Around the world on BMW motorcycles

pict

pict

Joined
Jan 7, 2003
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Recently my wife and I took a few days off. We were in the town square of Tiradentes Brazil one night when two gigantic motorcycles pulled in and parked right next to us. These were not your average bikes. The first thing that caught my attention was the BMW logo. The man and woman got down and I overheard them speaking English, not the stuff we speak but real English, from England.

I asked them if they were touring Brazil on their bikes and they replied no, they are touring the world on their bikes. Simon and Lisa Thomas have been at this thing for two years and two months and have already traveled through Europe, Africa, and part of South America. After starting a successful marketing company in the UK they grew dissatisfied with the life of upward mobility and £250 lunches in London. A terrible motorcycle accident left Simon recovering for two years and they lost their business. It also gave them plenty of time to think about life and they decided to sell everything and see the world from the saddle of their BMW bikes. They don’t have high-powered sponsors for the trip so they economize by camping and cooking their own food. This was their tenth wedding anniversary so they decided to spend the night at an inn in Tiradentes.

From Tiradentes they were headed to Diamantina. Their route would take them through Belo Horizonte so we gave them our phone number and told them if they ran into any snags in Belo that they should give us a call.

Sunday night, before church Simon called to say they had gotten lost in Belo and had no place to camp, as he put it “We need rescuing”. When Patty and I designed our house we made a guest room so we could make our home a refuge or entertain guests. We invited them to spend the night here. I had just enough time to meet them at the mall and lead them back home before I had to do a quick change and get to church before the music stopped. I wasn’t preaching so it was a pardonable offense.

They were planning to leave in the morning and push on to Diamantina but we were all having such a great time they decided to stay another night.

Monday night I hooked up the video projector to their laptop and we saw some of their photos, including their crossing of the Sahara and fording a river in Africa with their bikes loaded into a dugout canoe.

In spite of their expensive bikes, they are doing this trip on a shoestring budget. We got into a discussion about sharing a vision and contacting sponsors. Simon had run a successful marketing business but he was so into doing the trip that he hadn’t applied what he knew. The conversation gave him all sorts of ideas and they decided to stay another day to work things out on their tiny computer.

Tuesday was a fun day. Simon taught me stuff on the computer that I didn’t know existed. It was interesting to talk with another couple that had left their old lives behind. We even had an impromptu machete-throwing lesson in the backyard. (machete throwing is one of my lesser known skills, its sort of like redneck lawn-darts). Simon was a natural at it so I gave him a used 14-inch machete, you really can’t camp in the bush of South America without one. I also sharpened their Leatherman tools (donated by Leatherman of South Africa) and their shamefully dull hatchet. In my workshop Simon spotted a roll of duct tape. It was refreshing to see another guy get so excited about duct tape so I sent it with them.

On Wednesday morning they left before noon headed north. Before they left Simon gave me the GPS coordinates to the house here.

We live at S 19º 50.231’ W 44º 00.198’, you can look us up using Google Earth to get a satellite image of the neighborhood or program that into your GPS and come visit.

When they complete their journey, Simon and Lisa will hold several world records including the longest tandem motorcycle ride, only continuous ride to reach every continent, and the oldest woman to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle (Lisa is 43).

We had a great time hosting them for a few days on their epic adventure. You can read about their trip and see some of their amazing photos at their website. Stop in and give them a word of encouragement. Mac

http://www.2ridetheworld.com/
 
And I sit here in the office silently jealous... :cool:
Sounds like a blast! Always good to run into cool folks. Hope they make it. :thumbup:
 
I'm also jealous!

I am, however, happy they're doing it. Lord knows, there's more to life than showing up for your job and collecting a paycheck.
 
One of my dreams in life has been to ride from the east coast of the US to the north slope in Alaska. I don't know if I'll ever make it, probably not. Sure is nice when you hear of good people who can make their dreams come true. You know Pict, that for the traveller it's meeting folks like you and your wife that a trip like that is really all about.
 
Simon and Lisa have a full list of their kit on the website. When they started this thing they were "motorcycle people" and the bush-camping thing was just a way to save money for gas and tires. They had to learn the ropes of bush-camping (literally) on the fly. I think they did a great job of it.

I showed Simon this site and a few others I post on regarding wilderness survival and he had no idea that the subject was so popular. They are very practical people and have discovered what works and what doesn't through more than two years of constant travel and camping. I told Simon he could easily write a book on the subject. Mac

http://www.2ridetheworld.com/kit_list8.htm
 
x39,

As a missionary, people are what my life is all about too. It worked out very well in that regard. They had a very interesting perspective on life and really have seen the good and bad out there enough to have informed opinions. Mac
 
I am having one of those "on my list to do before I die" moments.

Truely inspiring.

The stories they must have... :eek:

SKam
 
What a great story! Thanks pict.
*sigh*
I am beyond envy of this couple and their motorcycle travels.

This post reminds me of a 19th century Australian poem about "Clancy", a legendary Australian drover (cattleman):

"I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy
Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all."

"And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle
Of the tramways and the buses making hurry down the street,
And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting,
Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet."

"And the hurrying people daunt me, and their pallid faces haunt me
As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,
With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,
For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste."

"And I somehow rather fancy that I’d like to change with Clancy,
Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,
While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal—
But I doubt he’d suit the office, Clancy, of The Overflow."
 
There was a book Called Riding the Edge, or something like that about a guy who was a double leg amputee who rode his Harley-Davidson around the world. He had lost both legs in a land mine incident and wanted to prove that a disabled person could do it. I think his name was Doug Barr. It was a very inspiring book of some of what he went through getting his bike down muddy African roads, trails through Brazilian rainforest, and across Alaskan tundra.

On a tamer note a writer from Toranto Canada took his Honda 250 Elite motorscooter around the world and did a book on the trip. He named the scooter Melawend for his two daughters Melanie and Wendy.

But the beemers seem to be the choice of the long range riders.
 
jackknife said:
There was a book Called Riding the Edge, ... Doug Barr..
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An excellent book, his name is Dave though. His bikes are on display at Mike's Famous Harley-Davidson in New Castle, Delaware, along with pictures and artifacts from his travels.
 
X39,

You know you've attained something special when you have a set of your own "artifacts" on display somewhere. All of my artifacts are still just "used junk". Mac
 
pict said:
X39,

You know you've attained something special when you have a set of your own "artifacts" on display somewhere. All of my artifacts are still just "used junk". Mac
Click to expand...
LOL! Funny you should mention that. The other day I was out in the shed digging around and came across an insulated beverage cup I won on a call in radio contest. Just for laughs I took it into the house and put it on the living room mantle. When people come over I tell them I'm a winner of the prestigious "Beverage Cup Trophy", then proudly point to it. Oh well, better small victories than no victories! :)
 
The only way to travel a country, any country is by motorcycle, I wish them the best of luck and I too am silently jealous, thanks for the story. :thumbup: :)
 
T. Erdelyi said:
The only way to travel a country, any country is by motorcycle, I wish them the best of luck and I too am silently jealous, thanks for the story. :thumbup: :)
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Will a Vespa PX150 motorscooter do?
 
Simon wrote up the story of his stay with us on their website. I think I blew his concept of the "boring missonary". Mac
 
jackknife said:
Will a Vespa PX150 motorscooter do?
Click to expand...

Two wheels is two wheels. :thumbup: :) :D


Here's my scooter:

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