Welcome to the Bike's & Bio's Page of the GlobeRiders Himalaya Expedition 2017 Live!Journal!

This is the "up close" and personal Chapter of the Himalaya Expedition 2017 Live!Journal.  I've asked each of our riders to share a little about themselves, and also provide a couple of favorite photos to go along with their Bio's. You may not be with them in the flesh, but at least you can learn a bit more about them virtually.

This is going to be a fascinating adventure. Not only do our participants get to experience the wonders of the Himalayan Countries on their own bike's, but they also get to meet local people off the beaten track, taste the cuisine and immerse themselves in the amazing history of this mystical part of the world.

It's my privilege to introduce the members of the GlobeRiders Himalaya Expedition 2017.

Best Regards,

Helge Pedersen

I have always loved outdoor adventures. I have been riding motorcycles since I was about 8 years old. My grandfather had what I believe was a small Italian motorcycle. My brother and I would go with him to the hills and ride it. I recall the throttle would regularly get stuck wide open. What a thrill. I also remember getting my cousin’s Honda 50 over 55 miles per hour when I was 10. I thought I had wings!

In the intervening years I graduated from college in zoology and chemistry and worked as an analytical chemist. I moved on to different motorcycles and different types of adventures. I loved doing cliff jumps on my Husky WR430 when I lived in Boise, Idaho. Then I went to graduate school. For a short time I had a rocket fast Suzuki GS100S sport bike. I learned I am not smart enough to ride something that will hit 60 in 1st!

After graduating from law school in 1987 I moved to Reno, Nevada and worked for a judge. My brother talked me into buying a BMW R80GS. Fantastic! It could do wheelies and was a kick to ride. Best of all I could put a bottle of water and a sandwich in my suit pocket and head for the hills for a quick lunch. I’d knock the dirt off my suit and shoes go back work in the court. I didn’t know why everyone didn’t race to the hills for lunch.

Over the years I mellowed from jumping cliffs to enjoying back roads, dirt or paved. I have learned you don’t have to have bad roads to have good views. You just have to get out and go. My best friend, girlfriend and wife, Judy (who also rides) and I have enjoyed beautiful rides in Croatia, Bosnia, Italy, Canada and various places in the US.

It not the destination that makes the adventure it is the process; the trials, tribulations and triumphs – the unknowns. I look forward to making new friends, and learning from those along the way. I hope my photographs will capture the essence of part of the lives we cross and of a world I do not know. 

The more I travel, the more I realize that fear
makes strangers of people who should be friends.
                                                                        Shirley McClain

Like many, my thirst for adventure riding began in 2005 after watching the TV series, “The Long Way Round”, chronicling the around-the-world journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.   At 48 years old, I still owned my first motorcycle, a Honda made Harley knockoff and had only sporadically ridden on the street for the prior 7 years.  I had no off-road experience and only occasionally travelled out of the United States, mostly to countries of English speaking allies.   But there was something that gnawed at me about the thought of traveling to lands afar by motorcycle, carrying everything you needed for the journey on those two wheels, meeting people you could only communicate with by playing a game of roadside charades.  How much fun would that be?

Living in Seattle, I somehow stumbled upon a presentation by Helge Peterson, highlighting the travels of one of his World Tours.  Fate or just dumb luck, I have no ideal.  During this presentation, he discussed his upcoming “2007 Silk Road Adventure”.   I was intrigued…I would turn 50 during this trip and I thought “What a great birthday present to myself”!  I had never ridden a mile off road and I did not own a motorcycle capable of the journey.   Undeterred, I contacted Helge and sent off my deposit.  There was no turning back now and much preparation needed.  Purchase a 2006 BMW 1200 GS Adventure…Check.  (A smarter person would have picked a smaller bike for their first off road adventure….at this point I was very determined, but not necessarily smart!)  Travel Gear for a 52-day journey…Check.  Learning to ride off road with the help of my local BMW Salesman, Wayne Elston…Check.  Load the motorcycle in a Shipping Container in Seattle…Check.   Fly off to my first overseas, off-road adventure…Check.

Arriving in Istanbul, Turkey I would never have imagined how my life would change.  During this journey, I would travel with 21 other motorcycle/adventure enthusiast.  Few of us starting the trip knew anyone else participating in this 8 country, 8,000 mile, 52 day adventure, but all of us would be friends by journeys end.   A large number remain very close friends to this day.

