Nick Sanders interviewed
Madman or lunatic?
Ian Mutch asks the questions of a man who has ridden an R1 around the world in 19 days.
IM What drives you ?
NS Having done this for 26 years it's not
just money and fame, it's the love of doing
it. When everything's working well and the
weather benign. I've had rare moments for
example in Madagascar with no ex wife
nagging at me, no kids biting at my heels,
I'm just a bike rider riding my bike,
complete freedom.
IM Do you get fed up with riding toward a
target all the time?
NS The pressure is enormous and as I get
older people still want that performance
from me. There will come a time when I'll
slow down.
IM Which of your trips do you like best?
NS There are defining projects in any
career and for me going round the world
in 1997 on the Triumph Daytona gave me
an insight into being a biker. As a career
move it was good, the film sold well the
book sold well and it gave me an
audience. The second defining trip was
going round the world in 19 days, that was
the 'journey beyond reason' and it
propelled me forward massively, I enjoyed
the purity of that experience.
IM There must have been times when you
thought this is barking mad - maybe the
time on that run when your head exploded
and blood burst out of your noise as you
were riding?
NS Do you know I don't think what I do is
mad. I'm so in tune with it and do it so
often its all I know. I don't work and do
adventure on side, this is what I do for a
living, its normal I've normalised it.
IM Was this something you wanted to do
when you were at school?
NS From age 18 I wanted to be a
professional cycle racer. I've never filled in
a p45 or worked a day in my life
conventionally. Competitive sport teaches
huge focus. Making an 80 mile bike ride
and coming back starving taught me how
to suffer, it enhanced my endurance
capability hugely.
IM Are you a masochist?
NS Not in the slightest, that's an obvious
thought but no. I'm capable of taking the
pain but I don't like it. Sleep deprivation is
used in torture and I don't think I'd be a
good candidate for torture, but I like what
this lifestyle gives me. I like the feeling I
can travel anywhere in the world when I
want to. I've created a situation where I
make a good living from this and I like the
audience response. I have a fan base of
people who empathise with what I do and
how I do it.
IM You're a bit of a performer?
NS It's a key element of what I do. I'm not
saying "look at me I'm better than." I'm
saying "look at me, let me entertain you
and help you look at life in a different
way." I get a lot of pleasure from that.
IM What's your worst fear on a trip?
NS I've never thought of dying.It can
happen anywhere of course, it won't
necessarily happen when going round
world, actually it's less likely then as
you're so focussed and at one with a
dangerous environment I hardly ever, never
in fact, have near misses. I dofear I may
not be able to create around my trip. I fear
not being able to write a book or make a
film that people will want to see.
IM Do you get writer's block?
NS No, the best thing you can have to
write a book is a large overdraft. A book
needs to be written it can't just be
something you want to do. I'm quite an
ordinary normal bloke actually.
IM What did you say?
NS I'm normal, I've got a mortgage an ex
wife, a 180 failed relationships. I have
issues with my children, neighbours,
business colleagues, in that sense there's
nothing extraordinary about me. I work
hard at normalising what and who I am. If
other people put me on a pedestal that's
ok so long as I don't it myself.
IM OK Mr Normal, this Timbuktu guided
trip, what about all the complaints?
NS I think one has to manage
expectations. Crucially that was what I
learned from that trip. In Timbuktu 2,
which is happening in Jan 2008 I'm going
out of my way to tell people what's on
offer. If they don't like it then don't come
with me. You get to an age when you say
"this is who I am and this is how I do
things and if you don't like it then go and
find someone else to do it with." That
said, what I do offer is a very unusual way
of doing things, we get into the heart and
soul of africa in way that I don't think
anyone else does.
IM So what were the complaints about?
NS About 5% of the riders complained.
The other 95% thought they had had a
fabulous time. We had to ride at night
which some thought was too dangerous
in Africa . I don't agree. Certainly where we
travelled there was no wildlife crossing the
road and very little traffic. With adventure
journeys you can't guarantee what time
you will get through customs and that can
dictate how much night riding you have to
do. In truth there was very little but people
remember parts they find uncomfortable.
