Ex-soldier returns from 500-day round the world adventure

An ex-soldier has returned to the UK after a solo round the world trip that took him 505 days and saw him cover 31,000 miles on his Suzuki DR-Z400.

Aaron Mitchel, 34, from Rochester, sold his car, household possessions and all his belongings to fund the adventure which ended up costing him £25,000. 

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Aaron set off on his odyssey in April 2016, heading through Europe and into Asia, where he ended up in South Korea, before shipping his bike and himself to Canada. From there Arron headed south through the USA and into South America, all the way to Argentina before heading back home.

The Hand of the Desert. A random piece of artwork out in the desert in the Atacama, Northern Chile. It’s a must see on most overlanders route.

A post shared by Aaron Mitchell (@aaronmitchelluk) on Jul 14, 2017 at 9:19pm PDT

Speaking to Kent Online, Aaron said: “I am ex-military and when I came home from my last tour things were not great for me and that’s what sparked the trip. I broke up with my ex and then decided, ‘well what’s stopping me, maybe it will help me to get my life back on track’.”

Aaron’s highlight of the trip was Colombia: “It is just incredible, it is only just being touched by tourism so it is still so genuine and fresh. I have never been to a country that is full of people who are so incredibly happy, people need to see it while it is still in its real element.”

 

I’ve made some new friends out on the roads here in Colombia.

A post shared by Aaron Mitchell (@aaronmitchelluk) on May 18, 2017 at 10:45am PDT

Earlier this year Kane Avellano returned from a 32,000 mile, eight month trip to become the youngest ever person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle solo. We sat down with Kane to talk about his trip. You can read our Sunday Social with Kane here.

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