50 Countries on a BMW: 3 Years, 5 Continents, 1,00,000 Kilometers

By Kumar Saurav · Nov 2013 · 9 min read

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FHM meets Jodhpur born Nick and Indian-American Kanchan who’ve been riding across the world for the last two years. Their journey ends next year…

FHM: So what was going on in your mind while you were planning this trip?

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Nick: We had no idea what we were getting into and no clue where to start, but travelling on a motorcycle around the world sounded interesting. We figured we’d buy the motorcycle first and everything else would follow. There were tons of things to think about i.e., passports, Carnet de passage, visas, medical insurance, medical evacuation, GPS, maps, communication systems, cameras, laptops, hard drives etc.

FHM: Why such a long trip?

Nick: The point of our trip is to see things! It’s not about getting into the Limca Book of Records for going from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in 72 hours. For us, even a breakdown or a flat tire makes us wonder who we’re going to meet next.

FHM: How did you raise money?

Nick: People wonder if we’re extremely rich or have won a lottery, but we’re spending from our savings. We never had sponsorship. Travelling like this is much cheaper than living in big cities – we’re not staying in 5 stars or eating gourmet meals. We have a budget and we stick to it. In fact, we’ve done much better than we expected. In Asia, we were able to find cheap guesthouses, but Australia was super expensive and we camped for months, besides cooking our own meals. Africa and Europe too were months of camping and cooking. Every now and then, we’re able to find a guesthouse in our budget and try to sample the local cuisine smartly.

FHM: What were the initial hurdles?

Nick: You waste a lot of time figuring out what’s the best camera bag or bulb for the headlight. We took a month or two to figure out these things, but one day we said, “Screw it! Let’s just get on the road and see what happens!” In Thailand, we ended up sending back a huge amount of stuff that was really bogging us down.

FHM: What about the practical problems?

Nick: Yes, shipping was a problem. Documentation is another hurdle and customs in India are a nightmare! Dealing with the corruption and red tape is never easy.

Kanchan: It took us time to get used to the bike. Nick has always had a motorcycle and has been racing for years on dirt bikes. Our bike, BMW R1200 GS Adventure, is almost 400kgs, and muscling it off-road was a bit tough at first. I hadn’t been on the bike with Nick too much back home, especially off road, so it was like a rodeo! After a month, Nick got used to the bike and it’s been smooth sailing since.

FHM: No boss sanctions two years of leave, how did you guys manage?

Nick: We knew we’d have to resign. That was the toughest thing to do since the economy was in a slump and people were holding on to jobs. The typical desi feelings of security weighed down on us, but we figured a couple of years of not working in the great scheme of things makes a very small dent. We’re not getting younger, our knees are somewhat working and we don’t have kids or mortgages, so why the hell NOT now?

FHM: How did your family react?

Kanchan: My family was shocked. I had mentioned it before, but they couldn’t believe we were actually going through with it. My parents suggested we go on a two-week trip to Hawaii to make us feel free. It took tons of reassurance to convince my family. Interesting comments like – “So you just ride around and look at stuff?”, “How do you go through jungles?”, “How do you cross the ocean?” and “How do you carry fuel for 2 years?” are funny and frustrating at the same time.

FHM: Which were the toughest places to ride?

Kanchan: Big cities make us antsy. This is a huge bike and fully loaded it can be tough weaving in and out of tight traffic. The two times our bike overheated has been in Delhi and Jakarta (Indonesia). Besides some rough parts of Africa and Asia, India was the toughest place. We’re used to traffic, but don’t appreciate when people ride so close just to take a look at the bike. Not only are they putting our life at risk, but theirs as well. All the speed racers on the road, if you want to race, get off the streets and do it on a rally or race track. Also, don’t touch what’s not yours. As soon as the bike stops, there’s a crowd of 100 men surrounding the bike as well as me, wanting to take pictures and videos, touch the bike or sit on it. People stop their autos, cars, bikes and buses in the middle of the road to see the tamasha. We’ve had police show up and gotten into so many arguments. As soon as we open our mouth and speak some Hindi, onlookers feel like the bike is theirs. I’ve been pushed and shoved so men can sit on the bike (even after I’ve told them not to touch it). I’ve had to pull guys off and yell at them, only to be laughed at. The 86 November 2013 kind of stress and disrespect you get riding this bike in India is unparalleled. The difference a border makes is insane… Nepal, no stress and I know people may not want to hear it but Pakistan, no such stress either (men actually offer you a chair and a cold drink but keep their distance). We’ve been to India twice with the motorcycle and each time we go with optimism but are stressed after a day. When we speak with other travellers, we feel ashamed to hear about the same treatment and hope that this article can change at least one person’s mentality.

