Denise Ferris Top 10 Roads to Ride Interview

Denise Ferris Top 10 Roads to Ride Interview

Over the last decade, adventure couple Mike and Denise Ferris have journeyed more than half a million kilometres in search of the ultimate ride - a road fit for motor-biking that delivers as much in exotic culture as it does in breath-taking vistas, and as adrenalin-pumping as it is historical. This bucket list of roads is an accumulation of their two-wheeled experiences journeying to the ends of the earth aboard BMW's, Enfields, Suzukis, Kawasakis.

10. Capadocia, Turkey:
It is simply not possible to adequately describe the surrealistic landscapes of Capadocia. The unique geographical phenomenon is unlike anywhere else in the world with its spectacular topography of -fairy chimneys', Troglydyte dwellings and subterranean cities – making this adventure like no other on the Turkish Treasures motorcycle safari.
9. Leh to Lamayuru, India:
This road leads to a 1,000 year old Buddhist gompa (monastery) built in the traditionally accepted manner and clinging to an impossible hillside. It travels through stunning mountain hues and breath taking vistas described as -other-worldly'. The atmosphere, culture and history of this road are unique and the journey is one that is not easily forgotten. Ride the road to Lamayuru as part of the Himalayan Heights motorbike tour.
8. Western Fjords, Iceland:
Listed as one of the world's best kept secrets, the Westfjords is comprised of untouched and largely uninhabited peninsulas, waterfalls, rugged cliffs and rolling green hills and mountains of exquisite natural beauty . On the Inspiring Iceland tour ride through this area in the Icelandic summertime to capture a glimpse of the awe-inspiring midnight sun.
7. Thrumsing La, Bhutan:
The highest pass of Bhutan, the Thrumsing La is considered one of the most beautiful in the Himalayas. This superb road leads into a national park, through pine forests and rhododendron trees, weaving up, down and around, past small villages, terraced mountain landscapes and verdant valleys. Explore Thrumsing La as part of the Shining Shangri-La motorbike tour of Nepal and Bhutan.
6. Moquegua to Copacabana, Peru:
This ride leads up the steep incline of the Andes and right to the shores of Lake Titiaca, which borders Bolivia and is renowned as the highest navigable lake in the world. Crossing several 4000 metre passes, this road is a fusion of culture, history and stunning scenery. Journey to the heartland of the Incas as part of the Awesome Andes motorbike tour.
5. The Zoji La, India:
Riding from Drass, apparently the second coldest town on the face of the earth, the Zoji La is a 3,529m steep and narrow pass descending into Sonamarg, the Switzerland of India. The road then continues on through the Vale of Kashmir to beautiful Srinagar. Snow-capped peaks, raging torrents, stark vistas, and lush green meadows make this road a scenic and extremely memorable path to ride. Explore the Zoji Lla as part of the Himalayan Heights motorbike tour.
4. Dades Gorge, Morocco:
The spectacular peaks and magical gorge that this road runs through were formed by melting water from the snowfields of the Atlas Mountains. Ride through diverse landscape, from lush palm groves (palmeraies) to sheer mountain walls, unique rock formations and nomadic villages. Experience the beauty of Morocco and the Dades Gorge on the Moroccan Magic tour.
3. Great Dolomite Road, Northern Italy:

The dramatic rocks, grey spires, snow-flecked Alps and green meadows of the Dolomites, make this a treasured mountain travel experience. A twisting journey through historic Alpine villages and ski fields on a superb riding surface, the Dolomites is a must-do ride for all adventurous motorcyclists. Travel through the Dolomites as part of the Dalmatian Delights motorcycle safari.
2. Sinop to Amasra, Turkey:
With more corners and curves than most riders will do in a year, this days ride leads along the lush, green hills and high cliff faces of Turkey's Black Sea. The combination of the azure sea and bright green foliage makes this journey one of the most delectable in the world. It ends in the small town of Amasra with its old cobbled streets, Byzantine gateways and historical castles. Visit Turkey as part of the Turkish Treasures motorbike tour.
1. Khardung La, India:
Acknowledged as the highest motorable road in the world, reaching a dizzying elevation of 5,600m. Made primarily of loose rock, dirt and snow, the pass is located in the Ladakh region of India and is the gateway into the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The 40km stretch of road offers jaw-dropping views of the deep valleys and narrow twisting paths below. Explore Khardung La as part of the Himalayan Heights motorcycle safari.

