Across Borders – Flat Out and into Retirement with 11 HP
Margot Flügel-Anhalt – first time on a motorcycle at 64, then 18,046 km through 18 countries to the Pamir Highway
There are these motorcycle travel documentaries with years of preparation, high-tech equipment and a 1200cc adventure bike. And then there is Margot Flügel-Anhalt. 64 years old. Never sat on a motorcycle before. Gets her licence and rides her 11 HP Honda through 18 countries. Respect.
Around the world on a moped as a pensioner
Margot sets off from her village in North Hesse and returns 117 days and 18,046 kilometres later. In between lies a route that would give even seasoned touring riders pause for thought: through Poland and the Ukraine, across the Volga, onwards to Tajikistan, over the Pamir Mountains, through Iran and Turkey, back to Germany.
Alone. As an older woman. On a small Honda 125cc enduro. Past landscapes that hardly anyone gets to see – and through encounters with people of unfamiliar language and culture, which the film makes its real focus.
The journey in figures
The journey's statistics read as if someone had made them up:
- 1 pensioner
- 11 HP
- 0 motorcycle licences (at the start of the journey)
- 18 foreign countries
- 18,046 kilometres
- 117 days
- 12 currencies
- 6 visas
- 1 clutch lever, 5 brake levers, 1 mirror (used up)
- 6 oil changes, 541 litres of fuel, 1 new chain
- 1 tube of Voltaren, 5 pressure dressings, 2 packs of Aspirin
- 5 tubes of toothpaste
- 4 time zones, 4 full moons, 3 seas
- 234 hours of footage
Why this film is different
“Across Borders” has no drone shots, no glossy post-production. The camera stays close to Margot and films what happens. Breakdowns in Germany. Bureaucracy at borders. People who help. Self-doubt that comes and goes.
That is exactly what makes the film powerful. It is an honest story of a woman who simply sets off – and discovers along the way that the world is friendlier than most headlines suggest.
Conclusion
My key takeaways from the film: It is never too late. You just have to do it. No matter what with. Just set off. And: along the way, you will have to overcome obstacles – but you will also receive help. A clear recommendation for anyone who feels too old, too inexperienced or too poorly equipped to finally set off.
Available on YouTube – completely free. More about Margot and Streetsfilm at über-grenzen.de.
