The first round-the-world motorbike journey The duo at the Tunisia/Alegeria border Clancy had picked Dublin as his departure point to honour his Irish parents. As we followed his journey down through England, the blizzards were so bad that at times we could hardly see our front wheels. In Holland, it was the coldest March since 1922; torrential rain followed us through France. We first saw the sun the day we crossed into Spain. At least our bikes had heated grips, which Clancy would have given both arms for. Our 1200cc BMWs, emblazoned with Adelaide Insurance logos (our sponsor), could hardly have been more different than Clancy's 1912 Henderson - with a 934cc engine, one gear and no front brake. It made 7bhp and was advertised as the world's fastest motorcycle. In Algeria, Clancy took it to its top speed of 65mph, until his eyes watered so much he decided speed wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He returned to a gentlemanly pace more suited to his riding gear: a three-piece suit with shirt and tie, topped by a flat cap that in the Far East was replaced by a pith helmet he bought in Port Said. In Sri Lanka, we found several of the simple government rest houses he stayed in unchanged in 100 years. Outside the one at Sigiriya, even the view was the same, past the red pillar box and the double-parked elephant to the royal fortress where Clancy clambered up a ladder to see the Sigiriya damsels, frescoes of 500 celestial nymphs. Staggering into the cave, he was delighted to find that they were, to a woman, topless. At least he missed the monsoon rains, at times so relentless that we were forced to take shelter, huddling beside women who waited under their umbrellas for the ancient rattling bus that plied the route. Clancy on the Henderson Hong Kong, with its modern inhabitants and matching shops, came as a surprise to Clancy. In Shanghai, he wrote in his diary: "Give China a little time, and she'll not only have plenty of trunk roads, but one of the richest countries on the globe. Nothing can stop her. He was spot on: by the Roaring Twenties, Shanghai was the most stylish and decadent city in Asia, and now has more skyscrapers than New York City. We were shown around by Kent Kedl, who sounded like one of Superman's mates but in fact ran a company specialising in hostage negotiation. At one point, Gary spotted a Chinese fighter pilot's helmet for which a stallholder was asking 320 yuan, or £32. "How much should I offer her?" he asked Kent. Same tactics as hostage negotiation. Offer her 30 per cent, then walk away," said Kent. He was right, and minutes later Gary came away 12 quid lighter and a helmet richer. Gary wearing a Chinese fighter pilot's helmet In Japan, the locals had a quaint habit of leaving their homes and dashing into the road when they heard Clancy's horn, thinking it meant the arrival of the fried fish salesman, the pipe cleaner or the clog mender. Still, apart from kamikaze pedestrians and rickshaws, he had the roads to himself. Unlike us, a century later, he saw no motorcycles and just a single car while he was there. In San Francisco, we met Dr Frazier, his riding mate Richard Livermore and a bunch of Clancy fans, and rode north, then west, where Clancy encountered the worst roads of the journey. Today, they could not have been better, as we rode with kindred spirits across a country made for road trips, glorying in the freedom that only motorcycles can offer. Our destination was New York, but not before we had visited that National Motorcycle Museum in Iowa, where Clancy's boots rest today along with his diaries, photos and pith helmet, beside the only original 1912 Henderson left in the world. In Amsterdam As I stood there looking at it, much as I had marvelled at Clancy's courage in making the journey we had followed, I now marvelled even more to see what he had done it on. To contemplate it was the act of a madman; to complete it the act of a hero. In Clancy's Boots, Geoff Hill's book on his re-creation of Clancy's epic journey, is published by Blackstaff Press, £9.99 The world's great motorcycling adventures The Clancy trip, like most of the big trips I've done, involved about three months on the road but two years" planning. The good news is that lots of companies will do all the organisation for you. Around the world The biggest, most expensive trip at the moment is 40 weeks around the world with GlobeBusters" Kevin Sanders, starting from London. Riders can join individual sections; prices start at £9,995 for Panama to LA and go up to a wallet-melting £74,995 for the full gig (globebusters.com). Route 66 on a Harley On a cold morning in Chicago a few years ago, I strapped on an open-faced helmet, zipped up my leather jacket and pressed the go button on a Harley Road King. Ahead of me were the 2,448 miles of Route 66 to Los Angeles, the best moment of my motorcycling life. EagleRider has two-week guided rides of Route 66 from £2,650, including almost everything except air fare to Chicago (eaglerider.com). The Pan-American Highway The longest road in the world, from southern Chile to northern Alaska. I rode it in 2006 for my book The Road to Gobblers Knob, and will never forget the beauty of Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and the west coast of the US. GlobeBusters (globebusters.com) does this in 20 weeks from £23,689, although you can do shorter sections. In Colombia, a Danish biker, Mike Thomsen, also offers guided tours (motolombia.com); 10 days from £1,858. Hidden Himalayas Last year I spent two weeks riding a Royal Enfield 1,000 miles through the Himalayas with Blazing Trails (blazingtrailstours.com), whose Ladakh and Zanskar tour includes the world's two highest motorable passes and the Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso lake. It costs £3,145, including flights. TransIndus (0844 879 3960; transindus.co.uk) can put together a 15-day Trans-Himalayan Odyssey tour from £2,978. Also recommended The Canadian Rockies, including the Icefields Parkway between Jasper and Banff. Roadtrip USA includes it as part of a two-week Canadian West tour for $2,064/ £1,300, not including flights (roadtrip-usa.com). Great Ocean Road See this aptly named road with australia motorcycletours.co.uk. Nine days from £1,945, not including flights. Bridge & Wickers (020 3411 1948; bridgeandwickers.co.uk) has a 12-day Craters and Coast self-drive tour of the North Island from around £2,500 per person, including flights and accommodation. Or there's a more expensive three-week Grand Tour, taking in most of the country's highlights.