Couple sell their house and quit their day jobs to travel 80,000 miles
Couple sell £135,000 house and quit ‘unbearable’ day jobs to travel 80,000 miles through 21 countries from Alaska to Argentina taking in Bolivia, Peru and Panama on trip of a lifetime
- Lisa Morris, 38, and Jason Spafford, 49, sold their house in Nottingham and put all their belongings in storage
- They have slept under stars in Mexico, trekked under waterfalls in Bolivia and explored glaciers in Alaska
- Trip cost the couple £60,000 of their life savings and they budgeted £40 a day for food and accommodation
A British couple sold their home, quit their jobs and packed up their belongings to go on a four-year 80,000 mile motorbike adventure across the globe.
Lisa Morris, 38, and Jason Spafford, 49, travelled through 21 countries on the trip of a lifetime from the southernmost tip of Argentina to the top of Alaska.
The couple, from Nottingham, grew tired of their ‘dull lives’ so took the brave decision to ditch their careers for a life on the road in February 2014.
They whittled down their belongings to fit in a few cardboard boxes put in storage, and set off on an awe-inspiring adventure on two motorbikes.
Over four years they slept under the stars in South America, trekked under waterfalls in Bolivia, explored glaciers in Alaska – and even got engaged in a desert in Mexico.
Lisa Morris, 38, and Jason Spafford, 49, travelled through 21 countries on the trip of a lifetime from the southernmost tip of Argentina to the top of Alaska
Lisa sits by an open fire as they go wild camping in Alaska. The couple ditched their careers to make a trip across the globe on motorbikes
Taking in the view of a spectacular mountain in the Huascaran National Park, Peru. The couple, from Nottingham, grew tired of their “dull working lives” so took the brave decision to hit the road on a world adventure
The couple sleeping under the stars on a beach in Baja, Mexico. They whittled down their belongings to fit in a few cardboard boxes put in storage and set off on the 80,000 mile trip
The couple travelled through 21 countries from the southernmost tip of Argentina to the top of Alaska and plan to go from South Africa to Norway on their next adventure
The trip cost them around £65,000 in total – funded by years of saving and the sale of their £135,000 house.
In July, the couple came home after they ‘ran out of road’ but are planning to travel the length of the world again – this time from South Africa to Norway.
Lisa said: ‘We were in desperate need for a change. I felt uninspired. I spent most of the day at work on Excel and I was feeling unrewarded.
‘Jason had been an electrician for 30 years by this point and felt unfulfilled. It was the same for both of us.
YMCA battle with village people over plan to sell £1.5m…
Holiday in paradise for just $699: Click Frenzy’s travel…
Japanese teen’s solo hitchhike attempt across America aged…
Julian Assange on the move? Wikileaks boss has been issued…
‘It was like Apocalypse Now’: SAS troops find severed heads…
‘Almost deceased estate’: Sydney man posts humorous listing…
Share this article
‘We met so many incredible people and saw so many foreign lands. We had no idea it would go on for as long as it did.
‘We became the best versions of ourselves. We slept under the stars where we could.
‘It was completely incomparable and simply mind blowing. It was everything we wanted travelling to be. It was utterly amazing.’
Lisa, who is originally from Lancashire, met Jason, from Arnold, Nottingham, while training to become a scuba diving instructor as a teenager in Surrey.
The trip cost the couple around £65,000 in total – funded by years of saving and the sale of their £135,000 house
Lisa stands by her motorbike and looks out at a breath-taking rock formation in Cachi, Calchaqui Valley, Argentina
An incredible rock arch at Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, where Lisa shines a torch. Lisa, who is originally from Lancashire, met Jason, from Arnold, Nottingham, while training to become a scuba diving instructor as a teenager in Surrey
Taking in the view of a spectacular waterfall at a river in Alberta, Canada. From August 2016, they paused the trip for six months to enjoy summer and autumn in the mountains, and ended up lodging with a fellow motorcycling couple, in Alberta during winter
The couple with a campfire in Juneau, Alaska. It was always in their plans to go travelling at some point, but they never imagined the trip lasting more than four years
And in 2000, they went on a scuba diving trip at the Red Sea, where the pair grew closer.
Despite an 11-year age gap, they ‘hit it off’ straight away and after five years of dating they moved in together and settled down into full time jobs.
But civil servant Lisa and electrician Jason were unfulfilled by the conventional 9-5 working routine.
They dreamed of giving it all up and going travelling. But it wasn’t until Lisa won a competition in 2012 which ‘opened up a whole new world’ that they they decided to hit the road.
She won motorbike lessons and fell in love with riding, purchasing her first bike in the same year.
It prompted them to think seriously about life on the road – so they quit their life back home and packed up everything they needed in their saddlebags.
The adventure started in Argentina, and they travelled through South America with stops in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.
All they could carry was a tent, basic cooking equipment, two sleeping bags, three sets of clothes each and basic survival essentials.
