What does 2uprtw mean?
2up is an expression which means two persons on one motorcycle and rtw is short for 'Round The World.

How can you afford to travel for so long?

We first traveled together in 1999-2000 for a year and loved the experience so it was clear to us that we would do it again. That meant that each decision we took between that trip and this one was taken with our current trip in mind. We also understood that a few dollars saved back in Montreal could be stretched a great deal once abroad. That 12$ movie ticket could mean a hut on a beach somewhere for a day so we often avoided the unnecessary.
What also helped is the work we did. Brian worked as a manager of a large retail store for 6 years and spent far too much time at work to have the opportunity to spend money. As for Marie-France, she was born frugal and remains so to this day, noting every single expense on our trip. This same discipline allowed her to get a university degree and later work for a call center with the Federal Government.
In addition to all this we sold everything we owned to make this happen (as we did the first time we traveled together). We knew from that previous experience that it is indeed possible to start with nothing and build a comfortable life in a relatively short period of time, as long as you stay focused.

How did you get sponsors?

At the time of writing this FAQ answer we have 3 sponsors none of which we actively pursued. Our first and biggest sponsor is l’Écuyer who provided us with most of our protective gear. This sponsorship came about quite by accident when we mentioned to the owner/designer that we were traveling around the world. His interest was peaked and the rest is history.
Our other main sponsor is Plusmount, the company that designed this website. Once again, a chance encounter with the owner while in Ecuador lead to the site you are currently navigating. And the same could be said of Techsox which was another chance encounter.
In all three cases we made clear to these then potential sponsors that we could increase their visibility by associating their products or services with an interesting endeavor. What also helped was that for each of these sponsors we got along well (in fact very well!) on a personal level.

Why travel by motorcycle?

We did the bus, train, plane, boat thing on our last trip. This time we wanted the freedom to go where we wanted when we wanted. It is a choice we have not regretted.

Do you find it hard traveling so long!?!

After a certain amount of time away from home it ends up being more of a way of life than a vacation. This is especially true if, as is the case for us, you no longer have a home to go back to. This is now what we do so we have adapted to this new lifestyle (plus it beats the hell out of working!!!).

Have you seen “The Long Way Around”/”The Motorcycle Diaries” movies?

We actually get asked this a lot so the question deserves to be answered here. The short answer is no for the “Long Way Around” and a partial yes for “The Motorcycle Diaries” (Marie fell asleep on this one).