Adventurous Encounter

This entry is part 7 of 21 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #42

Any time Charley Boorman is around you can bet Billy ‘Biketruck’ Ward isn’t far away. But Ward has a strong adventure pedigree of his own and is as friendly and happy a character as any rider could hope to meet in a country pub. Graeme Sedgwick has first-hand experience.

Billy Ward ended up Boorman’s manager and accompanied him on rides around the world.

I’d take bikes from the UK, Ireland and Scotland, put them in a truck and take them down to north Africa.

Customers would fly into Malaga and take the ferry across, pick up their bike and have their adventure,” said Billy Ward with his usual intense stare. “That’s how I got into the industry.”

Ward was spending his time that way when an innocuous ad caught his eye. The ad suggested he listen to a guy who’d done an adventure ride with others, but when he arrived he wasn’t impressed. He couldn’t see or hear much, so when things paused he persuaded the venue’s catering staff to get the guy a table to stand on and allow him to use their megaphone.

Having waited until most of the crowd had dispersed to directly express his disappointment, he, at the same time, offered his mobile number and told the speaker – Charley Boorman – his presentation was ‘shite’.

One of Ward’s most interesting rides was to Iraq with cameraman and documentary maker Claudio von Planta (left).

Invitation

Months later Billy, out of the blue, received an invitation to meet Boorman and Long Way Round director/producer Rus Malcom.

Ward remembers the meeting as a tedious battle of wits and questions, with each individual keen to gain the upper hand.

But the dynamic changed suddenly, and for the better, each time Malcolm answered his mobile and left Boorman and Ward to chat between themselves. As Malcolm’s phone rang yet again Boorman ushered Ward out and Billy seized his moment, propositioning Charley with a talk-show challenge and consummating the deal with a handshake followed by an immediate and polite departure.

Billy walked away believing he had a chance at possibly solving his employment dilemma and the rest is history. Billy Ward ended up Boorman’s manager.

Always looking after a client, even during breakfast.

That’s crazy…

Ward’s work was originally calculating risk strategy for a very large company. The work required a great deal of travel and he was keen for that to continue. The idea of becoming a guide and roaming one of the world’s wildest landscapes captured his curiosity so he did something about it.

He’s now a registered African Field Guide, able to lead motorcycle adventurers into and through localities sometimes tricky to access without the right accreditation.

Billy’s connection with Boorman, and Boorman’s love of Africa and adventure riding, offered some big possibilities which have developed into the enormously successful African tours which are so popular today.

Billy’s love of Africa and adventure riding offered some big possibilities.

Don’t stop

Ward is a true motorcyclist.

“I love riding almost any sort of motor-cycle because they all offer something special,” he thumped. “Like the Harley Davidson I was recently charging around Tasmania on – kidding myself I was as good as those I was riding with.

“But it’s hard to beat the immersion adventure riding offers. Destinations and crazy places wrapped with amazing stories are all part of the very reason I like riding adventure bikes in places like Morocco, South Africa and coming to Australia and being involved in Compass Expedition’s local adventure rides,” he explained, obviously before Compass had had to call it a day.

Ward also leads rides from South Africa or Zimbabwe travelling through Botswana or Namibia.

A registered African Field Guide, able to lead motorcycle adventurers into and through localities some-times tricky to access without the right accreditation.

Mad or courageous

One of Ward’s most interesting rides was to Iraq with cameraman and documentary maker Claudio von Planta.

“I’m not sure who was the most courageous…Claudio, myself or both of us,” said Ward, looking a little bemused.

“There were plenty of moments, many of them a by-product of Claudio’s ambitions to capture the best possible imagery he could.

“He travelled with the best kit, including a high-grade military drone.

It was no surprise it caught the attention of Iraq Security big time. But somehow he/we managed to convince all those surrounding and challenging our motives we were well-intended.”

“Then there was the plan to hire a couple of adventure bikes. It turned out the best we could come up with was a couple of 125s which, no surprise, weren’t going to cut it. We ended up having to explain our good intentions again, this time to the head of an Iraqi police operation. He decided after some very lengthy consultation and reflection our aim to ‘create some positive storytelling about life for the people of this ancient and important part of the world caught between the crosshairs of unrelenting unrest and effect of US intervention and withdrawal’ wasn’t necessarily such a bad idea.”

Thankfully the police bigwig eventually decided he’d organise the loan of police motorcycles for the pair to ride to Iraq’s Mosul frontline, which at the time was surrounded by military of one type or another with coalition jets above.

The amazing situation left Ward wondering what on Earth was he doing there, in the midst of it all. But now on reflection, with the documentary concept before Sky television, a wide-eyed Billy explained, “I was totally amazed by the adventure’s countless life-changing moments and how wonderfully good and bad people can be.”

That’s adventure at its best.