Sam Manicom: Master Story Teller

When I rode to the Overland Expo in Arizona a few years ago with good buddies Duane and Paul on CSC RX3 motorcycles, I met a bunch of interesting people.   One man I saw at that event but didn’t meet was Sam Manicom.   When this quiet and friendly-looking guy stopped by the CSC booth and left a flyer, I stuck the flyer in my pocket, from there it went into my saddlebag for the freeway blast back to California, and a week or so later I read it.

My first reaction when I read the flyer was that I had missed an opportunity.    Had I known who Sam was back then I would not have let him slip by without a conversation.   Just a few lines into the flyer I knew I wanted to read his books.  I did (I bought and read all of them) and they were great.  In fact, I’m wondering now why I didn’t include them in the Five Best Moto Books blog I recently wrote (they were that good).  I should have, and I’m making up for that oversight with this blog.

Fast forward a few years, and I was at another adventure touring motorcycle event (the Horizons Unlimited gathering in Mariposa), and Sam was there as a speaker.  I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.  I met Sam, we had a great conversation, and I attended his presentation later that evening.  The guy is a mesmerizing story teller, and Sue and I enjoyed his travel descriptions.  He has a voice and a manner of speaking that made us feel like kids listening to stories around a campfire.  The word “hypnotic” comes to mind.  Trust me on this, folks:  Don’t miss an opportunity to listen to one of Sam’s talks or read his books.   The guy is a master.

I wrote about Sam when I was doing the CSC blog, and the thought occurred to me I might post an updated blog here on ExNotes.  I wrote to Sam to make sure he was okay with that, and he is.  Sam sent materials and links to me for inclusion here on the ExNotes blog, and I’m sharing them with you today.

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So who is Sam Manicom?  Well, this is a man who went out and did what many have always wanted to do. Chuck it all in and set off on an epic motorcycle adventure.

A senior manager in retail, but wanting to do something completely different, Sam learned to ride a motorcycle and set off to ride the length of Africa on a 1991 BMW R80GS. He’d been riding a bike for just three months the day he arrived at the Sahara. This one-year trip turned into an 8-year, 55-country, 6-continent adventure (Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa again, South, Central and North America).

But there’s a twist. Sam now has four books published about the journey, and he never intended to write a thing. The point for him was to hunt out new adventures, but along the way other travellers encouraged him to write magazine articles.

He did this successfully over the latter four years of the ride, but he’s quick to point out, “Writing never took over as being the point of the journey. I was out there to learn, to have fun and to enjoy the freedom travelling by motorcycle was giving me. But sometimes you find yourself in places for longer periods of time. It might be because you are on a visa hunt that takes longer than anticipated, or that you have simply found yourself in a place that you really don’t want to leave in a hurry. I wrote all of my articles in times such as these. The journey is what really matters.”

Sam’s first book, Into Africa, was written as a result of readers’ letters to editors.  His other books include Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns, and Tortillas to Totems.  He’s been described as being one of the foremost and most readable adventure motorcyclists writing about their adventures on two wheels, and I will tell you that description is accurate.

Why attempt to write the books?  As Sam tells it, “I guess it was a new challenge and I’d spent time during the last year or so on the road, wondering what I could do with all that I’d learnt. Not only would trying to write a book be a new adventure for me but I had another thought in mind. In part my books are aimed at those fortunate enough to know that they actually can go out and live the dream, with the hope that they might encourage them to just do it. But also for those who love the sound of travelling but are quite happy with adventure from the pages. I’ve also consciously written them for those who live in circumstances that may never allow them to ride into adventure.”

Sam writes for ADVMoto Magazine, Overland Magazine, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure, Adventure Bike Rider, Motorcycle Monthly and various other motorcycle magazines and newspapers around the world. He is a regular presenter at BMW dealerships, and Horizons Unlimited, Overland Expo, and Adventure Bike Rider Festival events. Sam is also a co-host of the Adventure Rider Radio RAW show.

Sam has a fairly unusual background in that he was born in the Belgian Congo in Central West Africa. His parents worked and lived through the two rebellions that preceded the change of the country’s name to Zaire. They brought the family home to England when he was ten years old. For the first few years at school in the UK he was known as “Jungle Boy.”

Sam’s first solo journey was by bicycle age 16. His next big trip was a backpacking, seat-of-the-pants voyage of discovery across Europe, India and Australia, which often saw him down to his last $10. On arrival in Australia, no one asked him if he had any money and a return ticket. He had neither. What was needed, he earned along the way and this he says was a great learning experience.

Though not looking for a girlfriend, Sam met his partner Birgit Schuenemann in New Zealand during year two of his 8-year motorcycle trip. After riding pillion with him for 3 months through Nepal and India she joined him for the latter four years across Africa and the Americas. She was travelling by bicycle when they met but transferred steeds to ride her own motorcycle, a 1971 BMW R60/5. She started her ride in Africa with just 600 miles experience on a motorcycle.  Sam’s BMW R80GS, at the time of writing, has 278,000 miles under its wheels and is still his only means of transport in the UK where he is based. He also owns an F800GS which he keeps in the USA for his regular trips to the States.

For more information about Sam and his books check out www.sam-manicom.com.  Sam’s books are available from Amazon and The Book Depository with free delivery.  All four of Sam’s books are available as Kindles (and you can find them at the links provided above), and also as as Audiobooks and on iTunes.  You can get free audio sample chapters from each of Sam’s books (Into Africa, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns, and Tortillas to Totems).  And if that’s not enough to pique your interest, you should watch Sam’s Adventure Bike TV Under the Visor interview on Youtube, as well as a Youtube conversation between Sam and Ted Simon.

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So there you have it:  My thoughts on one of the best adventure motorcycle story tellers ever.  Take advantage of the links we’ve provided above.  You can thank me later.