Allan Karl  Allan Karl is an American author, adventurer and speaker. He is most known for travelling around the world on his motorcycle and subsequently writing the book, "Forks: A Quest for Culture, Cuisine and Connection". After a divorce and finding himself unemployed, in 2005, Karl decided to go on a trip around the world. He spent the next three years travelling on five continents and visited 35 countries. He returned to the United States in 2008 and became a public speaker talking about his travel experience. Karl was born in Darien, Connecticut and graduated from Darien High School in 1978. He is a graduate of S.I. Newhouse School, Syracuse University. Karl was a marketer by profession before he left for his trip. In 2000, he co-founded the company Wirestone, a creative and interactive services company and served there as a vice president. However, he felt that his job was not fulfilling and he started another company, but he still felt unhappy. Following a divorce, Karl left his job and decided to travel. After returning from his trip Karl became a tech entrepreneur and motivational speaker. In his presentations, he shares his travel experience. Since July 2009, he has visited several BMW dealerships in the U.S. as a speaker. He was a speaker at the general session the Global Business Travel Association's Leadership Summit in 2013. and "Roadrunner" magazine's annual touring weekend in 2014. At the touring weekend he shared a presentation entitled "The Beginning at the End of the Road", which draws from his riding experience. In 2003, after Karl's marriage ended in divorce, he left his company. He had always wanted to travel around the world and was passionate about bikes and photography, so he started planning a trip. He spent the next two years planning the routes for his trip. He wanted to visit as many UNESCO sites as many he could. In 2005, he sold everything he owned and started his journey on a BMW F650GS Dakar. Karl started from his home in Newport Beach, California, travelled up to Alaska, across Canada, down to Mexico, and around Central and South America before heading to Africa, Europe, and Asia. Initially, he had just planned to travel to Panama, but he kept extending his trip. After crossing the Panama Canal, Karl entered Colombia where several families let him stay at their homes. When he reached the southern border, he was stopped by police who advised him of the dangers of the jungle and urged him to go straight through without stopping for anything. However, he continued.