Since that trip, I have ridden throughout British Columbia, The Yukon, Alaska, Continental Divide (twice), TransAmerica Trail, Washington State Backroad Discovery tour and most recently Mongolia (This journey was short lived when I dislocated and broke my ankle in three places).  On each and every one of these trips, I have been joined by one or more individuals I originally met on the Silk Road Adventure. By far, the one relationship from that trip that has affected my life the most is the one that has been forged with Dan Moore.   Dan lives in Cleveland, my home town where I lived until graduating from College.  He and I remained in contact after the Silk Road and have since ridden on numerous rides.

In 2010, my Seattle based Real Estate investment business went belly up with the financial crisis and I decided to return to Cleveland.  Upon my return, Dan and I began discussing different opportunities and he ultimately asked me to manage his 65 Acre Cleveland Industrial Campus.  I came on board and after 6 years, the rest is history.  I am now Director of Facilities for the Dan T. Moore Company as well as CEO of Polyfill, one of our manufacturing plants in Sidney, Ohio. 

I will be joining Dan for the second half of the Himalayan adventure, replacing Windsor Ford who will be riding the first half.  Should Windsor successfully arrive in Paro, Bhutan, he and I will trade places on Dan’s BMW HP2.  If Windsor doesn’t manage to get the bike safely to Paro…. well, I guess I will be motorcycle shopping in Bhutan!

I am a 26 year old VP at Dan T. Moore Company, where I manage our early stage manufacturing startups as well as our acquisition office.  As a Cleveland native and a recent Case Western MBA graduate, I have been working with Dan full time for about three and a half years, but have been an intern for multiple summers prior.  After my first internship, Dan gave me his old 1989 Honda Transalp and I have seldom been seen on four wheels since.

I am an avid traveler: I lived in England for a year and a half during undergrad, I have been around Europe, and most recently went to Thailand where I was able to see best parts of it on scooters with my girlfriend and a few others.  The Himalaya adventure will be my first major motorcycle trip, but I have also gone on the Trans-America Trail and am taking a Washington BRD trip as a warm-up for the big overseas adventure.

Looking forward, I am excited to have the opportunity to learn about this part of the world and to become a more experienced rider.  I hope that this is the first of many trips!

Travel, adventure and Adventure Travel have always been an important part of my life. Whether climbing, fishing, riding motorcycles, playing music or just plain visiting other places on foot or by car, truck, bus whatever, socio-cultural emersion is its own form of nourishment. Experiencing how other people live, work, play and interact is crucial to understanding the world and cultivating a personal perspective.

I began Adventure riding in 2009 and have been fortunate to have been invited on many trips including rides in South Africa and Namibia, Cambodia as well as Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. This trip is a dream opportunity to visit places I have long wished to experience and to do it on a motorcycle in a small group is even more special.

Grateful and fortunate barely begin to express how I feel about being invited on this trip. I look forward to getting to know and ride with everyone on this unique opportunity we call GlobeRiders 2017 Himalayan Expedition.

I currently manage along with my teammates a portfolio of small manufacturing companies.  I have made the strategic decision not to retire but keep on doing what I enjoy, punctuating my work activities with annual motorcycle sabbaticals and periodic long motorcycle trips – most often with Helge Pedersen.  We’ve traveled across the Silk Road from Istanbul to Xian, China, from Los Angeles, CA, to the tip of Argentina, along the Continental Divide and from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt.  These are energizing and clarifying rituals for me. 

I was made in Norway, left to see the world on a BMW motorcycle and now live outside Seattle, USA. It has been an incredible journey and I have been very fortunate to have the lifestyle that I have had since the day I left Norway in 1982.

After 10 years of riding the world I settled in Seattle where GlobeRiders were created. We have done long distance tours all over the world since the year 2000. From the early start, I have decided not to make GlobeRiders a large company, but rather a small business that have the time and energy to get to know every one of our riders that travel with us.

I love the full process of building a team from start to the end. It is a long process, but worth it in the end when we all return home from our ride with memories for life.

Besides motorcycle touring, photography is a big part of my life and what a great combination it has been, riding the world and taking photographs. Yes, I have an addiction and that is that I carry way too much camera equipment with me on my bike.

Looking forward to ride with this group from the high mountains of the Himalayas to the lakes of Myanmar.

My biggest burden being the leader of this pack is to make sure that everyone is safe and have a wonderful ride, I will do my very best.

Ride Far – Ride Safe!

Helge Pedersen