This biker sees no boundaries

A meeting with Paul Read, a British national, who is exploring the globe on his bike, makes one realise that no ambition is bigger than the desire to live the dreams.

The 42-year-old biker who was here on his globe tottering mission on motorcycle nurtured a dream of a long motorcycle adventure tour since his mid-twenties. But it was only when he turned 40 that he realised to quit the job of software programmer and made frantic searches about motorcycle adventure on the net.

He set out from his parent’s farm in Lincolnshire on the east coast of England with a motto “the big plan is to have no plan” on September 14, 2007.

During first six months, he rode 22,000 km through seven different countries viz. France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, UAE, Oman and came back to the UAE before he flew to the UK to work with a friend for a short while.

Sharing experiences of his adventurous journey, Read said, “In France, I saw some natural wonders and the amazing engineering feat of the Millau Viaduct. Italy saw me enjoying a world sports car championship race from the pits. In Greece, I visited the monasteries perched high on the rocks in the meteors region. While in Turkey five other motorcycle adventurers joined me. I travelled with them for a while before snow halted the expedition”.

A quick truck ride took him and his bike into Iran, where again the snow hampered the forward journey and he had to travel by train to go to warmer regions which afforded him an opportunity to enjoy the ancient Presepolis palace.

He then spent four weeks exploring Oman and travelled past 700 km through the southern desert of Oman where only a thin strip of tarmac was splitting sandy flat grounds, which was a real spectacle.

In September 2008, he flew back to the UAE after leaving his Honda in Dubai before flying onto India and chose to explore India on a Royal Enfield during the second part of his trip.

“I aim to explore India enjoying the sites and sounds of hill stations, temples, people and the amazing scenery before going back. I really feel that my trip has been an adventure that exceeded my expectations and I have enjoyed the beautiful places and the hospitability of the people I have met,” he said, adding that the people of Turkey, Iran, Oman and now India have been exceptionally helpful and welcoming.

“I always felt that I arrived as a stranger and left a friend at all these places. In India, I met members of the Fox Adventure Club through a website, who are really experienced in this field and they chalked out the programme for me to visit the hills of Uttarakhand,” he added.

Summing up his exhilarating experience, Read said, “My trip has been wonderful even when the things did not go as I intended, but as an adventurer, I only wish to treasure positive memories”.