What’s it all about…Alfie?
Hello and welcome to Adventure Bike Rider.
My name is Alun Davies, I live in Stratford upon Avon, UK, and this website was originally set up as the on-line presence for the print magazine Adventure Bike Rider (ABR).
ABR came into existence for three reasons; first, there was my lifelong passion for travel and motorcycles; secondly, there was a huge hole in the UK motorcycle media for a magazine that focused on the booming adventure bike sector and thirdly I had a motorcycle accident on a dusty, rocky trail in Spain that put an end to my other passion in life – climbing mountains.
The plus side of wiping out in Spain is all the free time that comes with having a bent up arm, foot and leg. And what better use of that recovery time than to set up and launch ABR magazine.
That was back in 2009, and since then ABR has grown to become the most authoritative adventure motorcycle magazine, our adventure community the largest in the world and we also host of the most popular motorcycle festival in the UK – the ABR Festival which is held in the magnificent Ragley Hall in Warwickshire on the last weekend of June every year. Not the outcome that first came to mind as I lay prone on that Spanish mountain but one I’m more than happy to accept.
So, what’s the big idea with ABR. Well, it’s like this; I reckon we buy adventure and touring bikes with misty-eyed dreams of touring the UK or Europe or even riding around the world. However, in the real world, we probably get out in the evenings, weekends and travel on one, maybe two, overseas trips per year. Life gets in the way. But then if you’re anything like me, those dreams of touring Europe, kicking back sand in the Sahara and wallowing in the mud on the Siberian ‘Road of Bones’ feel a little closer every time I swing a leg over my machine, even when riding to the newsagent.
ABR also has a sister title that I launched in 1995 to feed my passion for travel and the outdoors. As the founding publisher and editor of Wired For Adventure magazine, I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world and engage with its wild places (climbing, hiking, cycling and paddling) and been able to call it work. I’ve also travelled to many of those destinations on a motorcycle, but there’s still a huge tick list on hand to keep my passion for two-wheeled adventure high.
I might end up ticking those boxes, maybe not, but as long as I believe I’m going to do it and enjoy my riding along the way, that’ll do me.
Thanks for reading.
Alun Davies
Founder and Publisher.