Mondo Enduro - Austin Vince

Mondo Enduro is not your typical account of an around-the-world motorcycling adventure. In 1995, seven young British chaps set off from London on Suzuki DR350s for a journey that would take them across Europe and Asia to the far eastern edge of Siberia, then from Anchorage to Santiago, Chile, followed by South Africa back home to London. They called themselves Mondo Enduro and this book is the trip log they kept throughout their journey. With all members of the team contributing daily entries, each taking a different day, the writing is fresh and immediate, and full of wonderfully understated British humour. What sets this group apart from many long-distance travellers is their unpretentiousness, their refreshingly low-tech approach, their gusto and their marvellous upbeat attitude. Their little successes become triumphs, their setbacks are just aggravations, today's scenery or tonight's tasty meal is the best yet. They marvel at people calling their journey an epic undertaking when to them it's just a year-long holiday. Their limited finances mandate a very frugal lifestyle on the road, one of "self-catering" and "rough campsites". By not taking the normal hotel and restaurant mode of travel, they meet a wide range of characters, and are continually impressed with the generosity that people around the world extended to them as perfect strangers. However, the flip and casual veneer of Mondo Enduro belies the inner strength of the team members as they meet and surmount several extraordinary challenges that come their way.