I thoroughly enjoy reading many of the tales of the road from people who are riding the world right now, and I love soaking up their enticing blend of joy, fear, disaster, and good times.

Recently my thoughts have been off in the direction of the early-day overlanders. What intrigues me most about these travelers is the fact that many of them were ground breakers, and had to prepare for their adventures relying on little else than common sense and enthusiasm.

Take Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron for example. These two amazing women were the first to ride the length of Africa by motorcycle and their tale is wonderfully told in Theresa’s book Rugged Roads. What courage! 1935 was a time when women weren’t even supposed to be wearing trousers, let alone planning a bimble the length of Africa. To put this trip into context, this was a time when Africa was known as the “Dark Continent,” in part because so little was known about it. There was no well-worn route, so this duo had to carry significant water, fuel and oil. And, they needed a sidecar and trailer to do that. Imagine what it must have been like to have to tow all that gear through the sands of the Sahara!

Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkieron with their trusty 600cc Panther Redwing Model 100, Watsonian sidecar rig.

Sam Manicom spent eight years traveling around the world by motorcycle and is the author of four motorcycle travel books. All are available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle. His first book, Into Africa, is now downloadable from iTunes as an enhanced eBook. Sam-Manicom.com

Bibliography:

World Understanding on Two Wheels—Paul Pratt, ISBN 0 9507353 0 2

India the Shimmering Dream—Max Reisch, ISBN 978-0-9556595-9-1

The Rugged Road—Theresa Wallach, ISBN 978-0-9564975-2-9

One Man Caravan—Robert Fulton, ISBN 978-1-8843130-5-9

Around the World on a Motorcycle—Zoltan Sulkowsky, ISBN 978-1-8843137-7-6

Motorcycle Adventurer—Dr. Gregory Frazier, ISBN 978-1-4502214-1-2