Written by and Photos by Matthew Shields and Lucie Vivian. Posted in Rides
I sit here writing from an Airbnb in Cape Town, South Africa, somewhat in disbelief that my fiancé and I have traveled here not by plane or boat, but overland on a motorcycle. We rode out of a sleepy village in the U.K. 283 days ago with everything we’d need piled on the back of our BMW R1200GSA. An adventure that would take us over 41,000 km through 30 countries and across three continents.
Seeing the famous sunrise hot air balloons at Cappadocia, Turkiye.
Why the disbelief? Rewinding the timeline just over a year, I had no motorcycle, no motorcycle license, no riding or camping gear, and neither of us had any adventure motorcycle travel experience whatsoever. From there, we didn’t start a story of calm, easy travel on smooth tarmac roads; we were destined for true adventure. We rode some of the most challenging roads in the world, crashed in Albania, were escorted by the Iraqi military, overcame a multitude of logistical nightmares, crossed crocodile-infested rivers in the middle of the Zambian jungle, camped with tribes and rhinos, and much more.
Crossing the crocodile-infested rivers in the middle of the Zambian jungle.
I did have some motorcycling background. My dad, a keen biker back in the day, had me riding a 50cc Honda Monkey around the yard as a wee lad. That ignited a flame; I quickly developed a passion for anything on two wheels, spending much of my teenage years racing downhill mountain bikes and modified pit bikes.
On the other hand, Lucie had absolutely no motorcycle experience and not much interest. She had the sadly-too-common story of a motorcycle-related death in the family. Her parents remained in denial about our adventure plans until the day we wobbled up outside their home on the imposing R1200GSA. I didn’t help matters when I accidentally dropped it on their car!
Our inspiration will come as no surprise—watching Charley and Ewan on the Long Way series. As a young lad with a passion for motorcycles and a developing interest in travel, seeing that one could ride around the world on a motorcycle… well, it was one of the coolest things imaginable. But it wasn’t until we rewatched the series a few years ago, while serendipitously planning a sabbatical to travel the world, that the mental gears started turning… “Could we travel by motorcycle?” It was a thought that led down a rabbit hole of researching all things related to adventure motorcycle travel. Before long, a plan took form. We had a rough idea of a route, booked training, and eventually obtained a motorcycle license, found a suitable bike, ordered everything we’d need, and eagerly began preparing for the trip of a lifetime.
The wonderful children of the Hadzabe tribe in Tanzania.
We hadn’t planned everything perfectly, though. The first time we loaded the motorcycle was the morning we left. I couldn’t believe how heavy it was… it felt like the sidestand had been welded to the ground. But thankfully, once the mighty GS got rolling, the awkwardness all but disappeared. It was easy to maneuver and very comfortable.
After some sad and somewhat concerned farewells from family and friends, we set off for the channel tunnel. The first month was spent acclimatizing to this new way of life, figuring out our gear, cautiously trying to wild camp, finding our roles, and gradually building confidence on the BMW. Eager to reach further afield, we crossed five borders in five days to arrive in Switzerland. Over the following weeks, we meandered through the Alps, crossed northern Italy to Slovenia, then followed the Adriatic coastline to Greece, where we turned inland to head east through Turkiye.
One of our big targets was the infamous Pamir Highway in Central Asia. But upon reaching Georgia, we learned the Azerbaijan border was closed indefinitely. After exhausting all the options, we reluctantly accepted that our Pamir dream was over. It seemed the universe had different plans for us. In Armenia with no feasible way of continuing east, we were left with a choice: return to Europe or turn south, through Iraq. We chose Iraq.
Georgia – Zagari Pass in the Svaneti region.
The experience that unfolded during our time in the beautiful desert country was one of total and complete wonderment, kindness, openness, adventure, and selfless hospitality free from expectation. We could write several articles about this alone! Our journey through this lesser-traveled part of the world demonstrated the stark difference that can exist between images and words used by the media and the actual reality of the people and culture. We were shown hospitality, kindness, and love on a whole new level. It completely took us by surprise.
Our military escort through the Anbar desert in Iraq.
