In many ways, Lone Rider is a tale of frustration. With men, humankind, employment, India, poorly surfaced roads, time, cultural ignorance, with the journey itself. It’s a lot for a then 23-year-old to take on. In the mid-eighties Elspeth Beard became the second British woman to ride a motorcycle around the world (the first being Mary Sievier). Her trip started in the US after she had shipped her bike over from the UK.

In the early 1980s, at just age 23, Elspeth Beard decided to hit the road for a 35,000-mile, round-the-world adventure — going solo, on sabbatical from architecture school, and riding a 1974 BMW R60/6.R motorcycle. Her new travel memoir, Lone Rider: The First British Woman to Motorcycle Around the World, is about that incredible, epic experience. In this exclusive excerpt for Outpost, Beard takes a serious wipe-out in rural India, and discovers the power of the human community. Excerpt: Story and and Photos by (and courtesy of) Elspeth Beard You just had these people in their BMWs, their Porches, being really aggressive and angry. Really miserable.Before I met Elspeth Beard it was hard to find much information about her and her epic ride. Partly because she had moved on with her life and all memories of the trip had been pushed to the side. In those days, you traveled without social media. You couldn’t tell everyone what you were doing every five minutes of the day. It was very, very different. And you very much traveled for yourself. You learned about yourself, about the world, that was it really.” It is romantic, factual and says a lot for the true British spirit and oblivious nature to overcome any task or hardship to achieve your goals. I was determined to make up for lost time, and although I had abandoned any hope of catching the cargo boat to Madras as planned, I hoped I could find another way. I was spurred on by a deep desire to get to Kathmandu by any means so that I could be reunited for a short time with my parents. Eighteen months had passed since they waved off a rather reluctant traveller from Heathrow. It was a long time and I really needed to see them. * Elspeth stated, ‘For most of us motorcycling represents freedom. This is how they see motorcycling – it gives them the freedom and because motorbikes are relatively inexpensive compared to cars, it is a form of transport they have got some chance at actually being able to get, to give them the freedom to go out and to do things.’

My family almost pretended as if it was a little bit of a blip in my development. Now that I’ve got it out of my system, I was normal. Long, David (May 2015). Bizarre England: Discover the Country's Secrets and Surprises. Michael O'Mara Books. ISBN 978-1782433767 . Retrieved 19 April 2016. Broken-hearted, she wasn't doing well in school and decided to embark on this trip to prove herself. Ridiculed by the editor and his "chauvinist colleagues"at a popular motorcycle magazine in London, she was only all that more determined to achieve her goal. Eventually, the Honda was sold off and replaced by what would become a very important part of Beard’s life: a 1974 BMW R60/6. Before long, she was touring Europe on the BMW and visions of the world tour began to take shape. Longer and longer tours on limited funds built her confidence in her BMW and in her open-road survival skills. And even though we sort of say we’ve ridden around the world, if you actually look at it, all you’ve actually seen is both sides of one red line. There’s so much more out there to see.”Lone Rider has really encouraged me to pursue the aspirations I hold dear to me even in the absence of support. It's so hard to find other female motorcyclists - let alone ones that have undertaken a journey as monumental and gruelling as hers - and the feminist in me was galvanised in a way she hasn't been for a long time. Elspeth's story was a stark reminder that the best adventures are not necessarily the ones that will feel worth it every step of the way, and it certainly underlined the importance of having conviction in your own decisions. Elspeth still has her beloved BMW R60/6 motorbike, though she just takes her out on the weekends. She still loves travelling – there are still so many countries she wants to visit. I used to get odd looks when I took my helmet off. It was quite a male-only club and I never felt particularly welcome. Foxe, Ken (25 July 2017). "First woman to travel the world on a motorbike". Lonely Planet News. Lonely Planet . Retrieved 9 February 2019.