Two Wheels in a TIME OF WAR

It started with a phone call from award-winning photographer Kiran Ridley who was working in Lviv during the beginning of the Ukraine war, covering the refugee crisis from the saddle of an old Chinese motorbike. He needed someone to talk to. It was cold and dangerous, and the entire city was on the razor's edge of uncertainty as they prepared for the possibility of a Russian attack.

- Neale Bayly

Thousands of miles away in my soft, comfortable life, images of destroyed buildings, dead and injured civilians, and outnumbered soldiers fighting for their country filled the media. It didn't seem possible that Russia was targeting women and children in plain view of the world.

I called Kiran a couple of days later to offer my help. He asked if it was possible to find a couple of motorcycles. Thanks to BMW Motorrad, we soon had a pair of BMW F850GS Adventures waiting in Munich. Next, Arai helmets jumped in, and REV'IT! offered to provide our outfits before everything ground to a crawl as each day seemed to bring new challenges.

As of this writing, we've been in Ukraine for five days on several assignments working with some brilliant fixers, and it's been intense. Among many things, we've been 1,500 feet below the surface in an old '70s Soviet-era coal mine, spending time with young front-line amputees. And, we've been to a 16th-century monastery housing 50 refugees from Kharkiv. And we've been busy raising donations via social media.

For the most part, we are okay here in western Ukraine. But there are moments that gnaw at my guts, like when world-famous photographer Brent Stirton, ex-South African Special Forces, messaged from Sri Lanka to say, "I've lost two friends, and two others are wounded." It's the same feeling when the air raid sirens wail, or when we approach a military checkpoint.

Life here is tumultuous. One moment I'm overwhelmed at a rehab center seeing young men with missing limbs or spending time with refugees listening to their horrific stories. Then, I find myself riding a motorcycle carving through a beautiful country landscape, marveling at the stunning architecture in the villages and onion-domed churches that accentuate the quiet rural life of Ukraine. It would be an idyllic country for a motorcycle trip, adventure ride, or holiday.