Elspeth Beard is featured in an exhibition at the Royal College of Art which captures the portraits of 100 pioneering women of the 21st century (Image: Anita Corbin) When I’d finished, I patted my trousers for my wallet, but the man and woman immediately tensed. I mimed paying them, but they shook their heads. I was their guest, they explained in gestures. Any attempt to pay them would be refused. Now, Elspeth Beard is a highly decorated architect, living in an old 1898 Victorian water tower which she designed and restored all by herself (you may have seen it featured on various TV shows throughout the years). Though she was by that time a very experienced motorcyclist, a competent mechanic and had worked tirelessly to save enough money to make an around-the-world journey, even up to the day she left England in October 1982, she harbored thoughts of calling it off. Happily, she didn’t. Had she done so, she—and we—would have missed out on the adventure of a lifetime. After spending eight months working in an architect’s office in Sydney, while living in a garage with her bike, Elspeth Beard once again hit the road having saved up enough money.

That was me on my first bike, my little Yamaha,” she tells me, scrolling though her old pictures on her tablet. “I must have been about 18 or 20? There was my first helmet. That was my second bike, my Honda 250. Me at the airport. That’s what my bike was like, you can see I’ve got the big five gallon tank on there. Something flashed between us and I realized we were united in our common cause. I knew that she wanted to prove to the men standing idly around, watching and talking about a woman doing something that was traditionally associated more with them than with women, that we were just as capable as any man, if only given the chance. Seeing the classic structures of Europe on family vacations in her youth gave her an interest—and she had a talent for—architecture but that would have to wait. She had something more on her mind. reis ise... muidugi polnud sel viga, aga eks neid mootorratturite ümbermaailmareisilugusid ole ennegi raamatutest loetud ja telekast nähtud ja sotsiaalmeedias jälgitud, ja kuna maailm on sama, siis on nad ikkagi üksjagu sarnased omavahel. maailm aastal 1982 oli... ka ikkagi sama, kuigi internetti oli vähem ja arveldada tuli reisitšekkidega (ok, ausalt öeldes ma ei ole kunagi päriselt teadnud/aru saanud, misasjad need reisitšekid olid ja kuidas töötasid). aga muidu ikka... Austraalias kehvad treppisõidetud teed, kängurud ja aegajalt üleujutused, Aasias räpasus ja ahistamine ja varastamine ja ka üleujutused, Ameerikat lihtsalt liiga palju ja igal pool maailmas suur hämming selle üle, et OMG NAINE MOOTORRATTAL KUIDAS ON SEE VÕIMALIK. So there were certain events like that but getting my stuff stolen in Singapore, nothing good came out of that.” Elspeth Beard on a nasty accident in AustraliaI think it makes you not afraid of anything, it gives you a lot of inner strength. I’m sure there are other ways that you can achieve that, but that’s how I did it.” As Madras emerged through the mist, it was exactly as she anticipated it would be, crumbling, chaotic, colourful and yet charming. Riding in this country would be a challenge and she had to reach Nepal so she could meet up with her parents for the first time in a long time, so had made the decision to take the train from Madras to Calcutta. It was a wise decision as it saved her at least two days travelling. Heading north from Calcutta, she realised how challenging it would be on the roads just to stay alive. Every time she stopped, especially in what seemed to be an empty part of the country, she was immediately surrounded by Indian men wanting to touch the bike. It was hard going, but she made it into Nepal. Mark arrived and they decided to take one of the organised treks up into the mountains. The wall next to the front door is decorated with various architectural awards, and as I entered the building I could see that they were clearly deserved. There’s no lift in her seven story tower, and so after walking up four flights of stairs and running out of puff Elspeth showed me into the kitchen where she put the kettle on and we sat down. Surrounding us were mementos of her time on the road. A cup of tea with Elspeth Beard a b Slade, Rob (2015). "10 of the greatest moments in adventure motorcycling from the past 85 years". Archived from the original on 19 April 2016 . Retrieved 18 April 2016. In those days, you traveled without social media. You couldn’t tell everyone what you were doing every five minutes of the day. It was very, very different. And you very much traveled for yourself. You learned about yourself, about the world, that was it really.”

Elspeth Beard is an extraordinary character. There are battles, mostly with bureaucracy – I lost count of the number of times she was refused entry to Australia or denied the correct passport stamp from India. She has to fight illness and injury, including a time when an accident involving a dog in Thailand has an unexpected consequence. Before I met Elspeth Beard it was hard to find much information about her and her epic ride. Partly because she had moved on with her life and all memories of the trip had been pushed to the side. And so it continued for two days and three nights, a simple routine of lazing around, sleeping and watching television, eating rice, meat and vegetables, while my body healed itself. At times I wondered if it might be marginally less painful to ride my bike to somewhere with a comfortable bed but I enjoyed being part of a family again. Watching them go about their daily routine not only gave me an insight into the life of a typical Thai family, but also made me realize how much I missed being in the bosom of my own clan. I didn’t want to go and work in an office, so I thought well, if I am going to do my work experience I’d rather do it somewhere else, so I rode to Sydney and did my work experience in an office there!

ostsin selle raamatu autori enda käest pärast seda, kui ühel motomessil ta esinemisele sattusin - ta rääkis väga hoogsalt ja meeleolukalt ära selle loo, kuidas ta 22-aastaselt endale (tolle aja kohta) võimsa mootorratta ostis, seda parandama ja hooldama õppis ja sellega siis ümber maailma sõitis. nagu raamatu pealkirigi ütleb, esimese briti naisena. After years away, she returned home, wiser and with the knowledge that she could do anything she set out to do. But, publishing a book at the time seemed like a dead end road, as no one was interested in her story. And after storing away all her notes, audio files and memories for almost 35 years, she finally wrote the book that she wanted to all those years ago. And here we have it, Lone Rider - The First British Woman to Motorcycle Around the World. Over 30 years ago Elspeth Beard rode her motorcycle around the world, she crashed in Australia, fought hepatitis in Iran, forged permits in India and now she lives in a restored Victorian water tower, Bryn Davies speaks to her to find out more about her epic trip… The last section of the book broke my heart. I wished more than anything I could give her a hug during those trying periods of her life. I'm thankful that she took time to write this book. I'm thankful that she had the guts to do such a daring journey on a motorcycle. Elspeth stated, ‘For most of us motorcycling represents freedom. This is how they see motorcycling – it gives them the freedom and because motorbikes are relatively inexpensive compared to cars, it is a form of transport they have got some chance at actually being able to get, to give them the freedom to go out and to do things.’