Back in September, 2022, moto-traveler Marc of the YouTube channel Marc Travels set off on an epic, never-before-done journey. While plenty of riders have gone around the world, his particular spin on this undertaking is that he’s doing it all on a 2019 Zero SR/F. He purchased the bike used earlier in 2022, shortly before going on this journey—and while he’s an experienced rider, this is his first electric bike.
One month in, and how is it going? Lucky for viewers, he’s been very consistent with uploads and updates so far on his channel. Rather than go for the longer-format videos that many motovloggers choose, he posts shorter ones (around 10 to 15 minutes on average) that are a day or, at most, a few days apart.
In a way, it’s very much like we’re on this journey with him, which is kind of cool. As he discusses in his videos, the general plan is that he rides during the day, and then spends his evenings editing and uploading his video footage from the journey. He’s mostly been in the U.K. so far, although he’s currently (as of October 13, 2022) on his way to a dealership in Dublin, Ireland to try to sort out some battery issues that he’s been having.
Along the way, Marc’s optimism and enthusiasm for what he’s doing is infectious. A lot of viewers who are familiar with the areas where he’s riding are sending him suggestions on places to visit, and he’s definitely checking some of them out.
In Northern Ireland, one of the must-visit places that people suggested was the Dark Hedges, made famous in season two of the Game of Thrones TV series. The site’s true name is Bregagh Road, lined by a stand of gorgeous beech trees that were planted by the Stuart family back in the 18th century. The idea, at that time, was to impress visitors with the sight of these trees, leading up the road to the family mansion, called Gracehill House.
It’s continued to make an impression on visitors ever since, particularly following its appearance on GoT. Visitors came in droves, and eventually an area for busses to park so that visitors could get out and walk down the lane was established, in order to help preserve the natural beauty of the area. That’s likely why Marc wasn’t certain whether it was OK for him to ride there—but he must not have been too worried about it, since posting video on YouTube isn’t exactly a thing you do when you’re trying to stay stealthy.
It’s just one of the cool things you can do on an electric bike that aren’t as easily done on a combustion bike. In another video that Marc recently posted, he’s very quietly enjoying some gorgeous hairpins in Northern Ireland, and a whole bunch of sheep are peacefully grazing, trundling down and across the road, and basically just going wherever they want. At a point or two, Marc honked his horn to alert a sheep that he was nearing it, but for the most part, they were completely unbothered by his extremely quiet motorbike.
The trip is not without its challenges, and the availability of public chargers in the U.K. is likely a lot better than it may be in some other places—but he (and we) will find out how greatly charger availability has expanded as he continues his journey.
