PRESENTERS
Presenters at Winter Warmer 2020 included...
Click each presenter for more information!
Helen Lloyd
Helen spends most of her time travelling. Even when she’s working to save up for the next trip, she maintains the freedom of an itinerant lifestyle by residing in her van.
For her first big overland journey, she cycled from the UK to Cape Town. Since then she’s pedalled down North and Central America and across Asia, packrafted in Nicaragua, bought and ridden a horse in Kyrgyzstan, and paddled a pirogue down the Niger River in Guinea.
After a winter cycling in Siberia(!), she finally upgraded to a motorbike and hasn’t looked back. She has since returned to Africa on her XT225 Serow, ridden it across Europe twice and spent last summer exploring Iceland’s remote highland trails.
At the WW in 2020 she'll be talking about the 15 months she spent riding her Yamaha from Cape Town to Cairo: exploring the remoter parts of Angola to Ethiopia’s Danakil depression (hottest inhabited place on earth) with mine-avoidance, monkey mischief, safaris, volcanoes, salt flats, pyramids in the desert and other tales.
She has written for Overland, has published two books – Desert Snow and A Siberian Winter’s Tale – about her cycling adventures and the book about her ride around Iceland will be launched at the Winter Warmer!
For her first big overland journey, she cycled from the UK to Cape Town. Since then she’s pedalled down North and Central America and across Asia, packrafted in Nicaragua, bought and ridden a horse in Kyrgyzstan, and paddled a pirogue down the Niger River in Guinea.
After a winter cycling in Siberia(!), she finally upgraded to a motorbike and hasn’t looked back. She has since returned to Africa on her XT225 Serow, ridden it across Europe twice and spent last summer exploring Iceland’s remote highland trails.
At the WW in 2020 she'll be talking about the 15 months she spent riding her Yamaha from Cape Town to Cairo: exploring the remoter parts of Angola to Ethiopia’s Danakil depression (hottest inhabited place on earth) with mine-avoidance, monkey mischief, safaris, volcanoes, salt flats, pyramids in the desert and other tales.
She has written for Overland, has published two books – Desert Snow and A Siberian Winter’s Tale – about her cycling adventures and the book about her ride around Iceland will be launched at the Winter Warmer!
In association with Exotogg
The Exotogg is an award-winning inflatable thermal layer powered by your breath. It’s made for the all-season outdoor enthusiast who doesn’t want to pack many different layers for unpredictable weather. Because as we all know, we can only carry so much.
We are delighted that Exotogg are supporting the Winter Warmer and you'll be able to try the product during the weekend.
We are delighted that Exotogg are supporting the Winter Warmer and you'll be able to try the product during the weekend.
Tiffany Coates
Tiffany Coates is the world’s foremost female motorcycle adventurer, having travelled over 300,000 miles crossing every continent, some of them several times. Each year she heads off on new adventures. She discovered motorbike travel by accident after several years of backpacking. Her initial two-wheeled adventure involved riding overland to India when she set off two-up on a BMW R80GS alongside her best friend, with just two months riding experience between them. Overland Magazine has featured some of her stories from those early journeys and she'll be talking about something to do with Africa at the Winter Warmer. Perhaps the mud of Madagascar or wonderful Uganda, which she says is a must-see for all overlanders. Remote riding adventures remain her passion, something she now shares with others in her role as freelance motorcycle guide, working with the biggest names in the industry.
Ken McGreevy
We first met Ken about 10 years ago in his native Ireland when he was about to set off east on a GT550 Kawasaki, because it’s the bike he had at the time. He consequently wrecked that machine in the Kazakhstan desert while racing to make a presentation to the UN. Yes really… Since then he’s travelled where and when he can and his current bike, an Africa Twin, is actually waiting for him to return near the Colombian/Ecuadorian border. Ken is a copper and what you’ll realise during his presentation is that it's a career that teaches you many things, like knowing how to get un-arrested from the most bizarre situations. On almost every continent it seems. Sure what’s travel if it’s not a bit of craic?
Christian Brix
Frequent traveller and new writer, Christian Brix is recently back from a 1-year trip across Africa and Asia, completing 30k miles, through 33 countries on his trusty XT660Z Tenere. He will be talking specifically about his time in Africa and the mental difficulties he faced riding solo, as chronicled in his book ‘The Unseen Walls’. Employing a style of writing which is more about the mental journey, less the physical one, he chronicles the road of the mind – the highs, lows, confusion, doubt and the fear – which most overlanders choose not to elaborate on. Currently he is writing up the second part of his trip, centred on Asia, and training for the Gibraltar Rally this summer.
