Going solo to Greece on a major motorcycling mission
Roxy Ka’s epic adventure sees her ride over 6500 miles in just 17 days
Think 5000 miles per year is a good target? How about 18,000 on a 125? Or 50,000 in two years on a GSX650F? All of these things have been achieved by members of MCN’s #ride5000miles group. And this month, 22-year-old Roksana Kiekowska, AKA Roxy Ka, has ridden 6500 miles from Glasgow to Greece in 17 days.
The ’98 FireBlade-riding software developer has just returned from her latest solo epic, her fourth in under three years. After passing her A2 test in 2015 she rode solo to Poland and then in June 2016 added 4000 miles in the Pyrenees and Swiss Alps. Later that year she rode to the Nordkapp from Poland. In May last year, now on the Blade, she rode around the Balkans covering 4300 miles in 11 days. But if Roksana’s mileage is impressive, what truly sets her apart is that she does all of these trips alone, mostly camping. She explained: “I just love travelling on my bike, visiting new places, trying new roads and meeting new people all over Europe. And Greece was one of the countries I hadn’t been to.
“I often travel alone because most people prefer to do shorter trips or take more time,” she added. “I only had 17 days for this trip and wanted to use the time to the maximum. Not many people I know are up for that. Also, when I travel alone I meet lots of new people along the way, go where I want, stop when I want and ride at the speed that suits me!” Highlights of this trip included negotiating “the scariest road in my life”, a 30% downhill track in Sicily. And there were some low points, too. She also had to deal with the Blade’s sprocket carrier collapsing and getting lost quite a lot. But she came through it all and is still smiling. She urges other motorcyclists to get out there and explore. “Go for it and have fun! As long as you have a passport, money and bike documents, everything else can be sorted along the way. “I want to travel to every country in Europe and then go further, maybe to China. I’m hoping to do a round-the-world trip one day.”
‘When I travel alone I meet new people’ #RIDE5000MILES MEMBER ROXY KA