Getting into Adventure Green
A COLLECTION OF STORIES TO INSPIRE RIDING WITH
- Page 2 and 3: www.adventurebikeshop.co.uk Unit 19
- Page 4 and 5: AFRICA WITH AUTISM THEY SAY FORTUNE
- Page 6 and 7: BENEATH THE SURFACE TRAVELLING BY B
- Page 8 and 9: THE SELFIE GENERATION AT THE AGE OF
- Page 10 and 11: PERCEPTION VERSUS REALITY JON HOLLI
- Page 12 and 13: THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY OFTEN OVERLOO
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- Page 16 and 17: Jacqui still rides her Enfield regu
- Page 18 and 19: THE TRAVELLING CIRCUS IT’S ABOUT
- Page 20 and 21: GEOFF’S INDIAN ODYSSEY AUTHOR GEO
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- Page 25 and 26: the basics, such as tightening the
- Page 27 and 28: Architecture on the way through to
- Page 29 and 30: Hand built in Bolton Engine from a
- Page 31 and 32: Looking for Adventure? Yamaha Off-R
- Page 33 and 34: Suzuki DRZ400 Another stalwart of t
- Page 35 and 36: BMW 310 GS The GS range and image h
- Page 37 and 38: usually 21-inch. I find 19-inch the
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- Page 45 and 46: this; what’s the appeal? I guess
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A COLLECTION OF STORIES TO INSPIRE<br />
RIDING WITH
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WELCOME<br />
Welcome to a second issue of <strong>Getting</strong><br />
<strong>into</strong> <strong>Adventure</strong>, this one produced<br />
to coincide with London Motorcycle<br />
Show, with many of the stories coming from the<br />
speakers who are presenting on the Tom Tom<br />
<strong>Adventure</strong> Stage.<br />
None are professional travellers, simply people<br />
that have found themselves in the position<br />
where a journey by motorcycle makes the most<br />
sense and have lived to tell the tale. I hope<br />
what you’ll find interesting is that whilst their<br />
trips and routes might be considered quite<br />
extreme, the situations and scenarios the people<br />
found themselves in at the start of their trips<br />
were much the same as any of us; often loss of<br />
relatives, relationships or lifestyles. Taboo as it<br />
may sound but loss is one of the greatest driving<br />
forces behind adventure and sometimes without<br />
such loss it’s difficult to make the sacrifices needed<br />
to make bigger trips like these happen. That’s why<br />
once again the focus is not on the distance or time<br />
on the road, nor is it about what bikes people ride<br />
or what gear they wear. It’s about the simple act of<br />
getting out there and challenging yourself to do<br />
that extra mile. And most of all have some fun on<br />
a bike along the way.<br />
A great story this issue is by Tim Duncan.<br />
Hamstrung like the rest of us by commitments<br />
and other priorities, Tim fills up his cheap<br />
Chinese 125 and sees how far he can ride and<br />
how much he can see in just that one tank of<br />
fuel. Whether in Wales or the wilds of Mongolia,<br />
the same nerves of excitment kick in and<br />
by the end of the journey the same sense of<br />
achievement in having done what you set out to<br />
do. Happy travels, wherever you end up.<br />
“ADVENTURE BEGINS THE MOMENT YOU STEP OUT OF YOUR FRONT DOOR”<br />
CONTENTS<br />
AFRICA WITH AUTISM<br />
Page 4-5<br />
BENEATH THE SURFACE<br />
Page 6-7<br />
THE SELFIE GENERATION<br />
Page 8-9<br />
PERCEPTION VS REALITY<br />
Page 10-11<br />
THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY<br />
Page 12-13<br />
AROUND THE WORLD IN A<br />
1000 WORDS<br />
Page 14-15<br />
THE LADY ON THE BIKE<br />
Page 16-17<br />
THE TRAVELLING CIRCUS<br />
Page 18-19<br />
GEOFF’S INDIAN ODYSSEY<br />
Page 20-22<br />
PACKING FOR A LONG<br />
DISTANCE TRIP<br />
Page 24-25<br />
SOLO FEMALE TRAVELLER<br />
Page 26-27<br />
BUILDING AN<br />
ADVENTURE BIKE<br />
Page 28-29<br />
BUDGET BIKES TO CONSIDER<br />
Page 32-33<br />
NEW BIKES TO CONSIDER<br />
Page 34-35<br />
ANATOMY OF A TRAVEL BIKE<br />
Page 36-37<br />
THE BIKE TOURATECH BUILT<br />
Page 38-39<br />
QUICK TIPS ON EUROPE<br />
Page 40<br />
FILMING YOUR OWN<br />
ADVENTURE<br />
Page 42-43<br />
C90S ON THE NC500<br />
Page 44-45<br />
THE ONE TANK CHALLENGE<br />
Page 46-47<br />
<strong>Getting</strong> <strong>into</strong> <strong>Adventure</strong> is designed, written and published by Nathan Millward<br />
With gratitude to and all advertisers Cover illustration by Dave Webb @ Wearebeard
AFRICA WITH AUTISM<br />
THEY SAY FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE. NO MORE SO IN THE CASE OF MEL AND<br />
SOFIA COWPLAND, WHO TOGETHER CONQUERED THE LENGTH OF AFRICA<br />
Sofia has Autism. Autism<br />
means you don’t have the<br />
ability to process information<br />
about your environment. Before<br />
the trip she wasn’t going outside,<br />
and getting her out the house<br />
when it wasn’t for school was<br />
like starting WW3.<br />
The idea with this ride from<br />
London to Cape Town was to open<br />
her eyes to the world and allow<br />
her to see it for herself. Of course<br />
there are safety issues with taking a<br />
child with autism, or any child for<br />
that matter down through Africa.<br />
But the need to keep safe shouldn’t<br />
always prevent you from doing<br />
things.<br />
Sofia had mixed feelings. She was<br />
part excited and part nervous. The<br />
same really for anyone going on<br />
a big trip. You don’t know what’s<br />
going to happen. All you can do<br />
is prepare yourself for the time<br />
on the road and so during the<br />
planning stages I kept her really<br />
involved. I’d told her that when<br />
driving through Europe the first bit<br />
was going to be horrible; wet and<br />
windy, but that we’d just have to get<br />
through it. By the time we made it<br />
to Austria it was so cold, but Sofia<br />
wanted to carry on.<br />
“IT WAS LIKE<br />
SHE EMBRACED<br />
THE IDENTITY<br />
OF BEING ON<br />
THE ROAD”<br />
The trip was from our home in<br />
England all the way down to South<br />
Africa. We spent two weeks getting<br />
from the UK to Athens in Greece<br />
where the bike was sea freighted<br />
across to Egypt, whilst we flew.<br />
From there we took a steady pace<br />
down through Sudan <strong>into</strong> Ethiopia,<br />
where a few problems with the bike<br />
slowed us down a bit.<br />
Kenya followed, then Tanzania on<br />
a transit visa. It’s here we began<br />
to see giraffe, wildebeest, zebra,<br />
buffalo and impala along the<br />
roadside. Into Zambia, Zimbabwe<br />
and finally down <strong>into</strong> South Africa.<br />
The trip was approximately 25000<br />
kilometres and exactly 9 months.<br />
Mid way through Africa I’d noticed<br />
some change in Sofia. She’d started<br />
to pay more attention to her<br />
environment. That was a really<br />
big thing to witness. She’d notice<br />
when it was a beautiful view. She<br />
started to become more confident<br />
and began to communicate with<br />
people. It was like she embraced<br />
the identity of being on the road.<br />
Her confidence level had really<br />
gone up.<br />
In terms of danger on the road,<br />
it helped that the bike’s a real eye<br />
catcher. If everyone’s looking at<br />
the bike it makes it very difficult<br />
for someone to come up and do<br />
something bad to us. But people<br />
were so nice the whole way and we<br />
never had any problems, especially<br />
when they realised it was a mother<br />
and a child travelling together.<br />
The biggest problem was with the<br />
bike. We had countless breakdowns,<br />
at one point leaving us stationary in<br />
Zimbabwe for three months waiting<br />
to get it fixed. It was a combination<br />
of factors that caused the problems<br />
with it. Possibly a bit of poor<br />
maintenance, poor road surfaces<br />
and probably just a bit of bad luck<br />
thrown in for good measure. But it<br />
made it.<br />
The bike is a Ural Sportsman, built<br />
in 2003 and had 14,800 km on the<br />
clock when we set off. The changes<br />
we made to it before the trip were<br />
minor. We fitted an extra battery<br />
in the boot as well as fixings for a<br />
spare tyre. A new stronger driveshaft<br />
was fitted to the side car as<br />
the Ural is two wheeled drive. We<br />
removed the rear seat from the<br />
back of the bike to make room<br />
for a storage rack and two 20-litre<br />
jerry cans. We also fitted a roll bar<br />
to the sidecar for added safety.<br />
Before this trip I’d never ridden<br />
a bike before and passed my test<br />
4 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
in order to complete it. I had some<br />
off road training at Trailquest<br />
in the UK, who also advised me<br />
on security and what to do in an<br />
emergency. In the end the bike<br />
did a total of 19000 kilometres.<br />
It probably did another 4000<br />
kilometres on the back of a truck<br />
after it kept breaking down.<br />
Sofia just 10 years old at the start of the trip<br />
The best bits were when we were<br />
actually moving and not broken<br />
down. That and meeting people<br />
along the way. It was great seeing<br />
peoples reactions. They loved the<br />
bike and what we were doing.<br />
Above all else, the best bit was<br />
coming back to the UK and seeing<br />
the difference in Sofia. Seeing how<br />
much she’d actually changed as a<br />
result of the trip.<br />
It has helped her socially. Her<br />
tolerance to life is much improved<br />
and she has a much better<br />
understanding about the world.<br />
Previously she wouldn’t tolerate a<br />
lot of change, but now she does.<br />
It’s also helped her memory and<br />
brought us closer together in having<br />
something to look back on and<br />
share together.<br />
Some people say I was an<br />
irresponsible mother for taking her<br />
on the trip. But I would say quite<br />
the opposite. The trip has really<br />
given her a great start in life, that’s<br />
why in summer 2017 we’re hoping<br />
to go again, this time across Europe<br />
for nine weeks, including a spell<br />
<strong>into</strong> Russia. We’re taking the same<br />
sidecar outfit, though hoping for a<br />
bit more reliability this time!<br />
To support Mel and Sofia<br />
on their travels visit www.<br />
adventurewithautism.wordpress.com
BENEATH THE SURFACE<br />
TRAVELLING BY BIKE CAN SOMETIMES BE DANGEROUS AND CONFRONTING.<br />
THAT’S THE REALITY OF IT. WE HEAR FROM RICHARD FIELD ABOUT HIS TIME<br />
IN TURKEY DURING THE RECENT UPRISING OF ISIS<br />
I’d taken a dozen or so short<br />
rides on the continent over<br />
the years and, after my wife<br />
died, two longer group-rides in<br />
India. In early 2015, at the age of<br />
63, I set off on my first Big Trip<br />
and my first solo journey outside<br />
Europe. In many ways it was a<br />
new experience. It took me further<br />
outside my comfort zone than I’d<br />
ever ventured before, and it gave<br />
me a much deeper insight <strong>into</strong> the<br />
world around me.<br />
There was no question about how<br />
I would travel. I had long ago<br />
discovered that how you arrive<br />
at a place and how you journey<br />
through it has a profound effect on<br />
what you experience. Travelling<br />
by motorcycle gives you a unique<br />
viewpoint. It also allows you an<br />
exceptional ease of movement.<br />
Without Felix, my Suzuki DR650, I<br />
would never have had the freedom<br />
to explore Turkey’s Iraqi/Syrian<br />
borderlands.<br />
It was along this border, in the<br />
town of Şirnak that I sat one<br />
surreal evening drinking tea with<br />
some new friends on the porch<br />
of my hotel. We sat in a haze of<br />
silvery light from the headlamps<br />
of the huge Tomor water-cannon<br />
parked at the head of the street.<br />
We were nine: Cȋhan, Seurat and<br />
Baran, five more Kurdish men, and<br />
me, a lone Englishman, 3,000 miles<br />
from home. Felix had recently<br />
been lifted onto the porch with us<br />
for safety.<br />
“I HADN’T<br />
PLANNED TO GET<br />
STUCK IN THE<br />
MIDDLE OF A<br />
CIVIL WAR”<br />
Ten minutes earlier, a homemade<br />
bomb had bounced off<br />
an armoured car and exploded<br />
in the road nearby. A unit of<br />
armed police appeared and began<br />
combing the adjacent streets. The<br />
Tomor manoeuvred to bring us<br />
more directly <strong>into</strong> the beam of its<br />
headlight. In the narrow, winding<br />
streets of the upper town, bombs<br />
detonated every few minutes,<br />
answered by the telltale rattle of<br />
Kalashnikov fire. I relaxed and<br />
drank my tea with the others,<br />
cocooned in a magic circle of<br />
Kurdish defiance.<br />
I hadn’t planned to get stuck in the<br />
middle of a civil war. But, as I look<br />
back, I realise I hadn’t planned not<br />
to either. My initial aim had been<br />
to ride through the Balkans, Turkey<br />
and the Caucasus, then as far east<br />
as I could get before winter came.<br />
The Turks I met, though, fired<br />
my curiosity, and I’d spent weeks<br />
listening to their stories and their<br />
concerns. I was mindful, too, of one<br />
of the world’s forgotten tragedies,<br />
the persecution of the Kurds in the<br />
south-east of the country.<br />
It seemed inevitable that I would<br />
eventually be drawn to the<br />
Kurdish homelands, hoping to<br />
find someone there, too, who<br />
could tell their story. The Kurds,<br />
it turned out, had many stories to<br />
tell. For nearly a month I stayed<br />
and listened, travelling from one<br />
impoverished Kurdish town to<br />
another. But it was by sheer chance<br />
that I arrived at the exact moment<br />
the conflict kicked off.<br />
“Have you heard about Kobani?”<br />
Francesco, an aspiring Italian<br />
photojournalist, yelled to me<br />
across the courtyard of a hostel in<br />
the Arab quarter of Urfa. It was<br />
my first morning in the Turkish/<br />
Syrian borderlands, and I was<br />
emerging from my dormitory still<br />
half asleep. “ISIS have blown up<br />
Kobani,” he shouted. “I’m going<br />
down to see. Are you coming?” I<br />
shook my head, unsure what to say<br />
or even to feel. Kobani lay just over<br />
the Syrian border in Kurdish-held<br />
Rojava. I had planned to stay there<br />
the previous night. On a whim, I’d<br />
diverted to Urfa instead.<br />
Despite all the chaos and<br />
conflict of that time, I rarely felt<br />
unsafe. Even in war violence<br />
is localised, and Kurds have a<br />
profound tradition of hospitality<br />
to travellers. Everywhere I went,<br />
6 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
individuals quietly appointed<br />
themselves my bodyguard or<br />
proffered advice and information<br />
on how and where I should travel.<br />
For the rest, I relied on gut instinct<br />
and common sense.<br />
When Fuat approached me in<br />
Hakkari and asked me to accompany<br />
him alone in his van to meet<br />
unnamed men on the outskirts of<br />
the city, my rule about accepting<br />
invitations stalled. I looked <strong>into</strong> his<br />
wild, glittering eyes and recalled<br />
the stomach-churning videos he’d<br />
shown me, recordings of his time as<br />
a Kurdish volunteer fighting ISIS in<br />
Syria. I declined his request.<br />
I used to think I was the most<br />
unlikely traveller ever, especially<br />
on a motorcycle. I have a fear of<br />
falling. I’m a hopeless mechanic,<br />
and I have four major food allergies<br />
and many minor ones. It takes only<br />
a moment’s lack of care for me to<br />
end up heaving my guts at the side<br />
of a Turkish motorway, or to be<br />
immobilised for days in a Slovenian<br />
hotel or in a plywood cabin high up<br />
in the mountain forests of Kafkasor.<br />
But all this can be managed. I carry<br />
a medical kit. I ask bilingual waiters<br />
to write cards for me in the local<br />
language: ‘no dairy products,’ etc.<br />
And I have a simple, sturdy bike<br />
that any local mechanic can fix.<br />
I learned a lot about myself on this<br />
trip. I learned that I wasn’t a headdown,<br />
dawn-to-dusk rider aiming<br />
for sheer distance. In the course of<br />
my nine-month, nineteen-thousand<br />
mile journey I averaged less than<br />
80 miles a day. I gave myself<br />
permission to linger, taking all the<br />
time I needed to fall in love with<br />
people and places. I covered less<br />
distance than I intended, but I made<br />
many good and lasting friends, and<br />
I found a new, less urgent way of<br />
engaging with the world.<br />
I learned, too, that it really doesn’t<br />
take special courage to travel alone.<br />
The only courage I found I needed<br />
was to get myself over the starting<br />
line. After that it was simple.<br />
Travelling is just everyday life lived<br />
by other means. It’s doing ordinary<br />
things, just in different places and<br />
with different people. Solo travel<br />
demands a greater level of trust and<br />
self-reliance, but it brings its own<br />
special rewards. When you travel<br />
with friends, you take home with<br />
you; they wrap you in a bubble of<br />
familiarity. On your own nothing<br />
diminishes the immediacy of your<br />
experience. ‘Home’ is wherever you<br />
happen to be. Even today, I feel<br />
homesick for Turkey and Georgia.<br />
I got out of Şirnak before the<br />
artillery arrived and the real<br />
fighting began. The town now lies<br />
in ruins, a pile of rubble scattered<br />
across the bare and beautiful<br />
hillsides of south-east Turkey.<br />
What buildings survive, including<br />
my hotel, have been declared<br />
unstable and are being pulled down.<br />
I will never forget Şirnak. The<br />
days I spent there with its people<br />
deepened my sense of engagement<br />
with life and its ever-present<br />
undercurrent of tragedy. It also<br />
taught me, much to my surprise,<br />
that I have an appetite for conflict.<br />
That’s quite a discovery to make<br />
about yourself at the age of 63.<br />
Slow travel on the DR gave me a<br />
