Kevin and Julia Sanders

The Sanders' BMW R1150GS on display at the Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Kevin and Julia Sanders are an English motorcyclist husband and wife noted for overland long-distance riding. They hold two Guinness World Records. The first was achieved in June 2002 by circumnavigating the world by motorcycle in 19½ days. The second was completed on 22 September 2003, riding the length of the Americas from Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, United States to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina in 35 days and breaking the previous record by over 12 days.[1] The couple also have their own motorcycle expedition company GlobeBusters.

Biography

Kevin was born in London on 14 October 1964, and grew up in Tottenham. He has ridden motorcycles since he was 17. He moved to Cambridge and started his own motorcycle instructing school, "BikeSafe". He holds the highest qualifications for advanced motorcycling available to civilians, the RoSPA Diploma in Advanced Motorcycle Tuition.

Sanders met Julia in South America and they got married in Peru. Since then they have broken world records, started their own expedition company GlobeBusters, travelled the world, been featured in many magazines, made their own DVDs and have been on National Geographic Channel.

Guinness World Records rides

2002 World Circumnavigation

In 2002, Kevin and Julia Sanders broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by motorcycle, taking 12½ days off the previous record established by Nick Sanders in June 1997. They averaged 1,000 miles (1,600 km) each day on the bike and rode 19,461 miles (31,319 km) in 19 days 8 hours and 25 minutes.[2] The bike used was a BMW R1150GS.

This motorcycle record also beat the existing car record for Around the World by 1 hour and 50 minutes, a record which allows two drivers to rotate the driving. Their Guinness World Record motorcycle ride now stands as the fastest overland vehicle around the world, although the Guinness World Records organisation no longer recognises such attempts.[2]

2003 Trans Americas

The previous record for the Trans Americas route had stood at 47½ days. The Sanders broke this by over 12 days, doing it in 35 days. The Trans Americas route covered almost 17,000 miles (27,000 km) of tough riding, rugged terrains and extreme weather conditions. They went from Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The bike used was a BMW R1150GS Adventure. Guinness no longer certifies such rides.

2010 Silk Road East expedition

In April 2010 led a ten-week commercial expedition through Europe, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China.[3] The 13,000-mile (21,000 km) trip ended in July 2010, with only one rider sent home due to altitude sickness en route to Everest Base Camp.[4]

Charity

Their rides have also raised money for SOS Children's Villages. With its UK base in Cambridge, their old home town, this charity cares for abandoned and orphaned children in over 122 countries worldwide. As part of their Trans Americas World Record, they managed to also visit the SOS Children's Village in Panama, whilst the bike was being air freighted to Caracas. Their total funds raised to date stand at almost £11,000 for the Trans Americas Guinness Ride. Sanders has also led other charity rides such as a 2006 trans-Russian expedition to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital.[5]

National Geographic Channel

National Geographic Channel broadcast a series, The Ride: Alaska to Patagonia, based on a 2005 trans-Americas ride undertaken by the Sanders and a team of eleven novice motorcycle overlanders. This ride traversed the Pan American Highway.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Walker, Tim (29 September 2005), How to have a real adventure: Take a train or get on a bike to experience the thrill of travel as it used to be, The Independent (UK), retrieved 2010-03-23
  2. 1 2 Guinness World Records 2004. Guinness World Records Ltd. 2003. p. 35. ISBN 0-85112-180-2.
  3. ↑ "London to Beijing". BMW MOA. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "Globe-Busting BMW bike ride reaches Beijing". BMW Motorrad. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  5. ↑ Cracknell, James (18 February 2006). "White nights in black leather". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  6. ↑ The Ride: Alaska to Patagonia at the Internet Movie Database

External links

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