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When it comes to enduring motorcycle rides, things do not get better (or tougher) than the epic 'Discover Our Earth' trip. An adventure that has recently finished its first edition in Austria after successfully completing 40,000 miles around the world during the last eight months.

The 30 motorcycle riders that composed the expedition, organised by motorcycle adventure specialists GlobeBusters, travelled through 27 countries across six continents lasting 248 days.

Kevin Sanders, expedition leader and founder of GlobeBusters, said: "I'm over the moon it's come to a successful completion and it's a huge relief it's done. It's been a 24/7 job and the continual responsibility for the motorcycle team, keeping them motivated and on schedule rests with me, no matter what we encounter. It's the toughest thing I've ever done."

According to Sanders' account of events, the expedition watched along the way the Dakar Rally start in Buenos Aires and the sun set over Uluru in Australia. They also trekked up to Machu Picchu and climbed the Great Wall of China, as well as crossing the Andes, the Sahara, the Russian Steppe, the Urals, the Carpathians, the Alps, the Equator, Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, the Golden Triangle and the Panama Canal.

The wonders of the world box-ticking motorcycling tour couldn't be completed without riding two legendary routes: Silk Road and the Pan American.

The riders participating in the expedition used a range of BMW Motorrad's adventure sports motorcycles, including the R 1200 GS Adventure, F 800 GS and F 650 GS. Allegedly, the rear wheel of an R 1200 GS Adventure completed 358,000,000 rotations and a total of 4,000 litres of fuel per bike were consumed. Each bike also used five full sets of tyres on average.

The project was an idea conceived by Werner Wachter to celebrate 30 years of Edelweiss Bike Travel. Werner then chose to work in collaboration with GlobeBusters to provide the logistical and planning expertise needed.

Edelweiss and GlobeBuster are already working on a second edition of the expedition expected to

last over ten months, including more countries and covering more miles. A new challenge that, as they say, "Will be even bigger, better and bolder."

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