Julia Sanders discovered her love of motorcycling in a completely different way from Astrid Neudecker: before she rode a motorbike herself, she had travelled thousands of kilometres as a pillion passenger on the bike of husband Kevin. Together with him she holds two Guinness world records: the fast travel time around the world and the fastest crossing of the American continent on a motorcycle.
Her own woman
“Sometimes I thought to myself: I’ve met so many women all over the world who ride themselves. Why shouldn’t I be able to do it?” says Julia, still excited about the decision she made back then. “Of course, it’s fascinating to be a passenger on a motorbike, but riding yourself is just so much more exciting! I get much more satisfaction from motorcycle trips since I have been doing the riding myself.”
Like Astrid Neudecker Julia is always experiencing surprises when she takes off her helmet – for example on a trip with her husband through Costa Rica: “We put in a stop and met a man who simply couldn’t believe I was a woman. It was a real shock to him – after all, in most developing countries like Costa Rica there aren’t any big motorcycles. And then a woman at the handlebars too!”
On her trips, Julia especially enjoys her encounters with people. “The bike is like an ice-breaker. It’s so easy to make contact with people because they are simply fascinated by motorcycles. They want to know how expensive it is, how fast it goes and so on. As far as I’m concerned there’s no better way to travel.”
Secret tip: Peru
Julia experienced one of her highlights as a motorcyclist in Peru: “There is 500 km route in Peru which starts at the Nasca coast and goes up almost 3000 metres into the Andes. The trip is absolutely incredible – the best place I’ve ever been!”
