Bren and I first “met” Chris and Jyl back in May, when our boat ride on the Stahlratte from Panama to Colombia was cancelled. I say “met” because we never actually met them in person. We exchanged information through email over the next week, while we were both figuring out our other options. We have been in touch ever since.

We finally got the opportunity to meet up with them in Lima, Peru in November, when a dozen or so fellow motorcyclists all happened to be there at the same time. Jyl organized a night out at a local Irish Pub. It was an evening full of drinks, food, and laughter that went well past our bedtime. Jyl and Chris were in Lima for quite a few months following an accident where Jyl broke her leg. We are happy to report that they are back on the road now and we hope to meet up with them again in the South (Hopefully to celebrate all our safe arrivals into Ushuaia).

One final note: Chris is as English as they come. I suggest reading this with an English accent for a complete “Chris Mills” experience. Enjoy!

Where are you from?
Hi, I’m Chris Mills. And I come from the town of Hemel Hempstead, England 🏴

How long have you been travelling?
We have been on the road for 18 months now. We started this little road trip when we shipped our motorcycles to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and are now currently in Peru. You can follow the whole trip and lots more here on our website.

What inspired you to start travelling?
Escaping the system. I’ve always had a passion to see as much of the world as possible. Mostly by motorcycle (but I’m flexible). A long trip like this has always been on the back of my mind, and at last, after a life time of working for the system, it was at long last the right time to get away.

What does a typical day of travel look like for you
Typical? Hum…independent motorcycle travel!!! It’s gunner be hard to nail down a typical day. Maybe the fact that we are southbound is typical (but we often turn east, west, or even north to head south) so it can’t be that!! So it’s very hard to answer. When we are on the move it’ll be breakfast, ride, taking in what ever that days ride brings. Then a hostel, hotel, or campsite – eat, sleep, repeat! But we take time off to do the crazy and interesting things that you can’t miss out on while your here (some times it’s nice to be a tourist). We’ve been up mountains, down caves, walking, jungle tours, mountain biking, swam with a variety of different sea creatures, 4×4 tours, whale watching, hikes to many a different waterfall, in cities, and in the wilderness, to name just a few. How do you make a typical day out of so much variety? One day we just ended up riding on the salt and watching the 2017 Bonneville motorcycle trials “ “typically “ we weren’t expecting that 😎

Aside from the basics (money passport backpack), what are the 3 items you can’t live without?
1/ Motorcycle. Yep, this is a motorcycle tour, you’re gunner need one!
The motorcycle of your choice which ever all motorcycles are good and I’m a firm believer that any motorcycle will make any trip it’s all down to the rider and his or her determination and without a doubt in my opinion the best way to see the world. See it, feel it, smell it, these senses work over time when your in the saddle and on the move and are the reason no1 is don’t leave home without your motorcycle.

2/ Important to us as a couple , and new to us both before we left home. The helmet-to-helmet or bike-to-bike intercom. I can’t stress enough how useful and and important, from a safety and practical point of view, these have been to us. Jyl rides behind (her choice) but has the sat nav (both of our choices) so it makes things entertaining. I’ve always been a bit more relaxed about navigating, more of a follow the sun, the seas on the left or the right, sort of navigator. You know you can always look at the map or read the road signs!! Changed man I am even if she is not visible behind for what ever reason up to a certain distance we can still communicate, and for more reason than one this is a good thing ,and it always gives me comfort to her the sound of her bike behind me through the intercom. That’s why no2 safety, always charge your intercoms before you leave home.

3/ We all gotta eat and life on the road brings up a variety of options for wine-ing & dining. Or self catering. Over a two year trip you’ll try it all that’s why I love this little item.

What is your favourite and lest favourite part of travelling?
Favourite – Setting out every day. Every day is different, every place is different, different people, different countries.

Least favourite – Knowing it will come to an end one day. When the money runs out we have to go home.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced while travelling?
Everyday is a challenge, every day we always face a different set of challenges. For me, from not being any good at Spanish to trying to get my over weight, overloaded, oversized Harley Davidson up a steep set of dusty or wet switchbacks on a mountain road, for example. These are the day to day challenges. Just like riding in the rain, the baking hot sun, or massively strong winds, dealing with the bad roads, and the suicidal dogs that want a piece of you, this is just life on the road and we have to deal with it. Let’s be honest no one can be sure when they set of each day how there day will pan out. Challenges yes! But the everyday challenges like these are the ones I thrive on. It’s what I signed up for. It’s why I’m here and I love it .

