From Estonia with love (Round the World)

the thing to remember about corporate sponsorship is this: right now, they (BMW, for example) are contributing nothing but will nevertheless reap the benefits (however big or small that may be) of this free advertising. so put yourself in a bean counter's shoes....what is your motivation to contribute? in their eyes, it would be like closing the barn door after the horse is already out.

the ONLY way to get meaningful corporate sponsorship is BEFORE the trip begins. and even then, its a major uphill struggle.

remember Long Way Round? If a major star like Ewan MCGregor was not enough to swing KTM sponsorship, then what chance does a "normal" person like any of us have? practically none.

the ONLY trip I have ever heard of where a non-entity got corporate sponsorship for a major trip was Walter Colebatch's original Tokyo to London ride back in the early 90s. Walter is a star here and now on ADV, but back then he was a nobody fresh out of college. the fact that he and his partner (name escapes me) got sponsorship was mostly due to their constant badgering over the course of 6 or 8 months. Which they HAD to do otherwise they'd never have been able to afford the trip. Even still, they got lots more NO answers than they did YES.

in sum, while it would seem a no-brainer to us that BMW, Aerostitch, etc would kick in a few bucks or some free gear to people like Margus and Karina, or Simon and Lisa, etc, its not that simple. The corporate bean counters KNOW that these trips will happen with or without their sponsorship...and so they chose to keep their $$ and just reap whatever rewards the resulting advertisement that ADV (and other similar websites) provides at no cost to themselves. Just a cold hard business fact...why pay for something you get for free?


meanwhile...ROCK ON Margus and Karina!

Hi to the lovely people of Estonia

remember, Switzerland is right in the middle of Europe and there is always a place to stop and

thanks for all the effort and good luck, riding north

Thomas & Andrea

OK, my 2 cents on this: For me personally it's not worth chasing full sponsorships. Bike manufacturer X will not sponsor you a full bike and you have to ask yourself is it worth your time and energy to hunt for a few freebies here and there? Depending on your situation, it might be more cost effective to spend your time in your day job.

One thing that does work in the US is to ask for a pro deal, rather than sponsorship. I know that most outdoor clothing/equipment companies have these and I suspect many bike clothing or aftermarket companies as well.

They will basically give you stuff at wholesale (which mostly is a 40-50% discount) if you fall into certain categories. For the most part they are looking for multipliers that will use their brands, i.e. if you are an outdoor professional they will give you gear at cost. The idea is that if Joe Schmo sees the professional/"accomplished adventurer" use brand X it must be good and that will build their brand. Some brands have genuinely good ethics and want to help the guys in the field.

Another category are active members of the law enforcement, military and emergency services community. They should get a break and they do. For example with meta pro deal provider http://leoadventures.com/aboutUs.aspx.

Each deal is different, but most will ask you to keep it confidential, not shop for family and friends, not sell the stuff and there are no returns. So you don't get to brag about having sponsorship but you also have absolutely no commitment.

So don't ask the local retailer around the corner for freebies. It will cost him. Go to the manufacturer and try to find out if you qualify for a pro deal, either through your day job or your proposed trip. Many actually have online applications (http://www.google.com/search?q=prodeal).

If they give you stuff at wholesale it costs them nothing other than time. So use their online applications. If you email them be to the point and don't steal their time.

This approach has worked for me for a long time.

Just so nice to see your own valley through your someone elses camera here, pity we could't meet up. Travel safe and we'll look forward to some more exellent pictures ok

Donated my pacific peso's to the awesome couple. I only just started reading this thread a week and a half ago, but it's kept me quite busy and I'm only up to page 65 or so.

I love you

Margus and Kariina stayed with myself and kids for a few days , what a wonderful couple , it was certainly a positive experience having had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with them .
When last I heard from them they had entered Namibia about 11H00 yesterday .
And then I was showing this thread to a good friend and she showed me one of a trip that she did with a friend a while back http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=476605&highlight=Great+canam , damn this little world is a small place after all .

In Cape Agulhas we caught some intriguing radio signals, one of them at 5998KHz, probably communication between lighthouses or ships going between the Indian and the Atlantic ocean?


...::: LISTEN :::...




And also long wave radio signals propagate over the Indian ocean, so we had a relatively good receiption of an Indian radio station bringing back some good memories from that particular country:


...::: LISTEN :::...




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As a little flashback, here's some film camera shots from Middle-East and East-Africa.

Sultanate of Oman on the Arabian peninsula and it's shore with the Indian ocean.













The view from our wild camping spot.














A stare to the ocean.
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One of the villages in Omani desert.














Road to the isolated Yasab village through Hajjar mountains.














Hajjar mountains in Oman.



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Local family in isolated Yasab village invited us for the food - a typical Muslim tradition - a traveller is a gift of Allah for them.













The old Muslim man who invited us.














Village Balad Sayt below, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Oman.













Terraced fields in Balad Sayt.
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outstanding. i didn't think anyone else got into this. one of my favorite things to do is be in the middle of nowhere with a short wave radio... listening to all the bizarre stuff that is there.



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http://www.expeditionportal.com/com...-the-truth-about-expedition-sponsorship-.html

Well written article, sums it up very nicely. Chase your dreams, not freebies

Yep, read that article some time ago and fully agree. We did give up on searching that bigger support in the very beginning - we were wasting too much time with very little results.

Hajjar mountains.














Our trail through deserted Hajjar mountains in Oman.














View into Jebel Shams canyon - one mighty canyon in Arabian peninsula!

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Great capture. Great mood. I want a poster-sized version.

One step more and it's straight 500+ meters drop.














Jebel Shams canyon from another spot.














On the edge of Jebel Shams.














Kariina looking down into the depths of Jebel Shams canyon.


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I love your photos!!! :)

Man, those bring back some memories of long over-water flights in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean...

"Mainsail, Mainsail... Reach 91899..."

I still remember one time between stations and the signal propogation sucked so we kept bouncing back and forth trying to check in with both Mali and Colombo but neither could really hear us... then them trying to call each other...each thinking the other was trying to call them. Painful 1/2 hour or so of a constant "Mali, Colombo"..."Colombo, Mali" back and forth (imagine that in your best stereotype Indian call center voice), but kind of funny now...

Mostly digital Satcom and inflight internet these days....damn kids don't know how easy they have it!