Following an unforgettable time riding through Iraq, we reached Jordan and continued on to Saudi Arabia, where we took a ship across the Red Sea from Jeddah to Port Sudan, our gateway to Africa. With a warm welcome from the Sudanese bikers, we rode through the country with an open heart and open mind, despite the country’s reputation and history of unrest.
One of many, many falls while crossing game reserve lands in Zambia.
Days before we planned to leave Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, to ride to the Ethiopian border, we heard news of an overlander stuck at the border due to a change in the law. Ethiopian customs now demanded a cash bond/deposit of many multiples of a vehicle’s value. Again, it seemed the universe had different plans for our trip. After weeks of research, deliberation, and discussions with other travelers and locals, we decided to airfreight our bike to Kenya. At $4,000 including our own flights, this pushed us way over budget, but the only other option was to end the trip and fly home. We’d just landed in Africa with our sights set firmly on reaching Cape Town, and we were not ready to give up.
After finally clearing the BMW through Kenyan customs and reassembling it at the campsite, the journey continued. We spent a couple of weeks exploring Kenya and relaxing by the Indian Ocean before turning south once more to cross through Tanzania and Malawi, then west through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia where we reached the west coast, the Atlantic Ocean. Namibia was an absolute dream for adventure motorcycling and quickly became one of our favorite countries where we enjoyed a month of exploring remote areas off-road, getting stuck in the sand, wild camping with rhinos, and meeting so many amazing people.
Click here to read “Riding Africa’s Wild West: A Namibian Adventure”
Taking a much-needed rest while tackling an off-road route in Malawi.Then it was on to our final country, number 30, South Africa. Not wanting the trip to end, we explored the Western Cape and took our time slowly working towards Cape Town, where we eventually, and reluctantly, finished the trip at the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point of Africa.
We made it!! The end of the adventure at the most south-western point of Africa.
It’s funny how this lifestyle became so normal to us. After nine months on the road and more than 40,000 km since we left home with shiny new equipment and no experience, the day-to-day adventure motorcycle travel had now become our life, our routine, our normal. It has taught us that we (that means you, as well) are capable of so much more than we ever assumed. All it took was to believe in ourselves and get out there and do it, making mistakes and learning as we went. It’s truly amazing what can be achieved by simply taking one day at a time—when, before you realize it, you might find yourself on the other side of the planet!
The Pillion Perspective
When Matt brought up the idea of doing this trip, I had a lot of questions. At that time, we’d only had a bit of experience riding two-up on mopeds in Thailand and Indonesia. That was a great way to see areas of a country one may not otherwise visit, but it was a long way from an RTW on a GS! At the time, Matt didn’t have a motorcycle license and had never even touched a big adventure bike. But as we further researched and the planning came together, discussions of traveling by motorcycle became more normal.
I was always quite comfortable riding pillion. Being smaller folk, we had plenty of space on the big GSA and I would sit with my hands in my lap—and Matt often said that he didn’t even notice I was there. But then we had our first serious fall in Albania which ended up with me spending a night in the hospital. Our confidence went from leaning over and scraping the pegs around corners, to slowing way down and riding with caution on twisty roads. We slowly regained our confidence and again began enjoying the twisty mountain roads.
My favorite part of motorcycling is off-road riding. I love the challenge and working together as a team. Many ask, “Do you stand up?”—of course I do! I think the riding would be very hard for Matt if I didn’t and it would feel like I was being dragged around without helping at all. I stand when Matt does and sometimes even without him. In the beginning, we communicated a lot when we stood up and sat down, but eventually you learn to read the road and know when it’s necessary. The back end moves a lot more freely when I’m standing and moving my weight around. You learn the bike’s limits, and feel when it’s tipping too much. Eventually, I was really helping to prevent the bike from falling over on those rocky or sandy tracks.
Jordan – riding in the Wadi Rum desert.
Matt Shields and Lucie Vivian are a British couple with a thirst for adventure travel. While they enjoy sipping cocktails on the terrace of a sunset villa in the Maldives, they get much more from straying off the beaten track and trying to avoid the tourists. You can follow their adventures on YouTube and Instagram @we.are.adventure.riders.
By
