Cyclist tours the world
VICTORVILLE - Her face is red and weathered from years of exposure to sun and wind, but Cynthia Milton's easy smile makes it clear that for her it has all been worth it.
Two and a half years ago, her father died, her job in the tech sector "became redundant," and Milton decided to fulfill a 30-year dream to travel around the world on a motorcycle.
Her ride is a 1985 BMW R80 G/S Paris Dakar, named after the annual cross-country race between France and North Africa. Milton headed back out on the road Wednesday after spending the night at the Hilton Garden Inn.
It's a sturdy bike built for rough travel. Her engine had to be rebuilt in Panama City. The tires are her twelfth set, and a can of oil is always strapped to her bike.
In 2004, she set out from her home in England and zipped across Europe and Asia to Vladivostok, Russia. Milton drove through Japan and Taiwan and much of southeast Asia.
Milton crosses oceans on cargo planes. The bike costs 50 percent more to send than she does. On one flight, her fellow passengers were a large shipment of flowers.
Her journey has taken her to Australia and then on to South America, where she has experienced her greatest adventures and worst setbacks.
Her favorite place: Argentina.
"Best steaks. Great wine - and cheap. The scenery is stunning, and it's not too crowded. You can go 500 miles and see only three people."
Her biggest scare: Argentina.
Milton lost control on one of those gravel roads and crashed, breaking a collarbone and puncturing her lung. She was overwhelmed by the generosity of a doctor and his wife who took her into their home for two month's convalescence.
Milton thought it would take her a year to see the world. Two and a half years later and 35 pounds lighter, she has yet to see most of the United States or Canada. And eventually she will board a cargo plane in Jacksonville, Fla., that will fly her and her motorcycle to Cape Town, South Africa, where she'll finish off her last continent.
