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Cynthia Milton, 52, takes a break from her trip around the world on the back of Old Dear, her 650-pound BMW motorcycle. 

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Woman on bike trip around world

Cynthia Milton, 52, wears body gear every day she’s on the road, in South America’s sweltering heat and soupy humidity in Southeast Asia.

For the past two years, 293 days Milton, a native of England, and her 22-year-old, 650-pound BMW R80G/S motorcycle she calls Old Dear have been on the road.

“It’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on,” she said, leaning on her bike and rolling a cigarette after stopping in Washington County last week.

So far, the two have traveled 70,567 miles together. They’ve been through 12 sets of tires, 37 countries, six continents, eight earthquakes and two typhoons. Milton has lost 35 pounds. Old Dear has lost none.

Once she smacked a Columbian soldier, she said. He was trying to impress a girl and made her unload all of her luggage.

“I poked him in the chest and said ‘How dare you speak to a grandmother like that,’” she said. “I slapped him and he dropped his gun.”

Aside from tipping a few times, Milton said she only crashed once, in Patagonia. She broke her collarbone and Old Dear was laid up for three weeks, waiting for parts to arrive.

“I wasn’t prepared for the physical and psychological part,” Milton said. “I go months not speaking to someone in my own language. It gets very lonely on the road.”

Although she’s the only one on the bike, she has an online entourage of bloggers who keep tabs on her progress through her Web site. Friends back home help manage her rental home and even her bank accounts.

But she feels carefree.

“If you don’t have a plan, it can’t go wrong,” she said.

On June 30 Milton and Old Dear are off to Africa. They’re flying from Atlanta, Ga. into Cape Town, South Africa, she said and then heading north up the center of the continent.

To visit Cynthia Milton’s Web site: go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cmmRTW/.

To contact Caitlin Sullivan e-mail or call (276) 628-7101.