Simon Ralph William Gandolfi | |
---|---|
Born | 1933 (age 90–91) London |
Known for | Long-distance motorcycle riding |
Website | simongandolfi |
Simon Gandolfi (born February 11, 1933, in London[1]) is an English writer and long-distance motorcycle rider. He has ridden over 110,000 kilometres (68,000 mi)[2] on solo, unsupported rides in America and India including:
A 2010 tour of India was undertaken in defiance of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, of which he said "The attack infuriated me and I saw all the tourists cancelling and so I rode around India, and if a grand old man like me can ride around India at my age, it can't be that dangerous."[3] The 2008 solo ride was undertaken when Gandolfi was 73,[4] 2010 when he was 77, and the 2013 solo ride around his 80th birthday.[3][5] The 2013 ride around India was published as a series of contributions to The Guardian's "Backpacking" travelogue section between June and October of that year.[6] The column on his ride, which was planned to span India to England, ended when he suffered broken ribs and other injuries after being kicked off his bike by a heifer in the road.[7][8]
Gandolfi's father, Ralph Vincent Gandolfi-Hornyold, Duca Gandolfi, Marchese di Melati, died in 1938.[1] He is the stepson of Lt. Colonel Euan Rabagliati DFC, MC, Legion of Honour, British pilot in World War I, and World War II MI6 officer.[9]