A chance meeting in a pub led Queenager Adriana to the biking adventure of a lifetime in South America, and to challenging expectations of midlife women. This is her story.
Chapter 1: How I met my motorcycling companion
Rusty and I met at my local pub, a quirky high street joint in a market town in Hertfordshire whose back room served as a venue for local music bands.
I was there with a group of Latin-American girlfriends, chatting noisily in Spanish. When it was my turn to get drinks, Rusty tried to impress the friend he was with by saying something to me in Spanish. I didn’t understand, so just looked at him befuddled.
He had recently come back to England following the breakdown of his marriage and subsequent divorce, having lived in Southern Spain for 11 years with his now ex-wife. My own relationship had broken down a few years before but for financial reasons we were still married and sharing a house, along with our school-age daughter.
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Once we eventually got talking, time flew and when I had to go, he offered to walk me to my car. Neither of us wanted the evening to finish. He said he’d like to see me again and when could that be? We lingered and I wondered whether he would try and kiss me. He didn’t, so I kissed him instead!
Six years of dating later I finally got divorced. Rusty and I married in October 2021.
Chapter 2: Biker boys … and girls
I’ve always been curious about motorbike riding. The wind in your face, the sense of freedom and connection with the surroundings that biking people so often talk about. I wanted to experience that.
Dating Rusty gave me that opportunity. He’d been riding motorbikes since he was very young, is passionate about them and currently works in motorcycle mechanics and customisation.
We had many romantic dates biking into the sunset, me riding pillion. But I wanted to ride my own bike and so I started the long, and frequently painful process of learning. It definitely didn’t come naturally to me but I persevered and eventually was proficient and confident enough to get my own bike.
Together we rode to bike festivals and shows, and especially loved the ones where bikers – men and women – told their stories about riding in amazing parts of the world. We started to dream about having our own adventure trip, riding in South America, a part of the world Rusty had never been to before. I come from Venezuela so I loved the idea of going there and showing him some of my culture and heritage.
Our plan took shape and we decided to take the plunge and take 6 months off to do it. Rusty sold a couple of motorbikes from his small collection, I sold my car and we arranged to rent out our little cottage to finance the trip.
Chapter 3: Embarking on our big adventure
Although we’d been dreaming about the trip for a long time and booked our flights nearly a year beforehand, somehow the departure date – Nov 4th 2023 – came around faster than we expected.
Rusty negotiated a non-paid employment hiatus (his company has been very supportive of this adventure). I’m a fitness instructor teaching Pilates, dance fitness and other wellness programmes. Two months before we left, I joined forces with another local instructor and started our own fitness business: Vida Wellness Club. Laura knew about my plans – I was incredibly lucky that she was happy to take care of everything while I was away.
A 15-hour flight took us from London to Santiago de Chile where, after sourcing the bikes and sorting all the paperwork, we started our ride south.
Our ride through Chile
We rode down Chile’s Carretera Austral – one of the most gorgeous roads we’ve ever seen, with a vista to make you gasp at every turn. We crossed the Andes mountain range into Argentina and rode through Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, then back up the Lakes Region in the west and across the Argentinian Pampa to Buenos Aires.
We put the bikes on a boat and crossed into Uruguay, came back to Buenos Aires and rode across to the west again, this time to Mendoza, the wine region. We crossed into northern Chile through Paso de Jama reaching over 16,000ft of altitude. From there we headed into southern Bolivia, rode up to La Paz and then to Lake Titicaca where we crossed into Peru, which is where we are now.
It wasn’t all easy riding
It’s been a very intense journey. We’ve had to deal with cold, rain, long, treacherous gravel roads, high altitude and clouds of dust so thick that we had to stop and wait for it to settle to be able to see again. Riding across the Argentinian Pampa, it was so hot it felt like we were inside an oven. And the worst? The infamous winds of southern Patagonia which literally blew me and my bike (which is smaller and lighter than Rusty’s) over to the other side of the road and into the path of oncoming vehicles. Terrifying.
Riding can be physically and mentally tiring. Sometimes we ride over 300 miles in 6 hours and feel ok. Sometimes we ride under 200 miles and feel absolutely shattered. It depends on the conditions. But aside from Rusty getting a dose of travellers’ tummy in Bolivia, we are well and still enjoying ourselves. Everyone we have encountered has been so friendly and, my goodness, the landscapes are absolutely amazing!
Chapter 4: Experiencing entirely new things in my 50s
In my mid-50s, I’m experiencing situations which take me completely out of my comfort zone, which move me to tears and which awaken all sorts of feelings inside me. This trip has taught me so much about myself, about facing my fears and appreciating what I have. And it makes me feel so alive! (The same goes for Rusty, who is 62.)
I really hate it when ageism is hidden behind ‘inoffensive jokes’, but even more when those jokes are told by other women or even ourselves! We need to stop belittling ourselves about our age. We can still dream and have adventures if we want to, whatever age we are and whatever we want those adventures to look like. What matters is our attitude and being opened to new experiences.
Chapter 5: Be the inspiration you want to see
We’re hoping to get as far as Colombia before we head back home in May, where we’ll meet up with Gabi, my 22-year-old daughter, and Toby, her 24-year-old boyfriend. And, if possible, we’ll get to Venezuela, where I haven’t been to for 14 years.
The day we left on our adventure, Gabi and Toby drove us to the airport. Before we went through to departures, Gabi handed me a card. It said:
“Mum, you are my biggest inspiration and everything you do makes me so proud! I hope to be anywhere near as confident, friendly, enthusiastic, caring and of course beautiful when I am your age. Thank you for showing me that it is possible to follow my dreams and create a life I want. I love you always.”
Of course I cried when I read it. I hope what I’m doing can inspire other Queenagers to pursue their dreams and adventures, but if I can also inspire younger women to feel that when they reach midlife and beyond, life is still full of possibilities, then that makes me even happier.
Especially when one of those young women is my own daughter.
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