Ferris Wheels – Born out of a passion for adventure and excitement, no matter your age, Ferris Wheels is an Australian based motorcycle safari company. Run by husband and wife team, Mike and Denise Ferris, Ferris Wheels aims to constantly push the boundaries of adventure travel offering journeys that encourage a true cultural experience.
To explore these roads on your own adventure, head to www.ferriswheels.com.au

Interview with Denise Ferris

Question: What inspired the creation of Ferris Wheels?

Denise Ferris: Ferris Wheels was started by my husband Mike, about 18 years ago; he has a great story to tell where he was going through a bit of a mid-life crisis and took a year off and found himself in Kathmandu. At 37 years old Mike had never been on a bike in his life and met a Norwegian guy at a pub who was selling a motorcycle and Mike bought it and travelled around doing everything wrong where he found himself on the highest road, in the world. Mike came back to Australia and thought -people need to know about this because it is such an amazing experience' and setup Ferris Wheels Motorcycle Society which has gone from strength to strength. Mike ran a few tours and gradually added destinations.


Question: How did you meet Mike?

Denise Ferris: Mike and I met about nine years ago and I'd been in the corporate world and was running a charity, at the time. I joined the business and we've been running it together for the last 8 or 9 years.


Question: What is Ferris Wheels?

Denise Ferris: Ferris Wheels runs international motorcycle tours to a range of destinations around the world such as the Indian Himalayan, Morocco, Turkey, Bhutan, Nepal, Bolivia, Iceland, Peru and Dalmatian which is Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro.


Question: What should someone expect from Ferris Wheels journey?

Denise Ferris: We run a three week package which involves being taken care of for three weeks. You get yourself to the chosen destination and then we provide the hotels, meals, motorcycle, back-up vehicle for luggage, a local guide and we travel around the destination giving you the best time we possibly can including lots of great life experiences.


Question: What do you enjoy most about motor-biking?

Denise Ferris: Motor-biking is the best way to travel. Travelling in a car, bus or similar vehicle often tend to make people go to sleep and get very tired whereas motorcycling is the opposite – you feel very alive and you're very in your environment. Motorcycles are associated with freedom so you feel very fresh but they're also very exhilarating. When you're riding through Turkey along the Black Sea coast you can smell the forest, the trees, the sea and the Mediterranean. When you pull up to a little village children come running and as you're on a bike you can easily interact with them and put them on your bike; you're very conscious of your environment which makes you feel alive whilst your senses are stimulated. Motorcycling is a wonderful way to travel.


Question: Was motorcycling something you enjoyed doing prior to meeting Mike?

Denise Ferris: No, my story is different but similar to Mike in that I was also 37 years old and had never been on a motorcycle. Mike and I met on a plane when he was returning from running a tour of Nepal and I was coming from back from a month in rural France. Mike took me for a ride on his motorcycle and we went up the Macquarie Path in Sydney and I was hooked, I love it. I really enjoyed the freedom and exhilaration of being on a bike. I was running The Humour Foundation where we put clown doctors into children's hospitals and it was a fantastic job so it was a tough choice but I was with Mike for a year before I joined him in the business.


Question: Why is Khardung La, India your number one on the Top 10 Roads to Ride list?

Denise Ferris: We have toured a lot of fantastic roads but together we chose the roads we think are the most memorable and enjoyable. There was a range of criteria for the list. Khardung La, India is the highest motorable road in the world and that's an amazing experience alongside the Himalayan and it takes you as close to the heavens as you can get on a motorcycle and during that we cross over three high Himalayan paths to get to the place that allows us to ride up there.
The other roads mentioned are because they're great riding; motorcycle riders generally like a lot of curves, twists and corners because it is a bit fun; Sinop to Amasra on the Black Sea coast of Turkey is one of those roads. There are rides through South America through Peru and Bolivia where there are fantastic surface roads and you can go quicker than in some of the other countries which is exhilarating.

