What has been your toughest journey?
Probably the Paris-Dakar rally on a motorbike — terrifying. The terrain is tough, it’s 16 days long and you do 800km each day. I broke both my hands. I need to try it again — unfinished business.

Ever think it’s time to retire to an office job?
Never. It’s the hairy moments when you fear for your life, when it all gets a bit dodgy — it’s those moments that make you feel alive.

Favourite mode of transport?
Bikes! The other forms of transport are merely vehicles to take me to the bike bits.

When was your first big biking trip?
In my early twenties, my mates and I used to do trips to the South of France for the Bol d’Or race, but my first big one was the Long Way Down with Ewan McGregor, from John o’ Groats to Cape Town.

What item will you not travel without?
Baby wipes. If you sit on a bike for a long time, you don’t want a rashy bum. And silk sleeping-bag liners, because bed bugs can’t get through silk.

Which home comfort do you miss most?
Our bed — we have a lovely bed! Sometimes the places we sleep are so grotty that I pitch my tent on the bed in a hotel room.

Ever get sent care packages from your family?
I do, and I love them! Marmite and sweeties normally.

Worst local food?
I had some dog and some bat in Indonesia recently, which was horrible.

Any tips to avoid Delhi belly?
No ice in your drink, no lettuce. You can eat street food, as long as it’s from a place that has a queue.

Ever relax on the beach?
Absolutely, but I can’t sit still for long. After my trips I meet up with the kids and my wife, Olly, and we go and collapse somewhere.

Your favourite secret hideaway?
I found bits of Papua New Guinea that were the most unbelievably beautiful, untouched beaches I have ever seen in my life, and stunning jungle leading right up to the white sand and crystal-clear water.

Sun or snow?
Sun, but I love skiing — you get that amazing satisfied feeling at the end of every day.

Interview by Harriet Addison
The DVD Charley Boorman: From Sydney to Tokyo by any Means is released on Monday. He will be on tour in February; tickets on sale now at charleyboormanlive.com

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