THE QUEST
In a few weeks Aussie teenager Bronwyn Kealy will start out to set a Guinness World Record as the Youngest Woman to Ride a Motorcycle Around the World. Along the way she hopes to raise awareness and much-needed funds for a great cause – the
Big Cats Initiative. However the falling exchange rate has blown out costs and she needs your help.
Five years ago, Bronwyn met Jessica Watson, the youngest person to sail solo, single-handed and non-stop around the world. This inspired Bron and she decided that she’d set out to become the youngest woman to ride a motorcycle around the world. Bron has made steady progress towards that dream ever since.
Now the time has come: Bron's final school exams will be finished in a few weeks, preparations are almost complete, but money is running short and so we are asking you to help.
Her record attempt will be run according to stringent Guinness World Record rules: these mean starting and finishing at the same point, travelling in the same direction (Eastwards), riding at least 29,800km by motorcycle and covering 40,000km in total and passing through two antipodean points: places on exactly the opposite side of the planet to each other. This isn’t as easy as it sounds and she has to keep rigorous records the whole way.
While simply riding a motorcycle a long way doesn’t sound too hard, Bron has just 90 days to make the trip, between the end of high school and the beginning of First Year at University. So she will have to ride almost 400km every day, most of it in foreign countries,often on the "other" side of the road and on very substandard roads – or even no roads at all. She will cross four deserts, three significant mountain ranges and 21 countries as she circumnavigates our planet.
It’s a sadly ironic fact that crossing the ocean with a motorcycle is much more expensive than the land. So, we’re inviting you to join Bron on this epic ride.
THE RIDER
Bronwyn Kealy is an Aussie-born teenager who has been riding motorcycles since she was four years old in the dirt, on road-race circuits, on dry salt lakes and now the road.
In March 2015 she set an Australian Land Speed Record during Speed Week on the salt at Lake Gairdner in Outback South Australia – it’s our version of Bonneville.
She’s a qualified volunteer fire-fighter with the Country Fire Authority in Victoria, Australia - the most bushfire-prone place on earth. She’s an open-water scuba-diver, Wilderness Camp Captain at her school, a Scout and an Australian Scout Medallion recipient, and she’s also a member of Mensa.
She organised her first charitable event at the age of 7 when she collected more than 500 toys from school children to give to children in refugee camps. She did the same for young victims of the 2009 Victorian Bush Fires who had lost everything.Two years ago she travelled to Guatemala and worked as a volunteer, building a High school in the northern village of Prima Vera.
Earlier this year she was a State Finalist in the Lions Club Youth of the Year Quest, winning the State Public Speaking Award. She has a passion for animals, empowerment through education, and gender equality.
THE TRIP
Australia: Melbourne to Brisbane approx - 2000km
North America: San Francisco to Guatemala City - approx 5800km
South America: Lima to Sao Paulo - approx 5740km
Africa: Cape Town to Dar es Salaam - approx 7080km
Asia: Bangkok to Singapore - approx 6540km
Australia (again): Perth to Melbourne - approx 4030km
Total = approx 31,190km by motorcycle
THE PERKS
You can help Bron set a record and help the Big Cats. On the right you'll find a range of perks to choose from. Of course if you just wish to donate that would also be great - you will be offered the chance to do so when you click on "Select a Perk".
Wear the Pride Tubular scarf
The inevitable T-shirt
(note T-shirt will be black with white writing)
Cuddle the Pride
THE BIKE
A new Suzuki DR650SE was chosen because it’s light, rugged, reliable, fuel-efficient, is easy to work on and has been on sale for years. Which is not to say it’s perfect: over the last 5 months there have been many improvements made, including:
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Lowered by 40mm with Intiminators in the upgraded front and rear suspension
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Improved engine protection with SW Motech sump-guard, B&B Case-savers
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Improved long-distance comfort with a Seat Concepts seat, Barkbuster handguards, Gerbing heated glove liners and a windscreen
- Improved range with upgraded exhaust system and tuning, and a 25 litre Acerbis tank
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General upgrades with Trailtech Vapor instrument panel, Barkbuster LED lights and a centre stand
- Mix of hard and soft luggage with requisite racks
In addition, Bron wears Klim Altitude riding gear (because it really fits women and is simply the best all-terrain riding gear available), an Arai XD4 Adventure helmet and Forma Adventure boots.
BIG CATS INITIATIVE
“We are committed to saving lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, and other big cats in the wild.”
Supported by National Geographic, BCI is a three-pronged intervention with the aim of reducing threats to predatory wild cats, assisting rural farmers to co-exist with them, and educating rural students.
The initiative helps remove lion snares, put tracking devices on wild cats, build cat-proof fences for domestic livestock (which reduces retaliatory killing of big cats who kill livestock) and show villagers the worth of eco-tourism by preserving the African eco-vironment.
BCI also helps train guard dogs and relocates troublesome cats to less-inhabited areas, and through the Simba Scholarship program, primary school children are given access to four years of secondary boarding school education. Simba Scholarships are awarded to children from rural communities who show need and also a desire to continue their education. Many of these students are girls: through education they can break the cycle of early marriage, high birth-rates and elevated infant mortality. Research shows that every additional year a girl in Africa spends in secondary education increases her lifetime income by up to 25% and that 90% of that will benefit her local community.
WHY THE WORLD ROAR?
Bron will be roaring around the world on her Suzuki and she’ll be hoping to keep the big cats roaring in their natural habitats. Join her Pride and come along for the ride!
BUDGET
Most of the costs have already been covered, but a sponsorship manager supposed to be talking to freight companies about a partnership was long on promises and short on delivery.
Here’s where the money’s gone:
The Bikes AUD27000
Modifications AUD12000
Riding gear AUD7000
Visas AUD2400
Vaccinations AUD2700
Carnets AUD1500
Travel Ins. AUD2000
Daily Exp AUD13500 - food, accommodation/camping fees
Here’s where we need your help:
Freight $24000 to move motorcycles between continents
Flights $19500 to move people between continents
Fuel $7200 - 31000km, 3 bikes, 5.25 litres/100km, world average petrol price = AUD1.48/litre
It’s worth remembering that PayPal/ Credit cards charge us 3% and Indiegogo charges 5% for putting us in touch. If this campaign meets our goals we will be able to make a bigger donation to the Big Cats Initiative.
THE TEAM
When the British actors Ewan Macgregor and Charlie Boorman did their two epic rides (The Long Way Round – London to New York via Moscow – and later on, The Long Way Down – London to Cape Town); they had a large staff, plus a back-up crew of medics, camera crew, facilitators and fixers travelling along in 4x4s. Those trips were long and arduous but this is longer. Bron will have exactly two people as support-crew: Steve will be photographer, videographer, writer & technician to maintain the bikes and Liz will take care of navigation, finance, nutrition and logistics. We will be on identical bikes – no 4x4s and between us, we will carry all the gear, food & shelter we will need with us on the road.
Between them, Bron, Liz and Steve have amassed a century – 100 years – of motorcycle-riding experience, in all sorts of places, on all sorts of surfaces and on all sorts of bikes - but none of us have tackled anything as daunting as the World Roar. There comes a time when you need to stop dreaming large and start living it.
Which leads us to the end and where we ask for your help. If you can participate and make a donation, that would be wonderful; if you could pass on this campaign to friends, family, neighbours, colleagues and adventure-loving people everywhere, we will do our bit to keeping the big cats roaring!
Thanks for reading this far; we hope that you'll join us for the ride.