window <strong>into</strong> my own life and <strong>into</strong><br />
the lives of others. It reorganised<br />
the way I saw the world, and it gave<br />
me a new sense of possibility. The<br />
only insoluble problem of the entire<br />
trip was coming home.<br />
Turkish Kurds protest the killing of 33 youngsters by ISIS in 2015<br />
By contrast, the peace and serenity of the road
THE SELFIE<br />
GENERATION<br />
AT THE AGE OF 22 RHYS LAWREY RODE<br />
AROUND THE WORLD. HIS AIM WAS<br />
TO HAVE A GOOD TIME AND TRY AND<br />
ENCOURAGE OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE TO<br />
GET OUT AND SEE THE WORLD. WE FIND<br />
OUT MORE...<br />
The idea came about when I was<br />
in New Zealand, Skyping my<br />
old man (Globe Buster’s Kevin<br />
Sanders). We’d talked for a while<br />
about doing a father and son trip as<br />
I was living in New Zealand and he<br />
was living in Europe. The longest<br />
we’d ever lived together was 6 months<br />
and so it seemed like a good way of<br />
spending some quality time together.<br />
At the time he was organising one of<br />
his London to Beijing guided trips,<br />
and the original idea was to join him<br />
on that. Somehow, from there the<br />
idea snowballed and soon progressed<br />
to riding around the world, but the<br />
reality still seemed a long way off.<br />
Back then I was working as a bartender<br />
in Auckland NZ. I’d done my manager’s<br />
course and had been offered an amazing<br />
opportunity to go and run a bar in Las<br />
Vegas. It was one of those T-junctions in<br />
life. On the one hand I had the option<br />
of a good salary, a nice lifestyle and<br />
financial security. On the other hand I<br />
had the idea for this trip burning away<br />
inside of me. I chose the trip.<br />
At the age of 22 I left London and<br />
headed East with my dad, riding<br />
through Europe, Central Asia, China,<br />
and from there alone down to New<br />
Zealand, across to the Americas,<br />
up through southern Africa, and<br />
Europe. I passed through a total of 71<br />
countries, covering 57,000 miles in<br />
the space of 15 months.<br />
One of the most common questions I<br />
get asked is about my career and the<br />
possible damage that taking off on<br />
a big trip can do. The thing with me<br />
is that I’m not academically strong<br />
and never have been. I’ve not been<br />
ambitious to go to university or<br />
anything like that, but I have always<br />
been hard working and keen to<br />
progress. You can look at it two ways.<br />
When you’re young you have nothing<br />
to lose. You don’t have a partner or<br />
kids. Alternatively, you could get<br />
a career, build on that and within<br />
10-15 years you might become very<br />
restricted and may never get the<br />
chance to go.<br />
I meet a lot of people who tell me<br />
Highway 1, Big Sur bridge, USA<br />
8 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
about their barriers. I think we have<br />
them at any age. Thankfully my<br />
mum was very supportive. At first<br />
she was a bit worried that her boy<br />
was going <strong>into</strong> danger. But her words<br />
were; ‘You have nothing to lose but<br />
yourself, so you should go and do it.<br />
Careers, jobs; they’re always there.’<br />
Not everyone has that support<br />
and without it it can tough. I’d say<br />
if you’re being told not to do the<br />
thing you want to do, then listen<br />
to yourself. We all know what we<br />
want to do and if you can explain to<br />
people what and why you want to<br />
do it, then in my book if they truly<br />
love you they’ll support you. But it<br />
is hard; overcoming other peoples’<br />
objections is one of the hardest<br />
things.<br />
The benefit of doing something like<br />
this when you’re young is that you’re<br />
a lot more vibrant. You’re healthier,<br />
and probably a little more agile<br />
and able to recover more quickly -<br />
particularly when you fall off. This<br />
could also be seen as a negative, as<br />
when you’re younger you’re also a bit<br />
more naïve and oblivious to dangers<br />
and consequences. You’re also less<br />
likely to have pre-conceived ideas<br />
about what people or countries are<br />
going to be like and therefore you’re<br />
inclined to be more open minded.<br />
On my trip it didn’t hit me until I<br />
reached Turkmenistan the scale of<br />
what I was doing. But you face all<br />
these challenges and you start to<br />
mature. You have to. And you start<br />
to realise the benefit of that naivety<br />
as it helps you take a jump <strong>into</strong> the<br />
unknown.<br />
“OVERCOMING<br />
OTHER PEOPLES’<br />
OBJECTIONS<br />
IS ONE OF THE<br />
HARDEST THINGS”<br />
When it came to documenting my<br />
trip my aim was to try and connect<br />
with a younger audience who are<br />
more likely to be about the here<br />
and now. It’s all about Instragram,<br />
Facebook and Twitter, and the only<br />
way to reach that audience is to<br />
speak their language. So I got out<br />
the selfie stick and used the front<br />
camera on the GoPro and phone.<br />
I’m also dyslexic and struggle to<br />
read and write, so for me it was<br />
much more within my reach than<br />
say writing a blog or a book, like<br />
other people do.<br />
It wasn’t until I came back that<br />
I realised some of the people<br />
following my trip have gone off and<br />
planned their own adventures. That<br />
was a great feeling and always nice<br />
to think you’ve given someone the<br />
encouragement to live their own<br />
dreams. The only thing I’d say about<br />
blogging and vlogging, is that it can<br />
become a burden. There are times<br />
when I didn’t film or take pictures,<br />
and that’s hard because the more<br />
you document your trip the more<br />
expectant people are to see what<br />
you’re up to. Like anything it’s best<br />
done in moderation. You have to<br />
enjoy the trip first and foremost.<br />
I have to laugh when people say ‘just<br />
go and do it’. It’s never as easy or as<br />
simple as that. If you want to do it,<br />
you can do it, but it takes a lot of<br />
determination and sacrifice, with<br />
sacrifice being the biggest thing you<br />
have to accept.<br />
Foot-tapping somewhere in southern Oz<br />
The main thing is to appreciate<br />
that everyone’s different. There’s no<br />
practical ‘here’s how to do it’. On<br />
a broader scale you need money<br />
and to find some time. But how to<br />
go about it, that’s the difference.<br />
Because we’re all different. Different<br />
circumstances, different health,<br />
different wealth. Different views,<br />
different personalities. As long as<br />
you get out there and do something,<br />
that’s the main thing.<br />
Double-tap; Oslo, Norway
PERCEPTION VERSUS REALITY<br />
JON HOLLIS IS ON A YEAR LONG TOUR OF THE STATES, LEARNING<br />
AS HE GOES ALONG TO RELAX INTO THE RHYTHM OF THE ROAD<br />
How did the trip across<br />
America come about?<br />
Since 2012 I started travelling<br />
a lot more and after my first solo trip<br />
to Germany in 2013 I found that I<br />
prefer riding alone. After visiting a<br />
lot of European countries I was in<br />
Bulgaria on holiday with my wife,<br />
when over a beer in a café in Varna<br />
she suggested that I should take on<br />
a longer trip as it was all I’d been<br />
talking about at the time.<br />
My father passed away when he<br />
was my age and I think that was a<br />
massive drive as it left me with the<br />
knowledge that potentially you only<br />
have a short time to achieve what<br />
you want.<br />
Was is it a ‘dream’ trip for you, and<br />
if so why?<br />
No I wouldn’t say that it is<br />
something I’d been dreaming of<br />
for ages, but the combination of<br />
good roads (I’m not <strong>into</strong> rough<br />
terrain riding), great distance and<br />
the unknown was a challenge, and<br />
it was the challenge that I wanted.<br />
I wanted a sense of achievement<br />
that no one in my personal life had<br />
experienced.<br />
At what stage in life were you at?<br />
I was 46 when the trip started and<br />
I hit 47 a week <strong>into</strong> it. I have one<br />
daughter from a previous marriage<br />
and two step children. I’m married<br />
but we don’t live together. We<br />
plan to live together again but due<br />
to some complications at home<br />
we won’t be living together for<br />
at least a couple of years, which<br />
gave me a window that most don’t<br />
get. I needed emotional backing<br />
from all. My wife, daughter, first<br />
wife and my mother were all<br />
supportive.<br />
What were your fears about the<br />
trip?<br />
Although I had no fear about the<br />
actual riding, my fears were more<br />
emotional. Missing home, friends<br />
and family being the biggest I<br />
guess. I was concerned about<br />
my bike going through customs,<br />
although the shipping company<br />
were helpful as were the US<br />
customs themselves.<br />
What were you looking forward to<br />
the most?<br />
Seeing places that I haven’t seen<br />
before. Not having a specific time<br />
limit on each destination, instead<br />
looking to be somewhere enough<br />
time to enjoy it until my internal<br />
clock said move on.<br />
What bike were you taking and why?<br />
I own a couple of bikes. A 2013<br />
Triumph Tiger Sport and a 2008<br />
Honda CBF1000. Originally I was<br />
going to take the Triumph, but for<br />
the two years leading up to the trip<br />
I found that I was riding the Honda<br />
more and more and after quite a<br />
few modifications I found that I<br />
preferred it. It’s old enough to be<br />
fixed by spanners and new enough<br />
to be reliable. Plus, it’s not that<br />
desirable so less chance of it being<br />
stolen. Also my mates take the piss<br />
out of it so I wanted to be stubborn<br />
and prove a point.<br />
“THE CONSTANT<br />
MOVING ON IS A<br />
DOUBLE EDGED<br />
SWORD”<br />
How long will the trip be and why<br />
that length?<br />
I have allowed one year, which<br />
gives me enough time to spend<br />
on average one week per state, but<br />
that’s not fixed, as some states I<br />
know will require more time than<br />
others. Also the Honda has to be<br />
shipped out within a year due to the<br />
American EPA laws.<br />
What planning and research did<br />
you do beforehand?<br />
I’ve travelled a lot on my bikes so<br />
packing wasn’t a concern. For me<br />
it was insurance and shipping that<br />
was the issue, plus other unknowns,<br />
so I spoke to some people that have<br />
biked somewhere further than<br />
Europe and got some advice.<br />
I needed to get a tourist visa as<br />
I will be in America for over the<br />
allowed 90 days, which was a<br />
nightmare as the website isn’t easy<br />
to navigate and took me 4 months<br />
to get it. The EPA approval for the<br />
bike was much easier.<br />
I also Googled some places to visit,<br />
but that went out of the window<br />
pretty much from day one as the<br />
locals I met were better sources of<br />
information.<br />
One issue I had was insuring the<br />
bike abroad as my UK insurance<br />
doesn’t cover it. A Facebook forum<br />
was my solution. I posted about<br />
my problem and a guy in Florida<br />
came to the rescue. Doug Wothke<br />
is a bike traveller and allowed me<br />
to use his address and gave me the<br />
company who insures foreign bikes.<br />
How did you find the trip in the<br />
early days?<br />
I was shocked at how uneasy I<br />
felt in the first two weeks. I was<br />
suspicious of people and found<br />
myself looking for any threats which<br />
I assume comes from being such<br />
a distance from home. I was also<br />
riding different to my usual style<br />
as I didn’t feel relaxed. Having my<br />
bike with me made me more settled<br />
as it was familiar, but there was still<br />
something wrong. After a week I<br />
stripped my bike and repacked. After<br />
that things started to fall <strong>into</strong> place.<br />
I must have had something on my<br />
mind regarding the bike and looking<br />
it all over settled me.<br />
What did you find toughest, and<br />
equally easiest during those first<br />
few days on the road?<br />
America isn’t generally very good<br />
for pedestrians and after a day’s<br />
riding I wanted to find motels with<br />
restaurants or food shops near by.<br />
Harder than you think. Working out<br />
fuel was tough as you have to pay<br />
prior to filling up and all I wanted<br />
was to fill to the brim. It’s surprising<br />
how good I’ve got at that now.<br />
People told me prior to leaving about<br />
the massive distances involved, but<br />
I found this easy as my journey has<br />
become a series of small trips-so it<br />
doesn’t seem that daunting. Even<br />
the vast open spaces in states like<br />
Texas leave me with awe but do not<br />
intimidate.<br />
The constant moving on is a double<br />
edged sword. I miss the stability of<br />
coming back home and crave that<br />
slightly, but it’s the anticipation of<br />
my next destination that drives me<br />
on so I know I have to put up with<br />
that negative.<br />
How have you felt yourself<br />
developing as the trip has gone on?<br />
I find that I’m less opinionated and<br />
tend to listen more. Coming here<br />
as Trump has become president has<br />
made conversations interesting. I’ve<br />
been chatting to people I wouldn’t<br />
normally, homeless etc... this took<br />
some guts initially but now I laugh<br />
at myself as people are generally<br />
nice no matter their situation.<br />
I’ve been taking photos along the<br />
way and that has made me look<br />
at things differently, so I’ve loved<br />
getting back <strong>into</strong> that hobby.<br />
Is the trip as ‘good’ as you<br />
expected it to be? If so why, if not,<br />
why not?<br />
It’s good but not what I expected. It<br />
has been predominately about the<br />
people I’ve met whereas I thought it<br />
would be about the places I would<br />
visit.<br />
How much more time do you have<br />
left on the road and what are you<br />
looking forward to the most?<br />
I have ridden 8000 miles and 11<br />
states so far, therefore I have 39<br />
more states to visit and due to my<br />
way of travelling I’m not sure of the<br />
mileage left. The start of my trip has<br />
been in the winter so I’m looking<br />
forward to my route not being<br />
dictated by the weather as much.<br />
Although I accept being cold, if<br />
I had the choice I would avoid<br />
freezing weather.<br />
Last question, are you glad you<br />
went?<br />
Yes. I’ve done some things that<br />
others will never get to do and seen<br />
some amazing sights. I’ve met a<br />
tonne of people but only connected<br />
at a friend level with a few and<br />
those people I value now. It’s been<br />
tough being out of my comfort<br />
zone, but the sense of achievement<br />
makes it worthwhile.<br />
Follow John’s blog at<br />
www.onyourbiketoursblog.co.uk<br />
10 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
<strong>Getting</strong> off the beaten track in Texas<br />
Proving to be the right bike for the trip
THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY<br />
OFTEN OVERLOOKED, THE COASTAL ROAD ALONG IRELAND’S WESTERN SHORE IS<br />
A GEM. GRAHAM COTTER SHARES HIS RECENT TRAVELS THERE...<br />
In 2016 I decided to attend<br />
both the Horizons Unlimited<br />
meetings at Hay on Wye in<br />
South Wales and the Irish HUBB in<br />
Enniskillen the following weekend,<br />
with a bit of sightseeing in between.<br />
Having attended the Irish event the<br />
year before I knew I was in for some<br />
great craic and great riding roads.<br />
THE PLAN<br />
I like to keep my plans simple, so the<br />
idea was to camp at the UK HUBB,<br />
then leave there on the Sunday and<br />
ride across the back roads of Wales<br />
to my brothers’ place in North Wales,<br />
stay the night, and leave the next<br />
morning for a ferry from Anglesey<br />
to Dublin. From there I would head<br />
north <strong>into</strong> Ulster, follow the Antrim<br />
coast <strong>into</strong> Donegal and the wonderful<br />
Wild Atlantic Way, then to the<br />
Irish HUBB at Enniskillen. After a<br />
weekend there I would head south<br />
to Wicklow to see an aunt and then<br />
catch another ferry back to Anglesey.<br />
Putting the plan <strong>into</strong> practice is so<br />
easy thanks to the internet. In no time<br />
at all registration for the two HUBB’s<br />
was complete and the ferries booked.<br />
My actual route was flexible, so I used<br />
a hotel booking website (there are<br />
several so take your pick) to search<br />
for available accommodation in<br />
various places along my route.<br />
I now had a rough route including<br />
daily destinations with postcodes<br />
and better yet, grid references to<br />
put in the sat nav. Grid references<br />
are brilliant as they can literally take<br />
you to the door of the address you<br />
are searching for.<br />
WHERE TO STAY?<br />
As we know the weather in Ireland<br />
can be damp, so the thought of<br />
camping in the rain, packing a<br />
wet tent, setting up a wet tent and<br />
generally being damp on my annual<br />
holiday didn’t appeal. I like camping<br />
and I camp many times each year,<br />
but I like my creature comforts too.<br />
Also, a quick look at campsites in<br />
Ireland reveals that they are few<br />
and far between, plus geared up for<br />
caravaners rather than motorcyclists<br />
and can cost 12-20 Euros a night<br />
or more. On the other hand, some<br />
really good B&Bs can be had from<br />
35 Euros, with Wifi, en-suite, offroad<br />
parking and a home cooked<br />
breakfast to set you up for the day.<br />
Another good source of budget<br />
accommodation are Youth Hostels,<br />
where annual membership costs<br />
from £15, and much less if you<br />
are a real youth and not a recycled<br />
one like me. Once a member<br />
