HOSTS
The Lightweight Adventurers
Jamie and Marc are the Lightweight Adventurers, the founders of the Lightweight Adventures Festival and the hosts of the Traveller's Stage.
With a combined 50 years of military experience, they know how important strong bonds with like-minded people are.
This sense of camaraderie is what drives their passion for lightweight motorcycle adventures, making it available to anyone who wants to enjoy the excitement and freedom it brings. They are also good-looking and very funny!
SPEAKERS
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Austin Vince
WORLD ADVENTURER & LEGEND
Austin VINCE is a maths teacher but also, launched and filmed two motorcycle expeditions, Mondo Enduro(1995) and Terra Circa (2001). The Mondo team were the first people ever to get to Magadan on the far eastern Russian seaboard and hence, the first bikers to ride 'The Road Of Bones'. On Terra Circa they did it again but this time didn't use the train for the notorious 400 mile section in Siberia known as 'the Zilov Gap'. Hence, they were the first people to m/cycle across Russia WITHOUT using the train. Their self-made films were on Discovery and Men & Motors respectively. Ewan MacGregor saw them, then bought the DVDs and eventually, Long Way Round was born. The Mondo/Terra teams were the senior Siberian and Kazakh consultants to the LWR production.
Naturally, like any normal British chaps on holiday, Austin and co. were unsponsored and unsupported.
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Nye Davis
London to Cape Town
Having now ticked off 50 countries on two wheels, it’s safe to say bikes are truly a part of Nye’s blood. He previously completed a trip from the UK to Azerbaijan and back - breaking his knee in Albania in the process – as well as more recently completing a ride from the UK to South Africa aboard his trusty Yamaha WR250R.
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Clearly not one for detailed planning, this expedition down Africa’s west coast saw him experience temperature highs of 53 degrees in the Mauritanian Sahara, as well as weeks of constant rain in West Africa, meaning miles upon miles of floods and mud were often on the daily riding menu. It was all worth it though, so he claims, for the incredible memories gained along the way, whether that's the people met, the wildlife encountered, or the stunning terrain ridden through.
Despite a life spent on motorcycles, Nye maintains he’s still fairly terrible at riding the things, but he’s always up for an adventure, whether that's crossing continents or a weekend on the TET.
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I LIKE MOTORBIKES
Africa on a 125cc
Joining us live from Africa, are they daring or daft?
An intrepid couple, Tom and Lauren set off from the UK to reach South Africa in December 2023 on the least adventure capable machines more suited to nipping to the shops or delivering pizza. A humble pair of Honda CG125s!
The UK to SA journey will form the first part of a Round The World trip but they've already crossed deserts, mountains, jungles and avoided more potholes than there fish in the sea! You can follow along to see all the highs and lows on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!
Helen Lloyd
Adventure in the Middle East
Helen’s experiences of travelling far and travelling light started with a bicycle. After 50,000km through 60 countries, returning from a winter in Siberia, she swapped to a bike with an engine.
Her first 25-year-old XT225 Serow took her through Europe and Africa before succumbing to the harsh Icelandic landscapes after 90,000km. Now on a newer XT250, Helen rode 50,000km last year exploring Turkey, the Caucasus and Middle East in what turned out to be her most mentally challenging journey to date, albeit one that reignited her enthusiasm and curiosity in exploring new places and searching for remote trails to ride. From armed escorts visiting Iraq’s archeological sites to the adventure rider’s paradise of Oman and the desert trails of culturally conservative Saudi Arabia, Helen lifts the veil on travelling as a western woman alone through this often misunderstood part of the world that is now slowly embracing tourism after decades of conflict and closed doors.
JACK KEMP
AFRICA
Jack is a lifelong motorcycle adventure seeker – part of a generation indoctrinated into a thirst for something out of the ordinary in life by a childhood watching GS riding celebrities and dreaming of Dakar. Having started trail riding 5 years ago, the dirt-bug bit hard and he hasn’t looked back.In Winter 2022 on his old TT600 Yamaha, he set off on a 4-week trip to Morocco, which through a series of “f*ck it” moments spiralled into a 2 leg, 5-month adventure crossing the length of Africa, with no plan, little preparation beyond the next border and a pure desire to see what would happen and where things would end up.
19,000 miles and 19 border crossings later, Jack had collected a wealth of understanding, experience, friends, disasters, bruises and a very dirty t shirt along the way.Occasional enduro and trials rider, Jack will rarely be found far from the presence of a filthy beaten-up bike – unless he’s at the bar. He works as a trail guide, off road instructor and coach, and general dogsbody for Moto Junkies. Despite this, he’ll probably find some way of crashing spectacularly before the weekend’s out.
Joe Mercer
DESERT ROSE RACING
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Joe Mercer is coming back to speak all things Rally. Joe works at Desert Rose Racing, a name synonymous with rallying (and raids).
No matter whether you’re a seasoned Rallye veteran looking for an assistance service for your next big event, or are just getting started out in off-road motorcycling… Desert Rose Racing have the skills, experience and dedication necessary to further your off-road riding career.
