Serial globe-trotter Nick Sanders resumes paused circumnavigation as pandemic recedes

Adventure rider Nick Sanders has set off on his lap of the world once again after the coronavirus pandemic brought the trip to a halt in Australia.

Sanders covered 18,000 miles before Covid intervened and now has just over 20,000 miles ahead of him. The first half of the trip saw him tackle the Americas before shipping his Yamaha Ténéré 700 to Australia.

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“I’m very happy to be flying back and restarting the journey,” Sanders told MCN. “I don’t like giving up and neither do Yamaha. In a post-Covid world it’s nice to get back to a normal we understand and I understand riding my motorbike around the world.”

The journey so far has seen Sanders cross the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, go off-road in Nicaragua, travel over the Andes three times and head down to Patagonia. Along the way Sanders has covered a mixture of road and off-road, burning two sets of tyres and 300 gallons of fuel, with the Ténéré 700 proving itself to be a reliable companion.

“No breakdowns, no unusual mechanical activity, kind of boringly nothing to report,” added Sanders. “Except that as I have now slowed right down, well, fairly slow, there is so much to talk about and see.

“I used to be an R1 rider, that’s my big history, so to be able to ride easily off-road is quite a change for me and my riding.

“In some ways, the stories about big trips are less about the bike – although it’s always about the bike – but because there are so few issues with the mechanics, you can focus on the lovely surroundings!”

The next key destination is the Red Centre Track in central Australia, which passes close to Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock. Sanders predicts days of red dirt, no traffic and good weather.

From there he will ship the bike across another ocean before tackling Asia with a stop planned for the Red House Hotel high in the Himalayas beside the Tibetan border – a favourite of Jimi Hendrix. Then comes Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel before he ships the bike to Greece for the return leg home.

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Globetrotter back home: Nick Sanders gets last flight home from Sydney

First published on 17 April 2020 by Jordan Gibbons

Nick Sanders MBE has made it back to the UK safe and sound after catching one of the last flights out of Australia on his latest round-the-world trip.

His journey started in November when he collected a Ténéré 700 from Yamaha’s factory in France. He then rode it home to Wales before setting off on the first leg of his epic journey, following a practice run to Dakar in Senegal, the spiritual home of the Ténéré family. It was here that an XT500 claimed overall victory in the very first Paris-Dakar rally 40 years ago.

Last time we spoke to Nick he was navigating across Death Valley in North America but since then he’s made his way down through South America, taking in everything from the giant salt flats of Bolivia to the dense jungles of Panama.

Having finished the Americas, Sanders is just shy of halfway on his trip, that will see him cover over 60,000 miles on Yamaha’s latest adventure bike.

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“I sailed the bike over from Argentina and I’d just arrived in Australia,” says Sanders. “I had hoped that I could set off around the country with a plan to cover it in around seven weeks.

“I had just set off that very day when Australia took the decision to restrict travel, not just from outside the country but within the territories themselves. I did think about staying but I didn’t know how long I’d be there, so I managed to get on the last flight out of Sydney.

“The plan at the moment is to head back to Australia in September, where I’ll pick up the bike and continue my journey. I’ll then head to Asia, aiming for Kazakhstan before turning towards Europe and home.”

And of the bike itself? “Absolutely faultless,” adds Sanders. “I don’t really fall off much at all these days but sand can be tricky and I’m safe in the knowledge it’s light enough to pick up if I need it. Nothing has broken either – it’s just been a case of changing oil and fitting new Continental tyres when needed.”