Lavi and Ollie say ‘I do’ to a new world record

Regular readers will remember following the travels of intrepid Northampton-based couple Lavinya Scholl and Oliver Gamblin who, back in 2022, set off on a bonkers road trip; to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle, two-up. Sammy Jones caught up with Lavi and Ollie as they reflected on their journey… and celebrated the new title of Guinness World Record holders!

On their hard working bike, a Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT ‘Bumblebee’, they visited 39 countries on five continents – covering 46,705 miles in 589 days.

After the epic trip packed with more adventures than we could possibly unpack on these pages, the pair returned home late last year.
To call it an adventure is to undersell this journey, which took them from bustling European cities, to the wide expanse of the Sahara Desert. And that doesn’t scratch even the surface!

There were difficult times, but that’s when the beauty of generosity presented itself: “After dropping our motorcycle on its side accidentally in Nicaragua, our left foot pedal had completely broken off making the bike incredibly difficult to ride,” Ollie remembered of one particularly tricky time.

“It was a public holiday and we began riding around villages in a desperate search for someone who could help. All motorcycle and car garages were closed so we visited a small shop to ask if they knew anyone who could help.

“The woman took us to a yard in the rear of the shop where her son was watching a movie with his friends. Turns out he was a mechanic and after seeing our predicament he agreed to help us – this was another mission as our pedal was aluminium – he didn’t have the correct machine to weld it back and had to find an aluminium welder, and convince them to help us, despite the fact that everywhere was closed.
“This lengthy process meant that we were hanging out with him and his family for the whole afternoon and evening, chatting about our journey and getting to know each other.

“By the end of the evening when everything was finally complete, we really felt like an adopted part of the family.”

Lavi said: “The most beautiful thing about this was that when we asked the mechanic, Tito, how much money he wanted for his services, he told us he didn’t want anything – even after we insisted we pay for the materials and work he had put into helping us, he refused to take any payments and only wanted to help us get back on the road and complete our journey. A testament to the kindness of strangers.”

Travelling with all of your possessions on a bike is a lesson in how much excess, unnecessary stuff we surround ourselves with.
Hitting the road in that way is freeing, but without many home comforts, in strange countries and with sometimes challenging situations it could be very testing, even for this well-travelled pair.

What pulled you through during those low moments?
“Facing difficult situations could be draining, but knowing the journey would eventually end, and that when it did, we’d surely miss it, made it worthwhile. It was a once in a lifetime experience and we were reminded of that every day as we passed through the beauty of the world and met kind people that live in every corner,” Ollie said.

Perhaps the stress would have soured many other relationships, but not for these two, who stopped off in Las Vegas and tied the knot.
“We had been engaged for six years and always said that if we ever got to Las Vegas on our travels we would get married there by Elvis. On this trip that’s exactly what we did. A quick four day stop and then back on the road. Nothing like a honeymoon of riding thousands of miles!”
The couple found time to document their journey using social media channels, and built up a large following of fans devouring their adventures through their video clips, which were wonderfully engaging. Were you surprised by the success of the channels?

“Yes we were blown away by the support of our journey!” Ollie said, “Especially from the motorcycling community. From the very beginning people were so supportive, offering kind words and advice and following us every step of the way.

“Now that we are back we have been able to meet many of them through various events and festivals we have been to, which has been so wonderful. The world is full of so many kind people and connecting with them through our social channels has been one of the many blessings of our trip.”

The couple eventually returned that well travelled bike to the Motorcycle World dealership in November, and are enjoying some down time at Ollie’s family home in Northampton.What is the best thing about being back?

“One of the best things is to be back sleeping in our own bed; where it is never too hot or too cold, not on a hill or in the rain and there are no mosquitos to bother you. What a luxury that is! Having a fridge isn’t bad either, we can eat like kings and queens now!”

Aside from gathering a lifetime of extraordinary memories and experiences, they recently had confirmation that they had taken the World Record for their efforts. They are now officially the youngest pair to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle (riding pillion).

“It took about four or five months for Guinness to review our evidence and approve the record,” Lavi said, “It was the icing on the cake after 589 days, many of which were challenging in so many different ways. It was truly the best news.”

After so long spent on the road, and knowing that you’ve done lots of travels previously, have you got itchy feet? Are you plotting another bonkers trip?

“Yes, we constantly discussed future trips, even before we had finished this last trip! The thing is, when you talk to other travellers, they always give you new ideas and so as you travel to more and more places, instead of your list getting shorter, it keeps getting longer!” Ollie laughed.

“Having been a pillion on the motorcycle for that whole journey, Lavi has also just passed her full motorcycle licence and so we are now practising riding in all terrain here in the UK ready for a new trip abroad towards the end of the year…”
Watch this space.