Kevin and Perry Go Large
How do you get over a midlife crisis? Some men dump their wives for a younger model and buy a sports car. Others ride over 5,300 miles through 15 countries on a motorbike - in just two weeks.
For Perry Newton of the Resort Properties Group, biking has always been close to his heart. Brought up on a diet of ZXR 750s and Gixers he's always seen himself as more an A road scratcher than a continent crossing enduro rider. So what prompted this change of discipline from knee down sports biker to long distance mile muncher?
Says Perry: "Everyone has big plans when they are younger - to see the world, travel and meet people - but then life gets in the way. I've been building my career and focusing on the sensible side of life for years but then one day I watched Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman's Long Way Round and I was like, ‘Wow, that's brilliant! How do I get to go?'"
As the Project Director of a high achieving sales team at Resort Properties in Malta, Perry is used to getting things done so it was only a small step from asking the question "How do I get to go?" to actually getting a plan in motion. Perry explains: "We have an ongoing training programme at work which involves a bit of life coaching and one of the things we have learned is if you want to achieve something you should seek out the very best mentors you can.
"I located Nick Plumb at Touratech, the team that trained, supplied and taught Ewan and Charlie for their momentous trip, we didn't think, to be honest, that they would give us the time of day - we could not have been more wrong. These guys do what they do because they are in love with it; I didn't think I would find people more passionate about what they do than us, but there you are - they are out there if you look."
So with Nick Plumb and his team onboard Perry and his riding partner, colleague Kevin Camilleri, embarked on the long journey that would take them to the starting point of their... err well...long journey.
Bike choice was easy - two spanking new BMW R 1200 GS Adventures. The bikes were stripped down and prepped by master spannerist Bernie Wright of Adventure Mechanics who fitted new lights, seats, exhausts and front ends. He also added some extra crash protection in the shape of engine bars and frame sliders and a host of sexy gadgets including sat nav, bike to bike coms and Bluetooth so the guys can answer the phone while riding and listen to their IPods.
Next came some serious training, as Perry said: "I hadn't ridden a bike since I moved from Tenerife over six years ago so I was a little rusty. Also, off road enduro bikes have never been my thing so I had a lot of catching up to do, especially with Kevin who's a seasoned motocross rider with a history of Honda XR 600s, CR 250s and a KTM 400 under his belt - don't mention the Ducati Monster though, he came off that and sold it".
So it was off to Wales and the Touratech headquarters in Brecon where the lads had enrolled in an off road skills course to gain experience in handling big bikes in difficult conditions. Kevin said: "We encountered some serious situations from snow and ice, thick mud ruts, deep water, river crossings, heavy gravel and some really mad steep inclines.
"There were a few bruises especially in Perry's case - he must have dropped the bike 20 times and kept saying the ground was moving. Mind you he threw the bike down in a tantrum a few times too. But it was great fun and the brilliant bacon sandwiches kept us going".
Perry had this to say: "He can talk! Kevin has broken nearly every unmajor bone in his body - if there are unmajor ones. He broke his feet three times when he was into motocross and spent a lot of time in bed".
It seems that Kevin's close relationship with the staff at his local A&E department stems from a slightly unhinged approach to two wheeled transport. Says Perry: "Kevin is a mad, crazy rider. We took a one-on-one road riding course with the British police and even the instructor was chasing him all over the mountains to get him to wait up. His excuse was that in Malta they don't have as many road signs so he didn't understand what the British ones meant".
Kevin's take on the incident was slightly more gung ho: "in the UK you spend more time making sure you do everything right than actually getting on with your riding. I just thought to myself ‘what's the worst that can happen? - nothing' so I rode the way I wanted and ended up waiting for Perry as usual. And the instructor - hee hee!"
But there was a serious aspect to their training. In order to complete the trip in time the dynamic duo will have to average around 380 miles every day - no mean feat, even for a professional rider. The fifteen countries that they will be passing through are Wales, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Lichtenstein, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy and Malta.