When they look back they'll remember the
sublime parts and think "did I do that,
wasn't that remarkable, how lucky am I?"
IM Is there something else you'd like to do
besides bike tours?
NS I'd like to do less tours, I've done it for
8 years but it's taken me from my original
plan as a solo adventurer, going off on a
bike alone and making films and writing
books about it. The Timbuktu 2 film is
available now.
IM What outside of bike trips do you want
to do?
NS I don't know. I'm a professional
balloonist and have taken canal boats to
the Black Sea and cycled round the world.
My natural inclination is to do other things.
I'm a father. I have 3 kids between five and
nine years of age and I'm here to be their
father not their hero. I've taught them
focus, to work hard, to be compassionate
and to be happy.
IM Do the cultures you've passed through
rub off on you?
NS Yes, take today, the Algerian cafe. (I
found Nick in the cafe at the end of my
street chatting to the locals ie Algerians). I
didn't know where they were from when I
pulled up but I can immediately and
instinctively connect with where people
are from and have some idea of the spirit
of what it's like to be Algerian, Moroccan
or Mauritanian. You can build knowledge
from travel but to have an instinctive
awareness of spirituality is far more useful.
IM Is there any nation you don't like?
NS No, I don't like smug pretentious
arrogant people, and I don't like people
who say they're going to do things and
don't.
IM Do you find poor people are excited or
envious of the rich gringo?
NS It's a combination of the two. You are
money on legs outside Europe and you
exploit each other in a nice way. I don't
know mega rich people but I've met
people who have absolutely nothing and I
wonder if it will ever change.
IM Do you ever feel guilty in the face of
dire poverty?
NS You can ask what does travelling
round the world on a motorcycle achieve?
I suppose to an extent we're
ambassadorial and there will be kids
who've never seen a white man and for
them I'll be the first white man they've
met. It will be something they never forget
and I hope when they look back on it they
will remember it as a sweet experience.
IM Do you have a favourite country?
NS Maybe India. I've been 20 times and it
has such a wealth of rich culture. The
people are so friendly and it's a relatively
small place if your used to travelling round
the world. I can cross india in 2 days and
ride the length of it in 3 . I feel at home
there. It takes a lot longer to cross the
Sahara when there's nothing there. Take
the concept of time away from travel and
a big country can appear small and a small
one big. There's a lot of nothingness in the
Sahara but India has much to occupy the
senses, it's like a busy day that passes
quickly. In a different way I find Mauritania
which is mostly Sahara, quite beautiful and
Mali is exceptional.
IM You're not bored crossing the sahara?
IM Do you daydream?
NS I've found a way to put all my
daydreams into action. I plan things in my
head at times. I want other riders to think
when they read my books. "ah yes he's
put his finger on the nub of the issue,
that's how I think. The way to write is the
way to be. The way I write is the way I am.
IM You never seem to break down do
you?
NS In the last 5 years on Yamahas I
haven't had a single breakdown so
mechanics don't come into my field of
view, there's nothing to write about.
IM Why the shift from Triumph to
Yamaha?
NS Triumph were great to me but they
didn't want me anymore, they dumped me
and Yamaha snapped me up. We're
presently negotiating a deal that will keep
me with them for next 3 years.
IM Why an R1 rather than a trailie or
tourer?
NS At the start my association with the
R1 was naive but when I sat on one it just
to ride round the world on, I mean
everyone else goes round on a GSand
grows a beard so I turned all that on its
head and this helps the whole experience
cross boundaries.
IM Does it amuse you to witness people's
incredulity that you use a sportsbike for
this job?
NS Yes but the truth is it's such a good
bike for it.
IM Your wrists don't get tired ?
NS No, you find a flotation point, you just
position yourself to minimise stress.
IM Have you ever run out of petrol?
NS In 1997 30 miles south of Calais.
IM That was a bit silly wasn't it ?
NS yeah
IM When are you going to join MAG?
NS Just as soon as . . .
IM What was that you were saying about blokes who say they're going to do things?
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