Joe will share his knowledge of the entire rally scene and anything else surrounding the worldwide logistics involved, the bike maintenance it takes and how you could get into this sport!
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Add to that, he's bringing a factory spec rally bike!!
Rory Othen
Adventure at 17
Rory started seeking adventure at a young age, enjoying outdoor pursuits, and motorbikes were his ticket to travel further afield. Catching the bug big time, he now lives and breathes motorbikes. Not being told otherwise, trips got longer and longer on his 125cc getting to the Outer Hebrides at age of 17 and, dodging the December weather, making it to Poland by 19 for Christmas.
Rory’s blissful ignorance allowed him to travel without worrying about having the correct kit, or the correct bike which led to some fantastic adventures. Opportunities arose to meet some amazing people, although this may have been due to a ‘mothering’ concern of a wet, hungry lad on a clapped out bike with his ‘be rite’ attitude to life.
Rory now enjoys all bikes including trail riding, racing and travel riding. He is constantly looking for the next venture and there’s plenty more to come. He never set out to prove anything, he just doesn’t see why you shouldn’t.
If you see him, go and say hello.
Rachel Lasham
Adventure on a C90
After planning to ride solo from Alaska to Argentina on a DR650, Rachel went to a motorcycle festival for information and advice and left with a boyfriend, C90 rider Ed March. After inviting Ed on her trip (to which he agreed, as long as she rode a C90), they later set off for an eighteen-month adventure that would last nearly three years and over 20,000 miles (she actually has no idea how far it was, her C90 kept eating speedo drives!).
From riding the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, crossing Canada in the winter with temperatures as low as -35°C, and traversing the USA off-road on the Trans-America Trail (over 1500 miles of which were on a homemade trike called the Hondukis Yamakazufan 4000), laughs, adventures, and crashes were aplenty.
Rachel and Ed parted ways in California, and she made her way through Mexico and Guatemala solo, being looked after by biker gangs and tequila-drinking locals before riding back up to LA and flying home, where she swapped wheels for oars and rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic… as you do.
ALSO
Laura Mills
Solo to Turkey
THE TAMP stage
HOSTED BY THE TRAIL AND ADVENTURE MOTORBIKE PODCAST
HOSTS
TRAIL AND ADVENTURE MOTORBIKE PODCAST
The Trail and Adventure Motorbike Podcast is created by Clive Barber and Noel Thom, and they are the hosts of the Creator's Stage, full of your favourite adventure content creators.
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They are not inspirational, and they will not provide motivation to get you off your butt and travel the world. They are quite a good laugh though, like a couple of old blokes you overhear in the pub, and wish you were sat at their table.
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Except you don’t need to because they record their conversations. Weird. Yeah, probably.
They are both residents of Cumbria and have been riding since they were children, which is surprising, as you would expect them to be better at it by now. They are firm believers in the ‘Light is Right’ message, with a brace of CRF’s between them.
TAMP Awards
The TAMPodcast are putting on an awards night again! It's about time the the heros of the trail and adventure motorcycle world are recognised.
Your favourite brands and individuals are up for nomination and recognition with the inaugural TAMP Awards. Come and be a part of something new!
SPEAKERS
GREG VILLALOBOS
FILM MAKER & ADVENTURE SPEC
Renowned film maker and the representative of Adventure Spec, Greg Villalobos needs no introduction in the lightweight trail and adventure scene.
Speaking on the creators stage, he will be letting everyone in on his Adventure Spec success and answering questions about the amazing equipment that they make
JASON MARKOS
HP2 Mav
Mav is a dirt bike addict! Who takes every opportunity to get dirty on motorcycles, in particular on his iconic BMW HP2 Enduro. From the desert of Southern California, to the Italian Alps, and a whole bunch of the TET in between, that’s still not enough so he hits the trails on his commute in the Cotswolds! Combining this with his enthusiasm for photography, Mav not only shares his content through his instgram channel HP2Mav, he also helps to document his friends adventures and has supported other media channels such as The Girl on a Bike and Brake Magazine.
At Lightweight Adventure Festival, Mav will be sharing some of his HP2 journey, as well as some hints and tips about capturing your adv journey.
DAN & ROBBIE
Noodles For Breakfast
Noodles for Breakfast, or Dan and Roberta, are a couple that met in Kyrgyzstan on a previous overland trip. Now they have returned to the UK after 18 months of visiting every mechanic in South America and hitting tonnes of dirt on their pair of sad, knackered but plucky 90's trail bikes.
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Simon Josey
Reel Riders
Originally from New Zealand, but now based in Germany, Simon is the creator of the Reel Riders podcast, which focuses on the convergence of motorcycling and film-making. After school he trained with Radio New Zealand as a sound engineer, working in the areas of outside broadcast, commercial production and live studio work, but then went of to university and spent about 25 years in the telecommunications industry, mainly in Asia. Once his two sons had grown up, he came back to motorcycling and also audio engineering. In addition to producing Reel Riders he does a mix of paid and voluntary work in the podcasting industry. He does own a torque wrench, but only to mount cameras on his bike.