Mondo Enduro was a round-the-world adventure motorcycle expedition in 1995-1996. Team members
Austin Vince, Gerald Vince, Chas Penty, Bill Penty, Clive Greenhough, Nick Stubley and Mark Friend set off to go round the world by the longest route possible in the shortest time on
Suzuki DR350 Dual Sport
A dual-sport motorcycle is a type of street-legal motorcycle that is designed for both on and off-road use. The terms ''all-road,'' ''on/off road,'' and ''dual-purpose'' are also used for this class of motorcycles. Dual-sports are equipped with ...
bikes.
Their route took them from London, through Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Siberia; then from Alaska to Chile and finally from Cape Town through Africa and the Middle East back to London.
The expedition was filmed and was subsequently made into a 2-part TV series. Shown on Discovery Travel and Adventure Channel over 40 times, this has since reached cult status amongst biking and adventure travel fans.
The real difficulties in the expedition came in the
Zilov Gap
The Russian route R297 or the Amur Highway (so named after the nearby Amur River) is a federal highway in Russia, part of the Trans-Siberian Highway. With a length of , it is the longest segment, from Chita to Khabarovsk, connecting the paved ro ...
, the 400 mile roadless section in Siberia. The team got bogged down here and eventually ended up taking the Trans-Siberian railroad to circumvent the last 100 miles of the Zilov Gap.
As well as a cult TV show and DVD, the expedition diaries () are a fascinating account of a round-the-world expedition done on a shoestring budget, with rough camping the order of the day.
Episodes
Music
Mondo Enduro uses short musical inserts very often. Most of the music is performed by "The Quakers" band, where
Austin Vince is one of the music composers and instrument players.
See also
*
List of long-distance motorcycle riders
Long-distance motorcyclists with Wikipedia articles, with tours in chronological order.
List of motorcycle riders and tours
References
Further reading
{{Motorcycles
Long-distance motorcycle riders, *
Long-distance motorcycle riders
Long ...
Terra Circa expedition made a new attempt to cross the
Zilov Gap
The Russian route R297 or the Amur Highway (so named after the nearby Amur River) is a federal highway in Russia, part of the Trans-Siberian Highway. With a length of , it is the longest segment, from Chita to Khabarovsk, connecting the paved ro ...
in 2001, only few years before it ceased to exist due to
Trans-Siberian Highway
The Trans-Siberian Highway is the unofficial name for a network of federal highways that span the width of Russia from the Baltic Sea of the Atlantic Ocean to the Sea of Japan. In the Asian Highway Network, the route is known as AH6. It stretche ...
construction patching the gap.
Books
* Vince, Austin; Bloom, Louis et al. (2006) ''Mondo Enduro''. Ripping Yarns.com. {{ISBN, 1-904466-28-1.
Other references
* ''Mondo Enduro'' (DVD), Aimimage Productions, (2003). ASIN: B000KNC0ZU.
* Times Educational Supplement Magazine, 23 March 2007, pp8–10.
External links
MondoEnduro.com— official website.
Aimimage.com— The official website of Aimimage, the company that produces the Austin Vince travel adventure DVDs.
Upright Music Vibey 60's selection— Austin Vince's music from the Vibey 60's selection.
Travel books
Motorcycle television series
Long-distance motorcycle riding