27/09/2025
A “practical” decision that changed my life forever…
11 years ago today I bought my first bike — a little Kawasaki Ninja 250 — to save money on parking in Sydney.
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What started as commuting quickly turned into a passion. Within a year I went through five bikes — Ninja 250, GSXR 750, Ducati Monster 900, Honda Fireblade, and a Kawasaki Z1000 — chasing that perfect fit.
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After moving to Scotland, I briefly tried a BMW K100, then a GSXR 750 SRAD, before going back to a Fireblade. Touring followed — a “couple of weeks” ride that turned into months across the Balkans, ended with a head-on crash with a car, full hip dislocation (in Macedonia), and 3 months of not being able to walk.
That crash pushed me toward off-roading. I tried a Triumph Tiger 800XC, then a BMW F800GSA — the bike I took to Nordkapp for three months and, 10 days later, swapped for another F800GS in Kyrgyzstan to ride the Pamir Highway, following the Silk Road back to Europe over another three months. The idea of an RTW ride was starting to hatch.
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Returning in Dec 2019, COVID lockdowns hit soon after. I couldn’t store the big GSA, so I sold it and cycled through a Ducati Monster S4R and a GSXR 750 (which I could fit through my house door).
Later I picked up the X-Challenge, originally to ride around Iceland — but instead I ended up riding the world.
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All of this — the bikes, the tours, the crashes, the dreams and the round the world ride — started with one simple goal: saving money on parking.
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