22,000 Kilometers on a Motorcycle
A Young Woman’s Solitary Journey
22-year-old Miss Tibesar-Kohler recently completed an extraordinary journey: 22,000 kilometers alone on a motorcycle. She rode from Saigon to Paris, passing through Burma, India, the Syrian Desert, Baluchistan, Persia, Turkey, and Central Europe.
This remarkable feat—unprecedented for a woman of her age, especially in the world of sports—is a story of unique origins. Miss Tibesar, of Belgian descent, had saved enough money to travel to America and the Far East. While in Saigon, she conceived the idea of returning to Western Europe by motorcycle. She purchased a small bike and, despite having no prior experience with motorized vehicles, learned to ride within a week. With limited funds, she set off westward, undeterred by the threat of bandits who controlled Chinese roads as if they were their own domain. The young sportswoman navigated these challenges as skillfully as she handled the rough Chinese terrain.
A severe storm forced her to halt in Phnom Penh, but after two weeks of rest, she regained her strength and confidence. Her next stop was Angkor. In India, she faced a new challenge: the curiosity of locals who, seeing a motorcycle for the first time, tampered with it. One evening, after stopping in a small town, Miss Tibesar found her bike wouldn’t start—it turned out some locals had removed screws out of curiosity. She spent the night in the jungle, clutching her small Browning pistol for protection.
From Angkor to Bangkok, she traversed wilderness with no shade or respite, under a scorching sun, surrounded by wild animals and swarms of locusts lying in wait. In the Himalayas, her motorcycle proved its worth, climbing to altitudes of 2,000 meters above sea level. In Singapore, she took a brief break, waiting for the Citroën automobile expedition to arrive.
On June 26, she resumed her journey, facing some of the toughest stages of her great raid. Crossing Baluchistan was particularly grueling—a desolate region with no medical facilities and scarce communication. Travelers there battled harsh elements and unbearable heat, which made riding nearly impossible without water. In one desert town, Miss Tibesar found abandoned bicycles, which she tied to her motorcycle to carry extra water, fuel, and food.
She had planned to rest for a week in Quetta, Baluchistan, but arrived to find the city devastated by an earthquake. Torrential rain, brackish water, and extreme heat followed, and upon reaching Persia, she fell seriously ill. The situation worsened with rumors of a cholera outbreak—locals refused to shelter her, fearing she was infected. For three weeks, she lay in a tent, relying on a local healer for minimal care, the only medical help available. Despite this, her resilient spirit prevailed, and she continued her journey.
Persia presented fewer challenges than Baluchistan, though the intense heat and her weakened state made riding difficult—she could only move at a slow pace, hunched over the handlebars. Language barriers added to her struggles: while she could speak French in some cities, English was rarely understood, and on the road, she relied on gestures to communicate.
When asked if she ever felt afraid, Miss Tibesar replied, “In vain!”—nothing could shake her resolve. At one point, she had to swim across a treacherous river, carrying her own drinking water, which spurred her to press on.
From Constantinople onward, the journey became easier. Central Europe felt like paradise after her ordeals. After seven months of travel, she arrived in Brussels in recent days and then continued to Paris.
When journalists asked if she would undertake such a “great raid” again, she replied that she had grown accustomed to traveling. She is now staying in Verdun with family members involved in distribution, reflecting on her journey. “The idea took hold of me,” the Amazon explained. “I wanted to see a piece of the world, and I did. I’m 22 years old and have already seen 28 countries.”
A truly remarkable record. Prawda.
Credits for the Newspaper Article:
Title: "22,000 kilometrów na motocyklu: Samotny rajd młodej dziewczyny" (translated as "22,000 Kilometers on a Motorcycle: A Young Woman’s Solitary Journey")
Subject: Justine Tibesar (referred to as Miss Tibesar-Kohler in the article)
Publication: Rozwój
Issue: No. 308
Publication Date: November 10, 1931
Author: Not specified, likely a staff journalist or correspondent for Rozwój
Language: Polish
This article was published in Rozwój, a Polish newspaper. Rozwój (meaning "Development" in Polish) was a periodical published in the early 20th century, often covering local and international news, including notable events like adventurous journeys.
"Prawda" refers to the Polish newspaper Prawda, which was likely the original source of this article before it was republished in Rozwój.
