Globetrotter arrives in Australia for trans-continental leg
Nick Sanders MBE returned Down Under earlier this week, touching down in Perth (WA) to continue another of his epic two-wheeled around-the-world journeys. While many may know Nick through his motorcycle adventures aboard Yamaha motorcycles, this time, the 64-year-old Brit is circumnavigating the globe aboard a Yamaha e-bike supported by Yamaha Motor Europe.
Nick’s journey is generating a great deal of excitement in the rapidly growing smart-powered vehicle segment, and Yamaha Motor Australia is excited to see Nick tackling the Aussie continent following the local release of the Yamaha YDX-Moro 07.
Sanders’ first port-of-call when he arrived in Perth and was greeted by 44-degree heat was to drop into Balcatta-based Yamaha dealer Cully’s Yamaha to collect a set of batteries for his e-bike. The Yamaha Motor Australia Parts and Accessories department provided the batteries to assist Nick’s global ride. “It’s much easier doing it this way than trying to fly with the battery packs,” Nick explained. “A huge thank you to the YMA Parts and Accessories team for making them available to me.”
Nick’s global odyssey kicked off in September from the bicycle capital of the world, Amsterdam, where he was bid farewell and best of luck by the team at Yamaha Motor Europe. The first leg of his epics 229-day challenge saw him ride to Athens (Greece). He caught a ferry to Israel for a 35-day ride through the Middle East to Dubai – around 5000km, then it was into India, where Nick and his Yamaha e-bike rode to Mumbai, north to New Delhi and then to Nepal. After 40 days and nearly 6000km, Nick celebrated the start of a new year in Kolkata (India).
January saw his ride continue through Southeast Asia, taking in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and then on to Malaysia during a 31-day/4400km cycle. Then it was off to Singapore, Jakarta and Bali, where he packed his Yamaha e-bike (sans batteries) onto a plane and headed to Australia.
Nick is no stranger to Australia, having seen more of it from the seat of a motorcycle or bicycle than most Australians. This time around, Nick will follow his nose from Darwin (NT) straight through Australia’s red centre until he reaches the coast of Adelaide (SA). There, he will turn left for Melbourne (Vic) before arriving in Sydney (NSW) on 8 March. The Aussie leg of his ride will see him and the Yamaha e-bike cover 4600km in just 25 days!
While the Aussie leg appears tough, Nick has plenty of miles ahead once he departs our shores. Early March will see him in New Zealand tackling a six-day/1050km ride from Christchurch to Auckland; then it’s off to the USA for a West-to-East crossing starting in LA and ending in New York. The final stage will get underway in April when he departs Madrid (Spain), rides through the Pyrenees, crosses France, and returns to Yamaha Motor Europe’s HQ in Amsterdam. He hopes to arrive at the Amsterdam start/finish line on 17 April.
All up, Nick’s journey will see him cover more than 33,076km over 229 riding days on his Yamaha e-bike. In doing so, he hopes to set another two-wheel record in the circumnavigation of the world.