We hit the for what must surely be Thailand’s most legendary motorcycle road, the Mae Hong Son loop, even in a Hilux we were excited to get onto this road famous for its 1864 curves.
London to Magadan – On the road with the Road of Bones Expedition 2018 #4 – by Allana Goldsworthy
Vonderful Volgograd 14 June 2018 Story by Allana Goldsworthy Images – Allana Goldsworthy, Azar Farahmand, Hugo Penasco, Bayne Morison and Dennis Grothues. Well we are now in Russia – and there are a few things we have noticed. 1. Whilst less people smoke here than in Turkey or Georgia – it is still the case […]
London to Magadan – On the road with the Road of Bones Expedition 2018 #3 – by Allana Goldsworthy
ROAD OF BONES 2018 A Long Day’s Journey into Night Story by Allana Goldsworthy Images – Allana Goldsworthy, Azar Farahmand, Hugo Penasco, Bayne Morison and Dennis Grothues. CHAPTER THREE VLADIVAVKAZ TO ELISTA I am working hard to keep on top of these posts otherwise they will still dribbling though as you are opening your Christmas presents! […]
London to Magadan – On the road with the Road of Bones Expedition 2018 #2 – by Allana Goldsworthy
Road of Bones – 2018 CHAPTER TWO Story by Allana Goldsworthy Images – Allana Goldsworthy, Azar Farahmand, Hugo Penasco, Bayne Morison and Dennis Grothues. Our time in Tblisi, Georgia, passed all too quickly – we enjoyed our couple of nights in our comfortable hotel, in this quirky capital. Massive thunderstorms rolling over Tblisi in the evening […]
Magic Mongolia Blog – July 2018 – By Peter Grace – Part #4
Sunday 24 June Day 8 Saturday was a rest day and we needed it. I went for a horse ride and the had a siesta., Sunday, we retraced our path away from the lake on a dry and dusty road (it had been muddy and puddled on Friday). I had another problem when my bash […]
Magic Mongolia Blog – July 2018 – By Peter Grace – Part #3
Wednesday 20 June Day 4 It’s now Saturday, but I’m writing about Wednesday. We retraced our path down the main road of Darkham and the turned right (west) onto dirt tracks. Nice easy riding and lovely wide valleys with herds of animals roaming free. There are no fences, so the animals go where they like. […]
The Inaugural Compass Expeditions Mongolian Magic Tour – Mick’s Blog – Part #1
Story and photos by Mick McDonald. Part #1 For the first time in nearly 3 weeks in Mongolia it’s raining, and raining hard, of course it’s our first day of our first ever 14-day Mongolian Magic tour. We struggle out of the capital Ulaan Baatar though a maelstrom of water filled potholes with manic bus […]
Magic Mongolia Blog – July 2018 – By Peter Grace – Part #2
Day 2 Mongolia It was a full-on day. New bikes had been delivered, old bikes fixed, and the weather was cool but sunny. We left at 8.00am and got back to the hotel at 7.45pm. We started by visiting the Genghis Khan statue. It was enormous – the biggest horse in the world apparently. We […]
London to Magadan – On the road with the Road of Bones Expedition 2018 #1 – by Allana Goldsworthy
CHAPTER ONE ISTANBUL Story by Allana Goldsworthy Images – Allana Goldsworthy, Azar Farahmand, Hugo Penasco, Bayne Morison and Dennis Grothues. This is the first of what will probably be a semi regular posting! Dependent upon WiFi access, computer skills, battery life and inclination! We are embarking on a trip that will take us through 16 […]
Spain, Portugal & Morocco – The Research Trip
We often get told “we are living the dream” and its times like these that we can only wholeheartedly agree that yes “we are living the dream”. Words and images by Mick McDonald Following is the ramblings of Veronica and Mick as we conduct a research trip for our new 20 day Spain / Portugal […]
Born to Ride – Asian Overland Story.
Our friends at Born to Ride Magazine have ran this great story featuring our new 104 day major expedition, The Asian Overland – Darwin to Beijing. The Asian Overland is a great long distance adventure that does not require you to have any off road riding experience as over 95% of the route is on […]
Charley Boorman – Cape Town To Victoria Falls – African Adventure 2017
Charley Boorman, Billy Ward and a great group of adventurous riders and pillions departed Cape Town in overcast conditions on the 29th of August. They were headed for warmer weather and an amazing and challenging African experience. Providing logistical and mechanical support was the founder of Compass Expeditions, Mick McDonald, and our regular tour medic, […]
2017 Australia Encompassed – Part 1
One of the highlights for me leading tours, is meeting and riding with a diverse group of riders from all over the world and sharing great roads and attractions along the way. Our Australia Encompassed tour 2017 is no exception. Introducing the group we have Rafael from Spain, Miguel from Portugal, Paul from Norfolk Island, […]
True North: Alaska – The Research Run Gallery
Bayne, one of our trusted Compass Expeditions all rounders has just completed the research trip for our new True North: Alaska motorcycle tour. We had him hit the road following routes that we thought would be perfect for an amazing ride through this staggeringly beautiful landscape. Sometimes we were spot on other times Bayne was […]
Kyrgyzstan Explorer – The view from the support truck – Week Two
Click Here to read about WEEK ONE of the tour Story by Ryan Heath Images by Mick McDonald The next day we are off the bikes but the adventure does not stop. Early in the morning we board two former Russian army trucks that transport us to the stunning alpine valley of Altyn Arashan. […]
Kyrgyzstan Explorer – The view from the support truck – Week One
Story by Ryan Heath Images by Mick McDonald It is fair to say that when I told people I was travelling to Kyrgyzstan the most common reaction was, “you’re going where?” I think there was an assumption that any place that ended with “stan” was not a travel destination of choice. People seemed […]
South America 360 Expedition – The finale!
