Motorcycle and adventure fans joined together recently to celebrate the life of a little-known, yet inspiring, motorcycle adventurer: Mary Sievier.
Mary acquired a BSA Bantam in 1967 and hatched a plan to ride it to and through Russia. Sadly the authorities denied her a visa to enter the country, but instead of turning around and heading home, she forged on, riding to India, East Africa, around Australia, New Zealand and parts of South East Asia. To fund the trip she’d stop to work, and used her shorthand skills to help pay for her continued adventure.
After a period in Hong Kong, where Mary met her future husband, she shipped the BSA across the Pacific to complete her circumnavigation by crossing the USA, before returning to the UK in 1976.
Had such a trip been undertaken today, it would no doubt be highlighted by lots of media attention, social media content and an inevitable fundraising element, either for charity or to help fund the trip. That wasn’t the case in the 60s and 70s though, and for the most part, Mary’s journey went unnoticed until a few years ago. Mary sadly passed away in September 2023 aged 82. The BSA she rode on her trip is still within the National Motorcycle Museum's collection and can be viewed in person at the venue.
Speaking about the event, Patrick Collins, Vehicle Curator at the National Motor museum said:
“Our Transport Torque evening was a lovely tribute to Mary Sievier. We are fortunate to have had Mary’s personal memories captured with the film Mary Motorcycle – her experience was truly amazing, and her round-the-world trip was undertaken not for fame or fortune but to satisfy her personal ambition and accomplishment. I was fortunate to meet Mary when she visited the Museum in October 2022 – her motorcycle remains in the Museum as a tribute to her endeavour and unassuming nature.”
The evening was just one of a series of events planned to take place at the National Motor Museum (Beaulieu - not the National Motorcycle Museum), and further events are planned which you can find out more about here.
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