Around
the World Lady
Wey
Valley Advanced Motorcycle Club night and the guest speaker for the
evening was Elspeth Beard who went around the world in 1982-3. It was
a record breaking journey. Not in time but being the first lady to
circumnavigate the globe on her motorcycle. It was a BMW R60 and she
did it with no sponsorship leaving the UK with just £2500 of her own
hard earned money. Elspeth prepared her bike well, dismantling it and putting it back together. She knew every thing about that bike and maintained it herself on the trip. The maintenance was religiously performed. It was her friend and companion. She started her journey in New York and travelled
west across North America then to New Zealand, Australia up through
Indonesia across India. Then through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and
across Europe to London. There were few maps to be had and those
outside of Europe were really insufficient for the journey. Written
in English for road signs in Cyrillic. She found her way by
painstakingly comparing the symbols.
Elspeth
found Australia difficult with heat, flies and dirt roads. Indonesia
with the most pleasant people and India the worst with just too many
people and no road signs. Her saviour was Robert, a Dutchman, who
helped her through illness on this continent. Everywhere else was so
much easier.
After
completing her journey it took some time to adjust and as no-one was
interested in what she had achieved the pictures and notes were put
aside until a few years ago when a film company became interested in
her adventure and wanted the film rites to the book. Now she had to
write the book!
I have one now and will read it in due course as the
winter draws in and weather doesn’t let you out much to play. Not
easy to paint much when it is cold. Saying that the Museum has been a
bit chilly on my last few sessions. I have gained more layers of
clothes to compensate. I have no idea why I can go out all day on the
bike and not get chilled to the bone yet being inside an old building
freezes me to an ice-lolly. Still worth being at the Museum because
the fun of talking bikes all day keeps the brain thawed.
M20 with tired soldier.
I
have picked up an old Classic Bike Magazine from June 1994 that has
an article about military bikes that doesn’t include an M20, the
long stroke 500cc side valve. In one of our movies on British Bikes
John Surtees talks about the BSA Gold Star that started life as the
M24 500cc ohv. Not successful at the time but in the late 40’s was
re-designed in the form of the Gold Star as we know it. Transformed
by Roland Pyke into a brilliant club racer and also built a 250cc
version and one of our volunteers, Fred, has one! Each time I see
those videos I find another snippet of information.
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