Long riders: Karen and Kevin Browne with their specially prepared Moto Guzzi.
By John Van Klaveren
HITTING the open road on a rebuilt 1979 Moto Guzzi motorcycle still holds romance for English couple Kevin and Karen Browne.
They spent a night in Geelong this week as part of a four-year round-the-world odyssey of 80,000km through 21 countries.
A “proper” bed was a welcome change after many nights camping, Mr Browne said.
“We’ve spent a year just travelling around Australia, it’s a big place.”
The pair spent 10 years saving and four building the motorbike, complete with storage boxes, a canopy, a fridge and a winch.
“The winch came in handy in Mongolia and Russia where we got stuck in slush a few times,” Mrs Browne said.
Geelong’s Moto Guzzi Club provided a warm welcome for the Brownes, who stayed at the East Geelong home of members Michelle Bayliss and Rowan Beeby.
The four Moto Guzzi enthusiasts forged a firm resolution to meet again in nine years time in Italy when the brand celebrates its centenary.
The Brownes left Geelong on Tuesday to ride along the Great Ocean Road before heading to the Grampians and the high country before finishing their Aussie leg in Melbourne.
