The original Trans America motorcycle expedition

The first and the best! As seen worldwide on National Geographic, "The Ride - Alaska to Patagonia": this nineteen weeks and 22,000 miles of adventure! It is the ultimate expedition through diverse terrain, cultures and peoples, bringing you the best balance of spectacular and challenging riding, with time to explore the countries that you are travelling through. Quite literally, it will change your life.

Detailed itinerary:

Week 1 - ALASKA: Anchorage. Sweat Lodge Ceremony. Fairbanks. Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle. Coldfoot Camp, Prudhoe Bay and the chance to swim in the Arctic Ocean. Return through Delta Junction, furthest point north on the Alaskan Highway.

Weeks 2 & 3 - CANADA: Alaskan Highway to Watson Lake. Stewart Cassiar Highway to Bear Glacier, Stewart and Hyder (the most southern point of Alaska). Watch the bears at Fish Creek. Prince George, Jasper National Park, Lake Louise, Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. Enter the USA through the Glacier National Park and "Going to the Sun" Road.

Weeks 4 & 5 - USA: Flathead Lake. Yellowstone National Park. Cody, home of Buffalo Bill. Arches National Park, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon (North Rim). Tucson.

Weeks 6 & 7 - MEXICO: Naco border crossing Nuevo Casa Grandes. Creel. Colonial heartland to Zacatecas, the centre of silver mining production and San Miguel de Allende. Mountain riding to Caribbean coast. Ruins of Palenque and the village of San Cristobal.

Weeks 8, 9 & 10 – CENTRAL AMERICA: Guatemala - Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango market, Antigua. Border town of Esquipalas. Honduras - Copan ruins. Nicaragua - Granada, San Juan del Sur. Costa Rica - Arenal volcano and hot springs. Northern Caribbean Coast. Panama - Bridge of the Americas and the Panama Canal. Visit to SOS Children’s Villages. Air freight of bikes.

Week 11 - ECUADOR: Collect bikes in Quito. Meet local rider group. Visit the Equator, the local Indian market town of Otavalo and experience your first riding in the Andes.

Weeks 12 & 13 - PERU: Chiclayo, Lord of Sipan Museum, Huanchaco, adobe ruins of Chan Chan, Paracas, Nasca Lines, Cusco (4 nights with many optional excursions – Machu Picchu, Pisac market, Sacsayhuaman), Lake Titicaca, Arequipa & Colca Canyon to watch condors.

Weeks 14, 15 & 16 – CHILE: Arica, the Atacama Desert, The Hand, Tropic of Capricorn, Pacific Coast villages, Pisco Elqui, Santiago, Chilean Lake District, Andes crossing to Bariloche and Esquel (Argentina). Cross back to Chile to ride the Carretera Austral. Puyuhuapi Thermas.

Weeks 17 & 18 - ARGENTINA: Ruta 40, the infamous gravel road through Patagonia. El Calafate & Perito Moreno Glacier. Cross back to Chile to Torres del Paine National Park, Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas. Argentinian Tierra del Fuego, Rio Grande, Ushuaia (the most southern city in the world), Tierra del Fuego National Park, the end of the road and a celebration meal!

Week 19 – ARGENTINA: The final week of the expedition will involve riding back north along the South Atlantic coast to Buenos Aires for air freight back to the UK.

At a glance:

Number of days: 134

Approx total miles: 22,000

Accommodation: 100% hotels & hostels

Meals Included: All Breakfasts. 19 Group Evening Meals

Culture Shock Rating: Moderate

Riding Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult

Riding Conditions This ride covers around 10% of dirt and gravel roads (up to 2,000 miles), although as the infrastructure develops, this may reduce in future years.

Dates: 30 July 2011 - 10 December 2011

Price: Rider Price - GBP £18,995 Pillion Price GBP - £9,995

Do not underestimate being on the road for nearly 5 months - this ride is as much about your mental ability to cope with being travel weary and to pull together in times of unexpected difficulties en route, as it is about being a confident and competent road rider.

Weather condition: The Trans Americas Expedition is run at the most optimum time for the best weather possible. However, given we are travelling the length of the planet, there are some sections of the trip which will not have the best weather conditions. We are in the Arctic in August, but it can still be unpredictable and there could be very low temperatures and even snow. Equally, we arrive in Ushuaia in December - their summer - but it is so far south, that summer can still mean snow. You also need to note that we travel through Central America in their rainy season, which does mean a high chance of torrential tropical rains somewhere along this route. The bottom line is that on this trip, it is possible to experience every weather condition - from below freezing to above 45 degrees centigrade heat, from baked searing deserts to flooded Panamanian streets. So be prepared!

Visas information: UK Citizens will require a USA visa in advance unless they purchase a return or onward tickets flying out of the USA beyond Mexico or Canada. No other visas are needed in advance of travel. Other nationalities should check their own requirements, which may be different.

Travel health information: You must visit your GP or a specialised travel clinic to get advice on the recommended vaccinations and other health protection measures needed for the countries on this trip. As background, the websites listed below may prove useful.

Foreign exchange information: The base currency for this trip is the US Dollar. The US Dollar is readily exchangeable for the local currencies.

USA - US Dollar

Canada - Canadian Dollar

Mexico - Mexican Peso

Guatemala - Quetzales

Honduras - Lempiras

Nicaragua - Cordobas

Costa Rica - Colones

Panama - US Dollar

Ecuador - US Dollar

Peru - Sol

Chile - Chilean Peso

Argentina - Argentina Peso

Check out www.oanda.com and www.travelex.co.uk for current exchange rates.

Riders must have a full motorcycle licence and should have a minimum of 2 years experience of riding larger bikes. Riders will be riding their own motorcycles, which need to be appropriate and adequate to ride on this type of journey.

Riders must be confident and competent road riders and whilst off-road riding experience is beneficial, it is not essential. What is more important is your own attitude to motorcycle overlanding. You need to be flexible and adaptable if the going gets tough, have the ability to take a positive view to overcome the challenges that riding in developing countries will throw at you and keep a good sense of humor and team spirit.

GlobeBusters was founded in 2002 by Kevin and Julia Sanders, Double Guinness World Record™ for the Fastest Circumnavigation of the World by Motorcycle and the Trans Americas by Motorcycle. Coupled with this, Kevin and Julia have notched up hundreds of thousands of miles riding around the world, from Siberia to Colombia, Iran to Australia, Finland to Bolivia and back home to the UK.

After the phenomenal Guinness World Record™ success, GlobeBusters was founded as the first overland motorcycle expedition company in the UK, specializing in taking riders on amazing journeys in unusual destinations.

The GlobeBusters Trans Americas Expedition in 2005 was a milestone - it brought together a team of motorcyclists to ride from Alaska to Argentina, taking over 19 weeks and covering more than 22,000 miles. It remains the longest assisted motorcycle expedition ever undertaken and has set the standard for others to follow. This Expedition was featured on National Geographic Channel globally, as a six part TV series "The Ride - Alaska to Patagonia".

This success, together with a growing portfolio of destinations, rapidly established GlobeBusters as one of the world's leading operators of assisted motorcycle expeditions and attracted partnerships with leading names such as BMW Motorrad (for whom GlobeBusters is a Travel Partner), Touratech, Garmin and Cotswold Outdoor.

GlobeBusters remains at the forefront of the assisted motorcycle overland expedition sector and continues to innovate and create new routes worldwide. No other company can give you the same quality of experience.