Welsh couple chase the summer on epic around-the-world ride

A biking couple from the Brecon Beacons are currently on the adventure of a lifetime, attempting to follow the summer weather around the world aboard their trusty 2022 BMW R1250GS.

Andy and Jayne Williams, both 60, first began planning their trip around five years ago and, with all their six children having now flown the nest, they saddled up and headed for the heat.

“We are coming back home next September but we are not sure how long for – we have found travelling very moreish and are already thinking about where we can go next,” Andy told MCN during a stop off in Dubai after 23,000 miles and 28 countries (and counting).

Taking a break from riding before the next leg of the trip begins in Perth, Australia, he added: “We chose a motorcycle as we both love biking and we wanted to experience travel in the best way that we could.

“The only sacrifice that we feel we have made (apart from cash obviously) is missing out on seeing family and friends, but at least the kids have come out to meet us along the way. Otherwise, it’s surprising how little we miss.”

The Welsh duo had initially planned to set off sooner, buying a bike at the end of 2019 before everything was derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic, a job change, as well as Andy suffering a broken hip and two broken collar bones.

As if that wasn’t enough, the motorcycle was then stolen, too. “By May this year we thought that we were ready,” the civil engineer added.

“The kids had all left home, our house was rented out, and we had an outline of a plan, which was to hit the road and follow the summer around the world.”

Jumping on the ferry to Santander for no other reason than liking the place, the pair snaked their way through Europe – drinking-in the challenging Alpine roads, quaint chocolate box towns of Bavaria, and even enduring thunderstorms at Nordkapp in Norway – the most northerly point on mainland Europe.

“We hadn’t done much research before we left, preferring to have a flexible approach to travelling,” he added.

“Oman wasn’t on our initial list of countries to visit but we saw a short video from Nick Sanders saying how much he enjoyed it, so we took a look.

“Not only does it have a very welcoming and supportive approach to visitors, it also has remote and beautiful scenery.”

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing: “We hadn’t realised that we couldn’t get hold of tyres in much of the Middle East and our rear tyre was already thinning when we arrived in Israel.

“We had to go gentle on the rear through Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia before getting a replacement tyre fitted in Dubai. We got 13,000 miles out of the rear Pirelli!”