Vuelta Al Mundo En Moto

“What if we were to go around the world by bike?”. I thought, “Wow, what an adventure, I’m in, let’s get ready”. But on one condition - that I would ride my own bike.

We’re a little different as a couple, with many things in common, and the motorcycling world has brought us even closer together. But first things first; let’s introduce ourselves:

Vicente, a little over 60 and with the spirit of a 20-something, moved from Valencia to Andalusia, in southern Spain. He has done so much in his life that we could talk for hours and hours without even touching on his passion for motorcycling. But seeing as we’re talking bikes today, we’ll focus on his two-wheel experience.
His passion for motorcycling developed as a teenager, before intensifying over the years despite numerous crashes, broken bones and crazy endeavours. Today, having covered so many miles, he continues to have the same passion as he did on day one.

Fernanda, Brazilian, 25 years old and an adventurous spirit. I’ve always liked motorcycles, but before meeting Vicente I’d never ridden one.At first, Vicente and I would go on short runs, from home to work, or brief trips out, but I’d never considered embarking on a long journey, let alone with me as rider. One day, we were talking about travel and Vicente suggested we ride to North Cape, Europe’s most northerly point.

The two of us, with the GS, for a whole month. I thought, “Wow, what an adventure, I’m in, let’s get ready”. I didn’t even know what I should take on the bike, what I’d need during a month-long trip and with so little room… But in the end it all worked out and we set off. We covered 17,000 km in just over a month, crazy really, as that’s more than 500 km per day! We spent entire days on the bike, crossing various countries without even seeing or visiting them as we didn’t have time. Sometimes we’d cross a border a day (seventeen in all!), other times we’d wake up in the tent without recalling where we were, but it was a wonderful trip that taught me how travelling as a passenger might not be bad, but when you’re the one riding it’s a whole different story.

During the trip to North Cape, we covered so many miles, without ever stopping, that I almost fell asleep on the bike. One characteristic of the GS is that it has a very large tank of more than 30 litres. Vicente wouldn’t stop until we were essentially running on empty and that was a real challenge for me, I had to hold on so as not to fall off. It was tough, but also a very important experience. We came back to Spain full of energy and ready for another adventure! After a while, we organised a trip to Morocco with friends, riding quads this time, something I’d never done before, and it was a fantastic opportunity to get to know the country and its culture.I was on the quad with him one day, in front of a hotel, worn out after the intense day we’d just had, and he said, “What if we were to go around the world by bike?”

I was stunned… A thousand things ran through my head, a slew of ideas and feelings, and I said yes without question, but on one condition – that I would ride my own bike.
The problem was that I didn’t have a licence and didn’t know how to ride a motorcycle…