Konstantinos Mitsakis
I am totally delighted to announce our latest Inspirationalist. This is a rider with such a huge travelling CV he must be without exception one of the two most travelled motorcycle adventurers in the world today. His level of experience is so deep and extensive you will need to click on his CV button below to truely understand who this man is and what he is about.
As Greece's most experienced and influential motorcycle adventurer, known across Europe, and if I said he pillioned his wife across Afghanistan and then Syria you would have just the slimmest idea of the wealth of experience he has to offer. This is a story that must be heard.
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Welcome Mr Konstantinos Mitsakis and your son to our Adventure Gathering
Ted Simon
We are delighted to welcome Ted Simon to the Gathering. He'll give a couple of talk shows in the Cinema and will be around just to hang about with us all, drinking coffee, eating cake!
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Welcome Ted!
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A little bit about Ted that after studying chemical engineering at Imperial College he began his newspaper career in Paris with the Continental Daily Mail. Back in England, whilst undertaking National Service with the RAF he founded Scramble, a magazine for recruits, which caught the attention of Arthur Christiansen, redoubtable editor of the Daily Express, and worked in Fleet Street for ten years. He eventually became Features Editor of the Daily Sketch, and shortly before that paper was amalgamated with the Daily Mail in 1964 he left to found and edit a man's magazine, King, which survived for three years. He moved to France and contributed to various English newspapers and magazines, including The Observer and Nova. His first book, The Chequered Year, or "Grand Prix Year" (U.S. 1972), was an account of the 1970 Formula One season.
In late 1973, sponsored by The Sunday Times, Simon began travelling around the world on a 500 cc Triumph Tiger 100 motorcycle. For four years he travelled over 64,000 miles (103,000 km) through 45 countries. Most accounts from his trip are detailed in his book, Jupiter's Travels, while some of the book's gaps are filled in its follow-up, Riding High. His books and long distance riding inspired the actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in their 2004 journey from London to New York on motorcycles (Long Way Round), during which they arranged to meet Simon in Mongolia.
Ted's new book will be on sale
Charlie McCrea
Charlie McCrea is one of the most experienced members of the Irish Iron Butt Association. If you fancy riding a 1000 mile day - as a self rewarding test - to see if you can do it, talk to Charlie, he's your man.
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What is the Iron Butt association?
It’s an origination of like-minded motorcyclists who participate in the safe pursuit of long-distance riding. Every membership has to be earned via a procedure of verification of data supplied by you. Basically you have to ride 1000 miles in any 24 hour period.
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Charlie started doing Iron Butt rides about 5 years ago as a challenge to himself, then as he says, "in my teens I used to ride enduros, motocross and grass track but as is the norm, life got in the way, or more to the point work. I hung up my bike gear and pursue a life on the road as a long-distance lorry driver. Traveling as far north as Murmansk, south to Marrakesh and east to Istanbul. Never home always on the move. A good friend of mine said to me that the FIM moto tour was in St Petersburg and did I want to go. I hadn’t been on a bike for close to 30 years but I said yes, went and bought a 2004 triumph tiger and thought “right here we go”.
If you are in the right mindset, you can do it.
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If you are not in the zone, call it quits. accidents will happen when you are not with it.
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Always make sure your gear is up to the event.
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if you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated. Drink plenty your bum will thank you. If you are hungry eat.
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Know your own body.
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Always have something warm and dry to pull on when you stop.
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IF YOU ARE TIRED REST. Iron Butt don’t issue certificates posthumously.
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Dr Sasha Carter
An indespensible guide to safe travelling
I came to both medicine and biking later in life. I rode my 125 for a year and a half partly terrified of being on 2 wheels and partly thrilled by the fact I had my CBT. Things changed massively once I started riding bigger bikes. This is when I finally ‘got it.’ The freedom and pleasure gained from riding a motorbike is so exhilarating. I had spent years travelling when I was young but now I can do it on my trusty Kawasaki. But alongside these wonderful trips we need to be aware of medical complications that may arise. I worked in A&E and Intensive Care for many years before settling into Intensive Care and Anaesthetics.
This is not a first aid course (yawn) but tips on how to deal with common medical problems you might face as well as preparation for travelling on that marvellous adventure.
