Alex Cudlin
Snapshot:
Industry / Sector: Tourism
Career Type: Professional Athlete, Business Owner
Education Pathway: Homeschooled, Self-Taught
Mid Coast Connection: Raised in Old Bar, NSW
The Blurb:
Alex Cudlin is the founder and chief guide of Aussie Bike or Hike, an adventure‑tour company that runs unique motorcycle, bicycle and hiking expeditions across ten countries. After winning two World Championships as a professional motorbike racer, Alex turned his competitive drive into a business that blends extreme‑sport travel with immersive cultural experiences — from crossing the Himalayas on a motorbike to riding the Pan‑American Highway in Peru.
He talks about the unconventional path that took him from early homeschooling and international racing to building a global tour operation, the resilience forged by injuries, setbacks and “street‑school” business lessons, and the freedom he values as his own boss. Alex’s story illustrates how passion, perseverance, and a willingness to “have a go” can transform a personal love for adventure into a thriving, purpose‑driven enterprise.
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Current Role: Founder & Chief Guide of Aussie Bike or Hike, designing and leading adventure‑tour itineraries (motorcycle, bike and hiking) across multiple continents.
Career Path: Started with early homeschooling, left formal school, pursued motorbike racing as a teenager, won two World Championships, then transitioned to entrepreneurship after retiring from racing.
Key Skills: Goal‑setting & purpose‑driven mindset, perseverance through injury and setbacks, self‑management, negotiation with sponsors, “street‑school” business acumen (contract negotiation, marketing, logistics), and the ability to adapt quickly between office work and fieldwork.
Challenges Shared: Physical injuries that eventually ended his racing career, pivoting to a new goal of entrepreneurship, periods of doubt about staying in the adventure‑tour business, and the logistical complexities of running tours in remote, high‑altitude environments like the Himalayas.
What He Loves: The freedom of being his own boss, choosing destinations and dates, creating unique, niche experiences (e.g., crossing the Himalayas on a motorbike, riding the Pan‑American Highway in Peru), and watching participants safely complete extraordinary journeys.
Advice to Younger Self: “Have a go.” Encourage taking risks, kicking down doors, and not worrying about others’ opinions; emphasise that trying — even if it leads to setbacks — opens doors to a fulfilling, purpose‑driven life.
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“Freedom is probably the best thing. I'm my own boss, so I can decide where I want to run these adventures.”
“What I learnt was how to sell yourself, how to sell a picture to someone. That's what allowed me to run this business.”
“You got to have a crack. If you want to take that job on, or you're interested in that industry, you need to kick down the doors and find out how you go about it. “
“You've got to have the courage and not worry about what other people think. Have a little go and see where it ends up.”
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[0:00] Intro
Today we’re joined by Alex Cudlin of Aussie Bike or Hike. Alex will share with us some of the stories from his journey and the skills he’s used to get to where he is today.
[0:32] Can you tell us a little bit about what your professional life looks like today?
My professional life is chaotic, I would say. I started an adventure tour company many years ago, so I’m busy on the phone or travelling around the world running these adventures. We specialise in motorcycle tours, bicycle tours and hiking tours all around the place. Sometimes I’m on the phone to, maybe one of our international partners or tour agent, and the next minute I’m trekking across a trail somewhere. It changes every day, but it’s busy—I love it.
[1:18] Do you have a team that works with you?
Each year I add one or two more staff to the books. I do most of the back‑end work—planning the routes and that sort of thing. As the years have progressed I’ve got more staff in Australia now but also have teams overseas that help with our international tours.
[1:45] Can you share a little bit about the pathway you took to be where you are?
I wouldn’t say it’s the conventional pathway that most people take. I grew up in Old Bar and I actually left school at a very young age. I started getting homeschooled when I was about 9–10 years old, so I didn’t do the conventional pathway that most kids do.
My background was, I started racing motorbikes as a young kid instead of doing the local soccer or the local footy. I did the local motorbike racing and that turned from a bit of fun into a profession for me. At a young age I started in state championship stuff and then Australian level stuff. And then, at roughly about 16, I decided to have a real crack at motorcycle racing, to see if I could turn into a job and I moved to England to race professionally.
