Alice Pepperell: Adventure Story

I first visited India age 18 on a round the world trip. I was away for the best party of a year and shot over 200 rolls of film (in the days of analogue!)

It was in the Himalaya that I first heard the unforgettable roar of the Enfield Bullet engine, with a couple on board and just their backpacks strapped to the pannier. It was there and then that I fell in love with motorbikes.

Fast forward back to the UK, I realised how much I enjoyed and loved photography and changed my university course to suit. After I finished my degree I decided to return to India to work in the third sector, for a small NGO in Kerala that supported kids with HIV and AIDS. Two weeks before I left I was offered the chance to photograph a charity motorbike trip, with 150 riders, leaders, medics and mechanics, riding through 2000km across the Indian subcontinent. How could I refuse my two passions?

In between the long days and nights photographing and backing up the images, I would get taught how to ride a motorbike by the team. Soon after, I hired one myself and rode around practicing in the foothills the Himalaya. On my return to the UK, I was extremely lucky to be given my first motorbike by a friend from the India trip. It took my 4 attempts to pass, but eventfully I did. The rest is history!

Alice Pepperell, Adventure Ashram Supporter