Instagram: Elena Axinte (helebiker)
Doha: With the motto “home is everywhere” Elena Axinte aka Hele Biker is on the road to explore the world on her Harley Davidson Sportster 883 Iron. What started as a short journey has now become a lifestyle for her, a way to explore and connect with people from around the world.
She started her first tour in 2018 from Africa where she stayed for 4 months and explored 7 countries. Later when she returned to Italy, where she is a resident, the realization struck that she wanted to explore more.
“I realized I wanted to live on the roads covering as much as I can, with the motto “home is everywhere,” she told The Peninsula.
Axinte rode to Qatar on her bike to take part in the Qatar Custom Show (QCS). The QCS was a three-day event where motorheads experience the best of customized bikes and cars from all around the world.
Talking to The Peninsula at the show, she shared her experience at the event, where she got a chance to connect with people and share her story with many. Elena was honored with a QCS shield for being part of the show.
After the QCS event, she began her Qatar exploration which lasted for around 10 days. She started by visiting all the famous landmarks, like NMoQ, The Pearl, and Katara.
“I also explored the wild beaches in Ruwais, from there I went to the abandoned village Al Jumail, and then the famous Zubarah fort and Zakreet. Later, I took a ride to the Purple Island and Mangrove Forest near Al Khor,” Elena added.
She also visited the most touristic attraction in town, Souq Waqif, where she had conversations with her friends and locals to understand the history and culture of the country and its evolution from the beginning days.
She also went for an off-road experience at the dunes with her friends who she met at the event and connected over her social media and enjoyed a pleasant evening with music and BBQ.
Axinte, who is originally from Romania, started her second journey from Italy, where she is a resident, and got a chance to explore her hometown Romania for the first time on her bike.
She later went to the Balkans, Moldavia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, from where she took a ferry and entered Lebanon.
From there onwards, she has been discovering the Middle East region till now. She first covered Syria and Jordan and later entered Saudi Arabia, the first solo female rider to enter the country as rules were eased for women a few weeks earlier.
In Saudi, she stayed for almost a year as the Covid-19 lockdown started when she was there, and later tested positive for Covid. After lockdown and recovery, she began her adventure again and covered more than 50 cities in the country and stayed with locals.
Axinte mentioned that she plans to explore the world without staying in hotels and instead plans to live with the locals and learn about their food and culture. “I have no plans or fixed dates to reach a specific place or finish the tour, I go with the flow and I’m doing this tour without staying in hotels. Everywhere I go I’m hosted by the locals and that’s why I say home is everywhere,” she added.
After Saudi Arabia, she entered UAE where she was stuck again in the lockdown for another five months, which restricted her travel in and around the country.
Post lockdown Axinte went to Oman where she got a chance to enter Yemen and explore a bit. She connected with locals and stayed with them to experience their culture for a few days and returned to UAE.
Currently, she is completing the last leg of the Middle East, Bahrain and Kuwait, after which she will be heading towards South Asian countries like Pakistan, India and others.
Her hobbies also include paragliding, camel rides and trekking on dunes. She is a drama actor and a drama therapist.
In conclusion, she said that she feels privileged and grateful to meet such great and helpful people wherever she travelled. “Through my journey and my social media, I want to share that even though we are so overwhelmed by the terrible things around we should have a little trust that the positive side of the world still exists.”
To follow Elena’s journey and know more about you can follow her on Instagram: @HeleBiker
