by Jethro Bovingdon
The last time Dream caught up with Steph Jeavons it was a cool but bright Spring day on the gorgeous Portmadog beach in North Wales, and she was about to embark on an epic solo journey around the world on her trusty Honda CRF250L motorcycle, named Rhonda.
Six months on and Steph’s smile is just as wide but the location couldn’t be more different. We’ve flown to Malaysia to catch up with Steph and Ronda, the humid air is treacly thick and pulsating to the din of crickets and monkeys in the dense jungle that’s overhanging the road. It feels a million miles from Snowdonia National Park.
Steph’s trusty Honda CRF250L motorcycle, Rhonda
From Snowdonia to Kuala Lumpur
The flight over to Kuala Lumpur provides a stark illustration of Steph’s undertaking with this incredible journey. We’re in the air for nearly 13 hours at around 600mph but the realisation that Steph has reached our rendezvous point on a motorcycle and that it’s taken six months puts my impression of an arduous journey into perspective. By the time we land my admiration for Steph is somewhere up above the cruising altitude in the Airbus A380 from which I’ve just been disgorged.
One of the first things that you notice about Rhonda is that her wind deflector is decorated with permanent marker pen that charts each country on Steph’s journey so far: Wales, England, France, Belgium, then later Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Dubai, India, Nepal and so on.
It’s been over 16,500 miles so far but Steph seems completely unfazed by all that she’s achieved. ‘It’s been everything I could have imagined and more,’ she beams. ‘In fact you can’t really imagine what it will be like, but the kindness of people along the way, the sights and sounds… It’s just been incredible.’
Steph admits to having a fair few conversations with her motorcycle
Couch surfing across Iran
So what are the highs on this monumental adventure? ‘Well, I guess travelling over the Himalayas was the most amazing thing. Just being up there, like you’re on the roof of the world. That said, in its own way I guess couch surfing across Iran was just as surreal… Every country seems to have something that makes it special.’
What quickly becomes apparent is that this is just everyday life to Steph now. Of course she appreciates every second, but the scale of the journey, like anything in life, seems somehow smaller when you’re living in it day by day.
‘I remember looking at the route just before I left and freaking out,’ she says, ‘but now I just roll along at my own pace, rest when I need to and keep pushing along when I get in the groove. Looking back I’ve done some incredible things but I’m focusing on the next challenge.’
The perfect partnership
There’s plenty for Steph to focus on… still to come is South America, Canada, North America and even Antarctica. ‘I’ve got a boat to catch that leaves Argentina for Antarctica in February next year,’ she explains. ‘So that’s my only time constraint. I need to catch that boat. I’m not looking forward to the crossing but when Rhonda rolls onto the ice it will be a special moment.’
So far the CRF250L has endured rain, mud, off-road tracks, streams, suffocating altitudes and chaotic traffic that would make your toes curl, without missing a beat. Steph and Rhonda have become quite a partnership.
All too soon our time with Steph is over. She’s heading south through Malaysia and into Singapore. The adventure rolls on. Steph, bon voyage.
