Living the dream - Around the world on your BMW bike

The idea of abandoning a normal life and spending eight months on the road travelling is all but a daydream, except for a couple from Wales who are both motorcycle enthusiasts and make this dream a reality on a regular basis.

Kevin Sanders, of GlobeBusters organises epic, cross-continent expeditions with his wife Julia, and both happily admit that it is the ‘best job in the world’.

The pair are currently preparing to lead the biggest group endurance ride the world has ever seen, covering 40,000 milkes (65,000 km) and five continents in just 250 days. The pair ride under the brand name “Discover our Earth” and leave nothing to chance in the preparation and planning.

 “We’ve spent the last 18 months planning the trip and pride ourselves on organisation,” he explains. “Logistics alone are a huge task; when you’re away for 248 days you’re going to need at least 200 different hotels and you need to know whether you’ve paid a deposit, or if you can pay on credit card there, whether you need cash... each section of the trip has a file with a huge amount of information which we will take with us. Planning is the first thing Julia and I think about when we wake up and the last thing before we go to sleep at night.”

Kevin and Julia are veterans of awe-inspiring expeditions, and have previously led motorcyclists on journeys including, London to Beijing, through North America, from Alaska to Panama, and Trans Americas, from Alaska to Buenos Aires. The next trip planned covers Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

There are such enormous distances involved and sometimes incredibly remote locations so having a reliable bike is the most important factor, which is why in Kevin’s opinion he would never use anything other than a BMW.

“We firmly believe BMW is the only bike for touring and we advise those who come on the trips to use BMW − the BMW R 1200 GS in particular − and 95 per cent of them do. A lot of people will ask our advice and go out and buy a brand new bike especially for the trip,” he says. “When you’re in places like Tibet, Tajikistan or the Andes, there isn’t the same infrastructure and you don’t want a mechanical failure on the side of the road.  You need a bike you can totally trust; I’ve never had any problems with my BMW R 1200 GS Adventure. People ask if I’d use any other bike and the answer is always no.”

Between them, the welsh couple have racked up hundreds or thousands of miles, and have spent around 10 of the past 12 months travelling. Back in 2002 and 2003 the pair also achieved two Guinness World Records™ for Fastest Circumnavigation of the World by Motorcycle and Trans Americas by Motorcycle.

Even with the years of experience behind them, “Discover our Earth” know that this upcoming adventure will push them even further than ever before.

“We anticipate travel fatigue may be a difficulty for some of those travelling with us − it will be my job to help them make it through. If they get worn out, I’ll do whatever I can to pick them up and keep them going,” says Kevin.


Kevin explains that some of the bikers have paid as much as $100,000 for the full eight months and that they have already met up in Austra. There, they took part in a preparation event, designed to help them tackle anything that riding around the world may throw at them.

The Austrian location is significant, as it is home to Edelweiss Bike Travel, with whom GlobeBusters are collaborating with on this project. It is also where the epic ride will eventually come to an end in July 2011 and no doubt there will be a lot of obstacles and challenges before they make it back.

For Kevin, positive thinking can be key to getting through even the toughest of times on the road. “I never think ‘we’re not going to get through this part of the journey’ because you can’t think like that,” he says. “There was a point on the London to Beijing journey where we had to get over a mountain pass. There was no road, just snow and ice and a track the bulldozers had cut. It took us seven hours to travel 40 miles and we counted about 30 bike drops between us.”

Kevin adds that all the GlobeBusters Support Crew, not just him, have loads of energy. “It’s important that they’re helping to keep people going, because the attitude of a guide affects the whole group. If you’re very positive and enthusiastic that’s going to rub off on everyone else.”

Many people preparing to embark on a voyage of this scale, never mind lead one, would be starting to panic by now. But not Kevin and Julia. “We’re not stressed out or worried, although we are very busy,” he says. “As for setting out again, well, while it is nice to be home in Wales, being on the road is my life now. I have my routines, a certain way I pack my bike − it’s more natural for me to be travelling than not.”

The Discover our Earth expedition will set off from Austria on 21 November and all 30 International riders taking part are no doubt getting very excited! Keep track of their travels through a blog on the GlobeBusters site www.globebusters.com and via the company’s Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/GlobeBusters-Adventure-Motorcycle-Expeditions/114349139602?ref=ts&v=app_10442206389 and Twitter  http://twitter.com/#!/GlobeBusters pages.