Silk Road motorcyclists battle through worst floods in 50 years to reach Beijing
Eleven weeks after departing from London’s Ace Cafe, the largest ever group of motorcyclists to attempt an overland expedition to Beijing arrived in the Chinese capital, having battled their way through some of the worst floods that the country has experienced in 50 years.
Expedition leader Kevin Sanders stayed in the saddle until they reached their destination at BMW Beijing, despite sustaining a broken ankle when his front tyre was punctured on a level crossing.
“This is the third time I’ve ridden the Silk Road and it rates as the toughest trip yet” said Kevin, who holds the Guinness World Record for riding around the globe by motorcycle in just 19½ days. “Not only were we hauling bikes out of swollen rivers, we also experienced altitude sickness in the Himalayas and one of our group had a close encounter with a truck that left him temporarily on crutches. But the guys all pulled together and I’m so proud of them all completing the 13,000 mile journey on two wheels.”
The epic journey for 13 riders and two pillion passengers was organised by GlobeBusters, the Cambridge-based overland travel experts. There’s no rest for Kevin, who leaves the UK at the end of July to lead a group of riders along the original Trans Americas route, a 24,000 mile trip lasting 20 weeks, running from Alaska to Patagonia. For all the latest pictures from the Silk Road expedition visit www.globebusters.com