Michelle Lamphere
Change your life – ride out of work, be offered marriage and break a leg. Michelle’s time on the road in the Americas was far from ordinary! Author of 'The Butterfly Route' Michelle is flying in from Dakota to present at this year's Winter Warmer. As someone who works in hospitality when not travelling, she's also central to the organisation of the Womens Round World Relay
Derek Mansfield
Derek Mansfield never fails to surprise. He’s a man of many talents with a remarkable history and a thirst for the completely irrational; he travels with a Moto Guzzi. An experienced traveller throughout the former USSR and beyond, he is the ultimate aesthete, shunning weather-resistant riding gear for comfortable jeans and a stylish leather jacket, worn with the quiet confidence of one who is ever the optimist. His two recent books ‘Notes from the Road Volume 4’ and ‘Volume 3’ are observational classics, his acerbic wit pin sharp. He’s an integral and highly prized part of the Overland team and yet we cannot pretend that we know exactly what it is he shall be talking about, but come along to hear just what can happen when you climb aboard a Moto Guzzi and head for Mongolia. And if you want to know anything about visiting the Ukraine, he’s definitely your man.
Sam Manicom
Sam Manicom set off to travel the length of Africa on ‘Libby’, his BMW R80 GS, only three months after first learning to ride a motorcycle. What he’d planned as a one-year trip turned into an eight-year, 200,000 mile, 55-country adventure around the world. His four books Into Africa, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns and Tortillas to Totems vividly describe that epic journey.
At this year’s WW he'll be talking about somewhere hot; a place that will let you dream and ignore the British winter weather! He has travelled the world though, so where that is, well...
At this year’s WW he'll be talking about somewhere hot; a place that will let you dream and ignore the British winter weather! He has travelled the world though, so where that is, well...
Jocke Selin
At The Overland Event this year Jocke will be sharing his knowledge about maintenance, emergency repairs, tools and other tidbits, because he believes that everyone is capable of servicing and maintaining their vehicles.
He’ll cover situations you need to expect (puncture, fall, water ingestion), how to prop your bike up on the trail as well as servicing on the road and how to build the right toolkit. But he might include some other packing tips-n-tricks at the end.
Jocke has been tinkering with mechanical things all his life, be it bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles or cars. He loves sharing his knowledge and has been writing several online pieces about motorbikes, kit, tips and travel. He’s also a regular contributor to Overland Magazine!
The best thing he knows is just getting on his motorbike to head wherever the curves take him. He’s been skulking around Europe for 20 years, be it Nürburgring, Portugal, The Alps, Eastern Europe or the Nordic countries. The feeling is even better when Caz, his fiancé, is riding nearby.
He’ll cover situations you need to expect (puncture, fall, water ingestion), how to prop your bike up on the trail as well as servicing on the road and how to build the right toolkit. But he might include some other packing tips-n-tricks at the end.
Jocke has been tinkering with mechanical things all his life, be it bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles or cars. He loves sharing his knowledge and has been writing several online pieces about motorbikes, kit, tips and travel. He’s also a regular contributor to Overland Magazine!
The best thing he knows is just getting on his motorbike to head wherever the curves take him. He’s been skulking around Europe for 20 years, be it Nürburgring, Portugal, The Alps, Eastern Europe or the Nordic countries. The feeling is even better when Caz, his fiancé, is riding nearby.
Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent
Ants is a travel writer and journalist who specializes in solo journeys through remote regions. In 2006 she co-piloted a pink tuk tuk 12,561 miles from Thailand to England, raising £50,000 for the mental health charity Mind and simultaneously setting the Guinness World Record for the longest ever journey by auto-rickshaw. She penned 'Tuk Tuk to the Road' after that and since then she's ridden a C90 down the remains of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, circumnavigated the Black Sea and spent three months exploring India's remote Northeast state of Arunachal Pradesh. She's written three books, writes for The Guardian, The Telegraph, BBC 4's From Our Own Correspondent and more, and gives numerous talks. Her latest book, Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains: A Journey Across Arunachal Pradesh - India's Forgotten Frontier (Simon & Schuster, 2017) was Shortlisted for the 2018 Stanford's Adventure Travel Book of the Year. She’s the recipient of the Royal Geographical Society's 2019 Neville Shulman Challenge Award and her next journey, returning just before the Winter Warmer, will see her exploring the Naga tribal territories of Northeast India and Myanmar. At the WW she'll talking about NE India
Paddy Tyson
Paddy is the editor of Overland Magazine and founder of the Overland Events. Born amid the incessant rain of County Fermanagh in north west Ireland, he has been travelling in search of sunshine ever since, which is odd given his pale complexion.
His first road trip took place during the hot dry summer of 1976, across North America as a 6 year old, with his mum and big sister. He first combined motorcycles with travel while at university in England and set off on a woefully unprepared CG125cc Honda in 1993 to try and see as much of Europe as he could in 4 weeks. Being arrested just seemed to add to the adventure, and the whole thing sowed the seeds of a plan for a two-wheeled global assault, which has been undertaken in sections ever since.
He has been a columnist and feature writer for publications on both sides of the Atlantic, an English teacher and University lecturer and remains an advisor to the Ted Simon Foundation nurturing new writing talent. Paddy is an author, editor and proof-reader and will be running a creative writing workshop in association with Therese Wayman at this year’s Overland Event. Come along and they'll tease those creative juices out...
