‘WE DID IT’

‘A haggard old woman sold me a rock’

Bill Higginson

“The altitude made it hard work, the scenery was amazing, the Enfields felt underpowered. We saw the Dalai Lama! And I still don’t like camping. A haggard old woman offered to sell me a rock. Encouraged by tour leader Suzie I bought it. I then asked Suzie what was special about the rock. ‘Nothing,’ she replied. ‘But the old woman is too proud to beg so she sold you anything she could.’ Very humbling.”

‘It was definitely an experience not a holiday’

Kevin Sharp

“I’d always wanted to do a trip like this. The goal of riding the world’s highest motorable pass is pretty special. But my wife wasn’t keen and I couldn’t afford it anyway. When she died 18 months ago I just had to take the tour and I met some great people. It was much tougher than I thought: definitely an experience rather than a holiday. Today I can hardly believe that

I did the trip. It seemed such a momentous thing to do at the time.”

‘Now I am going to set off round the world’

Geoff Keys

“The Himalayan area is as raw and wild as you might ever imagine it to be. Unaffected by the feeble doings of humans, the mountains really are nature, red in tooth and claw. Tackling difficult terrain on bikes not designed for it improved my confidence. In fact, the trip was the final building block in convincing me to set off on my own round-the-world trip. I found the scenery overwhelmingly beautiful and exciting.”

‘It makes me smile thinking about it’

Adrian Petyt

“Every day was terrific, whether it be struggling for 14 hours along broken down roads, enjoying switchbacks on some of the rare tarmac at speeds of up to 50mph, or chilling in Leh with a beer. Also, the wonderful people in Ladakh. And the ‘Little Tibet’ architecture is other-worldly. It hasn’t changed me, because I’d been to the area before and know how wonderful it is. But it makes me smile thinking about it.”