When BMW riders Max Richard, Robert Czerucki and Aaron Sprague sit down to breakfast in North London on 17 April, it will mark the end of months of preparation for a unique motorcycling adventure across Europe, Central Asia and Western China. After a full English fry-up, the British property investor, Polish entrepreneur and American businessman will board their BMW motorcycles to start a ten-week, 17,000km journey that few riders have done before: London to Beijing, via Tibet.
From south-east England, the riders will travel through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and into Turkey within the first week. Then they will join the historic Silk Road, which threads through Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. After crossing the border, they will head south to Tibet, reaching Everest Base Camp. Then it’s onward to Lhasa, before travelling north to Beijing, where they are due to arrive on 2 July.
Max, Robert and Aaron will be led by Kevin and Julia Sanders, owners of UK-based motorcycle adventure expedition company, GlobeBusters. “This is the first time we have taken a group on this route,” says Julia. Aside from the potential problems with paperwork, considering the numbers of borders they will cross, the ride poses geographical challenges, too.
“We are the first motorcycle company to take a group to China that travels though Tajikistan and across the Tibetan Plateau, known as the ‘Roof of the World’,” explains Julia. “It’s a groundbreaking new route and is in keeping with the pioneering spirit of GlobeBusters. The majority of the route through far Central Asia and Western China is on unpaved dirt roads and at altitudes of between 4,000m and 5,000m. In addition to freezing temperatures, the riders will be sleeping at remote locations, with little or no tourist infrastructure.
But camping in cold mountain climates and discovering Tibet on two wheels, is all part of the appeal for the group’s youngest rider, Max. “Life’s about adventure,” says the 30-year-old from south-east England, who now lives in Andorra. “I try to have a big adventure every year. I’ve driven all the way down to the Sahara in a camper van to go surfing, and travelled across land to Bali, Bangkok and Singapore. What I’m most looking forward to on this trip is visiting Tibet – it seems quite a mysterious yet peaceful place.”
London to Beijing will be Max’s first long-distance bike ride and his first experience of off-road motorcycling. “I’ve been riding since the age of 16, so I’ve done lots of road biking and I’m a keen mountain biker, so it seems like a natural progression for me to try off-roading,” he says. Max bought his F 800 GS especially for the trip after a recommendation from GlobeBusters. “They told me it’s the only bike that can go around the world,” adds Max.
So what is he most looking forward to about the trip? “Getting away from the internet and Western life in general, where everyone is concerned about what they’re wearing or what car they’re driving. I’m looking forward to going back to basics, where all I’m concerned about is getting from one point to the next.”
Escaping western culture is also part of the attraction for American rider Aaron. “I like to go places that are as extremely un-American as possible,” he explains, “I don’t want to see a McDonald’s anywhere! I want to see countries in real life, not as a typical tourist. And you get to see so much more on a motorcycle than by any other form of transport.”
The 36-year-old from Tampa, Florida, runs a national healthcare company and is responsible for the development side of the business. As the economic downturn has slowed the progress of future projects, it has given him more time to fulfil some personal ambitions, such as travelling the world on his F 800 GS.
After completing the six-month Trans Americas ride from Alaska to Argentina with GlobeBusters in 2009, Aaron quickly signed up to take part in the London to Beijing expedition. “I had looked at several different South America rides, but some weren’t challenging enough. I want a significant amount of dirt, a ride that really pushes you,” he explains.
The GlobeBusters trips provide the perfect balance of experience and organisation, allowing experienced off-road riders like Aaron to do the day-to-day riding themselves. “Julia and Kevin are the best team in the world,” says Aaron. “Julia is extremely organised in the management of the trip and Kevin has great off-road riding experience.”
Introduced to off-road riding at the age of eight, Aaron’s considerable experience helped him to choose the F 800 GS, which he bought in March 2009 and has already done 34,000 miles (55,000 kilometres). “I had the R 1200 GS Adventure and used it for off-roading round the US, but it was too big for lots of off-riding. I think the F 800 is a better dirt bike – I find it easier to manoeuvre. If it comes to a street bike that can do off-roading, or an off-road bike that is capable of going on the highway, then I’ll choose the latter.”
Like Max, one of the highlights of the London to Beijing ride for Aaron will be reaching Tibet. “I’ve been denied entry twice already,” he explains. “Once was during the Olympics in China and there was an uprising in Tibet. The second time was an anniversary of when the Dalai Lama left, and they weren’t letting anyone through. So, I’m hoping it will be third time lucky!” he says, laughing.
The thought of travelling through the former Soviet-ruled countries, such as Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, is also intriguing for Aaron. “It’s amazing we can go through these countries to get to Tibet. They are places I’d never go to on my own, so this is a great opportunity for me.”
If there are any problems understanding local people in any of the former USSR states, then Polish rider Robert will be able to help his fellow motorcyclists. Born in Warsaw, the 41-year-old remembers when Poland was under Soviet rule and learnt Russian at school.
“The other former Soviet-ruled countries such as Georgia and Azerbaijan are interesting for me,” he says. “I can communicate in Russian, which I think will be useful in these countries, but we’ll see!”
His wife also believes he might find it easier to cope with the less than luxurious accommodation throughout the trip than his fellow American and English riders. “She says that it will probably be a bit easier for a Polish guy to live without good food and high standard of facilities, compared to an English guy!”
The father of three has other motivations for taking part in the London to Beijing motorcycle ride. An experienced traveller, he has organised rides by himself around Europe, Russia and the Ukraine. The longest was a three-week trip from Warsaw to Egypt. “I find all countries with different cultures and religions exciting. I look forward to meeting people, seeing how they live, what they eat. It’s not just about seeing lakes, mountains and the geography for me,” he explains.
This won’t be Robert’s first visit to China, however, as he lived there as a child for four years, while his father worked for a shipping company. “Since then I’ve been back to cities in the east, like Shanghai and Taiwan on business, but everything is modern there. Now I want to see the countryside in the west, and compare the differences between the two.”
Robert also hopes the GlobeBusters expedition will help him to improve his English. Although he speaks it regularly for business, as CEO of a European company that distributes consumer electronics, he wants to improve his understanding of the language for social situations. “Travelling with an English-speaking company will help me to understand accents, and also technical words for motorcycling,” he says.
Robert will complete the ride on a BMW R 1200 GS Adventure. “It’s the perfect bike for trips like this,” he says. “It can carry luggage, and has good suspension on- and off-road. The powerful engine is also universal for different types of gasoline – it even performs well on poor-quality fuel, found in some remote countries.”
Despite their different backgrounds, varying levels of riding experience and diverse expectations of the trip, Robert, Aaron and Max do have some things in common, not least a sense of adventure and a love of BMW motorcycles. And all agree that one of the greatest challenges will be riding in high altitudes of 5,000m and above. “The things that are out of your control are most challenging,” says Max. “There’s nothing you can do about altitude sickness, except turn around and drive back down.”
You can track the GlobeBusters Silk Road East expedition as it happens on “Tales from the Road” at www.globebusters.com or by becoming a fan of the GlobeBusters Adventure Motorcycle Expeditions page on www.facebook.com Maybe you’ll even be tempted to join the next Silk Road East trip – it takes place from April to June 2011.
