MotoExplorer UK
Overland & documentary photographer
trying to help out a little, on the eastern roads
Steve Hotson: overland photographer | motoexplorer travelling by motos with exploding engines since 1989 / earlier by classic car & on foot!
The Silk Road
Short version, about;
I’ve worked in expedition support, photography, voluntary work & transport since the 1990’s + several overlanding expeditions UK to China…. and back, thankfully. Eastern Europe – central Asia – Silk RoadMoto-explorer photography and overland expeditions
Silk Road expeditions
Experiences working for NGO; Africa Now
Freelance / voluntary work documenting in-Country projects, community, health, schools, local small businesses & artisans
National lottery Heritage fund; project photography
Refugee support and aid to the Balkans
Driving Aid for Ukraine
Overlanding – documentary photography, film & diaries2006/09 – first east Europe – Silk Road scouting rides, overland through Ukraine – Russia – Kazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan & China
Currently being documented into a photo archive as well as developing / transitioning skills, experiences to explore the writen material from all of the various overland experiences.I’m grateful and humbled by the human spirit, kinship on the open roads, wherever we travel – we’re all the same, just people trying to keep our lives and wheels rolling onwards.
Here’s some of what’s happened along the Moto exploring ways >
* #SilkRoadbyExplodingEngine – currently being compiled into an archive of photography, film and diaries documenting human connections and experiences from 20 years exploring Eastern Europe, including a 10 year timeline travelling along the Silk Road.
a few things I’ve been up to a long the way
overland miles
I started riding back in the days before metal luggage, mobile phones, or the internet. Looking at a map, The Pyramids & Egypt seemed like a good exploring adventure, not too far away & in 1989 not too many folk were going that way for their summer ride outs. I bought a 600 single cylinder Tenere, cheap tent and plotted a rough route – no real plans, other than to keep heading towards Egypt until we got there, (2 up). The ride was good, down to Luxur, Aswan & back. No spares, no back up plan, no big preparation – I’ve done a few rides like that and it does show that less can be more. Just gather the basics and so long as you’re comfortable with your bike & love the riding, you’ll have a great adventure.
Things don’t always go just how we like it, That’s the way it is – if you’re happy with yourself, everyone else will be happy to see you. This quite ‘informal’ approach to world travel on 2 wheels seems to have set the foundation for MotoExplorers and a scouting ride to China, set in a similar vain to the Egypt ride. China was there, not many people seemed to be travelling to China overland from Britain, it’s always looked just a short hop across to Russia & then if you can keep plodding on through Kazakhstan you’re on the Chinese border, how hard can it be to just keep riding east for 30 days!?
2006: started exploring eastern Europe by motorcycle, initially to Budapest, retracing my fathers own journey from 56′.
Silk Road Motoexplorer expeditions traveling overland UK to Beijing, China and in later expeditions I extended travelling overland into Laos and Thailand doing several UK to Thailand expeditions
LONDON – BANGKOK OVERLAND VIA CHINA
Traveling west to East, freighting bikes back from Beijing, was a big adventure, it’s a long story! Since that trip, I have helped many riders explore the silk roads east. Later we increased the journeys going further south, into Laos and Thailand. Finishing in Bangkok enabled us to sea freight back to GB or world riders to continue, in all directions!
Prior to the Silk Road China drives, I’ve explored the Balkans, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia – all regions I know well & still explore. In a past life I’d worked as a photographer and prior to that a few motor related jobs, diesel mechanic, couriering, transport, lots of self taught spanner work on various vehicles with exploding engines!
Vehicles owned; 100+ (cars/bikes/vans)
Electric vehicles; 1 (made in China & imported (or slightly smuggled!) back through 10 Countries)
Miles covered in vehicles; 1,000,000+ (still evolving)
Driving from age 17yrs (exactly!)
Riding motorcycles has been a stop start affair for me, as is often the case – various ‘life events’ take us in numerous directions. Motoexplorer was actually founded as a result of suffering quite a serious back injury, which I knew would result in surgery and a good time away from travel – so prior to the surgery I decided to buy an old in-appropriate K100 BMW motorcycle, pause my photography work and take a leap into the un-known, let’s see if it’s possible to ride overland to the Chinese olympics.
Scouted Silk routes overland UK to China riding a GS800
The first China expedition actually started out as a plan to motorcycle to the Chinese Olympic games in Beijing, 2008. Riding west to East finishing on the China east coast. We arrived just a year late for the Olympics, but at least entry into the stadium was half price!