then a world full of discounted<br />
hostels are available in a myriad of<br />
locations. Youth Hostels have secret<br />
advantages too, like info on local<br />
places of interest, routes to take/<br />
avoid, many do meals, there are<br />
power points to charge your phone,<br />
and all come with companionship<br />
for the night.<br />
THE FERRY<br />
The ferries across the Irish Sea<br />
are frequent, quick, clean and<br />
comfortable. Unlike ferries of old,<br />
where bikes were roped in against<br />
any convenient immovable bit<br />
of boat, modern ferries have bike<br />
specific areas with deck mounting<br />
loops and straps. Putting the bikes<br />
together introduces you to your<br />
fellow travelling bikers, allowing you<br />
to meet like minded travellers and<br />
chat the journey away. Watch your<br />
exit out of the port at Dublin, as the<br />
authorities there would have you go<br />
straight to the toll road, where the<br />
toll booths are unmanned and only<br />
take Euros. Oh what joy I had the<br />
other year when caught in their trap<br />
without any Euro coins, and how<br />
happy were the nice people in the<br />
cars stuck behind!<br />
THE ROADS<br />
I don’t like motorways particularly,<br />
maybe because the nearest one<br />
to me is the M25, so when I can<br />
I ride country roads, B roads and<br />
at a pinch A roads. I was spoilt in<br />
Ireland; they have a nearly new<br />
motorway/toll road network if you<br />
Not always the weather, but always the roads<br />
12 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
As good as anywhere on a sunny day<br />
want to be almost anywhere in the island<br />
quickly, yet the older roads are still there,<br />
going through rather than around the<br />
towns and villages along your route and<br />
can be clear of traffic. Thankfully the big<br />
supermarkets haven’t got <strong>into</strong> urban and<br />
rural Ireland like they have in Britain,<br />
meaning every town and most villages<br />
still have their own petrol stations and<br />
small supermarkets. You won’t have any<br />
worries about running out of fuel<br />
or supplies.<br />
Pubs are in every village should you<br />
require refreshment, but remember<br />
that the Irish authorities have a zero<br />
tolerance of drink driving. I found<br />
most of the roads to be just fine, well<br />
maintained and well sign posted. Speed<br />
isn’t required, as the views of rural<br />
Ireland demand you slow down and<br />
take it all in. Another advantage is that<br />
like all civilised nations the Irish drive<br />
on the left hand side of the road.<br />
The Wild Atlantic Way is well marked<br />
and clings to the sea from Donegal in the<br />
north around the western seaboard and<br />
ending up in the south. The views are<br />
spectacular and varied, with mountains,<br />
valleys, moors, The Burran, high cliffs<br />
and vast sandy beaches. This is a road<br />
not to be ignored.<br />
WHAT TO DO?<br />
Ireland has a well established tourist<br />
industry catering for all tastes. The<br />
choices are varied and of very good<br />
quality. Ireland’s history and culture<br />
is everywhere and easily accessible.<br />
Sports like golf and fishing are very well<br />
catered for, cultural centres like theatres,<br />
museums, galleries are plentiful. The<br />
Irish are friendly, clever, witty and always<br />
keen to help.<br />
COSTS?<br />
The costs of travelling around Ireland will<br />
depend very much on the Sterling/Euro<br />
exchange rate, which itself is dependent<br />
on the Brexit negotiations. Overall<br />
the costs won’t be much more than an<br />
equivalent trip here in Britain, with the<br />
exception of the price of the ferry.<br />
THE BIKE<br />
Any bike will do, as long as it is road<br />
legal, reliable, comfortable and able to<br />
carry you, maybe your passenger and<br />
your gear safely. I used my Yamaha<br />
MT09 Tracer with Givi panniers and<br />
this was probably too much bike for<br />
the solo riding I did. With fuel being so<br />
readily available and distances relatively<br />
short, compared to say Scotland, then<br />
the worry of running out of petrol<br />
isn’t something that will stress you<br />
out. With my gear safely locked inside<br />
my panniers security was never a<br />
problem, you might want to take further<br />
precautions in the bigger cities as you<br />
would anywhere else in the UK. Most of<br />
all just enjoy it.<br />
Graham’s choice of bike was a Yamaha Tracer 900
AROUND THE WORLD IN A 1000 WORDS<br />
LONDON COPPER BRUCE SMART EXPLAINS HOW IT TOOK HIM TWO<br />
ATTEMPTS TO MAKE IT AROUND THE WORLD...<br />
For me it goes back to Ewan<br />
McGregor and Charley<br />
Boorman and the Long Way<br />
Round. I saw that and fell in love<br />
with the idea of riding around the<br />
world. I’d never ridden a bike before<br />
but saw what they were doing and<br />
thought, ‘I want to do that’.<br />
But like most people I thought<br />
it was something I would do<br />
when I retire, or never do at<br />
all. Unfortunately my mum got<br />
diagnosed with cancer. She fought<br />
it for a long time and towards the<br />
end she was living with me. We<br />
were chatting when the Long Way<br />
Round came on, and I said how<br />
much I’d love to do something like<br />
that. Mum turned to me and said,<br />
‘Don’t get to my stage in life and<br />
regret what you’ve not done. Look<br />
after those that you love, but live<br />
your life.’<br />
That struck a chord. There and then<br />
I went online and Googled direct<br />
access, found a place near me and<br />
booked myself on it. That was it. I<br />
did my direct access. Passed that.<br />
Bought a GSX-R600 having failed<br />
my test the first time for fluffing my<br />
u-turn<br />
I turned up at the hospice where my<br />
mum was and said, ‘I’ve done it, I’ve<br />
passed my test.’ She gave me a big<br />
smile and said, ‘Promise me you’ll<br />
do this trip.’ She died six days later.<br />
Still, I thought I can’t do it now, I’ve<br />
got a job, a mortgage, a son. I’ve<br />
got responsibilities. I can’t go yet.<br />
Then I happened to be at work one<br />
day - I’m a police officer in London<br />
- when I happened to be chasing a<br />
bloke who pulled a gun on me and<br />
pulled the trigger. I heard the click<br />
but luckily the gun didn’t go off.<br />
It was then that I realised I’ve just<br />
got to get on and do it.<br />
In the end it took 3 years to get<br />
ready to go. It took that long to get<br />
my life to a point at which I was<br />
ready to go. I was trying to work<br />
out my budget. I tried to figure out<br />
how much money I would need to<br />
cover the maintenance for my son,<br />
how much I would need for my<br />
flat. How much I would need for<br />
fuel, food, shipping, lodging. Also,<br />
I guess if you set your deadline so<br />
far in the future you don’t have to<br />
worry about it so much. That the<br />
day will never come. But it did<br />
come.<br />
I set off in October 2012 and got<br />
as far as Mauritania on the west<br />
of Africa before I decided to turn<br />
back. It was an unfortunate time.<br />
There was a massive explosion in<br />
Islamic fundamentalism, moving<br />
<strong>into</strong> Mali and Mauritania. There<br />
were road blocks everywhere and<br />
I suddenly realised that I was in<br />
the middle of the Sahara and I felt<br />
totally vulnerable. I found that hard<br />
to deal with, I have to admit. It<br />
was a massive<br />
decision. I felt<br />
a total failure<br />
and it haunted<br />
me for a long<br />
time.<br />
Thankfully, the<br />
failure of the<br />
first trip gave<br />
me the drive to<br />
give it another<br />
go. A year later,<br />
I did.<br />
On the second<br />
trip I went <strong>into</strong><br />
Europe, up <strong>into</strong><br />
Scandinavia,<br />
Denmark, Sweden, Norway,<br />
Finland, Eastern Europe and<br />
eventually <strong>into</strong> Romania, then<br />
right across Russia, South Korea,<br />
Japan, across to Thailand, Malaysia,<br />
Indonesia, then all the way down to<br />
Australia.<br />
From Sydney I shipped the bike to<br />
Chile then rode the Pan America<br />
highway all the way up <strong>into</strong> North<br />
America, down to Florida, and up<br />
<strong>into</strong> Canada. I was trying to get<br />
up to Alaska but I hit a bad spell<br />
of weather so headed back to New<br />
York, shipped the bike to Dublin,<br />
lapped Ireland before coming home<br />
via the Isle of Man. I was on the<br />
road 390 days in total. I covered<br />
74,000 miles in a year. I didn’t have<br />
anything stolen until I reached the<br />
Isle of Man, when someone nicked<br />
my tank bag.<br />
I slept in fields, deserts, peoples’<br />
back yards. Occasionally hotels,<br />
hostels, people I’d met on Facebook.<br />
The hardest areas to find places<br />
to stay were in Europe. Just<br />
because I was new to it and wasn’t<br />
certain of what I was doing. I like<br />
to be in control. I like to know<br />
what’s happening. It’s the gradual<br />
realisation that life on the road can<br />
mean you’re not in control. You deal<br />
with now. You have to be flexible.<br />
My daily budget was about £35<br />
a day in Europe, then in Russia<br />
about £10-15 a day, in the Far<br />
East anything as low as £5. I was<br />
generally doing 200 to 350 miles a<br />
day. The most I did in one go was<br />
1500 miles.<br />
The biggest problem I had was with<br />
the subframe. It kept snapping and<br />
I had to repair or replace it 4 times.<br />
When I set off I had way too much<br />
stuff, maybe 60 kilos of luggage.<br />
I set off with ration packs, a full<br />
tool kit. All the stuff I didn’t need.<br />
The first time it went was in the<br />
Sahara. I went through 3 subframes<br />
until I reached Japan when I had it<br />
reinforced.<br />
In terms of advice for other people<br />
I’d say, ‘just go.’ The hardest part is<br />
leaving. Once you’re going you’re<br />
alright, you’re just riding a bike. I<br />
wouldn’t look for the sponsorship<br />
aspect that I did initially. They can<br />
have an influence on your trip,<br />
sometimes negative. Telling you<br />
where to go and what to supply.<br />
In the end the experience cost<br />
me around £35,000, which was<br />
for everything; the bike, expenses<br />
on the road, expenses back home<br />
whilst I was away.<br />
In terms of what next, for me it feels<br />
like I’ve done it, though I do have<br />
unfinished business with Africa.<br />
I don’t have that drive to go back<br />
yet. But I would like to go back<br />
someday. It beat me last time.<br />
14 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
The hard pack roads of Laos<br />
Overlooking the rice fields of Indonesia<br />
Meeting people along the way, Indonesia<br />
The friendly faces of Thailand
Jacqui still rides her Enfield regularly<br />
16 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
THE LADY ON THE BIKE<br />
RETIRED NURSE JACQUI FURNEAUX SPENT 7 YEARS RIDING AROUND THE WORLD<br />
ON A ROYAL ENFIELD. HERE SHE ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS MOST PEOPLE ASK...<br />
What about your pension?<br />
I gave in my notice after thirty<br />
years in the NHS. I thought I’d let<br />
someone else have a go and went<br />
off backpacking for a year. I had the<br />
safety net of an unpaid career break<br />
and was told there would be a job<br />
for me when I got back, but I never<br />
did go back. I was having too much<br />
fun and learning so much about the<br />
world. Now I am of pensionable age<br />
and I manage!<br />
Where will you sleep?<br />
I was a bit concerned about that,<br />
until I arrived in Asia to find<br />
hostels, hotels and guest houses<br />
everywhere. I forgot that human<br />
beings have exploring in their genes<br />
and have been wandering around<br />
the world trading and exploring<br />
since we came down from the trees.<br />
Weren’t you worried about going<br />
to Islamic countries?<br />
I had been working for and with<br />
people with a Pakistani heritage<br />
for seven years before I went to<br />
Pakistan so I was aware of some of<br />
the culture before I went. Adopting<br />
a ‘when in Rome do as the Romans<br />
do’ attitude, I bought clothes to hide<br />
my shape and a scarf to cover my<br />
hair. This was much appreciated<br />
and I received only kindness and<br />
generosity.<br />
Aren’t you afraid of rape, robbery<br />
and murder?<br />
I looked at British daily newspapers<br />
and heard the news and reckoned it<br />
is a risk anywhere. After almost ten<br />
years spent travelling, I was robbed<br />
only once (in Australia).<br />
What if you get ill?<br />
When I first set off, I carried an<br />
extensive first aid kit. Needles,<br />
syringes, a drip set, bandages,<br />
plasters, antibiotics and my<br />
backpack was full of lotions and<br />
potions. After a month, I could see<br />
that all these things were available<br />
in pharmacies everywhere so<br />
dumped them. They have doctors<br />
and nurses abroad, too!<br />
What if the bike breaks down?<br />
I learned to do minor repairs<br />
myself and found that help is<br />
never far away. In a remote part<br />
of Australia, part of the frame of<br />
my bike snapped. A welder who<br />
visited the outpost came once a<br />
month. His visit was the next day!<br />
Things have a way of working out<br />
and breakdowns result in meeting<br />
local people, which is the best thing<br />
about travelling!<br />
“I HAVE VERY<br />
MIXED FEELINGS<br />
ABOUT CONSTANT<br />
COMMUNICATION”<br />
What do you do for money?<br />
It wasn’t quite so easy when I<br />
started backpacking in Asia, but<br />
now there is internet banking<br />
and ATMs are everywhere. So if<br />
you have some, money is easily<br />
accessible. I carry two different<br />
cards: Visa and Mastercard to<br />
cover those countries where one is<br />
more acceptable than another. In<br />
some European countries, credit<br />
cards are not widely accepted.<br />
I found it better to carry cash<br />
in Germany and Portugal for<br />
instance. I worked as a nurse in<br />
New Zealand and taught English in<br />
Pakistan to boost my savings.<br />
What do you DO all day?<br />
People whose foreign travel may<br />
be annual holidays of a couple of<br />
weeks imagine that longer spells<br />
away are an extension of being in<br />
holiday mode. I found the process<br />
of bike maintenance, eating and<br />
drinking, finding somewhere to<br />
sleep, finding roads to the next<br />
destination, talking with people<br />
and information-gathering in a<br />
different language, learning a new<br />
culture, finding fuel and most of<br />
all doing all this on a strict budget<br />
in stiflingly hot or bitterly cold<br />
temperatures took up most of the<br />
day! Rearranging and jettisoning<br />
luggage is a major occupation in<br />
an effort to carry less weight more<br />
efficiently, I managed with about<br />
half the stuff I took originally.<br />
Being minimalist is important!<br />
What if you get lost?<br />
I do not travel with satellite<br />
navigation, although if off-roading<br />
in the desert, I probably would.<br />
For me, one of the pleasures of<br />
travelling is meeting people and<br />
what better introduction is there<br />
than to pull up to someone and say,<br />
“Excuse me, I’m lost. Can you help<br />
me?” Making yourself vulnerable<br />
seems to trigger the best in people.<br />
That’s one of the best surprises I<br />
discovered. People will literally go<br />
out of their way to show you the<br />
right road or somewhere to stay<br />
or eat. I have been taken back to<br />
someone’s home on many, many<br />
occasions.<br />
What do you do about clothes<br />
when going from hot to cold<br />
countries?<br />
At first I took clothes for all<br />
occasions and situations! Then I<br />
realised that the people who live<br />
there need clothes and have to buy<br />
them somewhere so gave most<br />
of them away to save weight and<br />
space. You can buy suitable clothes<br />
wherever you are. Many countries<br />
have charity shops and secondhand<br />
stalls. I took dozens of pairs<br />
of knickers with me at first, but of<br />
course they are available on market<br />
stalls. Everyone wears them! It’s the<br />
same with medical supplies and<br />
hygiene items. Everyone needs them.<br />
Don’t you miss family and friends?<br />
Yes, very much. Email, social media<br />
and Skype have replaced letters,<br />
postcards and expensive phone calls.<br />
It’s easy to keep in touch now. I have<br />
very mixed feelings about constant<br />
communication tying travellers<br />
to where they come from and not<br />
where they are. I find people talk to<br />
those around them less.<br />
Won’t the food and water be a bit<br />
‘dodgy’?<br />
Being on a budget meant I ate<br />
street-food rather than five-star<br />
gourmet dishes. This is usually<br />
delicious and has the advantage<br />
that you can see it freshly cooked<br />
in front of you rather than sitting<br />
in a hotel kitchen for hours. I did<br />
have tummy upsets from time to<br />
time, but one of these occasions was<br />
in New Zealand so it can happen<br />
anywhere. Appalled at the empty<br />
water-bottles littering places I<br />
visited, I started drinking the same<br />
water the locals do and was OK.<br />
Did you worry the Enfield might<br />
get stolen?<br />
If my bike was stolen, it would put a<br />
stop to this wonderful lifestyle and<br />
after a while, I bonded heavily with it<br />
(and no other bike would do!) So if<br />
I couldn’t have it either in the room<br />
with me or sleep next to it in warm<br />
countries where I could wild-camp,<br />
I made sure it was out of sight and<br />
chained up. But I don’t think anyone<br />
was tempted! I love it but it isn’t<br />
everyone’s dream machine.<br />
Jacqui is currently working on her<br />
book, titled ‘Hit the Road Jac’. Keep<br />
an eye out for it.
