In December 2019, Lisa and Simon Thomas parked their motorcycles in the United States, left all their riding gear with a friend, and flew home to the UK. The plan was simple: deal with a medical issue, return in a couple of months, and continue their long-term motorcycle journey.
Photo: Simon and Lisa Thomas
More than six years later, those bikes are still there — and Lisa and Simon are not. That space between what was planned and what actually happened is where this conversation lives.
In this episode, we talk about what it really means to sell everything and build a life around travel — and what happens when health, circumstance, and reality intervene. Lisa and Simon share the emotional and psychological cost of stopping after years of constant movement, and what it’s like to lose — and slowly rebuild — your identity when the thing that defines you suddenly disappears.
We dig into money, problem-solving, confidence, fear, and the quiet weight of starting over. We talk about imposter syndrome, ego, risk, and what long-term motorcycle travel teaches you about navigating conflict — both on the road and in real life.
And after everything they’ve been through, we explore why motorcycles still matter — not just as machines, but as symbols of freedom, resilience, and the lives we imagine for ourselves.
