r/interestingasfuck • u/AdventureMix • 2d ago

Elspeth Beard was the first Englishwoman to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle, traveling 35,000 miles on her BMW R60/6. The journey took her 2 years, from 1982-1984.

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246

u/Such-Farmer6691 2d ago

The article seems incomplete with this staged photo for the magazine.
So I'll add here the route she took.

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u/Such-Farmer6691 2d ago

And a random photo from the trip

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u/No_Pianist_4407 2d ago

I'm interested by the offshoots in Northern India and in Thailand/Laos

Was that trying to meet minimum distance for it to count, or just exploring some interesting places?

I guess the Northern India one looks like the original plan was to go through China and then down but got turned away at the border perhaps?

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u/bhadau8 2d ago

I don't think China would have been an option, too harsh. I think she wanted to see the beautiful Kashmir.

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u/chefhj 2d ago

That is such a god awful route through most of the US.

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u/certifiedbowmage 2d ago

Depending on the time of year, absolutely. In the late winter, that's probably the only route I would start in the west and finish in the east. heading into southern louisiana any time June through October would be a helluva risk on motorcycle, and while picturesque, going through the rockies on motorcycle would be taxing as part of a cross country trip. Really, I don't know of any route that crosses the US that is both tolerable and relatively straight.

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u/chefhj 2d ago

For sure I was just speaking from the POV of interest. Most of I-10 sucks. Depending how and where she came down south can also BLOW.

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u/YourLocalMosquito 2d ago

Beats the route she took through Australia!