Tuesday 28 November 2017

Elspeth Beard


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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