Lone Rider: The First British Woman to Ride a Motorcycle Around the World

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I was very touched and leant towards her, intending to hug her, but my eyes were drawn to something extraordinary behind the woman, on the table. The dog I’d run over. In those days, you traveled without social media. You couldn’t tell everyone what you were doing every five minutes of the day. It was very, very different. And you very much traveled for yourself. You learned about yourself, about the world, that was it really.” And even though we sort of say we’ve ridden around the world, if you actually look at it, all you’ve actually seen is both sides of one red line. There’s so much more out there to see.” Now, Elspeth Beard is a highly decorated architect, living in an old 1898 Victorian water tower which she designed and restored all by herself (you may have seen it featured on various TV shows throughout the years).

Eventually, the Honda was sold off and replaced by what would become a very important part of Beard’s life: a 1974 BMW R60/6. Before long, she was touring Europe on the BMW and visions of the world tour began to take shape. Longer and longer tours on limited funds built her confidence in her BMW and in her open-road survival skills. On a gloomy Sunday in November I took a ride down to Munstead Water Tower in Guildford to have a cup of tea and chat about her incredible ride that took place over 30 years ago. Elspeth Beard is featured in an exhibition at the Royal College of Art which captures the portraits of 100 pioneering women of the 21st century (Image: Anita Corbin) a b Slade, Rob (2015). "10 of the greatest moments in adventure motorcycling from the past 85 years". Archived from the original on 19 April 2016 . Retrieved 18 April 2016. In our second segment this week, Editor-at-Large Neale Bayly talks with master mechanic David Behrend. David’s amazing career has taken him all over the world as mechanic and Crew Chief for some of the greatest riders in Moto America, World Superbike, and Moto2. David is now Technical Director for Andreani Suspension USA; if you have suspension or handling questions—David is the guy to help!

Post-trip depression

It took me seven years to do it. I think doing a trip like that, where you manage to survive through pretty much anything that can be thrown at you, it gives you inner strength and I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do. I don’t think ‘can I do that or not?’ I think ‘I’m going to bloody do it!’. Seeing the classic structures of Europe on family vacations in her youth gave her an interest—and she had a talent for—architecture but that would have to wait. She had something more on her mind. The physical state of her exhaust pipes and cylinders concerned me more. Having taken the brunt of the collision with the tree, one of the exhaust pipes now emerged from its cylinder at an acute angle, which would allow the exhaust gases to escape. Her other cylinder had a crash bar pushed hard against it and looked as if it might be bent.

Before I met Elspeth Beard it was hard to find much information about her and her epic ride. Partly because she had moved on with her life and all memories of the trip had been pushed to the side.The camaraderie of biking is legend and so all the help and experiences that comes along throughout the journey is not only second nature to the familiarities of the ‘big-bike’ rider but is so well descripted and explained that it gives encouragement to all those that tootle along on their 125’s each day to actually go out and try this for themselves. I did and don’t regret it for one minute – its Whether you ever contemplated long-distance extreme touring for yourself or not, Lone Rider is an exceptional read. Any motorcyclist could find that aspect of the story fascinating, indeed, but the truth is, anyone interested in an epic story well-told will want to give it a read.

Welsh, Jonathan (13 January 2016). "Sizing up 'Adventure Bikes,' the SUVs of Motorcycles". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 19 April 2016. Having gone through all these countries and seeing what we would perceive as poverty, you realise that we’re only looking at it in a materialistic way. They were fit, healthy, they had their families with them, they had a roof over their head. They lived in an amazing country with beautiful scenery, they didn’t have a car or a TV but what they didn’t know didn’t matter to them.” Post-trip depressionI think it’s completely different now. You get many many more women riding bikes, but it’s a slow process. "I think women have realised they have a voice" I just kind of moved on with my life. I bought this water tower, spent seven years restoring it, I’ve got my own architectural practice. I just moved on and did other things.” A wonderful read and if you are in any way an adventurer, motorcyclist or traveller (or for that matter - all three) then this book is a must for you. The journey itself took place in 1982 when Beard was still studying to become the successful architect she is today. That it took another 30-odd years to write and publish is down to the pig-ignorance of motorcycle magazine editors at the time, who treated her request to write her story, even just in article form, with disdain. Their loss. I was genuinely excited at the prospect of this book when I heard about it but sadly was quite disappointed by the time I finished it. For me it wasn’t the personal details mixed with the travel, that was actually refreshing compared to other travel-log style books. It was the sense of colonial entitlement that pervaded her attitude when traveling. The disbelief that people could live so differently from her; the idea that she had a right to complete this trip and anyone who stood in her way, whether it was their intention or not, was being disrespectful, offensive, or stubborn. She proceeds to break multiple laws, disregard governments’ genuine, if misguided and ineffective, measures to keep her safe and all the while complain as if they were the problem. Heaven forbid she had a real problem and expected anyone to go get her when she was the root cause! She is an architect but primarily of her own misfortune, discontent, disaster. She whines about the changes to a 49 year practice of easing immigration requirements for British citizens in India because of recent sectarian violence as though she was the still entitled to Indian admiration and adoration. despite being independent of British rule for as long!) She moans about the troubles in Iran following the Islamic revolution (British and American interference being a primary source of discontent leading to the revolution) only 4-5 years earlier and an ongoing war with Iraq- as though those weren’t her problem and couldn’t they just pause it while she traipsed through.