Photo: Earth-Roamers.blogspot.com
With interstellar travel being quite impossible for now, all we have is to explore our own planet. Mike Schram is one of the most recent guys to circumnavigate Earth, and he did it on a motorcycle. Oh, and he also broke a record!
Mike Schram set off on his amazing adventure on a Yamaha XT660, being 16 years old at the time. He rode 75,000 miles through 53 countries on a journey that took him three and a half years. This placed the young Australian in the records book for being the youngest person to circumnavigate the planet on a motorcycle.
"The most dangerous moments were when we almost had a head-on collision with a moose in Canada," said Mike in an interview with the UK's Mirror newspaper. "And when four trucks were [passing] each other on my side of the road in Honduras."
The trip was scattered with obstacles and dangerous situations ranging from close-call accidents to food poisoning, but Mike said all the difference was made by people he met and helped him. Especially in poorer countries where people are friendlier and keen to share and aid travelers.
"There is a greater sense of community in the poorer countries," he said. "In Southeast Asia or Central America the locals are so welcoming. I never realized how important people are when you start traveling. Meeting people and speaking to them is such an important part of your journey. It gives you a new perspective."
Another memorable experience, as he describes on a blog, was traveling through Uyghur providence in China. He says this part should always be done with a guide as the inhabitants have raised against the system and don’t want to be a part of the country anymore. The paranoid grew so much that motorcyclists are now seen as terrorists and it’s quite hard to be serviced at a gas station.
The trip around the world was revelatory for Mike and his father, Aad. The two have recently set up a bike shop in the Netherlands to sell special adventure bike parts as well as completely customized machines for interested customers.
"The most dangerous moments were when we almost had a head-on collision with a moose in Canada," said Mike in an interview with the UK's Mirror newspaper. "And when four trucks were [passing] each other on my side of the road in Honduras."
The trip was scattered with obstacles and dangerous situations ranging from close-call accidents to food poisoning, but Mike said all the difference was made by people he met and helped him. Especially in poorer countries where people are friendlier and keen to share and aid travelers.
"There is a greater sense of community in the poorer countries," he said. "In Southeast Asia or Central America the locals are so welcoming. I never realized how important people are when you start traveling. Meeting people and speaking to them is such an important part of your journey. It gives you a new perspective."
Another memorable experience, as he describes on a blog, was traveling through Uyghur providence in China. He says this part should always be done with a guide as the inhabitants have raised against the system and don’t want to be a part of the country anymore. The paranoid grew so much that motorcyclists are now seen as terrorists and it’s quite hard to be serviced at a gas station.
The trip around the world was revelatory for Mike and his father, Aad. The two have recently set up a bike shop in the Netherlands to sell special adventure bike parts as well as completely customized machines for interested customers.
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