Two couples are taking on the challenge of riding their motorcycles 22,000 miles from Australia to North Wales for charity.

In February, Lawrence and Linda Lee and Richard and Jude Brierly-Jones will be rolling back the years as they make the journey from Sydney to Corwen.

What started as a chat between lifelong friends over a few glasses of wine, quickly became a reality and before they knew it, preparations were underway.

Lawrence, more affectionately known as ‘Lobbo’, summarised the rapid development from a comment on holiday to being set in stone with a trip they have coined ‘2 Up From Down Under’.

“It came about after a few too many glasses of red wine on holiday with Richard & Jude. When nearing the end of the holiday we started to discuss what was next for us all. Richard and I have ridden together many times and we all love travelling in general, so the talk inevitably came back to combining the two” he said.

“Usually, all chat and bravado after a night like this is forgotten but it still seemed like a good idea to us all in the morning and to mine and Richard’s surprise, Linda and Jude were as keen as we were.”

Lawrence and Linda with their BMW R1250 GS

The group’s love of adventure is what founded their travel plans, but that passion is being married with the opportunity to raise much needed funds and awareness for two worthy causes. Those two causes are Black Dog Ride, a suicide prevention charity in Australia where Richard and Jude live and Mental Health Motorbike, a mental health awareness charity in the UK.

Although the charities were not in the initial plans, it soon became evident that it was a no brainer to incorporate Black Dog Ride and Mental Health Motorbike:

“So many people asked us if we were raising money for charity and if so which one” Lobbo said. “It seemed like a good opportunity to do some good for others at the same time. We have decided raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention as suicide is the leading cause of death amongst men in the UK under the age of 50” he added.

Kicking things off with a trip along the south coast of Australia, the group then plan to transport their bikes over to Indonesia before making their way through Asia and across Europe before eventually landing in the UK in a trip that they estimate will take six months.

Just like the decision to support the charities, the route was something that just seemed to sort itself out, largely due to politics and weather conditions. In particular, Myanmar and Ukraine were off limits due to the presence of war while a journey to the north of Australia was ruled out thanks to the extreme temperatures in the central regions. Nevertheless, the two couples were not dispirited by that decision as other countries rank higher in their list.

Emphasising this, Lobbo pointed out “Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (The Stans) are all a must see for us, they will be both the most interesting and challenging countries.

The planned route

Whilst the route and other decisions have made the trip seem like plain sailing, there are a number of challenges they face along the way. Extreme heat, dehydration and keeping fit are all concerns for the group without mentioning altitude sickness as they travel close to Everest Base Camp at around 16,500 feet. However, as strict vegetarians, perhaps the toughest obstacle for Lobbo and Linda in particular is keeping up with their diet.

Speaking on behalf of his wife, Lobbo said “One of Linda’s biggest concerns is around maintaining a vegetarian diet. There may be cultural issues around hospitality and eating what you are served to be polite – we will however be carrying a least two days of dried food for emergencies.”

Meanwhile, expecting some Top Gear-esque moments, he says “the unplanned times when you get lost, crash or breakdown will also be entertaining, maybe not at the time, but certainly afterwards.”

The group have not been put off despite those challenges and with them all being 60 years old when they set off, they want to inspire people of all ages, genders and backgrounds to get out there while they can.

“We aren’t your average ‘adventure riders’, most are usually younger or ride as a single couple. We hope to be an inspiration, not necessarily to ride halfway around the world but just to get out there together to explore” Lobbo stated. “We have met so many men who would love to do something like this but their partners are just not interested! We intend to show an attractive side to motorbike adventuring.”

‘2 Up From Down Under’ is set to get underway on 1st February and they will be producing content to show their planning, preparations and journey along the way for their YouTube channel which you can view here: YouTube

If you would also like to donate to their fundraisers, whatever that contribution may be, then you can do so at Black Dog Ride and Mental Health Motorbike.