His first road trip took place during the hot dry summer of 1976, across North America as a 6 year old, with his mum and big sister. He first combined motorcycles with travel while at university in England and set off on a woefully unprepared CG125cc Honda in 1993 to try and see as much of Europe as he could in 4 weeks. Being arrested just seemed to add to the adventure, and the whole thing sowed the seeds of a plan for a two-wheeled global assault, which has been undertaken in sections ever since.
He has been a columnist and feature writer for publications on both sides of the Atlantic, an English teacher and University lecturer and remains an advisor to the Ted Simon Foundation nurturing new writing talent. Paddy is an author, editor and proof-reader and will be running a creative writing workshop in association with Therese Wayman at this year’s Overland Event. Come along and they'll tease those creative juices out...
Matt and Reece (AsSeenFromTheSidecar)
Matt and Reece are back from their circumnavigation of the globe on a scooter with a sidecar. For those of you who haven’t checked in with their progress since they left from the 2017 Overland Event, you’ll be surprised to hear that the lads made it to Paris and much, much further.
We welcomed them home at January’s Winter Warmer where attendees were treated to Russian caviar as the guys talked about the coldest stretch of their trip back from Vladivostok.
For the WW this year they are going to let us in to what happened traversing South America and just how the little Honda coped in the Andes among other things
We welcomed them home at January’s Winter Warmer where attendees were treated to Russian caviar as the guys talked about the coldest stretch of their trip back from Vladivostok.
For the WW this year they are going to let us in to what happened traversing South America and just how the little Honda coped in the Andes among other things
Gareth Jones
Gareth Jones is the milkman from Barry in South Wales who rode a modified 1951 Harley-Davidson Panhead around Southern Africa on what became known as his Pan Without A Plan adventure.
Without the benefits of rear suspension, an electric start, any kind of back up, and definitely no real plan, Gareth’s six-month solo journey covered 20,000 km through 10 countries. In the process he fulfilled a lifelong ambition and collected a wealth of memories. He’ll be sharing his story at the Winter Warmer. He later returned to Africa on The Great Fruit Adventure and had a very different experience... You can hear why
Without the benefits of rear suspension, an electric start, any kind of back up, and definitely no real plan, Gareth’s six-month solo journey covered 20,000 km through 10 countries. In the process he fulfilled a lifelong ambition and collected a wealth of memories. He’ll be sharing his story at the Winter Warmer. He later returned to Africa on The Great Fruit Adventure and had a very different experience... You can hear why
In association with Exotogg
The Exotogg is an award-winning inflatable thermal layer powered by your breath. It’s made for the all-season outdoor enthusiast who doesn’t want to pack many different layers for unpredictable weather. Because as we all know, we can only carry so much.
We are delighted that Exotogg are supporting the Winter Warmer and you'll be able to try the product during the weekend.
We are delighted that Exotogg are supporting the Winter Warmer and you'll be able to try the product during the weekend.
Dave Lee
Between 1955 and 1975 the Ho Chi Minh Trail was used by the North Vietnamese Army to transport supplies, troops and munitions from north to south Vietnam and Dave has been discovering abandoned sections of the trail for years. Listen to Dave’s account of how he took his 250cc motorcycle and unearthed more than he bargained for as the forgotten trail got the better of him.
He’s become so attached to Vietnam and has now visited so many times it’s like a second home. There are few people that sing its praises so highly, or know so much about riding there!
He’s become so attached to Vietnam and has now visited so many times it’s like a second home. There are few people that sing its praises so highly, or know so much about riding there!
Richard and Mopsa English
A remarkable couple, Richard and Mopsa English rode their Triumph sidecar outfit around the world in the 1980s and did their utmost to remain patriotic throughout, but times were changing. The factory they bought their bike from went bust while they were on the road and parts became increasingly difficult to get. Wars ensued and empires shrank still further, but their story is a brilliant one and the book it produced – Full Circle – is superb.
Iain Harper
Iain Harper is a co-founder of The Ted Simon Foundation and a regular contributor of words, images and video to Overland Magazine. He's flown the flag for Overland on motorcycle trips in Austria, Italy, France,
Scotland and the USA, and is currently long-term testing the Suzuki V-Strom 650XT. A marketing specialist by profession, Iain will be sharing some quick-win advice on how to produce better photos and video for social media storytelling using just your smartphone.
Scotland and the USA, and is currently long-term testing the Suzuki V-Strom 650XT. A marketing specialist by profession, Iain will be sharing some quick-win advice on how to produce better photos and video for social media storytelling using just your smartphone.
Bruce Smart
Bruce Smart had a GSXR when he decided that he would follow his mum's advice and 'Live his life'. So he set off Round the World and the tale of how it all went became the hugely successful book 'Live Your LIfe' released back in 2015. Since then Bruce has infact bitten the bullet and bought a more conventional 'adv' bike and has also become a proliffic vlogger, something that he's going to talk about at the WW. How do you do it? Why should you do it? What works and what doesn't, should all be covered in his workshop.
Therese Wayman
Therese has been teaching English in one capacity or another for twenty years, she's an accomplished novelist, short story writer and has a Masters degree in creative writing. She'll be running workshops on how to turn your journeys, no matter how long, into material that could be published worldwide!