TRAVEL
Having finished with academia 29-year-old Chantal Simons decided to enrol in the school of life. 43,000 miles and two years later she graduated…
43,000 miles in two years, Chantel Simons learns about life…
Where are you right now?
Back in Australia. The trip made me realise where I want to live and what I want to do. For me that is in Australia. Although it’s not easy to move here, I’ve been able to secure an amazing PHD position in Sport Psychology on the Sunshine Coast.
You’ve just returned from an epic solo ride, what was your route and what bike did you ride?
It was a 43,500-mile, two year journey from Australia to the Netherlands. I rode a Yamaha XT250, known to Australians as a ‘Chook Chaser’ – just right for a 5ft 2in featherweight like me because it’s light, easy and durable. First, I rode all over Australia, then I went to East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan then by boat to Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. I then took another boat, to Italy, because the mainland was covered in snow. I finished the ride in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
What was your motorcycling experience before you left?
I’d been riding for five years when I set out. I planned to just ride around Australia but when my visa came to an end I had to decide what to do with my life. Studying for six years had taught me a lot, but I had no clue about what the world really looked like. So, having never been to a non-western country before I decided to ride my motorbike through Asia and all the way to the Netherlands.
You took a lo-fi approach to your bike and kit…
There are as many ways to set up your bike as there are people who ride. I didn’t have much money, but I was determined that wouldn’t stop me. I started off with a seven euro Aldi dry-bag and two equally cheap carry-on suitcases for panniers, plus a plastic toolbox as a topbox. The set-up changed during the trip. Eventually I settled on an aluminium topbox, two army backpacks from an Indonesian market as panniers and a dry-bag. My journey was about discovering the world and myself in it. For that I needed time and experiences. I needed my money to last. Also, I found joy in ‘making things work’. For example, I made hand muffs out of old rain pants and super glue. They saved my hands from rain, snow and cold – no heated grips on an XT.
What was the high point?
The beautiful people and their incredible hospitality I came across in virtually every country I passed through.
And the low point?
Being stuck in Iran with a bike that was broken for the third time in two weeks, a passport that didn’t allow me to continue and minimal cash (in Iran you can’t use bank cards). I was close to
‘I had no clue what the world looked like’
giving up, but by then had learned to persist. I got a new passport, totally emptying my pockets. Then, the mechanics were absolute geniuses and saved me hundreds of dollars by modifying a Toyota Hilux fuel pump to fit the XT. Then an Australian-iranian guy appeared from nowhere when I was in the pits of desperation. I transferred money from my account into his Australian bank account and he gave me Iranian cash. I know it’s an unbelievable story, but it’s true.
More women are travelling solo on bikes than ever before, but did you feel you were seen as a ‘novelty’ in the developing world, or do you think people are getting used to us now?
Women on bikes are still novelties anywhere. Even in Western countries people looked twice when I dismounted my fully loaded bike and took off my helmet. If anything, in the developing countries a bike-riding Westerner is enough of an alien-like spectacle that the person’s gender is of less importance.
Follow Chantal’s adventures here:
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Website: chickonthechookchaser. com