Bike couple's 17,000 mile journey

Neither Brian Clarke or his fiance Suzanne Poole, of London Road, had travelled much before they flew to Buenos Aeries in March with 18 other motorcycle enthusiasts for a 17,000 mile tour of the Americas.

Their bikes were shipped ahead of them. After motoring down to Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, the group began the long haul up South, Central and North America through 16 countries into Canada and Alaska.

"We wanted to do some travelling, but not in the normal gap year way that people do, where they go to the same places," said Brian.

"Riding was sometimes 12 hours of just sitting on a bike.

"Sometimes, it was three or four hours in a dead straight line.

"You could look at it as boring but we didn't. It was beautiful. Some places you could just about see the curvature of the earth."

Along the way, the pair experienced some amazing moments, including standing with one foot in either hemisphere and breaking down in black bear country.

"It's always the hard bits you remember the most," said Brian. "We were in Argentina, going through Route 40. A lot of it is gravel, rocks, holes, mud.

"At one point we hit a plateau and the wind was so bad, it flipped about 10 of us off our bikes.

"We were all blown over. We sat there for a while, but you could end up sitting there for two weeks - and there's nothing, for hundreds of miles.

"So you have to get on with it. Get your head down and do it."

Brian's trusty Yamaha XT 660 Z Tenere traversed thousands of miles of tarmac and off-road terrain before breaking down just 25 miles from the end.

He still finished after a friend towed him for the last leg. 15 of the group dropped out by the end.

The Yamaha is still in Alaska, and Brian and Suzanne are already considering their next adventure.

Brian said: "It's hard to explain what it felt like, crossing the finish line.

"We were happy, and we had a few drinks, but something that huge takes ages to sink in.

"People say that it's a once in a lifetime trip, but we are not making it once in a lifetime. We're going to do it again. We absolutely loved it."