Adventure starts where the road ends
The fog sits high above the hills of southern Spain, while the first rays of sunshine tentatively break through the branches of ancient trees. A few tents have been pitched between their knotted trunks, silent, and still damp from the early-morning dew. In the distance, a curved road streaks through the hills – the dust that has been kicked up over the last few days has settled. It is the last morning of a week that has demanded everything of the participants in the BMW Motorrad Expedition Leader programme. Among them: Lilla Gyarmati, a 33-year-old finance expert from Frankfurt, Germany.
The native Hungarian sits on her BMW R 1300 GS and lets the engine hum while it’s idling. That familiar sound awakens memories of her first motorcycle adventure: As a child, riding through the wild Carpathians in Romania with her father, later participating in the training for the Int. GS Trophy in Albania. “After taking part in the GS Trophy, you fall into a hole,” she reminisces. “You ask yourself: what’s next?” The answer came promptly: Next on the itinerary was a training course to become an Off-Road Instructor, then another to become an On-Road Tour Guide. Then came the request from BMW, asking her if she wanted to be one of the first people to take part in the Expedition Leader training. Lilla accepted immediately, because if there’s one thing she’s always passionate about, it’s riding motorcycles.
You can train for extreme situations in a targeted way!
”Lilla Gyarmati
BMW Motorrad Expedition Leader
The first day of training begins with a mixture of excitement and nerves. The eight participants could feel the tension in the air as none of them know what to expect of the coming days. The Expedition Leader training is unprecedented. Lilla can’t help but ask: “Am I really up to this challenge?”
Once the tents have been pitched, which will be the participants’ home for the next seven days, the time comes to test their technical know-how. The team must get a motorcycle running with minimal resources and no idea of what the cause of the issue is. They inspect the vehicle step by step. Ultimately, concentration, creativity, and teamwork lead to them finding a solution. In the event that it is not possible to repair the bike, the motorcycle towing procedure is also part of the curriculum.
In addition to technical skills, rescue exercises are also an essential part of the training. “We have trained for extreme situations, but of course, they were only simulations,” Lilla reports. “For example, with a motorcycle that had rolled over. There was a person pinned under it and we had to get them out safely.” However, these training exercises soon turned into a real-life incident. In a freak coincidence, a real medical emergency suddenly arose. The doctor who was accompanying the team on their exercises suffered from an allergic reaction to a bee sting.
At that moment, the exercise became deadly serious. “His breathing was very laboured and he had to instruct me in the proper way to administer medicine to him,” Lilla explains. She was able to stabilise the doctor’s condition until he was taken to hospital. “That was an experience I will never forget.”
The training picks up pace, the participants become safer and safer. While the motorcycles are manoeuvred across treacherous terrain and kicking up dust, Lilla mentally prepares herself for the tour she must lead the next day.
After the group exercises, the time comes: Now she must take on sole responsibility and lead the group through off-road terrain. This tasks also includes a pre-ride briefing, which will be evaluated. An Expedition Leader is expected to inform the team of the following in advance: Where are they going, how long will they be riding for, what rules must they follow on the ride, and how should the team act in an emergency?
The next evening, the participants sit around a campfire, exhausted but elated. The heat of the day has given way to a cool breeze. Lilla can take a breath; the tour she led went smoothly. Now, she’s sharing stories with her companions. “We had a great group of instructors,” she gushes. “Working together to complete these tasks was a real bonding experience.” Despite the hardships – too little sleep and difficult physical and mental challenges – her excitement is palpable. “I would do it again, any day,” she says with a glint in her eye.
The initial nerves – “I didn’t know what to expect” – quickly gave way to a feeling of joy and pride about belonging to this select group. “On the last day, I was sad that it was all over. But I was also relieved, because I knew: I’d done it.”
Lilla can only recommend the Expedition Leader training to anyone who has already completed the basic training. “You have the opportunity to learn, to grow and to train for extreme situations in a targeted way. The theory we learned in the classroom feels a lot different in practice. You also get to meet like-minded people. This community is truly something special.”
Lilla’s journey is far from over. On the contrary: By obtaining her Expedition Leader certification, her journey has only just begun. “Not many people have the confidence to ride off-road or to travel alone,” she explains. “That’s why I, as an Expedition Leader, want to show other bikers: Trust in yourselves – you can do it!”