FHM: How do you ride through tricky spots?

Nick: There are few places in the world that are unsafe. We believe people treat you depending on your attitude or what vibe you’re giving off. When we get off, we take our helmets off so people can see us, as they tend to be more receptive. There were a couple of times on the road to Moyale, Ethiopia from Isiolo, Northern Kenya that we felt a bit unsafe, especially after a couple of Samburu tribesmen threw a spear at us. They got scared off when I took my camera out though. In most places, there’s no violence against foreign tourists. Also, we try to keep up with the news but you have to be careful with the media. We were going to enter East Timor after the recent elections and the media carried stories of crazy riots. We entered carefully, but at the sight of school kids laughing and walking the street, we felt at ease. It doesn’t pay to be scared. Humans are animals and they can smell fear! Most people are good and everyone loves to play a hero, so the fear of “unsafe” places should never stop you.

FHM: Ever had bad experiences with onlookers?

Kanchan: The only time we’ve had trouble has been in India. I had to hold Nick back on a few occasions where guys said ugly things. In Africa, we had to tell people not to touch the bike every now and then, but our words were respected.

FHM: What happens when tires fall flat in deserted areas?

Nick: We’ve had about five punctures out of which three were in India. On this kind of trip, you have to be self-sufficient. We’ve never summoned the puncture guy and have tools, spares, and even a mini air compressor. Also, we’re using tubeless tires that not many puncture guys can fix. On such a long trip, you have to know your machine and get your hands dirty (even the pillion)! We do our own servicing and maintenance.

FHM: Sitting for such long hours on a bike must be tough on your back and bum, any special care you take to control the damage?

Kanchan: Another common question we get is how many kilometres we do in a day... it depends on what we want to see and the road conditions. There was a day in Malawi we did 15km and found a place by the lake too good to pass up. We’ve also had 900km days. We stop every couple of hours to stretch out or have a snack or drink because there are times you can’t feel your bum. Nick is constantly routing and rerouting to find a more interesting or scenic road as this trip is about seeing things and not racking up kilometres or spending hours on the bike.

FHM: Tell us about a few bad places you’ve spent a night at.

Nick: Our first night out of India, in Nepal, tops the list. We crossed the border a bit late and found ourselves in a village called Chisapani. We were directed towards the only hotel there, which was a simple room with walls (and ceilings) stained with paan! The toilet was in the room and stank to high heavens and there were rats racing on the roof and under our bed! Another unforgettable night was when we camped at the back of a dhaba in Bodoland, Assam in the middle of nowhere with posters of ‘Stop Abduction!’ all around us. We’ve stayed the night in a flooded farmhouse in Zululand, South Africa with just the bed sticking out of the water. In Europe, we had a river under our tent during a crazy 6-hour storm at 88 November 2013 Transfagarasan Pass in Romania and brothel-like guesthouses with questionable stains at every turn. Sleeping in our tent and cosy sleeping bags is the best, but in shitty situations, we try to remember that we’ll head out tomorrow and never see this cringe worthy place again.

FHM: Which is the worst place to get flat tyres?

Nick: No puncture is fun to fix, but the worst place was on the very first day of our trip somewhere around Jalori Pass during Raid de Himalaya in 2011. We had no tools to fix anything (we had forgotten them in the service vehicle) and all the participants and support vehicles were gone. Luckily, one of the officials showed up with all the stuff to fix the puncture. Five minutes later, we were on the road again but the thought of not having a tent, any food, or tools was not a comforting one on the very first day!

FHM: How many days have you guys gone without taking a bath?

Kanchan: We’ve been lucky with showers. We also have our own portable shower that holds enough water for a 7min shower, but there have been times we couldn’t find water or it was too damn cold to shower with cold water. The longest we’ve gone without a shower would be the Everest Base Camp trek for a grand total of 6 days. The next longest would be, surprisingly, in Europe! We went up towards Nordkapp, Norway only to find that it was costing us 4 euros for 3-minute showers. It was too cold and we figured the money could be used for something much more useful, like a bottle of rum!

FHM: Which is the most magical place to ride in?

Nick: As a continent, Africa never ceases to amaze – from the red sand dunes to the Skeleton Coast of Namibia, the long stretch of turquoise Lake Malawi to the dusty mountains of Lalibela and from the volcanic landscape of Marsabit to the amazing green of Uganda.

FHM: What would you like to do when you finish this trip?

Kanchan: We both would love to start a family. Getting back to work will definitely be a surreal transition. We have tons of photos and videos we’ve not put up, so we’d like to do something with that… maybe even put a book together.

FHM: Would you go for such a ride again?

Kanchan: Of course!