VLOGGER OF THE WEEK: Nick Sanders

Screaming Thunder’s Vlogger of the week goes to Mr. Nick Sanders from the UK. Nick is an old school overlander that has been making motorcycle adventure travel clips for quite a while. Currently he only has 6.38K subs on his YouTube channel but is celebrated worldwide. When you click on his YouTube “about” page you find a one-liner: “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence becomes an act of rebellion – Extraordinary life vol 2.”

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence becomes an act of rebellion – Extraordinary life vol 2

Nick Sanders

1981  Around the World by Bicycle the First Time

Nick started his adventures as a cyclist…. YES……Bicycles. Age 23, no sponsors, no money, lived in his tent for 7 months. Cycled around the world in 138 days. “I don’t think many people knew I’d left or if I’d come back, but I knew I’d started what I wanted to be, an adventurer!” Nick would later say. Nick was on dozens of covers of much read magazines raving about his exploits of cycling on the Nile, riding Africa and the Patagonia in South America. So how does Nick become Screaming Thunder’s Vlogger of the Week on a motorcycle adventure site?

1992  First Motorcycle Journey Around the World

In 1992 Nick went back to the drawing board to learn how to become a long-distance biker. Nock was partly supported by the Enfield motorcycle company out of India. Nick remembers back, “Partly supported by Enfield Motorcycles I rode 38,000 miles in 7 months to prove the point that I was able to ride a bike. I had no idea what was to come next!” As Nick created much to do buzz in the world cycling but he was about to match or surpass in the moto-world.

In 1995, Nick became the fastest man to ride around the world. Nick rode 19,930 miles around the world in 31-days and 20-hours. In Nick’s own words, “his was a breakthrough year. The world wide web (www) internet had just been invented and I had three blue ribbon sponsors: Mobil Oil, Triumph Motorcycles and crucially IBM computers. This project was the first circumnavigation to appear on the internet. We received 50 million unique users and proved to be a massive hit. This adventure would set the tone for the next 18 years.”

This project was the first circumnavigation to appear on the internet. We received 50 million unique users in a month, and it proved to be a massive hit.

Nick Sanders

Nick starred on a TV segment of moto adventures, “During this period I motorcycled around the world three times but also three times along the length of the Americas. Twice leading clients on road trips over 30,000 miles, once to film a 10-part television series for Granada Sky called ‘Global Rider,’ along with 70 other programmes filmed in Ireland, France, Spain and Morocco. I also got married, bought a farm in Wales and became a Dad to three beautiful children.”

2012  Incredible Ride (record ride in the Americas)

This concluded my greatest period of record breaking. Between 1996 and 2012 I rode the 16,000 mile length of the Americas 8 times. The fastest ever time to complete this journey was 21 days 4 hours by Dick Fish. Due to a technical difficulty 300kms from the finish at Ushuaia, the southernmost city on earth, I missed the record by 4 hours. By now I had a second wife, Dr Caroline and she said I had to ride back. Well, I’d ridden north to south in 21 days 8 hours so once I become only the second fastest rider to do this run I turned around and rode south to north in 24 days to complete the only known recorded double transit of the world’s longest road, the Pan American Highway.

Nick and your author here, Gabe Carrera, Esq., aka Attorney That RIDES, have a ride in common in that we both rode the Pan American Highway from top to bottom. Or in my case from bottom to the top. Nick Sanders can be found in the Iron Butt Association’s finished rides section certifying one’s run. So if you are ever in the bar with some blow hard bragging you can click on https://www.ironbutt.org/certified.htm to see if his name is listed there. Checking on Nick’s name I see he did the Pan American Run three (3) times continuous. The man did not stop but turned around back to Tierra de Fuego and then turned around again to head back to Prudhoe Bay Alaska. You can also find my claim to fame there being the FIRST guy to do the Pan American Challenge on a Harley Bagger in 2025 and then fighting boredom riding again in 2019 on a heavier Harley that I would later regret.

In 2016 I was excited to hear that Nick started and completed his Expedition centre in Wales. Completed in 2016, on the southern edge of Snowdonia, deep in the heart of mid Wales, the Centre has been operational for 6 years. European press launches for Yamaha, Continental Tyres and Touratech have been planned here. Primarily catering for motorcyclists and soon for cyclists and electric cyclists, the venue, with its own small dining room, cinema, bar, festival stage and shepherds huts accommodations, could be unique in the UK.

Following text stolen from Nick’s website because he South Florida rain stopped and I have a YouTube episode to record in Miami’s Calle Ocho Cuban-American district so read on: “Nick’s Expedition Centre is unique as an adventure destination. Nestled in a hollow near the Gwydol river, it shelters against the back drop of the magnificent Bwlch y Groes mountain pass.”

“Run by Nick Sanders and his wife Dr Caroline, this hidden away retreat is the perfect location to bring a group of enthusiasts for a weekends stay, enjoying Caroline’s superb cooking and Nick’s knowledge of the locale. his unique Expedition Centre is a well-established concept used in motorcycling and cycling circles. As well as riding one to one with someone who has ridden around the world 8 times on a motorbike and twice by bicycle, it is the perfect place to plan your next adventure … and what a place to practise!”

“Simply put, the three-course evening meal is a highlight of the evening. Vegetables grown in the Centre’s organic garden complements a meat or vegetarian menu sourced locally. From field to plate in less than 5 miles. In the best traditions of a rural location in Celtic Britain, the accommodation is as eclectic as you might imagine. We have a choice of style; Cabins and Shepherds Huts and if you compare prices you’ll be astonished at how good value we can be.”
For more on seeing Nick’s Expedition Centre CLICK HERE!