Lisa looking down over the Valle de la Luna Los Flamencos, Chile. The pair budgeted just £40 a day for food, travel and accommodation per day and so chose to camp outside where they could
Lisa with throwing a cup of boiling water into frozen air in Alberta, Canada. In 2016 they spent time in Washington before heading on towards Canada
Walking under waterfalls on the Road of Death in Bolivia. While on the road they visited some of the most remote places in the world
Lisa underneath a glacier in Juneau, Alaska. Having ridden ‘hell-bent’ up British Columbia and the Yukon, the newly engaged couple spent months exploring
Civil servant Lisa and electrician Jason were unfulfilled by the conventional 9-5 working routine and yearned to explore the world
Blowing up dust through Monument valley in the US. Lisa and Jason motored through California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado before flying home to England for eight weeks for Christmas 2015
The pair budgeted just £40 a day for food, travel and accommodation per day and so chose to camp outside where they could, or lodge with locals at a ‘dirt cheap’ price. The couple say they can count the amount of times they stayed in hotels ‘on one hand’.
Whilst on the road Lisa and Jason did still have an income – after using the cash from the sale of their home to buy a property to rent out to tenants.
And so in 2015, the couple motored through California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado before flying home to England for eight weeks.
While on the road they visited some of the most remote places in the world and got engaged in the desert in Mexico.
During the last leap year, on February 29 2016, whilst eating a taco, Lisa asked Jason to marry her.
Lisa, who first met Jason in 2000, said: ‘We were on cloud nine having so many intimate experiences.
‘We were half way through a fish taco and I just blurted out “do you want to marry me?”
‘He just smiled and said yes. I didn’t really think about it, I just came out with it.’
At the time they were with a guide, who happened to be a ring maker and managed to craft Lisa an engagement ring out of Alpaca metal.
Lisa at a cafe in Argentina (left) and Jason in a bike shop (right). The adventure started in Argentina, and they travelled through South America with stops in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama
Lisa walks through snow covered pines in Alberta, Canada. Here they endured temperatures as low as -30 and recall living in a ‘winter wonderland’
The couple park up their bikes next to a breath-taking stone tree in Bolivia. It was in July last year when the pair drew a line under their trip of a lifetime, having clocked up over 80,000 miles each
A hut the couple stayed at in Alaska. Here moved through southeast, where they photographed black and brown bears, whales and bald eagles
In 2016 they spent time in Washington before heading on towards Canada. Having ridden ‘hell-bent’ up British Columbia and the Yukon, the newly engaged couple spent months exploring Alaska.
From August 2016, they paused the trip for six months to enjoy summer and autumn in the mountains, and ended up lodging with a fellow motorcycling couple, in Alberta during winter.
Here they endured temperatures as low as -30 and recall living in a ‘winter wonderland’.
After popping back for Christmas at home, Lisa and Jason called time on their stay in northern territories in March 2017, and began to make their way southwards.
They moved through southeast Alaska, where they photographed black and brown bears, whales and bald eagles.
And the trip came to a close in the first half of 2018, after they spent the winter in Washington and Oregon, and early spring in eastern Canada.
They only ever planned to go travelling for 12 months, but they never imagined the trip lasting a total of 1,628 days on the road.
Jason, said: ‘Constant companionship is the best and worst thing about long-distance motorcycle travel.
‘Even though you love your partner, there’s only one person to listen to your frustrations, which typically involve them.
‘With no kids, a change was overdue, so we decided on a big one.
‘We sold our one bedroom cottage, pared down the possessions to a few boxes and packed everything we’d need on the back of our steeds.
‘It was life changing. We were side by side living out this incredible adventure. Every day we were confronted by amazing firsts’, said Lisa.
‘Riding through the Americas changed us.
‘Gratefully, we survived another lifetime together and acquired a priceless vault of memories in the process.’
It was in July last year when the pair drew a line under their trip of a lifetime, having clocked up over 80,000 miles each.
Jason fixing a stator whilst in Lone Pine, California. Whilst on the road Lisa and Jason did still have an income – after using the cash from the sale of their home to buy a property to rent out to tenants
The couple pose together in their biking gear. They are planning on setting off on another adventure in just a couple of months but this time they will be leaving their motorbikes behind
The couple moving a bike in heavy sand in Baja, Mexico. It was here, while eating fish tacos, that Jason proposed to Lisa
Lisa and Jason have documented each and every step of their journey online with a blog and website, twowheelednomad.com.
They are planning on setting off on another adventure in just a couple of months but this time they will be leaving their motorbikes behind.
In late spring, Lisa and Jason will jump into a 2015 Toyota Hilux pick up truck and look to journey from Cape to Cape – South Africa to Northern Norway.
Lisa and Jason will travel from South Africa, through Africa and Europe before finishing up in the Arctic circle, in Norway.
Since returning from America, they have both been working hard in temporary roles, Jason as an electrician and Lisa in occupational health, to earn enough money to take on a whole new challenge.
Lisa said: ‘Exploration is the one thing we look forward to practically every day; the benefits are enormous for the physical and mental self.
‘Boundaries among people are broken down. Above all, it’s real. Arguably, we all too
often spend too much time indoors.
‘We’ve fallen for constantly changing horizons. We thrive on adventure,
endlessly rugged and a little dangerous, and share our successes and failures.
‘We live at large, and the thrill of motorcycling together has made our lives tough, but euphoric.’
As with their last trip, the pair will log each and every step of the way on their website, twowheelednomad.com.
Source: Read Full Article