International Women’s Day has been a fantastic celebration of influential women over the years and one of the most intriguing stories that has been looked at is that of Elspeth Beard. Beard has been one of Belstaff’s main stories over International Women’s Day and it is easy to see why when you take a look at her amazing life.
A Trip Around the World
Beard is known for several things which makes her story quite unique. At just the age of 23, Beard became the very first woman to motorcycle around the entire world – a 35,000-mile trip which took her two and a half years to complete. During her life-changing trip, she travelled through amazing landscapes and saw stunning and varied architecture in each corner of the globe. This would inspire her next conquest – to become an architect.
An Award-Winning Architect
Beard had been studying architecture at University but put her studies on hold to complete her incredible trip around the world and then picked up where she left off upon her return. After graduating she would go on to become an award-winning architect and bought a water tower in Godalming and spent the next 7 years turning it into her own beautiful home. As if all of this was not enough, Beard is also a keen aviator having earned her pilot license in 1991 and she has flown around Australia and parts of both Africa and America.
Life & Style
It is clear that Beard has lived quite a life and she has always been someone who simply does her own thing no matter what anyone else says or does. Beard explained:
“It’s odd but I never felt that I was [unique]. I just did my own thing. I only found out I was the first British woman to ride a motorbike around the world in 2009.”
Beard is a woman that is all about passion and this is also evident with her approach to style and she is a keen advocate of Belstaff jackets:
“ I think everybody should have their own style. What I really love about Belstaff is that it looks good on and off the bike. I think it’s important that things are well made and well designed”. She continued: “When I started riding bikes in the late 1970s, you couldn’t buy jackets for women. Belstaff was the only jacket I could buy. It fitted and looked really, really good.”
Elspeth Beard has had an amazing life and accomplished many things over the years. It is not just her accomplishments that are inspiring, however, as her approach to life and pursuing her hobbies and interests no matter what anyone else says or does is something that both men and women can learn from and find inspiring.
