It’s what we do

This entry is part 1 of 320 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #1

Welcome to the first issue of Australia’s only adventure-riding magazine. Other mags have bits and pieces of different content, but in this mag adventure is all you’ll find. The people writing for it are
adventure riders too, so when they offer advice, they’re offering the benefit of experience won from the deserts, mountains and dirt roads of the world. They know what it means to have 200kg of bike stuck in a
creek, be facing 300km of extreme cold before the next shelter, or that squirt of adrenaline that comes from realising the location beacon is suddenly going to play a very real part in surviving the next 24 hours.

Not that all riding has to be dangerous or life-threatening, but the people involved in this mag have that kind of experience, and they’ll be sharing the hard lessons learned in the tough, outdoor schoolrooms of the real world.

I can include myself in the group. I’ve busted bones in the Australian deserts and forests, struggled to breathe in the thin air of the Andes of South America, looked down the business end of a sub-machine gun
in Asia and fought with the kind of ‘loose bowel’ that only a parasitic bug from an East Timor river can offer. I’m not much of a rider, and in a lot of cases I’ve tackled exotic and challenging rides that someone of my
very meagre abilities should never have had the chance to do. America, Europe, NZ, Asia… I’m honestly amazed at the rides I’ve been lucky enough to chalk up. I’ve been on those rides and bikes thanks to 20 years in publishing, most of it on one motorcycle magazine or another. It’s never made me a great rider, though.

I still fall in creeks, get stuck on hills, get lost (often) and have those times where I feel like it’s just not worth the risk to hurl myself at some challenge or obstacle. The fascinating thing about adventure riding is that sometimes there just isn’t a choice. If you want to get through the ride – sometimes if you just want to survive – there’s no other way. You have to tackle the obstacle, or confront the problem, no matter what the risk. Nobody enjoys it when things don’t go well, but it’s part of what we do, and I love what we do.

So that’s what you’ll find in these pages, and even more of it on the website – adventures, the people who love looking long odds in the eye, and some insights into the gear and strategies that might sometimes get you through, or out of, a tight spot. More than that, you’ll get some real-world insights and advice on gear that works and equipment and ideas that make the whole fabulous, wild adventure of travelling this world and this country on a bike. You’ll get a good look at the people involved in each issue, and a glimpse of some the world’s great adventure-riding destinations. Look out for us on the trails and back roads. If you spot us, for
heaven’s sake come and say hello and spin a yarn or two. After riding, sharing stories is what we enjoy most.

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