Road to Kathmandu
In August 2005 Simon Roberts, a freelance Graphic artist, set off from Bristol
on his ‘trusty’ BMW R100GS heading east to Kathmandu – the classic
overland trip. Pushing the bike off the ferry at Calais - on Day 1 - due to starter
motor failure, he knew the trip was going to be anything but uneventful...
Over the next seven months he rode ever Eastwards, visiting the motorcycle
workshops of Europe, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India and finally into Nepal
to be met by the Maoist uprising. He encountered wild dogs, wild men and wild
women. From the desperation of a failed driveshaft in Baluchistan, close to the
Afghan border to the joys of a real coffee in the back streets of Jaipur, Rajasthan,
euphoria, despair and maniacal rickshaw drivers were his daily companions...
“Throughout the 7 months, I drew cartoons feverishly, documenting the Highs –
and Lows – of the trip, and these hundreds of drawings are being painstakingly
collated into a unique book. In fact it’s more than a book, it’s an ‘Illustrated
Motorcycle Diary travel journal comic strip’.