As part of the Virtually Smart Inspirational Women Series, this month we are celebrating the incredible journeys of Elspeth Beard; First British Woman to Motorcycle around the world & award winning Architect.
When you Google Elspeth Beard, you tend to find two conflicting images. One will usually be a black & white photo of a young woman astride a BMW R 60/6 & the other will most likely be a link to an Architects Practice. But how do these two women, some 30 apart connect? & how has Elspeth Beard become such an inspirational figure to the motorcycling world & Architecture alike?
In 1982 the young Elspeth Beard, already studying to become an Architect, embarked on a journey which would inspire generations. Having been a keen biker for a few years, Elspeth made the decision to embark on a two year round the world trip. Little did she know when she embarked on her journey, that she would also ride into the record books, becoming the first British Woman to ride solo around the world.
Having spent only £900 on her trusty BMW R60/6, with no SAT NAV, mobile phone or support crew & raising enough funds to start her first leg of her journey; Elspeth made her way to the USA, riding through Canada & Mexico, before making the onward journey to Australia.
When Elspeth arrived in Australia, her funds had run out & she therefore started to work in a Sydney architectural practice, while living in a garage. Having spent some seven months replenishing her funds & building a bespoke pannier set for the BMW; Elspeth set off on the next leg of her epic journey.
It was while travelling through Queensland, that Elspeth experienced her first accident of the trip. Having hit a large pothole in a dirt road & watching the BMW cartwheel down the road; Elspeth then spent two weeks recovering in hospital.
With an onward journey to Singapore, where all of her valuables, including her passport, were stolen; Elspeth then started planning her route to India.
With the Burma route out of bounds, Elspeth changed her plans & in the process of riding her trusty BMW through Panang, a dog ran out in front of the BMW, sending the bike into a tree & injuring Elspeth. As her journey taught her time & again, it was the people & cultures that she met along the way which both inspired & astonished her & her accident in Panang was no different.
While Elspeth recovered form her injuries, an impoverished Thai family took her in, fed her & the family helped her repair & rebuild her bike.
Once in India, Elspeth travelled to Calcutta then on to Kathmandu where her parents had flown out from England to see her for the first time in nearly two years. (1)
Through her travels in India, Elspeth came up against sexism & sexual predators, poverty & violence, bureaucracy gone mad & cultures so steeped in tradition, they simply could not get their heads around the fact that a woman, a Lone Rider, was traversing such a vast expanse of Earth, alone.
In Kathmandu Elspeth met the first overland motorcycle traveller she had seen since leaving the UK, a Dutchman on another Boxer BMW, an R75/7. Elspeth eventually rode back to Europe with the Dutchman, after exploring much of India alone. (1)
After weeks of delays in Delhi, trying to obtain the relevant paperwork to cross into Pakistan, Elspeth arrived in post-war Iran with only seven days to cross the country. Suffering with hepatitis & barely able to stand; Elspeth travelled through Turkey, Greece & across Europe.
Having covered some 35,000 miles & been away from home some two years; her arrival back in the UK was met with no fanfare, no celebration & no welcoming committee. Elspeth had completed a mammoth undertaking, but upon her return she put all of her photo’s, camera & journals in a cardboard box & forgot about them for thirty years.
Having been studying Architecture before the journey & having accrued valuable experience in the Sydney architectural practise; Elspeth, having been registered as an architect with the ARB (Architects’ Registration Board) since 1989, converted a water tower into her home & has subsequently started her own Architects practise.
Through her award winning Architecture, Elspeth has specialised in creating & remodelling interesting & unusual buildings, both old and new. When working with old buildings, she likes to give them a new lease of life by mixing conservation with contemporary design. (2)
It wasn’t until 2014 that a Hollywood agent contacted Elspeth & made murmerings about a film version of her epic journey. Elspeth made the decision that perhaps a book about her journey would be a better starting point & in July 2017 ‘Lone Rider’ was published.
Since the publication of ‘Lone Rider’ in 2017, it has been published in North America & Canada & translated into Spanish & Italian.
Elspeth Beard’s story is hugely inspirational. From the danger & challenges of her solo around the world trip, to her award winning Architecture practise; Elspeth Beard optimises what it is to be aspirational, to follow your dreams against all odds & to inspire those around you.
Written by Katy-Jane Mason for & on behalf of Virtually Smart .
