Honda UK Newsletter

Welcome! Summer is over and like the leaves outside, Honda is looking very colourful this month. We have the huge launch of our new Civic range; Honda UK's MD handed over some Honda ST1100 motorbikes to Richard Branson; our CBR100XX Blackbird was voted number one and the ST1100 gained second place in the Top 40 New Bikes poll; and racing is as exhilarating as ever. In this newsletter we also have a special section for a man who biked around the world on his Honda Elite and news of the upcoming Motor and Bike shows.

We received a lot of feedback last month, much appreciated, keep those comments rolling in. Now, on with the show!

Latter-day Odysseus and his little Honda took on the world

Latter-day Odysseus and his little Honda took on the world
by Thomas Martin Smith

I could hardly believe what I had just begun! There I was - just your average, shy, remote-clicking guy who had never ridden a motorcycle or motorscooter before. A short time later, I had landed in England as a self-appointed ambassador in blue jeans, ready to start a long journey to promote international friendship and communication - from the seat of a motorscooter! It was a Honda Elite CH250 (aka Spacy or Freeway).
I had named "her" Melawend (for my daughters, Melanie and Wendy) - and we had just begun what would become a life-changing two-year odyssey around the world!

At first, I was full of trepidation, but I soon discovered that with her sleek, sophisticated good looks, Melawend was the ideal international icebreaker. From the shores of the UK, to the alleys of Kathmandu, to the streets of Washington, D.C., conversations with so many people - from BBC Radio folks, to Egyptian cameleers, to a Hollywood movie star - began around my motorscooter. She bore me stately to meetings with governors, generals and ambassadors - including the Vatican where I shook hands with Pope John Paul.
Melawend was even granted permission to be photographed on the grounds of the UN in New York after I was given a press conference and a personal tour. She was the perfect choice of vehicle, endowed with outstanding diplomatic virtues and mechanical prowess!

I was continually amazed (and thankful) at how my little Honda took on so many incredible adventures and difficulties in the 29 countries on four continents through which we passed - the steep runs up Norwegian fiords and the Swiss Alps, virgin desert in the Sudan and the torturous roads up the Ngong Hills in Kenya. She breezed easily through the "blast furnace" of Madhya Pradesh in India, and embraced the sweeping curves of Hawaiian roads.

For such an un-mechanically inclined person as I, it was a blessing that Melawend was so reliable and incredibly durable, so light on fuel and easy to maintain, all through those two grueling years. Having covered approximately 35,000 land miles, my little Melawend had taken on the world - and won!

Truly, this was "a journey of a lifetime", and a profound education about the world and the self. The record speaks volumes for the benefits of travel and for the amazing two-wheeled machine that carried me, my dreams and too much gear around our revered and abused earth.
Indeed, it is an epic story - all 460,000 words of it! To learn more about the odyssey and how you can get your own digital slide show of the journey and a copy of the recently published book - IN THE LONG RUN: A Hopeful World Odyssey - come to the Odyssey website: Enjoy the journey!