Before this year’s Adventure Bike Film Festival in Kendal, I’d never come across the name Sam Manicom. Looking back, that surprises me a little. Since then, I’ve realised that in the world of long-distance motorcycle travel he’s a well-respected figure. Still, that’s part of the appeal of events like this – you turn up for the films and the atmosphere, and often leave having discovered someone entirely new.
I happened to wander over to Sam’s stand at the festival and ended up staying for a proper chat. He was easy to talk to, softly spoken and generous with his time. There was no bravado and no overblown storytelling, just thoughtful and honest reflections drawn from years of travelling the world by motorcycle.
We spoke about South America, and Chile in particular. It’s a country I already have a connection being married to my Chilean wife. It’s somewhere I’ve travelled to once before – though never on two wheels. I explained to Sam that I’m determined to return, this time by motorbike, and to plan a proper adventure with my wife’s cousin, who is every bit as obsessed with bikes as I am. He actually came to the UK to ride with me for a week.
From Novice Rider to Round-the-World Traveller
What makes Sam’s story particularly compelling is how it began. After learning to ride, he soon set off on what was originally meant to be a one-year journey through Africa. Instead, that trip evolved into an eight-year, round-the-world adventure.
Over the course of those years, he covered roughly 200,000 miles across more than 50 countries on six continents. His travels took him through Africa, across Asia and Australia, and into North and South America. It was not a sponsored expedition in the modern influencer sense, but a personal journey that grew organically as one experience led to another.
Whilst he explained on the TAM Podcast that he never planned to write a book, nevertheless those years on the road became the foundation for a series of travel books, each covering different stages of the journey.
The Books Now on My Reading List
Of course before the festival, I hadn’t read any of Sam’s books. After meeting him and hearing snippets of his experiences, that’s about to change.
His published works include:
Into Africa
This book recounts his first major leg south through the African continent. It captures the early uncertainty of a relatively new rider heading into unfamiliar territory, and the transformation that travel can bring.
Under Asian Skies
Continuing the journey, this volume explores his experiences through Australia, Asia and the Middle East, offering insight into the contrasts between cultures and landscapes encountered along the way.
Distant Suns
This instalment focuses on Southern Africa and South America, charting the challenges and rewards of riding vast distances across diverse terrain.
Tortillas to Totems
Here, the journey moves through Central and North America, reflecting on the people met and lessons learned along the road.
The Moment Collectors &The Moment Collectors Asia
Unlike the others, this is an anthology bringing together stories from a range of motorcycle travellers. It centres on those defining moments that stay with you long after a journey ends.
Why I’m Looking Forward to Reading Them
Sam has also been involved in the wider adventure riding community for many years, giving talks, supporting events and encouraging others to pursue their own travels in a thoughtful and responsible way.
Meeting an author before reading their work creates a different kind of anticipation. Rather than approaching the books blind, I now have a sense of the person behind the words -measured, reflective and clearly appreciative of the people he has encountered across the globe.
Talking with Sam, it struck me that his stories didn’t revolve around ticking off countries. They seem to centre on connection, adaptability and curiosity. That’s the sort of travel writing and films I’m drawn to.
Final Thoughts and a Promise to Sam
So while I arrived in Kendal unaware of who Sam Manicom was, I left with a fresh reading list and a renewed sense of what adventure can look like. I’m genuinely looking forward to reading his works and ideally with a map nearby to allow ideas for my own adventures to quietly form in the background.
As we wrapped up our conversation, Sam asked me for one simple thing – that when I eventually make it back to Chile on a motorbike, I take a photo and tag him in it. A small request, but one that stuck with me.
Whether that turns out to be beneath the vast skies of San Pedro de Atacama in the north, or somewhere along the Carretera Austral in southern Chile – a road he once described as his favourite in the world – I intend to keep that promise.
What began as a brief exchange at a festival has taken on a little more meaning. It feels like a quiet thread connecting two riders at very different stages of their journeys: one a seasoned traveller with decades of stories behind him, the other only just beginning to write his own. And perhaps that’s what the adventure community is really about – shared roads, shared inspiration, and the understanding that every long journey starts somewhere.
Nice to meet you Sam!
Editors Note: On my last trip to Chile I was fortunate enough to witness some truly stunning places, but I experienced all of that without a motorcycle beneath me. Just imagine what I might discover if I return on two wheels.
A few shots from my last visit to Chile, my son was only young, he’s taller than me know.
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