Interesting article, my own view is any ride you do for the first time is always great, often the 2nd time around it can be like eating cold pizza, best enjoy it while it's hot.
Two Wheels - thanks for the post - I'd not seen the Burns article. Nice to see Burns placed Carl Stearns Clancy (pic above) at the top of the list.
One tidbit often overlooked when people refer to Clancy's amazing feat is he was 21 years-old when he did the first motorcycle ride around the world in 1912-1913. He was abandoned by his riding pal in Paris, leaving him a tough decision to make, whether to soldier on alone to Africa, Asia and the USA and meet his commitments or fold his cards and wimp back to his home. Having made six rides around the world myself, I look at what he saw on the horizon over 100 years ago and am not sure I'm tough or adventurous enough to make the same decision.
I was abandoned in Africa last year, faced with a similar decision. I looked back at 21 year-old Clancy's similar situation and thought, "If Clancy could man-up and go forward over 100 years ago, it should be easy for me."