Austin Vince
Austin Vince is best known for his long distance adventure motorcycle expeditions; twice round the world as part of the Mondo Enduro and Terra Circa trips, which were both produced as TV documentaries. Mondo Enduro was probably one of the first of the contemporary motorcycle film documentaries made, before my own series broadcasts in the mid ’90’s and long before the ‘Long Way Round’ campaign, of which he was a consultant.
His wikipedia information describes him as a writer and presenter of the Routes series on Discovery Channel, but his full time job, mostly, is as a maths teacher in a North London public school. He has also served in the Royal Engineers.
Vince attended the private Mill Hill School in North London then was sponsored through university by the army but became a pacifist while there and had to pay them to get out. After university, he returned to Mill Hill as a teacher and used to teach at St. Johns School in Northwood. He is married to one of the most experienced long distance female motorcyclists in the world, Lois Pryce, who has completed several notable expeditions of her own, notably a solo expedition across Iran. He returned for a second stint at St Johns School in Northwood before leaving in 2016 to pursue his passion for motorcycle adventure trips (mini mondos) in the Pyrenees. Participation on these short orienteering journeys are possible by clicking on his website.
Chris Moss
Chris Moss is one of the most experienced and influential motorcycle journalists in the UK today. His understanding of bikes, kit, the stuff that every biker needs to know is legendary. For 40 years, Chris has been the 'go-to' writer and rider that all the manufacturers hire for their product launches. Equally famed for his story-telling, as humorous as it is informative. Chris will be offering up two talks in the Cinema
pic: Chris Moss with Valentino Rossi
As Chris says....
My life with motorcycles started off in 1977, and man were things different in the biking world back then. The bikes, the kit, the law, and the whole attitude to motorcycles and motorcycling wasn’t at all like it is today.
I’ll admit, some stuff was a bit better and I remember the roads being a fair bit quieter than they are these days. But thinking of the bikes, the gear, and the general public’s perception of biking, I’m relieved things have moved on as much as they have.
Of course, you’re never fully aware of just how much things are going to change in the future, so back then, just like today, bikers were generally happy with their lot. However, looking back, riding bikes could be a lot harder work than it is now.
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Roger Davies
Diary farming until the age of 26, Roger then managed a 1000 acre arable farm. A lifelong rider he has recently started a motorcycle tour business called Green Lane Motorcycle Tours with his partner Michelle. His tour business is mainly in the Cotswolds riding unpaved roads on a fleet of Honda CRF300L and also CRF250L motorcycles. A member of the OGA (Overland Guide Association) he is a fully qualified guide in developed countries. Roger also has a British Red Cross level 3 first aid certificate and a trail Pacific first aid certificate from the OGA. Also he is a New Rider Officer for the TRF (Trail Rider's Fellowship) where my specialty is to lead novice or beginners new to trail riding.
"Simple maintenance like changing a tyre, repairing a tubeless tyre or patching an innertube is an essential skill so I will be demonstrating changing tyres, taking off wheels, discussing trail riding along with simpler elements of first aid in case of uncomplicated injury."
Duncan Gough
Duncan has been a traveller since the age 3 when he was transplanted from Wimbledon to a farm in 100 acres of Rhodesian (Zimbabwe) bush. He has travelled and worked across South Africa and Kenya. Lived and worked in Greece, Italy, France and Spain and has 10 published books on travelling Spain and Portugal. He runs excusive guided tours and provides selfguided itineraries for travellers of Iberia.
Noel Lynam
Ordinary people doing Extraordinary Things
My name is Noel Lynam and I was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1973. I joined the merchant Navy at 18 as a navigation officer and spent the next 16 years driving cargo ships around the world. During this time I ended up in Somalia when the USA took over, met the foreign legion, sank 200 miles up the Orinoco River and during my time off learnt to ride motorbikes in Thailand. I also spent 6 years working for British Antarctic Survey as navigation officer on the RSS Ernest Shackleton where I met my now wife, Kathy who was a research scientist. After BAS, we bought a sailboat in 2007 and spent the next 11 years in the north Pacific living and sailing on the boat. Our daughter, Saoirse was born in 2013 in Pohnpei, FSM. In 2018 we sold the boat and moved to a gold mine in Sumbawa, Indonesia where my wife got a job teaching there. We went back to bikes, bought 2 Himalayan's and explored Indonesia (3 years, 20,000km). Covid hit and we moved to Dubai and spent 3 years exploring UAE and Oman on our bikes. I also did a trip from Dubai to Bulgaria via Iran on my bike. During our time we visited India and Sri Lanka on bike trips and in July last year we moved to Chennai, India. In April I left India for a round trip to UK and Ireland. I've currently covered 14 countries, 11000 km on my Himalayan 450. I'm still on the road and will continue the return journey after the Adventure Gathering.
