Fan rides across 30 countries from Australia to reach Isle of Man TT

An Australian motorcyclist who travelled more than 26,700 miles (43,000 km) across 30 countries to reach the Isle of Man TT says arriving at the famous event felt "surreal".

Jodie Rogers, from Melbourne, rode solo from Australia to Europe on her Honda CRF.

She crossed deserts, mountains, and remote borders, through Asia and the middle east and onto Europe, before arriving on the island for what she describes as a lifelong dream.

Rogers said: "I rode 30 countries basically on my own Honda CRF from Australia to get here. I kind of can't believe I'm actually here."

Rogers left Australia in March last year, spending 244 days on the road and travelling through countries including Indonesia, China, Kazakhstan, Turkey and across Europe before reaching Ireland, where she stored her motorcycle over winter.

She returned five weeks ago via Japan to collect the bike and continue her journey, with the Isle of Man TT at the centre of her plans.

"When I planned the second stage of my journey, I planned it so that the TT was the focus for coming back," she said.

She described reaching the island as a "pinch me" moment.

Despite her ambitious expedition, Rogers insisted she was not an expert rider, having only learned off-road motorcycling in 2023.

But after crossing Australia's Simpson Desert, she made her first trip, transporting her bike on a container ship, to Vietnam and then onto the Indian Himalayas.

"Something was born there. I wanted to continue to ride overseas," she said.

Her travels have included mechanical breakdowns, high mountain passes and unusual campsites - including one night at the Afghan border after floodwaters made a river crossing impossible.

"I had the Taliban over here and I had the Tajik army over here and my bright green dome tent in the middle," she laughed.

But "for every challenge I face, I've found a solution", she said.

Rogers said the trip had also changed her broader outlook, restoring her "faith in humanity" after difficult past experiences.

"It's been incredible," she said, adding she rarely felt lonely as "I meet people everywhere I go."

At the TT, she described the atmosphere as "electric".

"The bikes scream past you and your hair flies from the wind," she said. "The smell of the fuel and the gear changes as they approach corners – it's just exhilarating."

Camping in Onchan during racing fortnight, Rogers is also taking part in the Legacy Lap on 31 May.

While she has made it to the island, Rogers' journey is far from over.

The current trip forms part of a seven-year plan that will take her across the rest of Europe, Africa, the Americas and New Zealand before finally returning home to Australia.

When asked what she would do once she had completed the world, "I might have to go to the moon or something," she joked.

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.