Acclaimed journalist Neale Bayly has rode through 45 countries on his motorcycle during the past 35 years, but nothing compares to a recent trek he did in Peru en route to a remote orphanage.
The 51-year-old Bayly is starring in a new three-part travel series, Neale Bayly Rides: Peru, debuting on the SPEED channel on June 9 at 9 p.m. In the show, Bayly and a trio of recreational riders traversed 1,700 miles in eight days on BMW motorcycles. They stared their arduous journey in Lima and ended in Monquegua, Peru, home of the Hogar Belen Orphanage. Five years ago Bayly started the Wellspring International Outreach, a nonprofit which helps abandoned children at the Hogar Belen Orphanage.
"I guarantee it will be a life-changing experience … for all of them," Bayly said when the show was announced. "You can’t go through something like this and come out the other side the same way. The way we sort of compress time and add so much adventure, excitement, adrenaline, hopes, fears … I think it will really dig into them emotionally."
Bayly discovered the Hogar Belen Orphanage during a previous ride through Peru, and he knew he wanted to do something to help the children he met. According to the Rev. James Johnson, one of the riders who accompanies Bayly, the host's enthusiasm for the cause shines through.
"I saw Neale as driven and passionate," Johnson said of his initial meeting with Bayly. "Some six months and a bunch of miles after our initial meeting, my view of him hasn't changed much. I still see all of those things, except maybe with greater intensity."
Any donations that come as a result of the show will go directly to Wellspring International Outreach, and the orphanage itself is featured in the last episode of the show.
"My end game is to bring attention to the kids," Bayly said. "I don't know that too many people are putting these types of kids on television and I guess we've done it."