THE TRAVELLING CIRCUS<br />
IT’S ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU MEET ON THE ROAD, BELIEVES ROB ARCHIBALD,<br />
HAVING SPENT NINE MONTHS RIDING A HONDA CG125 THROUGH MUCH<br />
OF AFRICA. HE EXPLAINS MORE...<br />
People not only enrich the<br />
journey, they shape it, if you<br />
let them. For me, the joy<br />
of travelling comes from giving<br />
myself to new surroundings by<br />
talking to people and saying yes to<br />
things, before riding the wave of<br />
opportunities that follow; living day<br />
by day, so deep in every moment<br />
that any nostalgia or expectations<br />
float <strong>into</strong> irrelevance<br />
The beauty of this colourful and<br />
unpredictable way of life is its<br />
simplicity, yet settling <strong>into</strong> it can<br />
be anything but simple. There are<br />
all sorts of factors that make it<br />
hard to find your rhythm on the<br />
road, but the reward for working<br />
through them (or with them) is a<br />
pace of life, tailored to you, by you,<br />
in harmony with a world of infinite<br />
possibilities.<br />
On my recent trip through Africa<br />
I found it especially hard to settle<br />
<strong>into</strong> the journey, and I almost gave<br />
up before I’d found my rhythm.<br />
It was July 2015, one month <strong>into</strong><br />
my trip riding my trusty Honda<br />
CG125 Freddo back from South<br />
Africa to England. I was staying on<br />
a converted train that runs along<br />
the shore of Mossel Bay, a harbour<br />
town only 500km from Cape Town.<br />
Through the carriage window by<br />
my bed, I watched dolphins and<br />
seals play in the calm bay – a sight<br />
I’d become familiar with over the<br />
last two excruciatingly long days,<br />
as I roamed the beach like a lost<br />
donkey. I was love sick.<br />
Eight months earlier, back in<br />
England, I thought I’d met the<br />
love of my life – Lucy. We were<br />
both at points in our lives where<br />
a relationship was the last thing<br />
we needed, which only made one<br />
more enticing. I was planning to<br />
ride Freddo down through Africa,<br />
with my grand departure was set<br />
for 22nd March 2015 from the Ace<br />
Cafe in London. The time flew by<br />
all too fast. When the big day came<br />
I left Ace Cafe with Lucy riding<br />
pillion, before a teary farewell at<br />
Paddington.<br />
I made it four days and 300 miles<br />
<strong>into</strong> France before I turned back for<br />
her. I’d persuaded her to do it with<br />
me. So, for the next three months<br />
I lived with Lucy and her lovely<br />
family, while she finished studying.<br />
Unfortunately, that was enough<br />
time for some cracks to appear<br />
in the plan, and the relationship.<br />
The disastrous practice expedition<br />
to Wales was the final nail in the<br />
coffin.<br />
I still had huge feelings for her,<br />
which made going away by myself<br />
for a second time that much harder.<br />
Riding toward home seemed a more<br />
manageable prospect and I needed a<br />
drastic change of scenery, hence why<br />
I flipped the trip and flew me and the<br />
bike to Cape Town, with the plan of<br />
riding back, in the direction of home.<br />
We Skyped a lot for the first few<br />
weeks, but that inevitably tailed<br />
off. We had to tell ourselves ‘if it’s<br />
meant to be, it’ll be some day’. It was<br />
a hard nut to swallow and I was still<br />
choking on it as I sat, day dreaming,<br />
in that Mossel Bay train.<br />
I felt I’d lost two loves – Lucy, and<br />
the trip of my dreams – I didn’t<br />
have a drop of motivation to<br />
continue. After three lonely days<br />
watching the dolphins and feeling<br />
ungrateful, I saddled up, ready to<br />
ride back to Cape Town, fly home<br />
and cry.<br />
That’s when I met Louis and Trevor,<br />
two friendly, old Afrikaans bikers<br />
who turned up and started taking<br />
pictures of Freddo. They were<br />
interested in my journey and insisted<br />
on buying me a beer – which<br />
sounded a lot more appealing than<br />
more sullen days alone.<br />
Tanzanian navigation system<br />
‘Ready to go’ - Drakensberg, South Africa<br />
18 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
By the fifth round of chocolate<br />
stout and lager cocktails, the whole<br />
sorry tale had come out, and Louis<br />
and Trevor were doing a good job<br />
of slapping some sense <strong>into</strong> me.<br />
They lived nearby and invited me<br />
to stay for a few days. I met their<br />
wives, Martha and Mariana, who<br />
were just as welcoming. The four<br />
of them spoiled me rotten with<br />
extravagant home cooked feasts,<br />
interesting day trips and enough<br />
whiskey to drown a giraffe. It was<br />
like a family Christmas. Exactly the<br />
boost I needed, and not a moment<br />
too soon.<br />
“LET EVENTS<br />
UNFOLD, TRUST<br />
YOURSELF AND<br />
THE WORLD”<br />
At the end of my stay, Trevor rode<br />
me out of the bay, and onto the most<br />
stunning mountain road I’ve ridden.<br />
From there he pointed me to the<br />
one that trumped it - The Swartberg<br />
Pass - A narrow dirt road that carves<br />
its way through hilly, green, coastal<br />
bushland, before unexpectedly<br />
straddling the jagged crest of a rain<br />
shadow casting mountain ridge, to<br />
reveal a desolate and rocky, Marslike<br />
landscape.<br />
I had a very long, very satisfying<br />
cigarette, then whooped like kid on a<br />
roller-coaster as I descended <strong>into</strong> the<br />
deep red gorge below. Gob-smacked<br />
by this drastic and truly enormous<br />
scenery, and emotionally revitalised<br />
by the kindness I’d received, I<br />
knew it had begun. I fell <strong>into</strong> the<br />
adventure, ready and excited for<br />
whatever it would throw up next.<br />
From then on in, the trip was about<br />
connecting with people from around<br />
the world, learning from local<br />
cultures, and filling my memory<br />
bank with beauty – not about my<br />
mileage, or keeping up a blog, or<br />
riding home to someone who may<br />
or may not have moved on.<br />
By taking it one step at a time,<br />
opening up to people around me,<br />
and making a conscious effort<br />
to be in the moment, I was able<br />
to continue wiggling up through<br />
Southern and Eastern Africa for<br />
nine months; hopping from one<br />
merry band to another, before my<br />
bank balance finally dragged me<br />
home from Nairobi.<br />
They were the most exciting and<br />
eye-opening nine months I’ve<br />
had, of which memories, both<br />
good and bad, are now life lessons<br />
and conduits to a humbling shift<br />
in perspective. I’d encourage<br />
anyone considering a big overland<br />
adventure to make it happen.<br />
Let events unfold, trust yourself<br />
and the world, and explore your<br />
unknown. It’s easier than you think.<br />
Just go.<br />
PLANNING YOUR OWN AFRICAN<br />
ADVENTURE<br />
Africa is a big place. It would take a lifetime to explore properly. A solid<br />
option is to start in the south and explore the southern regions. Plenty of<br />
guided and self guided tours cater for this (such as Kaapstad Tours and Jo<br />
Rust), with bike rental readily available in Cape Town/Johannesburg.<br />
For Rob’s trip he needed a Carnet de Passage for his bike as he was<br />
freighting it in from England. The Carnet cost £1550, £800 of which is<br />
returned when he and the bike returned to the UK. Flying the bike was<br />
£1200 from London to Cape Town with James Cargo, and the same cost<br />
from Nairobi to London. You can save yourself time and money by buying<br />
a bike in South Africa, which you wouldn’t then need a Carnet for (a<br />
Carnet is for when temporarily importing a foreign registered vehicle <strong>into</strong><br />
a country that requests one on entry - see www.overlandingassociation.<br />
org for more information).<br />
That website is also a great source of information on visa requirements,<br />
with some countries possible to get at land borders, whilst others have to<br />
be applied for ahead. In terms of safety and ease of passage, the eastern<br />
route through Africa is more palatable than the west, though both are<br />
possible. Horizons Unlimited is the website you need for all trip planning.<br />
www.horizonsunlimited. com<br />
The Swartberg Pass
GEOFF’S INDIAN<br />
ODYSSEY<br />
AUTHOR GEOFF HILL RIDES THE ROOF OF THE WORLD<br />
ON A ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN<br />
20 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
The first time I rode from Delhi<br />
to Chandigarh, it was with my<br />
mate Paddy Minne on two<br />
Royal Enfields, on the first leg of a<br />
7,000-mile ride back to the UK.<br />
It was 1998, I’d passed my bike test<br />
two years earlier, and ridden 30 miles<br />
on a bike in my life. Including the<br />
test. This time, I was 18 years older,<br />
and not a bit wiser, but at least the<br />
Royal Enfield was better than ours<br />
back then, which were made of little<br />
more than tinfoil and hope.<br />
The new Enfield Himalayan, it’s<br />
designed for newbies moving up<br />
from a 125cc machine and with<br />
their gaze fixed on the horizon, just<br />
as good at going to the shops as to<br />
the Himalayas.<br />
Which was exactly where I was<br />
heading, on the Himalayan<br />
Odyssey, one of a host of official<br />
Royal Enfield rides from a company<br />
already making 400,000 bikes<br />
a year, with a new 750cc twin<br />
in the offing, and hell bent on<br />
global domination of mid-range<br />
motorcycling by 2020.<br />
Rather than fitting the existing<br />
500cc Bullet engine with a small<br />
bore kit, the Himalayan’s 411cc<br />
lump is fresh off the drawing board,<br />
and has a carb rather than injection.<br />
Remember those?<br />
Enfield’s rationale is that a carb is<br />
easier to fix in the back of beyond<br />
by a man with a hammer, while<br />
the bike’s adventure credentials<br />
are ticked by a Harris chassis,<br />
rear mono-shock, long-travel<br />
suspension, crash bars, upswept<br />
exhaust and 21in front wheel.<br />
The 15-litre tank may not sound<br />
much by GS <strong>Adventure</strong> standards,<br />
but with the frugal long-stroke engine<br />
giving upwards of 80mpg, it’s enough<br />
for a range of up to 230 miles.<br />
The biggest surprise, though, as I<br />
climbed aboard in Delhi, was the<br />
dash. Compared to my Enfield,<br />
which had a speedo and ammeter,<br />
this was like the instrument panel<br />
of the Space Shuttle, with a speedo,<br />
tacho and a digital panel telling<br />
you everything to the time of high<br />
tide in Hong Kong. It even has a<br />
compass, just in case you get lost on<br />
the way to Sainsbury’s.<br />
As I rode north on the dual<br />
carriageway out of Delhi with 75<br />
Indian riders on various Enfields<br />
and a smattering of Australians,<br />
French and Colombians, it was 46C<br />
and as humid as a Turkish bath.<br />
I could tell I was in India when I<br />
passed an elephant trundling along<br />
the slow lane, but at least he was<br />
going the right way; the last time,<br />
I’d met a horse walking the other<br />
way down the fast lane, although<br />
I use the term lane loosely, since<br />
locals pay little attention to them,<br />
traffic lights or other road users.<br />
Still, it’s not as bad as Naples.<br />
As for the bike, acceleration, as<br />
you’d expect with only 25 horses<br />
under the tank, didn’t set my pants<br />
on fire, although to be fair, my pants<br />
were so soggy due to the heat and<br />
humidity that even a Multistrada<br />
running on methanol would have<br />
failed to ignite them.<br />
Having said that, it’s perky enough<br />
if you keep it in the sweet spot<br />
between 3,000 and 5,000rpm, and<br />
the real surprise was that even at<br />
a top speed nudging 75mph, the<br />
engine’s balance shaft kept it so<br />
smooth that the mirrors were rocksolid<br />
compared to the vibey 500cc<br />
Bullet and 535cc Continental GT.<br />
Mind you, at that speed, the engine<br />
was talking to me, and what it was<br />
saying in cultivated Anglo-Indian<br />
tones was: “I say, old chap, are<br />
you late for an appointment or<br />
something?” I apologised profusely,<br />
and settled back to a contented<br />
55mph and 5,000rpm.<br />
“I SAY OLD CHAP,<br />
ARE YOU LATE FOR<br />
AN APPOINTMENT<br />
OR SOMETHING?”<br />
Handling was sweet and light, and<br />
the combination of that 21in front<br />
wheel and 8in and 7in suspension<br />
travel on the front and rear<br />
respectively soaked up even the most<br />
ham-fisted efforts of RJ Singh, voted<br />
India’s worst road builder for the<br />
past three years. However, the real<br />
test would come in the mountains,<br />
where every spring the Himalayas<br />
chew up the roads and spit them<br />
out to teach humans a lesson about<br />
trying to conquer nature.<br />
The brakes, meanwhile, have only<br />
one disc up front, but it’s more than<br />
adequate with only 183kg of bike<br />
to haul in, although with no slipper<br />
clutch, the back wheel locked quite<br />
easily when changing down to first.<br />
Still, with such a light bike it<br />
was never a problem, and it<br />
was accompanied by a delicious<br />
symphony of pops and barps from<br />
the exhaust.<br />
Only faults? A seat designed for<br />
Indian riders, who weigh the same
as half a lettuce leaf, and a slightly<br />
pernickety gearbox which needed to<br />
be seduced <strong>into</strong> action rather than<br />
told what to do, and which even after<br />
several days was still spurning my<br />
attempts to introduce it to the joys of<br />
neutral.<br />
Chandigarh, the city of graceful<br />
buildings and wide boulevards<br />
designed by the French modernist<br />
Le Corbusier in the Fifties and our<br />
first stop, is famous for architecture<br />
and buttered chicken, the regional<br />
speciality.<br />
We hopped <strong>into</strong> a tuk-tuk for a<br />
tour, admired the former as tasteful,<br />
then stopped at a family restaurant<br />
packed with locals, and admired<br />
the latter as much more tasty than<br />
modernism.<br />
After the heat, dust and drudgery<br />
of the plains, the next day was a<br />
symphony of curves with the road<br />
rising and the mercury falling, a<br />
peg-scraping blast through forested<br />
foothills and splashing rivers to<br />
Manali, the pleasant alpine town<br />
where the good citizens of Delhi<br />
come in summer to escape the<br />
heat, and in winter to marvel at the<br />
wonder of snow.<br />
I ate delicious river trout at Johnson’s<br />
Café, founded by the progeny of a<br />
player in the Great Game who had<br />
retired here aged 70 and married a<br />
local 19-year-old, as you do.<br />
Over the next few days, the road<br />
played with us, coyly offering us<br />
stretches of perfect tarmac then<br />
whisking its veil away to reveal<br />
miles of ugly roadworks, but at least<br />
standing on the pegs gave me a break<br />
from the seat, which I was now<br />
beginning to dislike more than an<br />
ex-girlfriend who kept popping <strong>into</strong><br />
my head uninvited.<br />
Other non-Indian riders felt the same,<br />
so if and when Royal Enfield does<br />
introduce the Himalayan to Europe,<br />
I suggest it comes up with a saddle<br />
suited to more substantial buns.<br />
All around as we rode, rested and<br />
stopped for photos, the mountains<br />
fisted to the sky, either yearning<br />
for heaven or angry that no matter<br />
how much they yearned, they would<br />
remain forever earthbound. Unlike<br />
the eagles who soared above their<br />
peaks, mocking us all with their<br />
effortless grace.<br />
At Sarchu, we camped in a beautiful<br />
deserted valley at 13,000ft, and since<br />
there was nothing to do but drink<br />
rum and watch the sun go down,<br />
French rider François Barrois taught<br />
me useful phrases such as: “Pissing<br />
in a violin”, which is what French<br />
people do when they piss in the wind,<br />
and: “Do you take my bladder for a<br />
lantern?” (Do you take me for a fool?)<br />
Thus educated, I wrapped myself up in<br />
thermals and blankets, tried to sleep in<br />
the thin air, and failed. I was not alone,<br />
as I gathered from the groggy faces of<br />
other riders over breakfast of omelettes<br />
and tea at dawn.<br />
Still, getting on a motorbike and<br />
setting off makes us all feel better,<br />
and we saddled up and rode on, over<br />
passes as high as 17,480ft and past<br />
the cheesy safety signs of the Border<br />
Roads Organisation, with slogans<br />
such as “Hug my curves, but not too<br />
tightly”, “Driving after whisky is always<br />
risky”, and the splendidly antediluvian<br />
“Don’t gossip. Let him drive”.<br />
The many trucks we passed bore<br />
their own slogans: Blow Horn,<br />
Use Dipper at Night, Keep Your<br />
Distance, and once, the bittersweet<br />
Alone but Happy.<br />
Which was more than could be<br />
said for the unluckiest man on the<br />
trip: one of the Indian riders who<br />
soaked his boots at a water crossing,<br />
changed <strong>into</strong> his shoes and tied the<br />
boots on the back of his bike to dry.<br />
At lunch, discovering one had fallen<br />
off, he threw the other one way as<br />
useless and rode on. Only to find at the<br />
end of the day that the support truck<br />
had picked up the first one.<br />
By now, although the<br />
Himalayan was coughing<br />
and spluttering because<br />
of the altitude, its chassis<br />
and suspension was in its<br />
element, dancing through<br />
mud, gravel, sand, snow and<br />
water crossings as lightly as<br />
a ballerina.<br />
At Leh, I patted its tank sadly<br />
as I said farewell to it, and<br />
took a taxi to the airport.<br />
“What were you doing in the<br />
mountains, sir?” said the driver.<br />
“Riding the new Royal Enfield,” I said.<br />
“Ah, Royal Enfield,” he grinned <strong>into</strong><br />
