Rachelle Vincent knows riding from both seats and appreciates that each have their advantage. When she and her husband Ken Vincent signed up for the Victoria Falls to Cape Town tour, they decided to do it on one bike.
Rachelle started on mini-bikes at age thirteen. After progressing to the road, both gave up riding altogether while raising their family. She returned in 2006 after taking the three-day course. Now she prefers the passenger seat and has just sold her Honda Shadow.
“The advantage is the 2,200 pictures we brought home from Africa. We’ll be looking at them for years to come. When you’re not the driver, not only do you get the opportunity to take pictures, but you have to focus on the road and the other drivers. You miss immersing yourself in the sights and smells or letting your imagination run wild like you can as a passenger.”
Unlock Namibian Beauty with Rachelle Vincent’s Adventure
Rachelle has spent her life on the prairies. The Sossusvlei dunes reminded her of the snowbanks from her youth. “In Canada, we don’t have deserts of that nature. We climbed them and felt like we were on top of the world, just like we did with the snowbanks. We could have stayed up there all day had we not had to leave by 11:00 a.m. The air was chilly when we started but rose quickly by midday.”
Rachelle and Ken have travelled the mountains in Alberta and British Columbia extensively. “We also felt above the rest of the world on the summits. When you ride a summit in the Rockies, you’re on flat land. In Africa we rode along the edge all the time.
“Our mountain passes are narrower and the ranges larger and tighter. You have to pull off the road at viewpoints to get a good look at the scenery. Often, in Africa you’d turn a corner and see towns miles and miles down the mountain. In the Rockies you’re surrounded by the Rockies.”
One of Rachelle’s favourite sensory experiences is dipping her toes in seas around the world. So far her toes have met the waters of the Pacific in New Zealand, Hawaii, Canada, United States, and Mexico. They’ve felt the waters of the Mediteranean and the Indian and Pacific Oceans off the coast of Australia. They’ve immersed themselves in the Atlantic on Canada’s east coast and various places along the Gulf of Mexico, including Costa Rica.
Venture Into Nature and Get Inspiration for Your Next Trip with Rachelle
While in Africa, she added another ocean to her collection. “It’s one thing to look at a globe and know that we’ll be riding along two oceans but it’s quite impressive moving from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Feeling that salt water and wondering what stories it held was incredible.”
Somehow, she’d missed the implications of the Okavango Delta excursion. “I didn’t realize I’d be tenting in the wild listening to hippos. I never would have volunteered for it but we were surprisingly comfortable and it was a tremendous experience.”
Rachelle and Ken have passed their love of riding and the experiences it brings to all four of their sons and daughter, and now a grandson has joined them. Their riding has taken them to incredible experiences around the world, a legacy they’re thrilled to pass on.
Photo credits: Ken and Rachelle Vincent
