Ayr biker revs up for epic Oz adventure

Aug 14 2009 by Edwin Lawrence

HE’S turned redundancy into an opportunity of a lifetime.

And Trevor Hailstones aims to ride his motorbike all the way to Australia.

Trevor, 36, sets out this weekend. And if all goes well, he’ll be away for up to a year.

Trevor, from Ayr, has been motorbike daft all his life.

And he’s been riding them since he was 14 – off-road – before he got his licence.

Trevor said: “I’ve had the bike to Europe before – France, Austria, Italy and Spain.

“But this will be a bit more of a challenge.”

Trevor is well prepared for his great adventure.

He has fitted a satnav to his 700cc Honda Transalp.

And he has also added lightweight aluminium panniers to carry essentials.

In addition, Trevor has customised the bike’s suspension for added comfort.

He said: “I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for about 18 months.

“And when an option of voluntary redundancy came along, I decided to take it.”

Trevor was a business operations manager for 02, based at the giant call centre at the Skypark complex, next to the Clydeside Expressway in Glasgow.

He’s given up his flat, as well as his job.

And Trevor will set out on his epic journey from his parents’ home in Ayr.

Trevor will mostly camp out as he makes his way across Europe.

But it will be safer for him to get overnight lodgings once in Asia.

He said: “It will get a bit harder once I’m out of Europe and into Turkey.

“Spare parts might be difficult to come by between Istanbul and Bangkok.”

He’ll manage to avoid Iraq, by going from Turkey into Iran.

And he can avoid Afghanistan by going from Iran to Pakistan.

Trevor added: “I won’t be able to get into either Burma or China on my bike – it’s far too complicated, and they might think I’m spying.

“So I’ll probably ship the bike from India to Bangkok, in order to travel in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia.

“Then I’ll head for Singapore for the trip to Australia.”