the mirror. “Great motorcycles. Very<br />
powerful.”<br />
I didn’t disillusion him, since given<br />
the choice between the Himalayan<br />
and a Multistrada on the roads I’d<br />
ridden over the past week, I know<br />
which I’d choose, and it’s not Italian.<br />
Or red.<br />
22 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
PACKING FOR A LONG DISTANCE TRIP<br />
WHAT TO TAKE AND WHAT NOT TO TAKE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT<br />
PUZZLE US THE MOST. HERE ARE AUTHOR ZOE CANO’S TOP TIPS...<br />
For most people the thought<br />
of travel and going on that<br />
long awaited two week annual<br />
break means packing the largest<br />
suitcase available until bursting with<br />
new clothes, beachwear and all the<br />
gadgets for keeping sane while lying<br />
on a beach or besides the hotel pool.<br />
But long distance endurance biking,<br />
which probably means being on<br />
the road for more than a week, and<br />
staying in different locations most<br />
nights, is something totally different.<br />
My solo, unescorted journey across<br />
‘the roads less travelled’ of the<br />
American Continent covered almost<br />
10,000 kilometres over two months,<br />
across a multitude of terrains while<br />
experiencing the most eclectic<br />
weather conditions, from storm<br />
fronts with freezing temperatures<br />
to extreme record breaking heat. I<br />
can only go by my own experience,<br />
a lot of which I learned along the<br />
way, but I can say packing is all<br />
about experience on what worked<br />
on previous trips and what I found I<br />
couldn’t live without on this one.<br />
The secret to any sort of<br />
independent journey is preparing<br />
well in advance to pack LIGHT.<br />
You’ll then need to try and reduce<br />
it even more. Lay everything on<br />
the floor – you’ll soon see you’ve<br />
got too much. In reality, if done<br />
properly, you’ll have more than<br />
enough room on the bike for<br />
everything you really need.<br />
What terrain or part of the world<br />
2 are you covering and what are<br />
the expected weather conditions?<br />
Are you intending to camp and/<br />
3 or use basic sleeping facilities or<br />
check <strong>into</strong> hotels/guest houses?<br />
What type of bike? A big touring<br />
4 bike with loads of potential<br />
luggage capacity, or a smaller bike<br />
with limited packing space?<br />
Is there a pillion passenger with<br />
5 you? And on this last point, just<br />
imagine that; you can then easily<br />
half the space allocated for your own<br />
stuff! Packing’s going to be tight.<br />
HERE’S MY ROUGH 5 STEP<br />
PACKING GUIDE<br />
How much luggage/storage space<br />
1 do you have? For my trip across<br />
America, I took my own magnetized<br />
Triumph tank bag which doubled<br />
up as a ruck sack, two side leather<br />
pannier bags strapped underneath<br />
the seat and a 70kg ‘North Face’<br />
waterproof lockable zip bag which<br />
was strapped down onto the seat<br />
behind me (good back rest!).<br />
Depending on the type of bike, side<br />
panniers can range in all sizes, from<br />
one day trip capacity soft fabric bags<br />
to mammoth metallic boxes for the<br />
large touring bikes.<br />
With my Triumph Bonneville<br />
T100, it was too small to take large<br />
side bags, therefore the reason for<br />
bringing the North Face bag. It<br />
worked out great as I could just<br />
untie and take it off each night I<br />
got to a new place. I also took a<br />
lockable metal mesh bike helmet<br />
bag which I could lock onto the<br />
bike and never worry about the<br />
helmet being stolen.<br />
As I experienced as a solo traveller,<br />
if at any time you’re away from the<br />
bike with no one to keep an eye on it,<br />
you need to make sure your ‘worldly’<br />
belongings will be safe. Make sure<br />
to take or buy sets of locks for the<br />
side bags and luggage bag. Extra<br />
storage for valuable stuff can also be<br />
stored locked under the seat. I kept<br />
emergency cash under the seat just<br />
in case my stuff was stolen.<br />
Identify the essentials. Multiple<br />
2 test packing on deciding what<br />
you really need and can do without<br />
will take a long time. Make a list<br />
for yourself and a list for the bike,<br />
which you feel could be difficult<br />
to source where you’re going, such<br />
as bike repair kit for tyres, chain<br />
spanners, allen keys, US petrol<br />
gauge, spare petrol bottle (essential<br />
for smaller bikes on the long<br />
remote roads).<br />
If nothing else, the top 10 things I’d<br />
definitely take would be an iPhone<br />
complete with a waterproof crash<br />
resistant casing (the American<br />
LifeProof cases are great), the best<br />
helmet you can afford, designed<br />
with air vents and an integrated<br />
sun visor such as Shark helmets,<br />
waterproof durable lockable 70kg<br />
bag, basic tools including tyre<br />
pressure gauge, a maintenance<br />
book for your bike, a pair of light<br />
waterproof trousers, light fingerless<br />
gloves, good road maps (no sat-nav<br />
for me) and definitely some high<br />
protection suntan lotion.<br />
Everything else you should be<br />
able to get along the way. I was<br />
less reliant on maintaining the<br />
bike myself, but made sure I knew<br />
FIVE MAIN CONSIDERATIONS<br />
BEFORE PACKING<br />
Are you travelling solo or with<br />
1 someone else on another bike,<br />
or even travelling with a support<br />
vehicle? A solo traveller will have to<br />
consider for every eventuality and<br />
be self contained, whereas sharing<br />
the trip with someone else means<br />
you can divide up what you take<br />
i.e. tool/repair kit, tent, first aid<br />
stuff. Even better if there’s a support<br />
vehicle as they can take the big<br />
suitcase. In reality, I’ve found bikers<br />
like to be self sufficient and selfcontained.<br />
Exlporing the back roads of America<br />
24 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
the basics, such as tightening the<br />
chain, adding oil, pumping tyres and<br />
definitely having a list of Triumph<br />
dealers across the US in case I<br />
needed help or parts along the way.<br />
Finding room for everything<br />
3 else. Believe it or not, a 70kg bag<br />
actually holds a lot and I ended up<br />
taking more than I probably needed<br />
(maybe a pair of trousers and a dress<br />
too many). Two pairs of jeans –<br />
one for travelling and the other for<br />
leisure time is enough.<br />
Don’t be tempted on more – you<br />
can always buy stuff along the way.<br />
A great tip is to compartmentalise<br />
your storage areas on the bike; the<br />
tank bag I used for things I needed<br />
immediate access to (the day’s maps,<br />
phone, extra layer, water bottles).<br />
The side bags were for the tool kit<br />
and GoPro Hero 3 film equipment,<br />
waterproofs and food/snacks. The<br />
main bag, I divided my clothes<br />
<strong>into</strong> different coloured waterproof<br />
storage bags so when digging stuff<br />
out I immediately knew where<br />
things were.<br />
The main objective is packing light<br />
enough so you can carry the main<br />
bag without breaking your back. You<br />
may need to walk distances from the<br />
bike to where you’re staying. If it’s<br />
too heavy, you’ve probably got too<br />
many pairs of shoes or souvenirs!<br />
Bike boots, flip-flops and trainers are<br />
probably all you’ll need – and bare<br />
feet after a long day are probably the<br />
best option!<br />
4Think outside the box – what<br />
should I have taken. Again,<br />
knowledge is gained by experience.<br />
The cheapest and what we think are<br />
the most insignificant items turn out<br />
to be the most precious. If travelling<br />
in America, invest in a tyre pressure<br />
gauge. Unlike the UK, the US air<br />
pumps at the gas stations have no<br />
visual indicator in telling you how<br />
much air you’re putting in. You can<br />
buy these gauges (look like pens) at<br />
most stations. I amazingly paid just<br />
$2 for one!<br />
I didn’t realize that with the intense<br />
heat, a light pair of fingerless<br />
gloves (to avoid the backs of<br />
hands getting burnt – which<br />
happened!) would be essential. I<br />
ended up buying a pair of light ski<br />
gloves and cutting the fingers off.<br />
If you wear contact lenses make<br />
sure they’re dailies or you replace<br />
them regularly. My eye injury,<br />
which almost stopped the trip, was<br />
caused by the constant road dirt<br />
and not changing the lenses more<br />
regularly.<br />
Be ruthless. Less is more. I have<br />
5 to admit I didn’t really take<br />
much advice from anyone in what<br />
to take. All my clothes were light,<br />
uncreasable, easy to hand wash<br />
or to drop <strong>into</strong> a hotel washing<br />
machine and being quick to dry.<br />
You tend to end up wearing the<br />
same clothes so massive variety<br />
isn’t essential. You also end up<br />
taking silly things, such as a pair<br />
of linen trousers and shirt, which<br />
I didn’t even wear the whole trip.<br />
My main regret, which some other<br />
long distance biker advised at the<br />
beginning of the trip in Boston, was<br />
to take a portable bike fuel bottle in<br />
case I wouldn’t reach a gas station<br />
in time. This I’d come to realise<br />
was good advise going through the<br />
Nevada Great Basin desert!<br />
For a comprehensive guide on what<br />
I took on my trips, there’s a full<br />
list in the Appendix of my books<br />
‘Bonneville Go or Bust – on the<br />
roads less travelled’ and ‘Southern<br />
Escapades’, which can be purchased<br />
through my website:<br />
www.ZoeCano.com/adventures
SOLO FEMALE TRAVELLER<br />
JOHANNA CLARK, A TEACHER FROM BRISTOL, EMBARKS ON A JOURNEY<br />
TO A COUNTRY MANY MIGHT FEAR. WHAT SHE FINDS INSTEAD IS A PLACE,<br />
AND ITS PEOPLE, QUITE BEAUTIFUL...<br />
Johanna travelled by Triumph Bonneville<br />
On the 18th May 2016 I set<br />
off on my journey to Iran.<br />
People said I was throwing<br />
away my career as a teacher, ‘Why<br />
don’t you buy a house!’ But I knew I<br />
wanted to travel and see Iran.<br />
Growing up on the Isle of Man I’ve<br />
always been surrounded by the<br />
culture of biking, though I don’t<br />
come from a family of bikers. In fact<br />
my family were very much against<br />
the idea, saying it’s dangerous and<br />
that I shouldn’t be doing it.<br />
It was only during my time teaching<br />
English in Indonesia that I finally<br />
learned to ride one. Over there it’s<br />
a case of learn to ride a bike or you<br />
can’t get around anywhere. We would<br />
ride down to Bali and back and a bike<br />
gave me so much freedom.<br />
Back in the UK I did a trip around<br />
France before building up to the<br />
big one; a four month tour down<br />
through Europe, the Balkans,<br />
Turkey and <strong>into</strong> Iran, a place I’d<br />
always been fascinated by and with<br />
that I set off.<br />
I went on the Bonneville because<br />
that’s the bike I had and the bike<br />
I liked riding. I was carrying too<br />
much stuff, shedding so much of it<br />
as I passed through Europe. I had<br />
a tent, sleeping bag, spares I didn’t<br />
need, tools I never used; rope,<br />
tubing to siphon petrol, a tarpaulin.<br />
Everyone tells you take this stuff,<br />
then you don’t use it.<br />
I got to Turkey and realised I was so<br />
inappropriately dressed, discovering<br />
in the more conservative areas that<br />
I really should cover my hair. My<br />
passage through Turkey was around<br />
the time of the coup, meaning that<br />
I was stopped at every checkpoint,<br />
which surprised me as I was clearly<br />
a tourist. The advice was not to go<br />
within 10 miles of the Syrian border.<br />
A car bomb went off in the town I<br />
was staying in, and I was told for my<br />
safety that I had to leave and head<br />
north. From there I went to Iran<br />
and everything was fine.<br />
I did get mistaken for an Iranian<br />
several times, though equally<br />
on occasion I did get stopped by<br />
the religious police and told that<br />
I was incorrectly dressed. One<br />
policeman was really apologetic;<br />
‘Even though you are a tourist<br />
you still need to do it.’ He got a<br />
woman from a shop to help me tie<br />
my headscarf correctly. But it’s a<br />
fascinating country.<br />
They don’t have a massive tourist<br />
industry, nor any foreign TV<br />
channels, and the internet is heavily<br />
censored. Therefore they don’t<br />
have much influence from the<br />
outside world. When they do meet<br />
someone new they really want to<br />
know everything about you and how<br />
Iran is perceived around the world.<br />
‘Why doesn’t the west want Iran to<br />
have nuclear power?’ They would<br />
ask. The go-to answer I gave was; ‘I<br />
don’t know anything about politics,’<br />
because they do have secret police,<br />
but they’re generally easy to spot.<br />
In Tehran, I saw women being<br />
stopped by the religious police for<br />
not being properly dressed, but the<br />
women would argue back. They<br />
certainly weren’t as submissive as<br />
you might think.<br />
The cities are more westernised<br />
than I was expecting them to be.<br />
In the countryside it’s a lot more<br />
conservative and in the Kurdish<br />
areas it’s obvious that gender<br />
relationships are much more<br />
traditional, where women stay at<br />
26 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
Architecture on the way through to Iran<br />
home and men are in control.<br />
It is illegal for a women to ride a<br />
motorbike in Iran, with foreign<br />
women excluded. Many locals don’t<br />
know this and would warn me about<br />
riding a bike. Once I had someone<br />
tell me, having found out I don’t have<br />
children, that it’s because I ride a<br />
motorbike and it’s made me infertile!<br />
“IT IS ILLEGAL<br />
FOR A WOMAN<br />
TO RIDE A MOTOR-<br />
BIKE IN IRAN”<br />
I did really like Iran. It was my<br />
favourite country of the lot. Mainly<br />
because it was so different from<br />
anywhere else. I also really liked<br />
Armenia and Georgia as well. The<br />
scenery there is amazing. Iran is<br />
a massive country and there’s not<br />
always a lot of variety – you can be<br />
riding across a desert for days - but<br />
you get to Armenia, which is really<br />
tiny, and there’s so much diversity.<br />
It is a lot poorer than I thought it<br />
would be, poorer than Iran. But the<br />
people were really friendly and the<br />
food is incredible. Lots of fish, giant<br />
tortellinis., and cheese. They really<br />
like their cheese!<br />
I was wild camping most of the<br />
time. My method is that if no one<br />
knows you’re there then you’re safer.<br />
I also don’t set up until after sunset<br />
to make sure I haven’t been seen by<br />
anyone. Or if I can’t find anywhere<br />
I’ll ask in a village or at a farm. Often<br />
they’ll let you stay in their house<br />
and the whole village then turns up<br />
to speak to you. I thought it would<br />
be a lot easier to wild camp than it<br />
was, but there are so many people<br />
everywhere.<br />
In a sense the trip was easy. I<br />
thought it would be a lot harder<br />
than it was. Aside from the political<br />
incidents in Turkey, I didn’t really<br />
have any problems. I think when<br />
I came back, when I told people, I<br />
got a lot more credit than what was<br />
due. People think it’s difficult, but it’s<br />
actually really easy.<br />
When you haven’t done it it’s easy<br />
to imagine problems. You can’t<br />
imagine the solution because you’re<br />
not there to see what the solution is.<br />
So people think ‘Oh I can never do<br />
that because of xyz.’ But that’s only<br />
because you can’t imagine the good<br />
things, only the bad.<br />
I don’t think you are more vulnerable<br />
as a women. People tend to think<br />
you’re incapable of causing any<br />
harm so don’t see you as a threat.<br />
In Iran it was a case of wondering,<br />
‘Why is your husband letting you do<br />
this?’ They didn’t understand it, and<br />
therefore sometimes thought you<br />
had questionable morals. But if you<br />
told them you were going somewhere<br />
and it was a really long way and you<br />
needed their help to get there then<br />
they would understand and help. My<br />
next trip is even further, to Malaysia,<br />
leaving in March. Wish me luck.<br />
PLANNING A TRIP TO IRAN<br />
A trip <strong>into</strong> Iran is rewarding but never easy. Visas can be a pain to get hold<br />
of, requiring an authorisation number from a travel agent to apply for a<br />
visa, with the process especially hard for British, American and Canadian<br />
passport holders (born out of tensions, some of which go back to the<br />
previous centuries). If you’re from one of those countries you now need an<br />
official government guide to accompany you at a cost of around £140 per day.<br />
This is possibly to restrict movement once inside the country, with similar<br />
requirements in place when crossing through Myanmar, Thailand and China,<br />
though in those countries the guiding fee applies to all nationalities, with<br />
costs similar to those for Iran.<br />
Travelling on an Irish passport, Johanna didn’t require the guiding service,<br />
but did need a Carnet de Passage. These are issued in the UK by an<br />
organisation found here: www.carseurope.net. It’s a complicated process to<br />
get to the cost of a Carnet - dependant as it is on the value of the bike - but for<br />
a £1000 machine to pass through Iran the Carnet cost would be £700, with<br />
£250 of that refundable when you return to the UK. There are ways around<br />
it with temporary import licences, either at the border or through a chap<br />
named Hussain at Overland to Iran: overlandtoiran@gmail.com<br />
As stated; not an easy country to access by bike, but one that’s well worth it.
