fun with. Soon I sense the rear pack sliding off. Not good.
This is a good use of the cable lock to hold the fender bag on tight when I'm not parked. We will see...
Fun traffic on these back roads.
While riding I am on a constant lookout for small local convenience stores called a colmado. Always a great opportunity to chitchat, hydrate and possibly score some homemade food.
Small church in the back.
Back in the day before GPS & smartphone navigation, signs like this would have been great. At least they are here now.
I kill the bike while they pass. I really do not have to. It just adds to the fun for me.
You can see the sailboat masts at the Luperon hurricane hole from here. I will never forget seeing this my first ride to Luperon back in the nineties. This was the only sign then that told me I was on the right path. So cool!
The port authority guard lowers the gate so I could ride out onto the dock. My first exposure to the Dominican Republic was reading the book 'Gentleman's Guide to Passages South' the author Bruce Van Sant really plays up the island as a great place to spend the hurricane season and to provision his sailboat. He wrote about using a guagua to get around the island, going to and staying in Santo Domingo to find supplies. I was obsessed with the book and the thought of sailing to the Dominican Republic back then. My first ride in 95' was here to Luperon so I could hang in a port side bar with sailboat scallywags and the like. It was just like I imagined it back then, rustic, crude and loose. Super fun.
There are so many sailboats here today I could not imagine what would take place if a real hurricane was to threaten the area! As a sailboat owner you must find a protected patch of mangroves where you drive your boat straight into them then lash several lines to them and to serious anchors to ride out the storm. With this many boats I envision a cluster chaos if a storm did threaten the port.
Before we first moved to the island back in 95' we owned a sailboat and we're preparing to sail here starting from Florida. We took Caribbean navigation classes, practiced heavy weather sailing and navigation and spent weeks at a time on our boat practicing on Lake Superior and others. This could have been us!
I stop at a colmado in town for water and yogurt. This truck is selling limes and avocados.
A couple walks up the street. I ask them if they just dingyed ashore from a boat. Fun couple! From Washington state, are now spending the hurricane season in Luperon. They have sailed all around the Caribbean and are living the life. The guy tells me he once rode with a group to the Panama Canal on a DR650! So cool the people you meet on the road. And we think we are big adventurers...
It is still early. I continue heading West along the coast.
The first Spanish settlement and town in the Americas, La Isabela.
This road has really improved, it used to be all dirt complete with river crossings on homemade rafts! Now there is a nice new bridge and no dirt. What does it say about me that I liked it better back then?
Rural barber.
The road to Punta Rucia is paved now also. This use to be a rough route especially 2-up with Heidi.
Punta Rucia... With the paved roads came development, not to my liking. The beautiful beach and cape that Heidi and I first were able to ride right up to, put down our kickstand on the beach under a shade tree and pick from a dozen or more seafood shacks to sit at is gone. All I can see now is a large parking area filled with cars and attendants demanding $100 pesos to park. Riding further down the beach and into town I do find a place to ride onto the beach and park. Beautiful as ever but the place has definitely been discovered.
These fiberglass boats are heavy. I wait to see how they get it to float.
No problem...
The small seaside village has grown making it barely recognizable. There is nothing here anymore calling me to stay the night. The beach is still phenomenal and I would stay if I see a cozy motel, but I do not and it is still early, plenty of time to make Monti Cristi taking the back roads.
Even these back roads are paved, did not expect that. The easy travel is making a pleasant ride through this pure DR rural area, and I can dig that.
The closer I get to the Haiti border the more DR military presence I see. All day I have rode through official military checkpoints with a distinctive military building adjacent. These check points are all new to me. It feels good. Things are under control.
This is close to the Haiti border. No S_ is going to be allowed to go down here. I am changing my route though, away from the border town Dajabón. They are doing a job there I do not need to be in anyone's way.
Hang on! We just started much more on the way!
Adventure Travel Links:
Horizons Unlimited, the website by and for the motorcycle traveller. Bulletin Board, Community, free Monthly E-zine, Travellers' Stories, and plenty of tips and info.
Adventure travel Information: Our Links page and Adventure Stories page is filled with travel information and practical travel tips. We will also post our live stuff to do list and equipment selection list of our adventures.
We enjoy hearing from you, please feel free to fill us in on your own adventures or contact us with questions or comments: [email protected]
More Tom & Heidi's Adventure Reports and Photos:
--> The Border with Haiti -- Solo Extreme --
--> Heidi & Tom do a ride do the Samana Peninsula, beautiful. --
--> Sturgis 2-Up on a Sportster. It's not what you think ;)
--> Extreme solo Belize 02' Ride: Still a #1 google search report for over 20 years.
-->
Another Extreme solo Motorcycle report Copper Canyon Mexico 04':
--> Las Vegas Ride 04'--> Adventure possibilities between Wisconsoin and Las Vegas are just super.
--> Dominican Republic 95' This was the start of it all. Heidi and Tom two years on a Caribbean island mid-career what could go wrong.
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