In 1982 at age 22 Elspeth set off on a solo motorbike trip around the world. The journey took her 2.5 years and she covered a distance of 48,000 miles taking in the sites of North America, Australasia, Asia & Europe.
This was all done in the age before mobile phones and internet. During her travels Elspeth rode through post-revolutionary Iran during the war with Iraq.
She survived life threatening illnesses and numerous accidents. She witnessed civil uprisings that delayed her journey and forced her to fake documents to cross brokers.
This is one hell of a story not to be missed!
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Show notes
How would Elspeth introduce herself
Understanding more about her childhood
Being encouraged to explore and push the boundaries
Going to boarding school at a young age and being expelled at 16
How she found her love of motorcycles
Buying her first bike and understanding the travel potential of having a motorbike
Doing what she wanted to do
Going on a 10 week trip with her brother, riding across America
What she feels when she rides her bike and why she loves it
Finding out in 2006 that she was the first woman to ride around the world
Having a painful breakup, feeling lost and needing a distraction
Working in a pub to save £2,500 for her round the world trip
Feeling nervous and not having a clue what she was doing
The challenge of the unknown and why she liked it
What her friends were saying when she told people about her trip
The fears she had to deal with before she left
Highlights from America and why she loved New Orleans
Flying to Hawaii and then on to New Zealand hitchhiking around the North & South Island
Arriving in Sydney with $50 in her pocket
Having nothing to fall back on and having to rely on herself
Her trip around Australia and heading over to Asia
Feeling separate from other travellers and never feeling like she belonged
Going for weeks without speaking English
Being followed and started at while travelling around India
Crossing the borders into Iran and Pakistan
Getting Hepatitis
Coping with the stress of daily travel and the, not knowing what was going to happen next
Being ready to head home and the reality of getting back to London
What happened with Robert after they came back to the UK
Why you should just go on that trip and do that challenge
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