Will Sanders - Tremlett
Having just passed his Direct Access bike licence, now riding a Tènèrè 700, Will offers up a workshop dealing with YouTube vlogging, editing and the promotion necessary to make it a viable and fun channel.
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Presently editing and producing Nick Sanders’s new YouTube channel @nicksandersadventure., Will is producing 20 x 20 min shows leading up to the Adventure Gathering based on Nick’s recent 30,000 km ride around the Edge of Europe on a Royal Enfield Bear 650.
Later in the year there will be further updates including a filmed ride from Goa to the Royal Enfield factory in Chennai via Bhutan.
Will has a BA (1st) and has been active securing local authority grant funding for local community based youth projects in mid Wales. As a computer programmer he is about to launch a community based Cinema project initially in mid Wales before rolling it out across the UK.
Nick Sanders
Nick Sanders has ridden around the world 11 times, 8 by motorbike, 3 by bicycle. He's also ridden the length of the Americas 8 times.
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After riding as a works rider for Yamaha for the past 25 years, he has recently ridden 20,000 miles around the Edge of Europe on the Royal Enfield Bear 650. It took 3 months and the bike performed faultlessly. After a chat about the Europe ride, for the second time only we'll screen the 20 min short film edited by Nick's son Will.
Braddon Johnson
Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things
Having just returned from motorcycling the length of the Americas with partner Shona, Brad is better known as an endurance runner. How to get fit, or how to 'endure' would be a suitable title for his talk at the Gathering. As he says, more through tenacity and determination than inherent athleticism, Braddan has none the less achieved a thing or two when it comes to endurance. Partaking in numerous long distance running events over the years he’s completed the infamous Dragons Back Race (North to South Wales on foot, off road), Australia's answer to the Marathon Des Sables (The Big Red Run), an Iron Man, a couple of 100 mile non stop events and too many shorter (but still pretty long) events to mention.
The recurring theme is about strength and ability, health and fitness, to keep going when it starts to feel like the odds are stacked against you. A few relatively simple things that can be summed up are ‘routine’ but really it doesn’t have to be anything of the sort. Decent regular diet. Focus on strength training, cardio and flexibility. And that’s it.
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Braddan’s talk is an informal chat about the benefits of introducing some basic diet and fitness routine to daily life and how that can potentially significantly improve your adventure potential.
Tom & Lauren
Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things
At the end of 2023 Tom and Lauren sold off the vast majority of their worldly possesions and packed what was left onto two small 125cc motorcycles and set off for Africa. Both were overland amateurs and with limited travel experience, and Lauren with less than 8 months motorcycle riding experience, were firmly in the deep end.
An 11 month journey covering nearly 23,000 miles through 25 African countries would follow, traversing mountains, deserts, snowstorms, jungles and everything in between! Seeing all sides of humanity from kindess to crime it would be an unforgettable experience. The trip was Paused in Zambia and will pick up in October 2025 to reach Asia and a return to Europe.
Vaughan de Grave
As a sports and events photographer, I specialise in capturing candid moments in a manner which encapsulates the feeling of the moment. My goal is not only to photograph the action, but to do so in a way that tells a story. At this event, I aim to share my expertise through several short photography courses with small groups. The focus of these sessions will be primarily (though not exclusively) smartphone photography with the aim being to elevate your smartphone snapshots to compelling photographs which will hold the viewers attention. During each session I will guide attendees through the basic principles of photography such as composition, basic camera settings and how best to take advantage of the available light.
By emphasising the importance of small changes to composition and subject positioning in relation to available light sources alongside the effects which can be achieved through a basic understanding of camera settings I will help participants discover how to bring their photos to life.
Whether you're photographing a sports event, a family gathering, or a day out with friends, my goal is to give you the tools needed to create visually engaging images which will, if nothing else, impress your mates more than a simple snapshot.
Bob Teague
Bob is a professional motorcycle valet, so if you want to learn a few hacks and tips how to keep your bike in tip top condition, Bob will bring his cleaning kit and show you how.