BUILDING AN ADVENTURE BIKE<br />
IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE THE PROCESS OF BUILDING A BIKE THESE DAYS.<br />
HERE WE SPEAK TO CHRISTOFER RATCLIFFE, LEAD DESIGNER OF THE CCM GP450<br />
ADVENTURE, ABOUT THE DESIGN AND BUILD PROCESS OF THAT BIKE...<br />
Where<br />
did<br />
the<br />
idea for the<br />
GP450 begin?<br />
It was born out<br />
of a conversation<br />
at CCM, back in<br />
2010, about how<br />
the rising boom in off-road capable<br />
adventure bikes was full of road<br />
based travel bikes that had been<br />
adapted to tackle the rough stuff.<br />
We thought, wouldn’t it be great if<br />
we could turn a bike full of natural<br />
off-road DNA <strong>into</strong> a travel bike.<br />
How did you get involved with the<br />
project and what were you doing<br />
before this?<br />
I was working not too far away,<br />
designing large industrial machines<br />
used for coating oil and gas<br />
pipelines. I was absolutely loving it,<br />
but then happened to come across<br />
an ad for a motorcycle Design<br />
Engineer role around the corner<br />
from my house. I immediately<br />
picked up the phone and shortly<br />
after went to meet Austin at the<br />
factory. Luckily I had a bit of a<br />
background in Automotive design<br />
from University and a short spell<br />
as a development engineer at<br />
TVR, so Austin gave me a chance.<br />
CCM were very old school in their<br />
approach to designing bikes, so I<br />
think I just came at the right time<br />
and could operate the new fangled<br />
PC and CAD system!<br />
For the first 6 months or so I was<br />
working with the MX race team,<br />
trying to quickly catch up on the<br />
development and testing CCM had<br />
done on the race bikes and bonded<br />
chassis.<br />
What were the particular<br />
challenges in designing a bike of<br />
this nature?<br />
When we sat down and made a<br />
list of dream specifications and<br />
geometry for the bike we realised<br />
why it hadn’t been done before.<br />
Everything you want on a nimble<br />
off-road bike was the total opposite<br />
of what you want on a comfortable<br />
long range travel bike.<br />
Trying to create a low seat height<br />
combined with MX style ground<br />
clearance whilst trying to keep a<br />
comfortable all-day riding position<br />
was tricky to say the least.<br />
Adding 20-litres of fuel on the<br />
bike was difficult. We didn’t<br />
want to compromise the narrow<br />
standing off-road position or<br />
compromise the long seat to slide<br />
up to shift weight over the front or<br />
compromise the weight distribution<br />
of the bike. Affecting any one of<br />
these would have taken away from<br />
the off-road capabilities. And<br />
believe me, the whole Clews family<br />
are off-road perfectionists so would<br />
not compromise one bit on how the<br />
bike performed in the dirt.<br />
“STARTING FROM<br />
THE GROUND UP<br />
WAS A BREATH OF<br />
FRESH AIR”<br />
After a few years of testing and<br />
changes we finally settled on a set<br />
up that felt as stable as a 600cc road<br />
bike on the road, but was as easy<br />
as a 250cc enduro on really tough<br />
off-road.<br />
Where do you even begin in the<br />
process of designing a new bike<br />
from the ground up?<br />
Starting from the ground up with<br />
a blank sheet was really a breath<br />
of fresh air. Once we had set the<br />
geometry and essential spec of<br />
the bike we set to designing the<br />
bike on the screen up to a point<br />
where we were happy to produce<br />
a CNC billet aluminium chassis<br />
to create a rolling test mule. The<br />
bonded ali chassis really is the<br />
secret of the GP450 as it allows<br />
us to control the vibration, stress<br />
and weight distribution of the bike<br />
with much higher accuracy than<br />
a welded frame as it is treated as<br />
a solid block of material with no<br />
unquantifiable stress points around<br />
weld points.<br />
The bike has been designed for<br />
function far above all else. If it<br />
looks purposeful and utilitarian it’s<br />
just because it is rather than being<br />
styled to look that way.<br />
Deciphering the mountain of<br />
European type approval documents<br />
and regulations is enough to send<br />
anyone to sleep. The time and<br />
expense of gaining these type<br />
approvals is by far and away the<br />
most difficult part of getting a new<br />
bike to market.<br />
Specifically, what are the<br />
challenges facing a small volume<br />
manufacturer such as CCM?<br />
We get the expected troubles of a<br />
small scale manufacture. When<br />
we are developing, or specifying<br />
equipment such as suspension,<br />
brakes exhaust etc it is pot luck<br />
to whether the supplier is dealing<br />
with a large development project<br />
or production run for a bigger<br />
manufacturer. It can get frustrating<br />
being pushed down the queue as<br />
it has a much bigger impact on a<br />
small company like CCM.<br />
We do love the David and Goliath<br />
battle and it really feeds us all to work<br />
harder and try to create something<br />
better than what’s already out there.<br />
I guess that’s the competitive racing<br />
nature coming through.<br />
The flip side of being a small family<br />
orientated manufacturer is that we<br />
have a great relationship with every<br />
CCM owner we have met. Ask any<br />
of them and I’m sure they will tell<br />
you the same. In the early days of<br />
the GP450 we must have had 100<br />
people test riding the prototypes<br />
and pre-production bikes. Each<br />
test rider offered different opinions<br />
based on how they would use the<br />
bike, what experiences they had<br />
when out on previous adventures<br />
and made some suggestions on<br />
design features or options. The<br />
GP450 was really moulded by these<br />
people in the early days.<br />
When the design was frozen while<br />
we were going through the Type<br />
approval process, any suggestions<br />
then began to grow <strong>into</strong> the huge<br />
range of after-market options we<br />
have now. The GP450 really felt like<br />
a bike of the people.<br />
In terms of the engine, how<br />
difficult is it for a small volume<br />
manufacturer to source an engine<br />
and how crucial was engine choice<br />
in the GP450?<br />
CCM have good relationships for<br />
many years with most manufacturers<br />
of motorcycles and engines. The<br />
difficult part is choosing the right<br />
engine to ideally suit our very<br />
specific requirements. The BMW<br />
Chris’s own bike, with a few tweaks<br />
28 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
Hand built in Bolton<br />
Engine from a BMW G450X<br />
Aluminium Bond-Lite frame<br />
WP suspension on RS model
450 was very lightweight, very<br />
under stressed when not ripping<br />
round a motocross track at full<br />
throttle. The concentric swingarm<br />
and sprocket pivot might not have<br />
been ideally suited to motocross, but<br />
potentially had great advantages for<br />
a lightweight adventure bike with<br />
better throttle control, better weight<br />
distribution under acceleration and<br />
hugely increased chain life. During<br />
the development stages we worked<br />
closely with BMW to ensure we<br />
could deliver the 5000 mile service<br />
intervals.<br />
We still did a lot of work on the<br />
ECU and power delivery to smooth<br />
out the low end torque delivery and<br />
produce a ride that was still very<br />
lively, but not quite up-on-the-front<br />
wheel every time the throttle is<br />
opened. Although, if anyone knows<br />
our mad ex TT racer/sales guy<br />
Darren Soothill you might think it<br />
doesn’t even need a front wheel!<br />
Lightness was a crucial factor<br />
of the bike; how does that<br />
requirement impact on the choice<br />
of materials, components and<br />
technologies? Despite our different<br />
motorcycling backgrounds amongst<br />
all the CCM team there is one<br />
common theme that everybody<br />
always agrees on, and that is light<br />
is right. We are all passionate about<br />
making lightweight bikes and I am<br />
very passionate about using new<br />
technologies and materials that<br />
enable us to achieve the impossible.<br />
Everything from the bonded forged<br />
aluminium chassis to the 1mm thick<br />
polymer linkage bearings; every<br />
component was considered when<br />
striving to save weight.<br />
Essentially, how did you make it<br />
so light?<br />
If a component doesn’t have at least<br />
two functions it doesn’t go on the<br />
bike.<br />
And of the final product; what<br />
does the GP450 offer that no other<br />
manufacturer currently does?<br />
What GP450 owners say the most<br />
to us is they love that it is a dream<br />
off-road, lightweight and puts a huge<br />
smile on your face every time you<br />
ride it. I think these the things that<br />
describe most CCMs.<br />
For me (and I may be slightly biased<br />
because I’ve finally built myself one)<br />
the GP450 is the best all round,<br />
everyday, go absolutely anywhere<br />
bike there is. I was an off-road<br />
novice and accident waiting to<br />
happen, but riding the GP450 is so<br />
easy to get on with and just makes<br />
me feel like a hero on the trails or<br />
the tarmac.<br />
What are you most proud of in the<br />
bike?<br />
This is a tricky one. In terms of<br />
physical parts of the bike, I am<br />
very proud of the chassis. But the<br />
best feeling is seeing a GP450 out<br />
on the road or trails in its natural<br />
habitat with someone having a<br />
cracking time. That still gives me<br />
goosebumps!<br />
What are the challenges going<br />
forward in terms of Euro 4 and<br />
engine availability, and what can<br />
we expect on the horizon?<br />
The major changes with Euro 4<br />
are emissions and ABS brakes. We<br />
are able to register new GP450s<br />
in limited numbers during 2017,<br />
but after that we need to comply<br />
Equipped for travel<br />
with Euro 4. So at this stage we are<br />
working behind the scenes on the<br />
best way to update the GP450.<br />
Alongside that we have produced<br />
a UK only limited edition bike, the<br />
Spitfire, which will only go through<br />
MSVA tests, as the time and expense<br />
to go through other full scale type<br />
approvals for a limited run bike<br />
would mean it would probably never<br />
become available, which would be a<br />
great shame. The Spitfire uses a single<br />
cylinder Euro 4 capable 600cc engine<br />
which is well proven. Having the 600<br />
engine in our artillery is obviously a<br />
nice thing to have for future model<br />
considerations. Watch this space.<br />
GUIDED TOURS OF AFRICA<br />
Prices starting from £1495 inclusive of accommodation and bike hire<br />
For more information visit www.kaapstadmat.com<br />
Travel with experienced guide<br />
and safari ranger Alex Jackson,<br />
with almost twenty years<br />
experience travelling Africa<br />
by motorcylce<br />
30 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
Looking for <strong>Adventure</strong>?<br />
Yamaha Off-Road Experience<br />
Run by Geraint Jones an ex British Enduro<br />
Champion, based in the beautiful countryside<br />
around Llanidloes in Mid Wales, The Yamaha<br />
Off-Road Experience is an unforgettable day<br />
out for new and experienced adventure bike<br />
riders!<br />
In the morning a team of highly experienced<br />
instructors will kit you out with your riding<br />
gear and a Yamaha off road bike & introduce<br />
you to the principles of off road riding. Then<br />
you will head off <strong>into</strong> the thousands of acres<br />
of surrounding countryside for approximately<br />
5 hours riding on a variety of terrain including<br />
hills, river crossings, forest tracks and lots of<br />
mud!<br />
www.yamaha-offroad-experience.co.uk Tel 01686 413324<br />
Untitled-1 1<br />
10/02/2017 5:15:24 PM
BUDGET TRAVEL BIKES TO CONSIDER<br />
AN OLDER BIKE YOU CAN AFFORD, RATHER THAN A NEW ONE ON FINANCE<br />
OR PCP IS SOMETIMES THE BEST RECIPE FOR ADVENTURE. HERE ARE A FEW<br />
BIKES, FROM ALL CATEGORIES, THAT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY TAKE YOU FAR<br />
HONDA DEAUVILLE<br />
Some may laugh, but this is a great<br />
all-round touring bike that has the<br />
benefit of built in panniers, shaftdrive<br />
so you don’t have a chain<br />
to maintain, a decent screen for<br />
weather protection and a simple<br />
twin-cylinder engine that shouldn’t<br />
give you any troubles. You can pick<br />
up early examples of the 650cc model<br />
for around £1500 and pay a little bit<br />
more for the 700cc model. Obviously,<br />
it’s not going to be the best bike for<br />
the trails, but if you just want a bike<br />
that will go and stop and allow you to<br />
enjoy the bits inbetween then don’t<br />
pass over the Deauville.<br />
SUZUKI V-STROM<br />
Both in 650 and 1000cc forms the<br />
underrated V-Strom is a bike that’s<br />
been proven to perform well in most<br />
conditions, has great after-market<br />
support and an owners community<br />
that is second to none. People swear<br />
by their V-Stroms and it’s easy to see<br />
why. The 650 is relatively light and<br />
manageable. It’s a non intimidating<br />
bike, which is what you want when<br />
venturing further away from home.<br />
It’s also economical and plenty<br />
comfortable. The 1000 offers a lot<br />
more punch and currently great<br />
value for money, especially the first<br />
generation; prices as low as £2000.<br />
HONDA TRANSALP<br />
The Transalp has been around<br />
in various guises for quite some<br />
time now and for anyone wanting<br />
simple, reliable technology, an easy<br />
bike to live with and an active and<br />
supportive community then it’s hard<br />
to look any further than the Transalp.<br />
Like the Deauville it originally came<br />
in 650 then 700cc, with the latter<br />
bikes still commanding decent<br />
money. Look hard though and you’ll<br />
find an early one for £1500, with<br />
prices, like much of these dependable<br />
trail bikes, slowly beginning to rise;<br />
a reflection perhaps that they don’t<br />
make them like they used to.<br />
BMW F650 GS<br />
When you follow the forums of<br />
people travelling long distances on<br />
bikes you can bet that quite a few<br />
will have chosen the single-cylinder<br />
BMW from the late nineties, early<br />
2000s. The technology is simple, the<br />
bike sturdy and well engineered. They<br />
are a bit top heavy and despite the<br />
looks not the most off-road friendly<br />
bikes, but they will slog out the<br />
miles, with good comfort, excellent<br />
economy and it seems to be the bike<br />
that many buy and lower, making<br />
them suitable for those short in the<br />
leg. Hunt around and you can pick<br />
up a good one for £1700. Bargain.<br />
32 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
Suzuki DRZ400<br />
Another stalwart of the overland<br />
scene, the 400 and the 350cc that<br />
went before it are the go to bike for<br />
those looking for reliability and<br />
capability. A tonne of after-market<br />
parts are available for the bike, with<br />
comfier seats, bigger fuel tanks,<br />
screens and panniers in abundance.<br />
Simple mechanics makes travelling<br />
cheap. They’re robust and can cope<br />
pretty well with motorway miles.<br />
Their popularity is currently reflected<br />
in their rising prices, with good<br />
ones fetching upwards of £2500. It’s<br />
a shame emission regulations killed<br />
them off. We’d love a replacement.<br />
HONDA CRF 250L<br />
A more modern and less powered<br />
alternative to the DRZ above, the<br />
little CRF is the go-to donkey in the<br />
trail and adventure world. Not a lot<br />
of power, and some criticise them<br />
for being too heavy, but this and<br />
the similar Kawasaki KLX250 are<br />
the bikes that people buy as second<br />
bikes and end up riding them the<br />
most. They’re robust and reliable<br />
to boot, Steph Jeavsons currently<br />
riding around the world on one.<br />
Parts are cheap and plentiful and<br />
even brand the new the bikes are<br />
just a little over £4000. A great tool<br />
for a multitude of purposes.<br />
SUZUKI BURGMAN<br />
This could be any one of the super<br />
scooters on the market at the<br />
minute, a style of bike that many<br />
might dismiss as not being capable<br />
or cool enough to consider. But the<br />
benefit is their manageability and<br />
above all their practicality. Underseat<br />
storage, cubby holes, a good<br />
screen, comfortable seat and usually<br />
built in charging points are what<br />
all adventure bikes should come<br />
with. You also find them popular<br />
with people who can’t manage the<br />
tall and heavy bikes anymore and<br />
see the super-scooters as a way of<br />
keeping on riding.<br />
SUZUKI VANVAN<br />
In either 125cc or the recently<br />
launched 200cc model, the little<br />
VanVan is something of a hidden<br />
gem. People overlook them, but<br />
as a bike that captures the essence<br />
of adventure and getting out there<br />
there’s not much better. Light, easy<br />
to manage, easy to ride and also<br />
incredibly capable in the dirt, the<br />
fat tyred VanVan is a cheap bike<br />
that opens up endless possibilities<br />
for L-plate riders or equally anyone<br />
who just wants to have fun on two<br />
wheels. People have ridden them<br />
to Mongolia and back and done so<br />
smiling. Great bikes.<br />
YAMAHA TDM 850/900<br />
Another overlooked bike except<br />
for those who’ve owned and ridden<br />
them and appreciated their simple<br />
ability to cover distances in a no<br />
fuss, no frills way. The original 850<br />
was down in price as low as £1200 in<br />
recent years, whilst the updated later<br />
model 900cc can be found for around<br />
£2000. A lovely twin cylinder engine,<br />
decent handling and a comfortable<br />
upright riding position means that<br />
the TDM will go anywhere and do<br />
just as much as a new bike, leaving<br />
you plenty left over to actually pay<br />
for the trip and enjoy it. Bikes like<br />
these are the essence of adventure.
NEW BIKES TO CONSIDER<br />
IF YOU’RE AFTER A NEW BIKE THEN THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER MIX OF<br />
MACHINERY ON THE MARKET, WITH SOMETHING TO SUIT EVERY<br />
TASTE AND BUDGET. HERE ARE JUST A FEW...<br />
KTM 1090 ADVENTURE R<br />
This could be the bike to set the cat<br />
amongst the pigeons in the large<br />
capacity adventure category. A<br />
healthy amount of power (125bhp),<br />
relatively low weight (207kg) and<br />
lots of solid standard equipment and<br />
a competitive price of £12,149.<br />
The benefits of a bike like this is<br />
that it can churn out the motorway<br />
miles as well as do some trails at the<br />
other end and therefore incredible<br />
versatile. They can also be a handful<br />
off-road and it’s always advised to<br />
get some good training in before<br />
venturing too far off the beaten track<br />
on something like this.<br />
ROYAL ENFIELD<br />
HIMALAYAN<br />
A new engine, chassis and chapter<br />
for the Indian built Royal Enfield,<br />
with this versatile all-purpose bike,<br />
that whilst far from fast, should<br />
hopefully be sturdy and dependable<br />
enough to take you on long or short<br />
endeavours. Price is said to be less<br />
than £5000 when it makes it to UK<br />
shores, with work needing to be done<br />
to make it Euro 4 compliant (ABS,<br />
fuel injection etc). If Royal Enfield<br />
gets this bike right then it could be<br />
the go to bike for people wanting<br />
rugged dependability with money left<br />
over for the trip itself.<br />
TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE<br />
As proven by Zoe Cano and<br />
Johanna Clark with their long<br />
distance trips in this issue, the<br />
Bonneville is a great bike to go<br />
exploring on. It’s not as imposing as<br />
some of the others and its relaxed<br />
riding style is often a perfect fit<br />
to slowing down the pace of a<br />
long distance trip. Panniers and<br />
other luggage options can easily<br />
be fitted and wherever you are<br />
in the world you’re likely to get<br />
a warm reception on one. The<br />
Scrambler version adds a bit of<br />
off-road character but not quite the<br />
capabilities to match.<br />
KAWASAKI VERSYS 300<br />
Not quite the Euro 4 compliant KLR<br />
650 many of us were hoping for, but<br />
a bike that should have wide appeal<br />
amongst those looking to downsize,<br />
or equally up-size, depending where<br />
they are in their riding careers. The<br />
300cc engine should have plenty of<br />
poke for cruising with, whilst a nice<br />
upright riding position and spoked<br />
wheels should make the mini Versys<br />
a perfect pick for leisurely long<br />
range riding, or even the one tank<br />
challenge as Tim Duncan subscribes<br />
a few pages on. At £5149 it should<br />
challenge the BMW GS310 and<br />
forthcoming Suzuki V-Strom 250.<br />
34 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
BMW 310 GS<br />
The GS range and image has been<br />
a huge success for BMW, with<br />
this new 310 variant hoping to<br />
appeal to a new audience; those<br />
in the emerging markets of India<br />
and the Far East, as well as those<br />
wanting something lighter and more<br />
manageable, and affordable, here<br />
in the UK. On appearances suited<br />
more to tarmac than rough terrain,<br />
but with companies such as Rally<br />
Raid already looking to equip it<br />
with uprated suspension and spoked<br />
wheels this could be the foundation<br />
for a new craze in motorcycle travel;<br />
low, light, cheap, frugal... accessible.<br />
HARLEY STREET 750<br />
People travel on anything; a Harley<br />
Davidson is no exception and when<br />
you look at the price of the Street 750<br />
(£5,995) you can’t help but wonder<br />
how much fun it would be taking<br />
off on a mini Harley and not having<br />
the fear of dropping it or devaluing<br />
it as you might one from higher up<br />
in the range. For the money you<br />
get a modern liquid-cooled V-twin<br />
engine and a relatively manageable<br />
weight of 223 kilos, as well as a huge<br />
catalogue of upgrades. Granted,<br />
you might not want to go around<br />
the world on it, but somehow that’s<br />
missing the point.<br />
DUCATI DESERT SLED<br />
The sign of a good bike is one that<br />
makes you want to jump on it and<br />
ride. It might not be the bike other<br />
people recommend or the one that’s<br />
most practical, but if it looks, and<br />
hopefully rides, the part, then what<br />
does it matter.? The Desert Sled<br />
certainly looks part and epitomises<br />
the current trend for the scrambler<br />
style of bike. Based on the standard<br />
Ducati Scrambler, the Desert Sled<br />
gets uprated suspension, larger<br />
diameter spoked wheels and a hefty<br />
price tag of £9395. It’s not cheap, and<br />
it might be tricky carrying luggage,<br />
but where there’s a will there’s a way.<br />
YAMAHA SCR950<br />
Another bike that blends retro styled<br />
looks with modern technology, with<br />
a sprinkling of off-road pretensions<br />
for good measure. In fairness, it’s<br />
probably going to be rubbish in<br />
the dirt but that doesn’t matter for<br />
the way it looks, with its retro 70s<br />
styling. The engine is from the beltdriven<br />
XV cruiser and is dependable<br />
as they come. The rest of the tech<br />
is basic, which is as much as you<br />
want for a reliable means of twowheeled<br />
exploration, and at £8499<br />
you’re getting a lot of metal for your<br />
money. The kind of bike you can<br />
imagine riding across America on.<br />
SWM 650 SUPER DUAL<br />
This is an interesting one and could<br />
be very good. It’s an Italian made<br />
bike, backed by Chinese money,<br />
with the engine based on the<br />
older Husqvarna 610, and coming<br />
equipped straight out of the crate<br />
with panniers, crash bars, sump<br />
guard and everything else you’d<br />
need to take off <strong>into</strong> the distance.<br />
It’s a bike that very few, if any, of<br />
the mainstream manufacturers are<br />
making anymore. The price is also<br />
keen at £7599, and if the SWM<br />
proves to be as good as it’s already<br />
promising then we could be looking<br />
at the new bike to have.
