Photo: Jacqui Furneaux
Jacqui Furneaux has an old Royal Enfield that she doesn't always know is going to start. She often prefers maps to SatNav, doesn't necessarily know where she'll sleep that night, and some of the experiences she remembers most began when something went wrong. Most of us spend a lot of time and money trying to eliminate exactly those things. Motorcycles are more reliable, GPS tells us where we're going, accommodation can be booked before we arrive, and when something goes wrong, help may only be a message or a call away. All of that makes motorcycle travel easier. But does it also make it easier to pass through a place without really interacting with it?
Jacqui began travelling by motorcycle in 2000, and over the years breakdowns, wrong turns and uncertainty have repeatedly forced her to solve problems, rely on strangers and interact with people she otherwise might never have met. In this episode, we talk about her long relationship with an old Royal Enfield, why she believes things going wrong can sometimes add to an adventure, how years of dealing with uncertainty changed the way she thinks about fear, and what may be lost when travel becomes increasingly predictable and self-contained.
As motorcycle travel becomes easier, are we also becoming more insulated from the experience — and are we engineering some of the adventure out of it?
Photo: Jacqui Furneaux with Ted Simon
Jacqui Furneaux is a motorcycle traveller, author and retired nurse from Bristol, England. Her original seven-year motorcycle journey took her through 20 countries between 2000 and 2007 on a Royal Enfield Bullet.
Jacqui has written two books about her travels:
Hit the Road, Jac!: Seven Years, Twenty Countries, No Plan
The story of her original seven-year motorcycle journey. Available in paperback and Kindle editions, and as an audiobook narrated by Jacqui on Audible and Spotify.
On the Road Again
Jacqui's second book follows the motorcycle journeys and experiences that came after her original seven-year trip. It is available in paperback and Kindle editions and as an audiobook on Audible, narrated by Jacqui.
You can find Jacqui's books, information about signed copies, her travels, photographs, talks and events at JacquiFurneaux.com.