Most of the route will be on tarmac although the pair hopes to get in a bit of off-roading in Eastern Europe where the laws are a little less strict. The bikes won't be fitted with knobblies so most excursions off the black stuff will be on forest fire roads, but as Perry explained: "the last time we saw Nick Plumb he took us off road in Wales, over fields, bogs and ruts with just our road tyres. It was pretty hairy but it taught us that sometimes the hype is right - these bikes really are unstoppable".
Kevin wishes there was a little more of the gnarly stuff on route but as he points out: "I wish there was more off road stuff but it's probably best - Perry gets in a real huff after dropping his bike 20 or 30 times a day".
Joking aside, unlike Ewan and Charlie the lads will be on their own if they breakdown or damage the bikes so they've been mugging up on their spannering skills with a day at Bernie Wright's workshop. Bernie showed them how to keep the bikes in good working order and gave them some tips and tricks for repairing the machines in the event of a disaster. He also advised them of any possible mechanical problems that might crop up during the trip.
Perry has also been doing some research into quirks and weaknesses associated with this model of BMW. He said: "it's not uncommon for the electrics to pack up completely. The bikes have loads of the latest gizmos but at the end of the day they can go wrong. We've been advised that the fuel pump switch gear and the ignition sender can just cut out and never work again so I'm trying to source a few spares from BMW before we go.
"The other problem we have is that our intercoms keep playing up and we can't get them right. The sat navs could also be problematic in that we need to pair them up on both bikes or one bike will have to lead. That's ok unless we get separated then we'll be up the proverbial creek. Or more likely at 8,000 feet in the mountains with clouds and mist and it getting dark. It could take us miles apart and be ages before we can make contact again as we'll be out of range with comms".
With most of the preparation taken care of and just these few problems left to iron out the countdown to start day has begun. So who is going to benefit from the efforts of these intrepid bikers?
Resort Properties have been supporting several mainstream charities and charitable projects for a number of years. Their philosophy, that individuals should celebrate their success through contribution, has inspired a real hands on approach to their charity work with many members of the team organising fundraisers and events to generate cash for the company's various projects.
This particular fundraising endeavour is for the benefit of underprivileged children in Malta, many of whom are orphans with life stories that are simply horrifying. Resort Properties is already the official corporate sponsor of the Malta Hospice Movement but Kevin and Perry wanted to do something that would have a direct effect on some of the children's lives.
Perry said: "what some of these kids in Malta have been through does not bear thinking about; you can't imagine what scars these experiences have left on them. It's a crying shame but at least this trip is going to help get them out of their environment and provide them with a bit of fun".
The lads are aiming to find sponsorship for about a pound a mile from both the Malta and Tenerife offices of Resort Properties. The money raised will pay for a trip to Disneyland and as Perry said: "there should be enough money left over for the kids to buy a few cuddly toys from the Disney shop along with some photos of them with the main characters".
They also plan to send some cash to the Resort Properties' supported project in Kenya - the Marianna Glorious Academy - where work is nearing completion on a 60 bed accommodation block for local AIDS orphaned children. Resort Properties has already raised some €16,000 for the project and Kevin and Perry hope to top up the funds there so the school can buy some learning materials for its students.
With just a couple of weeks left before the beginning of the trip what started as boisterous talk in the pub is soon to become a very real undertaking. So how are the two adventurers feeling about their imminent epic journey?
Perry gave us his outlook: "I don't feel we will ever be prepared enough, it's a long way from Wales to Malta but you can't prepare forever - there comes a point when we just have to look down the street and twist. We've trained for over a year now and it's been great fun but now it's nearly time for the off and I'm really scared and nervous - but don't tell anybody".
Kevin seemed slightly more laid back: "I knew Perry would be bricking it. When I first saw the way he rode I dubbed him ‘Driving Miss Daisy'. But he's come a long way since then and if it wasn't for Perry I would never have got organised enough to make a trip like this.
"We make a great team - Perry does all of the planning and I get his bike out of the mess. This has always been my dream; riding endlessly and getting lost. I come from Malta and the island is so small I can ride the streets blindfolded. Riding on foreign roads will give me more confidence and hopefully I'll be able to abide by the rules".
We wish the lads the very best of luck and a safe journey. To follow their daily progress visit their blog: Kevin and Perry Go Large