ANATOMY OF A TRAVEL BIKE<br />
ENGINE SIZE<br />
It always seems the biggest decision<br />
when buying or choosing a bike<br />
for a trip is the size of the engine.<br />
As we’ve seen many times, you can<br />
travel on a big engined bike and<br />
equally as far on a small engined<br />
bike. The benefit of a big engine<br />
is that you can generally get to<br />
where you’re going without much<br />
strain. This is especially the case<br />
if you’re doing a lot of motorway<br />
miles, where a large capacity bike<br />
- anything over 800cc for the sake<br />
of this discussion - can cover it<br />
with greater ease. A large capacity<br />
bike is also generally physically<br />
bigger, and so has more room to get<br />
comfortable and move around on.<br />
The seat may be more cosseting and<br />
in terms of taking a pillion then a<br />
bike with big lungs can definitely<br />
be a benefit. Consider that a big<br />
bike might be more thirsty but<br />
not necessarily worked as hard as<br />
a smaller bike, so might be more<br />
robust in the long run.<br />
At the other end of the spectrum the<br />
smaller bikes; becoming increasingly<br />
en vogue due to being lighter, less<br />
daunting and able to lead you down<br />
different paths than a big bike. Some<br />
swear by a 250cc, citing it as the best<br />
of both worlds, whilst others put<br />
their preference somewhere around<br />
the 600c class, where power, weight<br />
and comfort all strike a nice balance.<br />
Ultimately it depends on your own<br />
preference, as well as your age,<br />
fitness miles to cover, type of riding<br />
you enjoy and budget, though oddly<br />
it can be the smaller cc bikes that are<br />
creeping up in price.<br />
WEIGHT<br />
Many talk of weight as being<br />
a deciding factor, especially if<br />
travelling some of your distance offroad.<br />
The large capacity adventure<br />
machines all weigh in the region of<br />
250 kilos, even more fully loaded.<br />
Once on the move they hide their<br />
weight well. Drop them or have to<br />
lug them around and the weight<br />
soon reappears. Weight can be<br />
intimidating. If the bike is the boss<br />
of you then consider a smaller<br />
bike. Pay attention not just to the<br />
payload weight of a bike but also<br />
where a bike carries its weight. A<br />
top heavy bike is going to be more<br />
daunting than one that carries its<br />
weight low down. At the other end<br />
of the spectrum are the 125-250cc<br />
trail bikes weighing in the region<br />
of 100-130 kilos. The difference is<br />
night and day. For the older rider,<br />
those shorter in the leg and less<br />
physically strong then this could be<br />
a good way to go. On a trip, the last<br />
thing you want is to be intimidated<br />
by your bike.<br />
TYRE/WHEEL SIZE<br />
People generally choose larger<br />
front wheels for off-road work;<br />
Three Mittens, Monument Valley, Utah, USA<br />
36 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
usually 21-inch. I find 19-inch the<br />
best compromise for tarmac and<br />
dirt. Consider sizing as one of the<br />
biggest issues with taking a bike<br />
far away from home. Can you get<br />
a replacement easy; what mileage<br />
will you get out them? Consider the<br />
compromise between longevity and<br />
performance as longevity is often<br />
the most important.<br />
LUGGAGE CAPACITY<br />
A complex debate as you generally<br />
find you pack to the amount of<br />
luggage you have available. People<br />
do tend to overload. They buy the<br />
biggest panniers and top box they<br />
can find and proceed to fill them.<br />
Think smaller. Think smart. Living<br />
on a bike, no matter for how long,<br />
is an art. But the better at it you are<br />
the happier you’ll be. Hard luggage<br />
is good for keeping organised and<br />
perfect for tarmac touring. Many<br />
bikes now come with mounting<br />
brackets, even sport and naked<br />
bikes. The products of the aftermarket<br />
providers are generally<br />
better/stronger than OEM items.<br />
Soft luggage is preferred for any<br />
kind of off-road riding; less liable<br />
to trap or break legs in the event of<br />
a fall. Kriega do some fine compact<br />
tail packs and soft panniers, as do<br />
more mainstream providers such as<br />
Oxford. Sometimes, just a tank bag<br />
and roll bag will do.<br />
COST<br />
How much you spend on a bike is<br />
down to you, but common thinking<br />
is that if you’re stepping out of<br />
your comfort zone on a bike then<br />
sometimes it’s best done on one<br />
that’s bought and paid for. Bikes<br />
on finance and increasingly PCP<br />
are appealing, but many policies<br />
employ mileage and condition<br />
restrictions that aren’t always<br />
conducive to care free adventuring<br />
on a bike. This is why some still<br />
prefer older, cheaper machines that<br />
can be used with impunity. This is<br />
more often than not the case with<br />
journeys <strong>into</strong> distant far off lands,<br />
where the bike is seldom insured<br />
and you needing to be able to<br />
financially stomach the total loss<br />
of the bike. Some countries such as<br />
Russia sell insurance at the border<br />
but it’s unlikely to be the quality<br />
cover you were hoping for. It’s why<br />
many overland travellers still use<br />
old and cheap bikes, that are not<br />
only easily fixed, but also reduce<br />
the costs of documents such as the<br />
Carnet de Passage, which you need<br />
for places in Asia, Australia, NZ<br />
and parts of Africa. It’s not that a<br />
brand new GS couldn’t go around<br />
the world, it’s just that you’d have to<br />
be prepared to lose the full cost of<br />
the bike if something went wrong.<br />
FUEL RANGE<br />
Bruce Smart and several others have<br />
proven that a tank range of circa<br />
150 miles is ample for any big trip.<br />
A greater range can make life less<br />
stressful, but your plans shouldn’t<br />
be impeded by the range of the bike<br />
you already own. Consider packing a<br />
jerry can or a compact fuel cell, some<br />
of which are collapsible when not in<br />
use. Fuel stations in most parts of the<br />
world are plentiful. On more remote<br />
roads the rules of the road mean that<br />
people will stop to help. Where there<br />
is a road, you can guarantee there will<br />
be fuel somewhere.<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
Bikes are becoming more complex,<br />
and at the same time generally<br />
more reliable. Certainly for touring<br />
and travelling in familiar or not<br />
so far off lands then technology<br />
can in the most part add to our<br />
enjoyment; electronic suspension,<br />
cruise control, tyre pressure sensors,<br />
ride by wire throttles and CANBus<br />
wiring systems. Further afield such<br />
things can be seen as a liability.<br />
Electronic failure in parts of the<br />
world where that bike’s not available<br />
has the potential to end the trip.<br />
Once again, a reason why many<br />
favour older, simpler machines. But<br />
ultimately, there is no right or wrong<br />
answer. Just be prepared as best you<br />
can and accept that a breakdown on<br />
any bike is pain in the backside.<br />
DO YOU LIKE IT?<br />
Last but not least; the main thing is<br />
that you enjoy the bike that you ride.<br />
It doesn’t matter if it’s best in class<br />
or your mates say you should get<br />
one. If it’s not for you and doesn’t get<br />
you excited then look for something<br />
else. There is no right bike, as people<br />
featured in this issue can testify. For<br />
some that’s a sportsbike, others a<br />
cruiser, moped or trail bike. And at<br />
the end of the day, it’s the rider who<br />
makes it an adventure bike, not the<br />
bike itself.<br />
WANT TO RIDE YOUR OWN BIKE ACROSS<br />
AMERICA? - JOIN IN.<br />
Motorcycle shipping experts James Cargo are<br />
offering a package price on sea freighting your<br />
own motorcycle to and from the states, the<br />
bike disembarking in New York and returning<br />
from Los Angeles approximately 4 weeks later;<br />
providing a true coast to coast adventure. It<br />
also includes customs clearance at both ends,<br />
removing much of the hassle usually associated<br />
with the shipping of a motorcycle. Cost for the<br />
return journey is £1499, with other costs being<br />
your flight, bike insurance at approximately<br />
£400 and travelling expenses, with it reasonable<br />
to budget $100 a day, less or more depending<br />
on spending habits. All bikes will go and return<br />
in a single container, with a date for departure<br />
currently set for the 4th September 2017. Only<br />
ten places in the container so if you’re interested<br />
drop a message to Darryl@jamescargo.com.<br />
Possibly also chance to tag along as part of an<br />
assisted crossing for those interested.
THE BIKE THAT TOURATECH BUILT<br />
THEY’RE BEST KNOWN FOR THEIR AFTERMARKET ACCESSORIES, BUT<br />
WHEN THE GERMAN BASED COMPANY PUT THEIR EFFORTS INTO BUILDING<br />
A BIKE, THEY DON’T DO IT HALVES!<br />
fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP).<br />
Based on the current model<br />
BMW R1200 GS, the<br />
Rambler is an attempt by<br />
Touratech to bring back the basic<br />
ingredients that made the GS<br />
badge the insurmountable force<br />
it was when launched back in the<br />
eighties; and that is agility.<br />
The biggest change is to the front<br />
forks. Gone is the telelever setup<br />
of the standard bike, replaced by<br />
the upside down forks from the<br />
F800GS <strong>Adventure</strong>. To guarantee<br />
more capability in the dirt, there’s<br />
also a specially built 21-inch front<br />
wheel replacing the 19-inch of<br />
the standard bike, complete with<br />
single disc ABS brakes.<br />
The frame has also been<br />
reinforced for harder off-road use,<br />
with original fairing ditched to<br />
make way for a custom airbox and<br />
a new fairing made from carbon<br />
Behind the fairing is a selfsupporting,<br />
16.2 litre aluminium<br />
tank, which also forms the<br />
subframe. The slimmer enduro<br />
style seat no longer requires a base<br />
plate and is therefore extremely<br />
light. The total weight savings of the<br />
Scrambler over a regular GS is an<br />
impressive 50 kilos, with a claimed<br />
wet weight of just 199 kilos.<br />
The transformation to the way<br />
the bike rides with this weight<br />
saving should be significant.<br />
With less weight comes increased<br />
manoeuvrability and control<br />
in rough terrain. At that sort of<br />
weight it’s a bike you wouldn’t fear<br />
riding solo along the trails and in<br />
many ways represents a spiritual<br />
successor to the much lauded HP2.<br />
Two prototypes have been built<br />
and tested. The only hope is that<br />
BMW and Touratech somehow put<br />
the bike <strong>into</strong> production so that<br />
we can all have a go. Obviously it<br />
wouldn’t be cheap, but it’s good to<br />
see a company finally focusing on<br />
weight reduction. Much needed.<br />
Both prototypes have been ridden in anger<br />
38 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
More than just for the show; the Rambler in action
QUICK TIPS ON TRAVELLING EUROPE<br />
EDITOR OF RIDE MAGAZINE, SIMON WEIR, GIVES HIS BRIEF SIX TIPS FOR<br />
TRAVELLING THROUGH EUROPE...<br />
Check your paperwork<br />
1<br />
Don’t leave home without your<br />
passport, bike insurance and<br />
logbook (ideally a photocopy of each<br />
as well as the originals), breakdown<br />
insurance and the addresses and<br />
phone numbers of any hotels you’ve<br />
booked.<br />
Got a map?<br />
2<br />
If not, get one – and at a scale<br />
that shows enough detail to be<br />
useful. Yes, even if you have a sat<br />
nav. A map will always be your<br />
friend and never runs out of battery,<br />
reception or sense.<br />
Sort your money out early<br />
3<br />
Take some cash. Get a credit<br />
card that won’t charge you for<br />
transactions overseas (Nationwide is<br />
good).<br />
Don’t forget your phone charger<br />
4<br />
Or your sunglasses. Or your phone.<br />
Make sure you’ve set it up so you can<br />
make calls in Europe. And turn the<br />
data-roaming off.<br />
Know the local limits<br />
5<br />
If you can’t change your clocks to<br />
read in kph (or your sat nav) make<br />
sure you know what mph speed you<br />
should be doing when the limit’s 30,<br />
50, 80, 90, 110, 120 or 130kph.<br />
6 Relax<br />
It’s really not stressful. It’s meant<br />
to be a holiday. Take it easy, soak up<br />
the sights and enjoy it.<br />
Not all roads are black<br />
Some of the best roads<br />
in the UK are green<br />
Tynehead, Cumbria<br />
Come say hello at Stand 2D62, Hall 2 and find<br />
out how the TRF can help you discover adventure<br />
riding on your doorstep<br />
www.TRF.org.uk<br />
40 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
Advert_280x340.qxp_Layout 1 27/10/2016 16:40 Page 1<br />
Spectacular<br />
tours of Scotland<br />
Guided Tour: 24 June-30 June 2017<br />
The Scottish Highlands, steeped in history,<br />
is one of the last unspoilt regions of Europe.<br />
Breathtaking scenery, magnificent castles,<br />
amazing wildlife and open roads make this<br />
a motorcyclist’s dream.<br />
Highland Tour<br />
7 days / 6 nights<br />
Our 7-day Highland tour starts and ends in Edinburgh, the historic and beautiful<br />
capital of Scotland. The route takes us on many winding scenic roads to the<br />
most spectacular parts of Scotland: Speyside with its many distilleries and the<br />
wild Cairngorm mountains; the north west with its ever-changing seascapes, the<br />
most remote part of Scotland and then down the west coast to the magical Isle of<br />
Skye before returning via Argyll to Edinburgh.<br />
Highlights include:<br />
> Six days’ riding on open motorcycle<br />
roads<br />
> Crossing the unique Glenelg<br />
Ferry to Skye<br />
> Visiting the Talisker Distillery on Skye<br />
> Traversing the incredible Pass of the<br />
Cattle (Bealach na Bà in Gaelic)<br />
> The castles on Skye, at Eilean Donan<br />
and in Inveraray<br />
> Visiting Loch Ness and Castle Urquhart<br />
> Six nights’ accommodation with<br />
breakfast each morning in some<br />
of our favourite hotels.<br />
> Guided Tours: first night in Edinburgh<br />
and five nights in the Scottish<br />
Highlands. Dinner is included each<br />
night. Unguided Tours: Six nights in<br />
the Scottish Highlands. Dinner is<br />
included on four nights. Add extra<br />
nights in Edinburgh for £140 per night<br />
per room (b&b).<br />
Exclusions: The tour does not include motorcycle rental, fuel, ferries, lunches or<br />
entrance to any venues or attractions. All accommodation is subject to availability.<br />
Guided Tour<br />
24 June - 30 June 2017<br />
Unguided Tours<br />
Dates to suit you<br />
Rider<br />
Rider + Pillion<br />
Sharing (double or twin room)<br />
£1,649 £949<br />
£2,349 £1,349<br />
Notes: Rider price is for a room with single occupancy. Rider + Pillion price is for both people sharing<br />
a room, not per person.<br />
To book or find out more,<br />
please email<br />
enquiries@rentamotorcycle.co.uk<br />
or call +44 131 603 4466<br />
www.rentamotorcycle.co.uk
FILMING YOUR OWN ADVENTURE<br />
THOMAS WOODROW IS AN EXPERIENCED FILM MAKER AND PRODUCER<br />
OF ADVENTURE BIKE TV. HERE HE SHARES HIS TOP TIPS ON FILMING YOUR<br />
OWN MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE...<br />
1Commit yourself to making a<br />
film. This might sound strange,<br />
but if you are going to make a<br />
film of your adventure, commit to<br />
that; make a conscious decision<br />
to film. Making a film of any<br />
adventure is hard work, you will<br />
get up early to make sure you are<br />
packed before the others so you<br />
can film them. You will go to bed<br />
after everyone else so you can<br />
backup and save all your footage.<br />
You will be standing 6ft back<br />
watching people though a small<br />
screen while everyone else meets<br />
the locals and when things go<br />
wrong, you won’t be helping, you<br />
will be filming.<br />
Many people give up half way<br />
because it is too much work, and<br />
even more, only film when they<br />
feel they have the time. Truth<br />
be told, the reason you have the<br />
time is normally because nothing<br />
interesting is actually happening.<br />
2Tell a story.<br />
If you really want to engage<br />
your audience you need to tell a<br />
story, in the same way a book has<br />
a start, middle and end. There are<br />
so many films out there now with<br />
stunning visuals and a ‘thumpin’<br />
music track, but audiences will<br />
get tired very quickly if there is<br />
no story.<br />
The key is to try and entice your<br />
audience <strong>into</strong> wanting to see<br />
more. There are many ways to do<br />
this and often it’s not until most<br />
of the adventure is completed<br />
that you might know what the<br />
story is. As the trip progresses<br />
think first about your characters;<br />
these could be your traveling<br />
companions, people you meet. It<br />
could even be your motorcycle.<br />
Then consider what each of<br />
the characters has experienced<br />
during the trip.<br />
For example, Mr Smith may<br />
have been very excited for the<br />
adventure, but started to find it<br />
harder then expected, considered<br />
giving up but others push him<br />
to continue and he finishes,<br />
exhausted but elated. There is<br />
a story, a human interest story.<br />
Combine this with other peoples<br />
stories or with a temperamental<br />
bike or a country that changes as<br />
you ride thought and you have a<br />
story.<br />
Learn the rule of thirds.<br />
3 There are many different rules<br />
to follow when filming and if<br />
