Overland Event 2016: A 4-day gathering dedicated to our 2 big loves, travels and motorcycles!

As you may know, it’s been some months now we’re back in Greece planning the next part of our RTW trip. Since traveling from Greece to the UK by airplane is shockingly simple, we grabbed the opportunity to attend the Overland Event 2016. A 4-day gathering dedicated to our 2 big loves: travels and motorcycles.

Some time ago, we came across a really interesting publication, the Overland Magazine. We were pleasantly surprised by both its content and its aesthetic quality and we happily agreed to have our trip featured in its pages. Paddy Tyson, the editor of the magazine first organized the Overland Event in 2015 and this year, he did it again!

How could we turn down an invitation to participate in an event like this?

It was an honour for us and one of the few opportunities to meet with well known and experienced travelers and present our trip. It was also very important to see and learn what people outside Greece think about overlanding, traveling in general and of course, how is the motorcycle community of the UK. It proved to be a brilliant idea!

This year, the Overland Event took place at the Hill End Centre, a few kilometers outside Oxford. A beautiful site owned by Oxford University, which has been an educational facility since it was established in the 1920s. If you think of an endlessly green place, with an old traditional barn made of stone and chalet-style buildings, then you’re right! It was exactly like that.

Gates to the Overland Event opened at 12.00, on Friday 26/8 and closed on Monday 29/8. The tickets were already sold out days before it started and is was sheer success!

The event was a motorcyclist’s – and obviously a traveler’s – heaven.

Every morning, there was coffee and tea available for everyone. Throughout the day until afternoon, one could attend presentations and talks by renowned travelers – or travelers like us who try their best to be on the road for as long as possible. On the site, there was an exhibition with all those famous and slightly exhausted motorcycles that have been around the world for many years.

Too bad for Kitsos, our little vespa which couldn’t be around.

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Well, we know it has character and it preferred to stay in Brazil, but wouldn’t it be nice if its 10-inch wheels were somewhere among the beasts?! During the day, there were also test rides for new models and there was even a special room for the authors to sell and sign their books and of course, talk with the people.

Later in the evenings, everyone could attend live music from around the world. For the hungry, there were canteens selling delicious Filipino, Mexican and Italian food as well as some famous Greek Souvlaki! For the thirsty, there was a bar equipped with various kinds of ale, which stayed open from early until late to meet the needs of the many. What else could we ask for?

Even the notoriously grumpy English weather worked in our favour! The rain would start at the same time with the presentations and stop for the test rides and the live music. This meant that instead of having people lying on the grass, there were people filling the venues and attending the talks and when the time for some beer and music arrived, the skies were clear enough again!

So, here’s what we learned from our days in England and from the Overland Event:

1. The motorcycle – travelers’ community of the UK drinks a lot of beer.

2. Grass grows fast in England and it can cover one’s tent in a few days time.

3. People in England can leave a campsite completely clean and without the tiniest piece of trash thrown outside the dustbin.

4. There is sincere interest and many years of experience in motorcycle overlanding.

5. The most renowned motorcycle overlanders are the humblest ones, without heroic extravaganzas. They let their work speak for itself.

6. Filipino food is delicious but a bit spicy.

7. There can be a motorcycle-travel magazine with really interesting articles, without them being hidden behind huge glossy advertisements.

8. English people are a tough audience, but once you make them laugh, they won’t stop.

9. A rockabilly band can make even Ted Simon dance!

10. English people who camp, always carry a small canopy so they can sit outside the tent when it rains.

11. Sjaak Lucassen is very tall and Sam Manicom rarely takes off his hat.

12. Not many will believe stories of huge heroism from travelers. They’re fed up with “You need to be someone to make it!” quotes. The majority of the talks were trying to encourage people to just grab their bike and go!

13. British humour can make almost anyone cry-laugh!

14. In a motorcycle event like this, no one thinks of doing burnouts while drunk. In fact, no one thinks of touching his motorbike while drunk.

15. The English countryside is amazing and the blackberries delicious.

16. Women in the motorcycle community in England don’t only play a decorative role. There are many of them and they don’t need to prove their worth.

17. The village’s pub is a very amusing place! English people are warmer, more hospitable and more delightful than anyone may think.

18. The relief of various bodily gases is clearly not a taboo in England and this can be very liberating.

19. If there is a road sign forbidding i.e. the u-turn, then no one makes a u-turn! Not a bad idea concerning the high mortality rate due to road accidents in other countries.

20. We want to go to the Overland Event again next year!

Thank you all guys, you gave us more than you think!

→ Click HERE to see all the photos from the Overland Event 2016 ←

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We (Stergios & Alexandra) are traveling around the world 2-up on a Vespa scooter. For 6 years we've been traveling in Africa & South America and we're still rolling. Our book "Rice and Dirt: Across Africa on a Vespa" is now available.