I'm not a Bay Area Rider, but my wife and I were lucky enough to join this 2025 BARFistan trip and ride with the BARF crew.
Nate, thanks for the trip down memory lane. It feels like just last month that I was occasionally eating your dust, seeing you stopped for these wonderful photos, and enjoying your company over food, chai, and Hunza "water". It was wonderful riding with, and getting to know, all you BARF boys and babe.
You folks were a big part of making this an unforgettable experience. I learned something from every one of you.
For anyone reading this thread and wondering: can I? Should I? Pakistan? Yes. Yes. Yes.
I first learned about
A Different Agenda from
this article by Erin Reda in American Motorcyclist magazine. The article was about an all-women's ride (Chickistan) lead by Moin and the ADA crew, and I just loved the mix of riding, stunning scenery, local culture, and giving back to the community. I'm sure I'd enjoy a fancy Euro tour with high end bikes, swanky hotels, and posh roads with things like "pavement" and "traffic laws", but ADA seemed to be offering something equally enjoyable and vastly more interesting.
As you've already ready from other ADA alum, Moin and his team are fantastic. From the moment we left the airport, we were free to simply enjoy the experience of Pakistan. It quickly felt like a group ride-to-eat with friends that just went on for 12 days, with all the logistics of travelling in a foreign country taken care off. We had a wide variety of experience across our riders, and big difference in capability between the new CF Moto 450's most rode and the CB150's some of us chose, but everyone was able to ride at their own pace, meeting up for meals and activities.
After eschewing guided tours for years (decades?) I'm finally coming around to the value of a good tour, and Moin absolutely nailed it. It felt like travelling with a friend who is excited to show you all the cool sites they know, vs some guide taking you through a checklist in a tourist guidebook. He's easygoing in a way that belies how much he's paying attention to what everyone in the group needs to make it their best trip. Does this person need a little more adventure, or some other person need a bit of a break? He notices, and makes it happen, without making it a big deal.
If you daydream about trips like these, stop right now and commit to making it happen. It's worth the time. If you have the money, this is worth spending it on.
And, Nate... great ride report!
The men. The Legends.
