The Riders
Roll over the rider mugshots for more info
Adam Giles – Director/Cameraman
Adam is renowned for adventure travel filmmaking. His work has taken him across the globe from the Australian outback to Outer Mongolia via Bavaria and of course from Alaska to Patagonia on the Trans American Highway. If there’s a piece of the action, then Adam's in the thick of it - camera rolling! A non-biker before The Ride, Adam has since taken to two wheels himself. As well as the National Geographic Channel, Adam has also shot and directed films for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
Dave Baines
Dave Baines (aka “Mad Dog”) is a Native American Indian and a local doctor. A good friend of Kevin and Julia Sanders, having first met them when they were in Anchorage to do their Trans Americas Guinness World Record, Dave is able to bring a local’s perspective to the Alaskan section of the trip, which the riders have to come to grips with. But ironically, it is the Alaskan wilderness that is Dave’s undoing.
Dave Power
Age: 45. Dave is an engineer with his own business. A self-made man, he is at the heart of most of the action on this trip. He goes through a marriage break-up whilst on the trip – conducted long distance over the phone. This is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and is eye-wateringly open to the camera. Prior to leaving he claimed, “We ticked the adventure box”. He may have got a lot more than he bargained for!
Dom Davis
Age: 37. A builder from Surrey, Dom works for his successful family business. His first love is riding motorbikes and he has been doing so from a young age. As the most confident rider in the group, his likeness to Denis the Menace doesn’t stop at his appearance. He is cocky, mischievous and a complete show off. “I was a twat when I started this trip and I’m still a twat now!”
Doug Kearney
Age 54. Like his nickname, “The Count” (after Dracula) because of his pale complexion, tendency to wear black and lack of normal eating habits, Doug didn’t like to be seen in the light much. Still running his computer business from thousands of miles away, the group tried to prise Doug away from his work responsibilities, which normally succeeded if some good cigar and brandy were there to tempt.
Emmet Reidy
Age: 34. Emmet is the baby of the group. He took the trip intending to re-evaluate and take stock of his life. He was a salesman for large London bank. If motorbikes weren’t his life before embarking on the trip they are now: since returning from the Americas he has quit his London job to work at Kevin and Julia’s off road bike centre. Full of Irish wit and charm, he is easy-going and well liked.
Graham McDermott
Age 58. Known to the group as Mac, he runs his own fleet haulage business in Birmingham. This belligerent Brummie is man of few words; Mac will only say something when he really means it. He had only been riding for seven years when he set off, yet is the one rider who never dropped his bike on the whole trip.
Jack Dick
Age: 65. A retired German who has lived in England for most of his life, having married English rose Jackie, some 20 years or more his junior. He is disapproving of the late night drinking sessions and the rowdy nature of some of the party. But Jack can be a cantankerous hot head and extremely outspoken. By his own admission he is an outcast from rest of group.
Jeff the Van Man
Age: 35. Jeff is the support driver/mechanic and can usually be found at the wheel of the ever-present red transit van. Jeff provides his own personal running ‘commentary’ as events unfold. A self styled Zen guru Jeff is scathing at what he sees as the groups lack of “insight” on their journey. He is a true adventurous antipodean, repeatedly stopping the van to climb, swim, dive and trek - in his element in the spectacular surrounds.
John Jewell
Age: 59. Father of Mike Jewell. This father and son team sold their family garage business to allow them to have the trip of a lifetime. But they are by the far the unluckiest riders: Mike is terribly injured in a horrific accident in Peru that puts an end to his trip. Utterly heartbroken, he is then caught up in an ensuing controversy with local police before being flown home, whilst John has to take the decision to continue the trip or leave with his son.
Jonathan Clifford
Age 40. Normally at client offices surrounded by computers, Jonathan left behind the world of IT consultancy for a life on the open road. The trip was a 40th birthday present to himself. Jonathan flung himself into the full cultural aspects more than any other rider on the trip. Whether he was at a Catholic mass, shooting tequilas, strutting to the mamba, swimming naked in the Arctic or marveling at the relics of ancient civilizations, he immersed himself wholly in the trip and admitted “it’s going to be very, very hard to go back home”.
Julia Sanders
On her first overland trip to South America, Julia met Kevin and since then, her lifestyle has dramatically changed. Julia has had her bike licence for the past 7 years now, but it was only after the two Guinness World Record™ "Super Pillion" efforts that she finally rode her own bike on a 22,000 mile journey from Vancouver, Canada to Ushuaia, Argentina. There is no more back seat now!
Kevin Sanders
The Guinness World Records™ have brought many fantastic opportunities - Kevin has been consulted about planning other long distance rides, worked with the Long Way Round team and in 2005 also guided a team of BMW sponsored riders along the Trans Siberian Highway, Russia. Never far away from a bike, Kevin is always happiest when leading a group through spectacular roads and sharing his unstinting enthusiasm and drive for exotic and unusual regions he loves to travel through.
Mike Jewell
Age: 33. Son of John Jewell. This father and son team sold their family garage business to allow them to have the trip of a lifetime. But they are by the far the unluckiest riders: Mike is terribly injured in a horrific accident in Peru that puts an end to his trip. Utterly heartbroken, he is then caught up in an ensuing controversy with local police before being flown home, whilst John has to take the decision to continue the trip or leave with his son.
Mick Fitzpatrick
Age: 70. Mick is eager for some adventure before its too late! He decided to go on the trip when he discovered that an insurance policy that he had forgotten about was to mature on the exact day of the expedition departure. He saw this as an omen and signed up immediately. He married his girlfriend Judith (now third wife), just before heading off on the trip.
Ted Nuttall
Age: 53. An experienced rider, Ted came on the trip to celebrate his recovery from a horrific car accident that left him unable to walk. He’s a no-nonsense Yorkshire man who knows that there is no time to waste in life. He loves the open road and would rather be cruising on his bike than “wasting his time at tourist attractions”.