Many of the roads on the list have been chosen because of their scenery and natural beauty including mountains capes and forest. On our list we mention Thrumsing La highest pass in Bhutan and the Great Dolomite Road in Northern Italy as well as Dades Gorge in Morocco.

The criteria was the natural beauty, the road surface and the riding fun that you get from experiencing the roads.


Question: Where is your favourite place to motorcycle in Australia?

Denise Ferris: Home! We don't do as much riding in Australia because we tend to spend so much time overseas and when we are at home we live in a very beautiful part of Sydney on the Northern Beaches and we have a fantastic lifestyle here with a lake and a beach and a lot of natural beauty. We don't tend to ride as much but the Great Ocean Road is a well-known and fantastic ride in Australia.

We live near the Ku-ring-gai Chase Natural Park near Bayview and that would be the most beautiful ride in our local area, it is gorgeous and we take visitors there.

Any country road where you can get away from traffic, traffic lights and you've got lots of twists and turns is what would attract me. I love riding along the ocean and sea.


Question: What's a typical day like, for you when you are at home?

Denise Ferris: A typical day when I am at home includes waking with a walk, I usually walk along the beach in the morning and come back and have a healthy breakfast. Then, I will begin whatever is required in the day which is often correspondence to do with the business and getting ready for upcoming tours including liaising with clients and sending pre-tour mechanise and information. I also need to liaise with our partners in other countries and make sure everything is right for the tours we're about to run. I also will need to do general marketing activities including our website and paying bills!

Then working on interesting projects; we recently made a television series and we are focusing on marketing that at the moment and we've signed an international distribution contract with ABC. Today I will be spending time with our graphic designer to work on the DVD cover design and advertising for further down the track.


Question: What destination is next on your must-visit motor-biking list?

Denise Ferris: Yes, the next one on our list is probably South Africa because that's a place we'd like to try and get to, next year and explore.

We like to add new destinations because we get a lot of repeat clientele and we've had a lot of people do four or five tours with us, we've had one male who has done 21 tours with us. We have a lot of people come to one destination and then they want to return and do another destination which is why we add a new destination every few years and this year we added Iceland.

Mike and I went to Iceland last year and rode around for a couple of weeks to investigate and explored to put together an itinerary. Iceland is booked out for this year and almost booked out for 2014.


Question: What are your top tips for someone getting on a motorbike for the first time?

Denise Ferris: The training groups that are around are very worthwhile, in NSW I learnt to ride through Honda Australia Rider Training (HART) and they are really good as they don't assume you have any prior knowledge and therefore anybody can learn. As a women I particularly believe anybody can learn to ride a bike and a women can be equally as good or better as a male on a motorcycle there is no reason you can't excel at this particular pastime or sport and it's not dependent on physical strength, height or gender. A good rider training course is a very good idea.

Learn on a modest motorcycle: if you do the training I did you learn on a 250cc motorcycle which is a small and manageable motorcycle but I wouldn't recommend buying a small motorcycle because you can borrow a small cc motorcycle until you get your licence. Once you've got your licence you it's quite likely that you'll want to progress to a more powerful motorcycle, quite soon.

One thing I would say to people learning is to not be discouraged; it's highly likely that at some point you will drop your motorcycle or do something a little bit silly which happens when you're learning a new skill. I come across many women who go for their licence and along the way they drop the motorcycle and they are put off, which is a real shame. When you are learning a new skill you will fall down and make mistakes but it really doesn't matter because it is so worth continuing with the particular process. The advantage is in the end you have so much freedom, fun and enjoyment on the bike. Perseverance is the key.

I also suggest finding somebody to ride with who can coach and support you along the way. I had Mike helping me learn and giving me tips and I had other people supporting me and it made such a big difference. If you're doing it by yourself it can be quite difficult and you need someone to mentor you along the way.

I would recommend riding on enjoyable rides and places because life is very much for living enjoyed and it's not a process that you have to survive through. Find areas that are really beautiful to ride which will make the learning experience a fun one.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself; take it gradually and lesson by lesson. If you're having problems or concerns find someone that you can talk to as there are lots of riding groups for females. You need reassurance sometimes.


Interview by Brooke Hunter