Back into Argentina form Bolivia, to Santiago, Chile, and then the 360 is done. Tupiza, Bolivia into Humahuaca, Argentina. A generally difficult border went very well, much quicker than anticipated. The twisty mountain roads of Bolivia turn to flat and straight again in Argentina, but not for long. We soon hit the beautiful hills and […]
South America 360 Expedition – Welcome to Bolivia!
Welcome to Bolivia! In this instalment of the South America 360 blog, we cross the border from Peru into Bolivia and head towards La Paz. La Paz to Uyuni, a long day, with a lot of kilometers. We left very early because of a predicted protest. They locals had just finished 3 days of celebrations […]
South America 360 Expedition – Mancora Peru to Nazca, Peru
May 18, Mancora Peru to Nazca, Peru, May 27 Mancora. A beautifully scenic beach town on the coast of Peru. The group meets up again after the long separation, we spend a short day and night at the comfortable beach bungalows. Then are straight back on track to the scheduled itinerary. Heading out again the next […]
“The biggest mistake of our lives” – The birth of Compass Expeditions
“The biggest mistake of our lives”, a book written by Compass Expeditions founder, Mick McDonald, is now in its second print run and we have a couple of 100 for sale. Purchase your copy now In 2005 four novice bike riders rode Honda Transalps from London to Vladivostok, primarily to raise money for a tiny Australian […]
South America 360 Expedition – Rio to Praia do Pipa – Crew Report
Rainy and twisty. Long kilometers for the first day leaving Rio. Second day, long day again with very slow traffic and even slower towns and villages, and pouring rain, did, I mention the rain… Getting into Oro Preto next. It is a beautiful town with very tight and steep cobblestone streets. A great town to walk […]
South America 360 Expedition – Praoi do Pipa to Manaus – Crew Report
Felix and Justin…somewhere A good riding day leaving Pipa, traffic, sun, rain, sun, late afternoon arrival to a great place called crooked canoe, Quanoa Quebrada, to stay at the Hotel California, such a lovely place. This will be my second stay at a hotel California, once before in Mexico, that they say was the original […]
CAIRO TO CAPE TOWN 2017 – Zimbabwe to Chobe, Botswana – CREW REPORT
The most amazing hotel we were to stay at in Zimbabwe was the lodge at the ancient ruins. This hotel is a series of lodges built into the mountain side integrating the massive granite boulders into the construction of the rooms and buildings. From here we visited the great Zimbabwe ruins. An city which was […]
South America 360 Expedition – Brazil, Foz do Iguacu to Rio de Jenairo – Crew Report
Leaving Foz do Iguacu to Rio de Jenairo for 3 days By Justin Wow, a long and challenging day of riding, leaving Foz, arriving in the dark into Campo Largo, over 600 km. Relief and anticipation of the great days ahead of us. Passing an interesting Bathroom shop and aptly named at that. This is the same […]
South America 360 Expedition – Justin Reports – Ushuaia, Argentina to Foz do Iguacu, Brasil
South America 360 Expeditions Ushuaia, Argentina to Foz do Iguacu, Brasil One quarter (¼) of the 360 journey is complete! Justin reports After some relaxation and recuperation time in Ushuaia, and deeply needed visitations to the local Irish pubs, you know they’re everywhere! We were ready to ride North, from el Fin del Mundo […]
Cairo to Cape Town 2017 – Malawi and Mozambique – Crew Report
Relaxed and ready to roll, once again we made our way out of the traffic of Arusha and headed south. Unfortunately Mount Kilimanjaro would not show its snowy peak through the high cloud cover this time around. We passed the days on easy roads winding our way beyond Dodoma, stopping at sights like the Ismalia […]
Mongolian Magic Motorcycle Tour
Mongolian Magic Motorcycle Tour www.compassexpeditions.com 15 March 2017 Compass Expeditions is excited to announce our latest unique riding destination, Mongolia. “This is definitely one of the most exciting, remote and rarely visited regions left on earth, its true last frontier stuff”, says Compass Expeditions director Mick McDonald, “Mongolia is always a standout highlight for […]
Cairo to Cape Town 2017 – Tanzania – Crew Report
The Compass Expeditions Cairo to Cape Town Expedition continues South towards it’s destination at the very tip of Africa. The riders have had a chance to take a few days off the bikes, take a safari and spend some beach time as they make their way through Tanzania. Farewelling Brendan, we welcomed Bayne on to […]
South America 360 Expedition – Justin Reports#2
South America 360 Arrival into Ushuaia, Argentina Justin reports Riding through more of Patagonia today, with luck, not such wild winds today, as they are most of the time. We made it to Cerro Sombrero, Chile. It was bit chilly, rainy and foggy, but the winds left us alone. The bikes and new Sprinter van are all […]
South America 360 Expedition – Justin Reports#1
2017 SOUTH AMERICA 360 THE LONGEST TOUR IN THE WORLD* Justin reports Let me introduce our group on this adventure of a lifetime: Ted, at 70 years solid, riding a BMW GS 1200. (check out his tour blog at Ted’s Big Ride). Bob and Donna, riding two up, also on a BMW GS 1200, married now […]