A History of Overlanding

At OVERLAND we read a lot of stories that shine a light on the history of two-wheeled travel. Some of the names attached to these epic tales are better known than others, simply because their accounts and images from the time have remained in print or been reproduced by a handful of specialist publishers.

Round the World (RTW) motorcycling reached its first centenary in 2013 and we thought you might like to meet some of the inspirational pioneers and, most importantly, identify the books, films and other resources that have survived to tell their tales. Please click on the decade icons below to discover our ancestors.

A variety of sources have been used to create this overview of the early overlanders, but we are indebted to Bernd Tesch for his formidable efforts to preserve the history of long-distance motorcycle journeys.
 

1920s 1930s and 1940s
1950s 1960s
1970s 1980s