Bikes include; Africa Twin 750, great bike, (if only Honda had fitted a top gear it would be even greater!) | lots of Yamaha Tenere’s, I like them alot, especially that glorious original 600single. Various BMW GS’s inc 800, 1200’s & 1250’s – do the job, usually! (+ a few Kawasaki’s mainly from the couriering days, I got through 3 engines in a GPZ550, couriering through all weathers)
Motoexplorer Ride & drives
Moto-explorer overland expeditions
Overlanding – documentary photography, film & diaries
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan – about 10 laps, BMW GS800 – plus driving various vehicles;
Toyota Hilux, VW transporter and Mercedes Sprinter which did UK to China overland – and back, twice.
UK to China & back (several times)
UK to Laos & Thailand – finishing and freighting vehicles back out + onwards from Bangkok
USA – North to South & west to East coasts – Yamaha XT660 Tenere
Alaska – Canada – Yukon
Ukraine – about 10 laps (I would return to Ukraine tomorrow, if anyone likes to go, I’ll help, maybe transport, aid etc if we can help, lets help.
East Europe / Balkans – Bosnia – Kosovo
Russia – several drives south and central regions
Romania – Slovakia – Croatia – Hungary – about 20 laps (various inc original Africa Twin + several 1200 GS’s)
Turkey, Greece – Yamaha 600 Tenere
Crete & Rhodes (distracted by German nurses on-route Egypt, typical nurses hey!)
Egypt
Morocco
Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo
Europe – most of – 1st drive to Paris age 17, (MK2 Ford escort) +
Denmark & Sweden
England, Scotland, Wales – about 100 laps + Ireland a bit + still a bit more I hope with luck
Albania – maybe, hope soon, oh & Mongolia would be a great challenge, since I have an unused visa!
Current Moto: again 1 you definitely won’t recognise! bought in China and drove back overland from China, original 2 seater e-bike, runs on 4 batteries, old, slow, rugged – 1 of a kind, personally brought back trans-Asia – somehow it made across every border! Prior to that, preference was for Tenere, or the original Africa twin – a lot of history with that bike. GS’s ok – but gave me the most grief on 2 wheels by far! although the first GS800 did make it UK to China on the scout ride.
Expeditions – never quite trained or really qualified to explore – just press go and have a go.
I’ve done a few things for which qualifications do not logically fit. I think it’s known as; experience.
Overland truck licenses held: LGV CE1 C2, why not! including CPC | CE1
Documentary photography: National Diploma design/photography
The trucks don’t go quite so well as 2 wheels, the thing where you press the gas pedal and wait 3 seconds for it to move doesn’t help! Goes up hills in 8th gear as well! at least I passed the going backwards bit first (not sure that’s as helpful for us explorers!) onwards – always >
Free-spirited eXplorers way
Scouted first routes overland China riding a GS800 to the Great Wall
China’s an amazingly diverse, exciting country & makes for a really great challenge to get yourself, bike and life together and go see just how people live on the other side of our planet. Very few western motorcyclists will ever make that great journey, it’s quite an exclusive club!
Based: UK + sometimes off-grid
Compiling > PressGo discover
Contact Steve Hotson – Motoexplorer UK
Was a wi’bit lost there in that spot in reality, about 700 miles through the desert scrublands to the next town and back then it was all no-road and no gas stations. (had to beg for fuel and water from any passing truckers, which were few and far between) or, buy a few jam jars full of petrol from an old lady who kept a few jars of petrol on her pantry shelve, in the middle of the desert. No idea what else she did there and that house is long gone nowadays, they built an actual gas station along the way. Anyone who’s travelled Uralsk, Aktobe, to Aral will know what I mean, especially if you did it as us, 2009 or prior, the days ‘before the 1000mile road was made’. Before around 2011 it was mainly all rough as heck muddy rough tracks (they still called it the M1!!!)
More photography from the Silk Road >
Photo-reportage exploring personal challenges between bordered lands
Background info about the Moto-explorer photography and overland expeditions
Haven’t been overlanding and riding motorcycles all my life, yet!
Age: ‘still counting’!
Anglo-European (Budapest 2nd city)
qualifications not always required – often just experiences
Photographer – old school darkroom days & nights!
Qualification: BTEC National diploma (design) photography
Fotopro – reportage & stock photography 90’s – 2000’s
Photo kit for overland reportage: keep it simple, most recently the same camera past 15 years, simple Lumix which made the Silk Road expeditions constantly over 10 years, all be it with a beautiful Leica lens!
Extreme Cam (you won’t have heard about!) made in China, low res + very wide n weird (again 1 simple camera that’s been around the world with me on every journey)
Prior professional kit preference was mainly Nikons, Leica M and Canon EOS 1’s (mainly old film versions)
Preference for short lenses and get up nice & close
currently (finally!) looking to replace that ageing well Lumix! perhaps finally with a Leica as I re-explore and endeavour to get up to some more recent photo-speed in the digital age)