Pakistani American embarks upon world tour

Having a unique purpose in mind, a Pakistani origin rider Moin Khan has embarked upon world tour — from San Francisco to Lahore – in a bid to meet as many people as he can and show that Pakistanis and Americans are overall good people.
With an immense love for motorcycles, Moin began his 25,000 kilometres ride to his motherland on his Honda CBR 600 F4i sport bike from Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, early this month and on day seven, July 16, he left from Vancouver, Canada.
This 24-year-old Pakistani is a recent San Francisco State University graduate and is a part-time swim instructor. He has a vision to bridge the gap between the two continents.
He will be stopping at different places, cities and locations meeting people and is penning down some moment of the journey on his Facebook fans page. Moin, the resident of Cupertino, spent 18 months planning, and saving more than $15,000, for his journey, his exact route and his accommodations have not been pre-planned.
He is traveling with his iphone GPS, his bike, a makeshift luggage rack (because sport bikes are not meant to carry bags), a tent and his wise tongue.
On his Facebook fan page, Moin has already received several invitations to stay with them when he is in the area.
“The whole thought was that I want to do this journey with whatever I have and not what people saying. ‘Oh he is using that and it’s easy,” Moin was reported to have said before setting off for this journey. “(The bike) is basic…it’s 11-years-old. It’s the most uncomfortable bike around. It’s basically the bike you take to a race track, ride it for 45 minutes and ride it hard and put it away.”
From north San Francisco he moved to the Pacific Ocean and crossed into Canada before heading east. Eventually he will ride down and put his bike on a ship from New York City to Germany and resume his ride from there.
Moin was further quoted as saying that the journey is not about politics, as much as it is about using his ability to speak with people to change their perceptions of Pakistan and America.
He believes that some people in both countries have misconceptions about the other. By riding his bike across the globe, Moin said he can help change perceptions just by showing people who he is. Moin will be using his American passport in countries across Europe, Iran, from where he would be entering Pakistan.
Before leaving Vancouver, Moin said: “It rained and rained and rained, for six hours. However, I wasn’t cold at all, thanks to my uncle in Seattle who got me some real clothes. I put on two layers and it was perfect.”
“I stopped at a few cool spots, including snow covered peaks and lush green forests. The scenery gets overwhelming and makes me want to stop and take a picture every few miles.”
Riding on a sports bike is not an easy task and Moin has the realization even before starting the ride. “I know for a fact that I will make it to Pakistan,” he said. “Maybe it won’t be on this bike, maybe it will be on a bicycle, or on foot but I will make it to Pakistan.”
The unique choice in bikes, he says, will help draw the attention of his fellow motorcycle enthusiasts.
“The idea with this bike, is it may be interesting for you or someone who hasn’t been around motorcycles too much but to get the motorcycle community interested, I have to do it on something that they haven’t seen before,” he said.

Quick Facts — What it costs
to travel the globe on a bike
$4500: 25,000 miles. Fuel prices vary way
too much to come up with an accurate estimate.
$1500: Bike preparation before departure
(Parts and labor) includes custom rack.
$1500: 3-4 sets of tyres while on the
road and some regular bike maintenance
$1500: Food (hopefully something
a notch higher than boiled rice, he says)
$1000: Visas and Passport Renewals.
$1000: Air fare from New York to Germany
(includes extra baggage fee and other stuff)
$1000: Camera equipment and other
electronics and accessories
$1000: Riding gear on the bike
(helmet, jacket, boots, rain gear etc.)
$700: Bike transportation from NY to Germany
$500: Camping equipment
$800: Miscellaneous stuff