An adventurous spirit

Meet Violeta Ivanova, a multi-talented rider from Bulgaria taking on the world with her Harley-Davidson^® motorcycle called “Boris”

When Violeta Ivanova isn’t crossing deserts, wastelands or rivers on her 2015 H-D^® FXDF Dyna^® Fat Bob® called “Boris”, she’s writing about her experiences in the hope of inspiring other riders to do the same. Her first book, With the Mercy of Cali, details her epic solo ride from her home Sofia in Bulgaria to India in 2019, riding through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Arab Emirates and Dubai. The second leg of that tour saw her cross India and Nepal, flying her bike to Thailand then riding to Malaysia, before flying to Australia, where she was sponsored by Harley-Davidson AU and Harley-Davidson NZ with motorcycles to ride in both countries. She rode 8,500km in three months and covers her adventures in her second book, out shortly.

Violeta says her books are a symbol of the brotherhood and sisterhood of the Harley-Davidson community. She’s fulfilled her dream to ride solo around the world on Boris (apparently the only female to do so on a Harley^®), visiting 72 countries so far, an impressive feat for the rider who fell in love with the open road in 2014 when she purchased a Harley-Davidson^® Sportster^® 1200.

Since then, she’s been clocking up the kilometres, embracing different countries, people, customs and landscapes. In 2020, she embarked on a two-month trip to South America starting from Santiago, Chile, crossing the Andes on her way to Argentina and again when she took the Pan-American Highway through Chile, the Atacama Desert and Peru, riding 5,500m above sea level to Puno and Lake Titicaca. She explored Machu Picchu and Nazca and the famous geoglyphs, rode with H.O.G.^® members in Lima, Peru, and Quito, Ecuador, and had to rush into Colombia as borders closed due to the pandemic. “It was like racing with the Covid-19 restrictions,” she remembers. When the border closed, she found herself in a motocamp 140km away, where she quarantined. With special help from the Bulgarian Embassy in Brazil and an extra permit to ride her motorcycle to the capital, she caught one of the last evacuation flights back to Europe. “It was an epic adventure meeting amazing people in South America and another 8,000km in the saddle of my beloved Boris,” smiles Violeta.

Then in the summer of 2023, she spent two months travelling across Central and North America, covering 16,000km. Starting in Panama, where she was welcomed by H.O.G. members at the Harley-Davidson dealership, she made her way to Costa Rica and continued to Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. In Mexico, Violeta rode to Mazatlan and caught the ferry to La Paz, Baja, continued up north to the US and Canada, then flew back to Europe.

Among the many highlights of her trip was tackling high mountain roads on her way to Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Violeta was close to the lake when the road ended abruptly due to a landslide. A local biker, who was initially a bit shocked she was riding a Harley-Davidson on the rough roads, encouraged her to continue. But it wasn’t long before she encountered another obstacle. “There was river in front of me and I wasn’t sure I could cross it, but another biker helped me and checked the water level,” she says. “In Bulgaria, we say: ‘The bear is afraid, but I am not,’ so I grabbed the handlebars and rode straight into the water. When I reached the other side I was screaming: ‘I am a superhero. I did it!’ inside my helmet. It was an amazing experience, which helped me later in Baja, Mexico, when I had to ride directly through sand. But that’s another story!”

Another unforgettable moment was meeting up with Karen Davidson in Milwaukee. The two women have met on several occasions, the first time at the H.O.G. European Rally in Portorož, Slovenia, in 2022, where Karen invited Violeta to the Harley-Davidson Museum^™. “Catching up with her on this trip was the cherry on the top of my world circumnavigation – bringing my Harley-Davidson motorcycle back home,” smiles Violeta. “Karen welcomed me into the museum, and I received a special gift from her: a Willie G. T-shirt. We spent time together discussing my amazing adventures and plans to ride in the last and most challenging continent – Africa. Karen invited me to a special H.O.G. event that day, and I had the most amazing evening meeting many new friends.”

These escapades, and many more, will feature in Violeta’s third and fourth books, and when she’s not putting pen to paper, she’s hanging out with the H.O.G. Sofia Chapter Bulgaria and Ladies of Harley^® Bulgaria, organising motorcycle events and planning more trips.

Are there any goals she hasn’t achieved yet? “I need a Harley-Davidson Pan America^™ motorcycle in my life”, laughs Violeta. “I want to ride the world again on that bike because there are still so many places to explore.” She also wants to continue to be an inspiration to other riders, including her two daughters Stefana, 23, and Theya, eight. “Stefana is studying in the UK and wants to learn to ride, and Theya is always begging to join me on a ride. In my dreams, I ride around the world again with my girls, only this time on two or even three motorcycles.” If they have the same determination and adventurous spirit as their mum, that dream will no doubt become a reality!