you really know what you are<br />
doing you can even brake these<br />
rules with stunning effects, but<br />
learning the simple rule of thirds<br />
will make the visual element of<br />
you film look its very best. Simply<br />
put, the rule of thirds is when you<br />
imagine two lines vertically and<br />
two lines horizontally making<br />
three columns, three rows, and<br />
nine sections in a grid over your<br />
screen (many cameras have this<br />
as a function so you might not<br />
have to imagine). Important<br />
compositional elements and<br />
leading lines are placed on or<br />
near the imaginary lines where<br />
the lines intersect. It’s also a great<br />
guide for achieving a symmetrical<br />
shot. This is a very simple<br />
explanation but below are some<br />
examples from my work to help<br />
illustrate the point.<br />
4Don’t forget about sound.<br />
I can’t stress this enough. A<br />
film with bad sound, no matter<br />
how amazing the footage,<br />
will become unwatchable.<br />
However, an average looking<br />
film with good sound is still very<br />
watchable. It’s not easy, especially<br />
on the road, but there are a host<br />
of tips and tricks you can use.<br />
Firstly, don’t use a camera’s internal<br />
microphone. They are never great,<br />
and even a cheapish external<br />
microphone will get you much better<br />
sound. It is also worth taking an<br />
extension wire so you can get your<br />
Examples of the rule of thirds<br />
42 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
mic closer to the action. Think about<br />
adding a narration to the film. This<br />
will give you clear audio and help to<br />
tell your story. If narration doesn’t<br />
appeal then try to record regular<br />
video diaries in a quiet spot. When<br />
you come to the edit, these can be<br />
used over footage as narration.<br />
5Look at your film as an outsider<br />
would. When you go to edit<br />
your film, you must consider your<br />
audience and how they experience<br />
your film. This can be one of the<br />
hardest bits about making a film. Its<br />
important that when you watch the<br />
film you will be reminded of your<br />
feelings at the time. If you were cold<br />
and miserable you will remember<br />
how tough it was at that time, but<br />
your audience won’t know that unless<br />
you can show them. If you can’t, leave<br />
it out. Pick story lines and stick with<br />
them, don’t add footage that doesn’t<br />
add to the story. It may feel brutal, but<br />
it needs to be done, or your audience<br />
will simply switch off.<br />
WHAT NEXT?<br />
Once you have made your film, what<br />
can you do with it? The options are<br />
numerous and include anything<br />
from just showing to family and<br />
friends, to getting it on TV. These<br />
days putting it online is the easiest<br />
way for people to see your work,<br />
but remember the internet is full<br />
of people who enjoy making other<br />
people feel bad, so if someone<br />
criticises your work, try your best<br />
to take good feedback onboard and<br />
ignore hateful comments.<br />
If you want more people to see your<br />
film there are ways to promote it.<br />
<strong>Adventure</strong> Bike TV has a segment<br />
in every show called ‘Travel Journal’,<br />
where anyone’s work can be shown<br />
as long at it meets the requirements,<br />
which includes no copyrighted music.<br />
The important thing is to have a go<br />
and make something you are proud<br />
of and can enjoy.<br />
Tom and Geek Media are setting<br />
up a new training course aimed<br />
specifically at people who want to<br />
film their adventures on a small<br />
budget. For more information visit<br />
the website: www.geekmedialtd.<br />
com. And if you would like to watch<br />
<strong>Adventure</strong> Bike TV visit:<br />
www.adventurebiketv.com.<br />
A BASIC ADVENTURE FILMING<br />
KIT FOR UNDER £800<br />
This kit will give you all the basics you need to film your adventure. I<br />
recommend CVP.com for filming equipment who offer great support for all<br />
their products and are real filming experts. The prices quoted are from their<br />
website.<br />
Camera, Canon DSLR EOS 700D + EF-S 18-55mm £509.00<br />
A DSLR have hand advantages over a video camera; it’s smaller, the<br />
interchangeable lenses give a great cinematic look and there is no need to<br />
take a stills camera.<br />
Microphone, Rode Video Mic-R £99.00<br />
This Microphone sits on top of a DSLR, vastly increasing the quality of the<br />
sound, and as the mic is directional, it cuts down on other background noise.<br />
Light, Lishuai LED 120A £66.00<br />
Having a light is important. You can use the bike’s headlights, but a small<br />
LED light will mean you can film even at night.<br />
Action Camera, Nilox Mini F Full HD £89.95<br />
Why not a Go Pro? An action camera should be used sparingly. No one<br />
wants to watch hours of road from a helmet, so you don’t need to spend huge<br />
amounts. The Nilox film in full HD and you can use any of the normal Go<br />
Pro mounts and accessories.<br />
Spare Batteries and Memory cards.<br />
You never know when you will be able to charge your batteries or back up<br />
your footage, so get as many spares as you can.<br />
ABOUT ADVENTURE BIKE TV - <strong>Adventure</strong> Bike TV was the brainchild of Thomas Woodrow and Graham Hoskins,<br />
friends who had worked together on numerous TV projects; this one with the aim to create a monthly free online show packed full of bike reviews,<br />
travelogues, technical advice and personalities from the adventure travel community. A new episode launches the first of every month.<br />
See www.adventure bike TV.com for the latest episode and extensive back catalogue. Currently on Season Three.
THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE<br />
CHEAP BIKE. CHEAP TRIP. MIKEY SUNTER SHARES HIS AND BERNARD SMITH’S<br />
SHORT JAUNT AROUND THE HIGHLANDS ON A PAIR OF HONDA C90s.<br />
PACK YOUR RAIN COAT AND GO<br />
Tell us about the trip.<br />
The trip was to Applecross<br />
in the highlands of Scotland,<br />
which is along the North Coast<br />
500 coastal route. It was going to 3<br />
nights and 4 days. It can easily be<br />
done a lot faster, but we planned on<br />
covering around 150 miles a day.<br />
At an average of 40mph and with<br />
lots of stops then 150 miles a day is<br />
plenty!<br />
Who was with you on the trip?<br />
My partner in crime was none<br />
other than Bernard Smith (coauthor<br />
of Touching the World). I’d<br />
met Bernard when he was heading<br />
to Orkney shortly after his wife<br />
passed away. I went to meet him<br />
when I was still riding with L plates<br />
and then met him again at a rally<br />
on the west coast of Scotland where<br />
I really got chatting with him. We<br />
have been friends ever since.<br />
Why did you guys choose the C90s<br />
for the trip?<br />
Well, the question is really why not?<br />
They are just good fun machines<br />
that allow you to slow down and see<br />
more of the places you are passing<br />
through. Plus, everyone smiles and<br />
waves when you’re on the humble<br />
C90. I do have other bikes; a<br />
Yamaha Tenere 660, an Innova 125<br />
and a SR125, but out of them all I<br />
just like riding the 90 the most.<br />
What equipment did you take?<br />
We took what we had to hand. My<br />
tent was a Vango Pulsar 200. I took<br />
some cooking stuff, but we hardly<br />
used them as we would just stop<br />
in villages along the way for coffee<br />
and food. Bernard took some fairy<br />
lights for his tent. Also, a top tip for<br />
kit from Bernard is an umbrella;<br />
it’s perfect for all weathers and was<br />
certainly perfect for Scotland!<br />
How far did you plan ahead?<br />
I had spoken to Bernard a couple<br />
The famous sign of John O’ Groats<br />
of months before the trip, when<br />
he was passing through Thurso,<br />
and he seemed keen for the idea.<br />
In fact, he called me a few weeks<br />
later to tell me had bought a C90<br />
and that was that. So not much<br />
planning really; just jump on the<br />
bikes and set off.<br />
What did you enjoy most about<br />
the trip?<br />
For me it just meeting people.<br />
Everyone wants to chat with you.<br />
For instance, we were sat in a cafe<br />
in Ullapool and we had couple of<br />
big bikers come in to find us and<br />
chat about our little bikes. They<br />
just loved the fact that we where<br />
on C90s. Other than the amazing<br />
roads and views it was definitely<br />
meeting different people.<br />
Mikey and Bernard at the start of Applecross<br />
What did I enjoy the least?<br />
The rain and the midges, but living<br />
in Scotland I am used to it. But if<br />
you are planning any motorcycle<br />
trip in Scotland, do pack your<br />
waterproofs!<br />
What do you get out of a trip like<br />
44 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
this; what’s the appeal?<br />
I guess it’s just something different<br />
and fun, which for me is what riding<br />
a motorcycle is all about: it should<br />
be fun!<br />
Did anything go wrong on the<br />
trip, and if so how did you deal<br />
with it?<br />
The only thing that went wrong<br />
was when Bernard flipped his C90<br />
going over the pass in Applecross.<br />
It went badly wrong and if the<br />
crash barriers weren’t there he<br />
and his C90 would have gone over<br />
the edge. Lucky for us that did not<br />
happen. Also, when he fell off he<br />
broke his screen and smashed his<br />
top box off. We fixed the top box<br />
back on with cable ties and just<br />
put the remains of his Rickman<br />
screen on the back of bike with<br />
bungees.<br />
How did the C90s cope with<br />
the trip?<br />
One didn’t make it home... I have<br />
to be honest I had fitted mine<br />
with a Lifan 110 engine, not for<br />
speed, just for the 4th gear. As<br />
for Bernard’s C90, he had a nice<br />
standard low mileage bike with<br />
about 7000miles on it. The engine<br />
only lasted around 500 miles<br />
before he managed to kill it about<br />
10 miles from my house on the<br />
way home, proving that they are<br />
not bomb proof, though it could<br />
have been Bernard giving it a<br />
hard time. Other than that they<br />
did just fine<br />
What would you do differently<br />
next time?<br />
The only thing I would do<br />
differently is fit a single saddle to<br />
the bike, as you have to unpack to<br />
get to the fuel tank under the seat.<br />
Other than that I can’t think of<br />
anything; I just love to travel on a<br />
small bike.<br />
Where next?<br />
Next for me is to some local rallies<br />
in Scotland and then the Horizons<br />
Unlimited event in South Wales,<br />
which is about 650 miles round<br />
trip. I’m going to get some<br />
information and tips on travelling<br />
overseas, as I plan to ride to<br />
Mongolia in the near future. At the<br />
moment I’m not sure if it will be a<br />
solo ride on my C90, of it anyone<br />
wants to join me...<br />
LAND’S END TO JOHN O’<br />
GROATS - JOIN IN.<br />
It’s been an idea of mine to do the Land’s End to John O’ Groats ride<br />
for some time now, just as a means of seeing more of Britain. I plan to<br />
ride it on the 105cc Honda CT 110 that I rode back from Australia on<br />
and later across America. Cruising speed will be low - around 40mph<br />
- so the smaller the bike the better, or an opportunity to drag the old<br />
junker out of the shed. It’ll be camping the whole way and looking<br />
to do it in seven days, as that seems about the right amount of time<br />
people can get off work. It shouldn’t cost more than the petrol, food<br />
and campsites to do it; so £200 tops.<br />
Let’s say meet at Land’s End visitors centre, 9am on Saturday 13th<br />
May, when hopefully the weather will have broken. See you there.<br />
Updates at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com
THE ONE TANK CHALLENGE<br />
NOT EVERYONE HAS THE TIME AND OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL AROUND THE<br />
WORLD. MAKING THE MOST OF THE HERE AND NOW IS WHAT THIS MAN DID...<br />
Beach at Tywyn: no dogs allowed<br />
46 Find out more at www.getting<strong>into</strong>adventure.com<br />
My name is Tim Duncan. I<br />
have been a police officer<br />
for 20 years and now work<br />
in Herefordshire. Prior to this,<br />
I served in the Royal Engineers,<br />
based mostly in Germany. My Dad<br />
is a Morgan agent, and I have been<br />
around interesting cars and bikes<br />
most of my life.<br />
I passed my bike test in around<br />
1990, riding a KMX125, then<br />
ending up with a Ducati 750SS,<br />
which I used to ride to Germany<br />
regularly when based there. I had<br />
a big accident on that in 1994,<br />
then bought a Royal Enfield Bullet,<br />
which has remained in pieces pretty<br />
much ever since. The Bullet will be<br />
back together soon, but for how<br />
long, is anyone’s guess.<br />
I would love to ride up to the Arctic<br />
Circle; Scandinavia or even Iceland.<br />
I’m happier in colder temperatures,<br />
and don’t fancy being hot and<br />
bothered all the time. I like riding<br />
on unsurfaced roads, and would<br />
like to travel more often on them.<br />
Like most, I am definitely hampered<br />
by the time/opportunity/money<br />
constraints, with mortgages,<br />
children and work getting in the<br />
way of bigger trips. For this reason<br />
I have focused more recently on<br />
‘Mini adventures’, whereby I try to<br />
gain the most experience/excitement<br />
for minimal expenditure and time.<br />
A day spent pottering round green<br />
lanes in Wales is a day well-spent as<br />
far as I’m concerned.<br />
I ride to work every day and had<br />
been using a BMW R1200 GS.<br />
Recently I switched to a Chinesebuilt<br />
AJS 125. This has been great<br />
fun, and opened my eyes to a<br />
whole new way of riding and<br />
exploring. It’s certainly not as fast<br />
as the GS, but riding it I feel much<br />
more connected to the actual<br />
riding experience, plus it’s cheaper<br />
on fuel.<br />
When I found it, the little AJS was<br />
festering in a neighbour’s front<br />
garden, with a honeysuckle growing<br />
through it. It had been there since<br />
2012, with a suspected charging<br />
fault. I took pity on it, and saw it’s<br />
potential having read about the<br />
distance some people have travelled<br />
on smaller machines.<br />
First I had to unseize the engine<br />
and replace the throttle and speedo<br />
cables, carb, and a fork seal. It’s<br />
been totally reliable ever since, and<br />
I’ve done over 2000 miles on it in<br />
the past 3 months alone. It doesn’t<br />
even use or leak oil, which is a bit of
a shock to a Landrover owner!<br />
The one tank challenge came about<br />
then as a response to the realisation<br />
that for now I’m just not in a<br />
position to ride around the world<br />
or up through Scandinavia. Rather<br />
than not do anything, I thought why<br />
not have a small adventure, close to<br />
home, with the added bonus of an<br />
economy challenge thrown in?<br />
On paper the AJS holds 10-litres of<br />
petrol, which should get it about<br />
220-250 miles. I had a free day in<br />
December, so aimed for the most<br />
exciting places I could get to, and back,<br />
within the time and fuel limits of the<br />
bike. I suppose if you have two days,<br />
then just use two tanks of fuel!<br />
Obviously, where you can get to<br />
will vary depending on where<br />
you start, so everyone will have a<br />
slightly different minimal adventure<br />
experience. But the essence is to<br />
slow down, not be in such a hurry<br />
to tear off hundreds of miles away,<br />
but take the interesting back lanes<br />
closer to home instead; the ones<br />
you seldom bother to explore.<br />
I don’t carry much. Waterproofs are<br />
essential, but I am happy to forage<br />
along the route. My gloves let me<br />
down on this journey and are no<br />
longer waterproof, so I had to resort<br />
to putting petrol station disposable<br />
gloves on underneath to stave off<br />
trench hand/hypothermia. Goretex<br />
socks are my new best friends, and<br />
a Must Have for longer rides in<br />
Winter.<br />
I did worry about running out<br />
of fuel, but I did know the route<br />
I was taking, and planned for an<br />
emergency stop on the return leg if I<br />
was running low.<br />
On this inaugural One Tank<br />
Challenge I explored the back roads<br />
of Wales. For future challenges, I am<br />
keen to look over the Cotswolds, or<br />
maybe explore the Forest of Dean.<br />
These are nearer to home, which will<br />
mean I have more fuel and time to<br />
use when I am there, possibly trying<br />
out some green lanes, which I love<br />
riding, even on the AJS.<br />
If the idea of a minimal adventure<br />
appeals, just get out there and do it.<br />
Look at your potential range, drag<br />
out the road atlas, and see where<br />
you can reasonably get to. Look up<br />
local information on the internet so<br />
you have a few ideas of where to go<br />
and what to do before you set off.<br />
Consider joining the Trail Riders<br />
Fellowship or GLASS, to help you<br />
discover the roads less travelled.<br />
Just because you’re ‘only’ taking the<br />
scenic route to the nearest beach, or<br />
mountain, doesn’t mean it will be<br />
any less challenging or fun than a<br />
longer trip, especially if you are on a<br />
smaller bike.<br />
So go on, give it a go. You’ve nothing<br />
to lose but a tank of fuel.<br />
Welshpool and Llanfair Railway<br />
Cregennan Lake, near Arthog<br />
Towards Talyllyn Lake, in shadow of Cader Idris<br />
THE<br />
CAR & MOTORCYCLE<br />
The stunning Brecon Beacons<br />
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