The biggest challenge to me has been a more emotional one. And now my father is going to say “I told you so.” It’s such a wonderful thing to travel as a couple sharing this experience is so important. The things we have dune and the places we’ve visited together as a couple over the last 18 months (and before we even set of) have been massive. But to be with the one you love permanently 24/7 day in and day out can be hard on a relationship. It’s not something that’s going to spoil my relationship with Jyl. It has, however, been the only challenge that has caused me heartache on this trip. We both get under each other’s feet and drive each other mad from time to time but deep down I’m still as happy as the day we set off together and the day we stood in the artic ocean and got engaged. No challenge is so great that it can’t be overcome.

What is your favourite place you have travelled to and why?
This is so hard to answer and has to be one of the most common questions asked and I can still never answer it! Favourite country? favourite place? Favourite thing you’ve dune? There’s just so many it’s impossible to choose. The continents of North and South America have so much to offer (and yet to discover).

So here we go, I’ve chosen this one. We pulled into the one donkey village of Kantemo in Mexico and are shown to our little “cabin in the woods.” Our home for a couple of nights. It’s got all the usual amenities, “nothing!!” So it’s self-catering camp stove cooking. That’s all fine with us, we are the only ones there out of the 5-6 huts. This also suits us. The place is comfortable with all we need to survive. Cold running water and it’s very own earth quake alarms (every dog in the village) and they were set off!!! The next day in the early evening we meet our guides and head of into the jungle. We’ve traded our motorcycles for pedal bikes and 20 minutes later we arrive at the entrance to a cave.

This is why I class this as my favourite place. At dusk, just moments after our arrival, the spectacle starts. Bats coming out of the cave entrance, first a few, but soon more and more. Shortly there’s a constant stream of them. Now the fun starts. Helmets on, useless plastic gloves, and a pointless and inadequate face mask. In we go, just me Jyl and two guides, crawling down ever decreasing passages in the pitch black and getting bombarded and struck by the thousands of bats trying to pass us on there way out of the cave. It was hot dirty and not very healthy down there as you realise your crawling over years worth of bat poo but wow was it worth it. Our guides soon find what we’ve come to see and I can’t express how worthy it was of the little discomfort we’d had to go through to get there.

We are now deep in the cave of the hanging snakes and we are face to face with bat eating snakes as they hang from the ceiling eating there evening meals poor little bats ” have a look here 👇
https://youtu.be/tbcs8dTLAgI

We are guided around the cave witnessing many bat devouring snakes it’s an amazing experience and one that can be seen only in this one cave any where in the whole world and that is what makes it one of my favourite places of this trip and maybe even in my lifetime.

Hey guys & gals like what you’ve seen in the cave why not subscribe to our YouTube channel there’s much more to come and already plenty of crazy stuff to watch 👇
https://www.youtube.com/user/MsJade1965

If you could recommend one book to a friend, what would it be?
In these modern days when almost every rider you meet is an aspiring “adventure” rider and wanna be book writer, where every gravel road is classed as off-roading, and every picturesque campground is a “wilderness site.” Well next time you go offroad to that scenic campground with your extra soft toilet paper and your pre-cooked camping meal take this book along for a read. It’s an easy-reading and very inspirational book. I’d recommend it to any one in any walk of life who is looking for inspiration to follow their dreams. Or at the very least it’s a very good motorcycle travel book.

Riding the Edge By: Dave Barr

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to travel what would it be?
My passion ever since I can remember has been motorcycle touring. Previously, by my own motorcycles, road trips to Europe, Africa, Asia, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, USA, and Canada. The best I could ever blag was 9 weeks holiday. This was when I shipped my motorcycle to Australia. This was mostly due to an understanding boss at work and even then I had to use two years worth of holiday at once to make it work.

A lesson that I learnt as soon as we started this two year (ish) ride of the Americas was there is no rush, no return date, no job to go home to, no rush. If or rather! When you get the chance in life to travel by which ever means you choose. From me to you, find time to take your time 👍.

To continue following Chris and Jyl as they travel around on their two Harleys, follow their pages:
Website
Facebook
Youtube

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