5. Stergios Gogos Riding a Vespa PX200 Scooter

Courtesy worldvespa.wordpress.com

It’s not breaking news that Greece is having economic difficulties. When life in that financially troubled country got to be too much, 28-year-old Stergios Gogos did what many only dream of: he hit the road on his bike. What makes his trip a little different is that his bike is a two-stroke scooter with 71,500 miles (115,068 km) on it before he started his journey.

With its tiny 10-inch wheels, pressed-steel frame, two-gallon fuel tank, and 10.7-horsepower engine, the Vespa PX200 seems particularly ill-suited for adventure riding. But Gogos had 20 euros (about $22) in his pockets when he started planning his trip, so a BMW GS wasn’t in the cards.

He sold all his belongings, collected on a debt and took off for Africa in October 2013. He spent 438 days in there, visited 19 countries and logged 21,000 miles (33,800 km) at the relatively slow pace of 45 miles (72 km) per day on average. By cooking his own meals and camping wherever he could pitch a tent, Gogos managed to stay on a budget of about $13.75 per day.

Gogos is fastidious about details, and reading his blog you’ll find out exactly how much things cost, his gas mileage, how often the Vespa needs to be fixed, road conditions, etc. It’s a good resource for budget travelers. He’s also handy with a camera. His photos are rich, gorgeous shots of both people and places, and his videos are upbeat and inspiring.

In March 2015, he crated the Vespa and put it on a plane to South America to continue his open-ended journey.

Follow Stergios’ travels on his blog and videos on his YouTube page.

Author: Bob Whitby

Bob has been riding motorcycles since age 19 and working as a journalist since he was 24, which was a long time ago, let’s put it that way. He quit for the better part of a decade to raise a family, then rediscovered adventure, dual sport and enduro riding in the early 2000s. He lives in Arkansas, America’s best-kept secret when it comes to riding destinations, and travels far and wide in search of dirt roads and trails.