Epic motorcycle trip had its fair share of danger

Fearless is a good word to describe Fanny Fang Yi. The Shanghai law graduate and former professional volleyball player is believed to be the first mainland woman to cross Africa on a motorbike - just three months after learning to ride. It was the start of an epic 53,800-kilometre journey that also took her through Europe and around China, and back to her hometown of Shanghai.

The journey was the idea of Fang's boyfriend, Rupert Utley, who is also something of a daredevil. The former Hong Kong policeman, who was a reserve for the bomb disposal unit, had already toured Europe and Southeast Asia on a motorbike, and was a founder of the Hong Kong Paragliding Association.

"Two years ago, the company I worked for [as a forensic accountant] in Shanghai went out of business and I was left without a job, so I decided to fulfil a lifelong ambition by riding a motorcycle around the world," Utley says. "I had no backing, no sponsorship and no support. Also, I wanted to bring my girlfriend with me, but she had a job and did not know how to ride a motorbike."

This was no obstacle for the adventurous Fang, who is also a champion boxer and has captained a soccer team. Two weeks after Utley became unemployed, she quit her job and quickly learned to ride. Still, the commitment to venture off into the big wild world was not made lightly.

"It was a difficult decision because I'm the only daughter in the family; the family expects a lot from me after going to Fudan University and getting a law degree. As traditional Chinese parents, they hope I can do well; not just give up my career to do something dangerous."

So she spun her father a white lie. "I told him I had been assigned to the Hong Kong office for a year."

During the trip, Fang became an internet sensation in China, building a large following by blogging and writing on motorbike-related forums. One of her articles got more than a million hits.