I had two goals: to get paid racing motorbikes and to win a world championship. I spent many years living in the back of a van, but it went from living in the van to becoming world champion. I won two World Championships and I realised those goals.
And then when I started getting a bit older and my muscles started hurting and the injuries caught up, I retired from motorbike racing. I moved back to Australia and started this adventure company. We’ve grown year on year, and we've been running the business now for roughly about 7 years and it's been great.
[3:35] Can you share with us skills or things you learnt along the way that helped you?
As a motorbike racer, it definitely wasn't easy because you're racing against the best guys in the world. But also for me, I was living out of my home country. I was away from my family and I had to spend a lot of time in Europe. And I laid in hospital a lot too, with broken bones and things like that.
The things it does teach you is to set a goal and have a drive and a purpose. That's what allowed me to become a motorbike racer. And I had a goal to become world champion. Once I realised that goal, I had to shift and change to a new goal. That was to start a company and start a business.
So look, there's lots of things I learnt along the way travelling around. I got robbed, I got ripped off, I got sacked and fired from all different jobs during that time. But it taught me a lot of things about perseverance and self management and how to create a pathway for yourself.
[4:46] With those times when you felt like giving up, what was it that pushed you on?
Even now in business there are moments when, anyone that is in a job or in a business probably thinks at times, “jeez, I could just do something else.” There were times where I thought, “maybe this motorbike thing's not for me. Maybe I should be at home, and not lying here with a broken leg or arm, or not getting ripped off.”
But the benefits outweighed the negatives. I kept looking at the big picture: “what's the best outcome if I keep pushing on with this?” That's what drove me to continue with all those things in the bad times, there's always a good one around the corner.
[5:42] You've got Aussie Bike and Hike, you're still travelling and running tours - what's the best thing that you love about your job right now?
Freedom is probably the best thing. I'm my own boss, so I can decide where I want to run these adventures. Ours are pretty unique. Our business is a bit niche.We're not just a tour company that takes people to lay on the beach for a week. What we do is some pretty unique things.
For example, we do a motorcycle tour in India where we ride from Delhi all the way to China and it takes us roughly 13 days. We've got to cross the Himalayas and we ride to some extreme altitudes and we carry oxygen tanks on the bikes. My job is to try and get 15 normal motorbike riders across the Himalayas on the highest road in the world.
We do trips in Peru where we ride down the Pan American Highway and through the desert and over the Andes into the Amazon. So these trips are kind of unique. My job is to deliver a tour that's unique, something different to the normal tour companies, but also get everyone across safely and happy.
The thing I love about my job is I've got the freedom to decide where we're going to go and how we're going to do it. When I want to run them, what dates can we run them on. When I started the Tour Company, it was just to run local tours in Taree, just to run little hiking trips around on the weekends. And now we operate in about 10 different countries around the world. I’II have probably 20 tours a year on, and so it's growing each year and I love it. It's a great job.
[8:01] What about the business side of it? Have you done training in business or did you learn yourself?
To be honest, no, I haven't got a degree in tourism or marketing or anything like that. But I was taught on the street. As a motorbike racer for many years, I had to deal with sponsors and I had to deal with negotiating contracts with teams. Purposely I never had a manager as a motorbike racer. I did all my own management and I dealt with all the sponsors myself and negotiated my contracts with the teams.
What I learnt was how to sell yourself, how to sell a picture to someone. That's what allowed me to run this business. But I never actually got a degree in anything, you know. Like I said, I left school at a young age, but I had a lot of ‘street education’. I suppose it sounds a bit gangster, I had some ‘street education’ which helped me to where I am now.
But I’ve got to say I'm no expert at business either. I'm working it out as I go, and I also ask people that are experts in the business. You've got a lot of great business people in this area that are highly successful in their own areas. I've asked a lot of local people, the local accountant or the local digital marketing guy, to just pick their brains. That has helped me a lot as well.
[9:56] What do your values look like now?
I had a purpose from a young age and I had a passion and I was able to see out those things. But I would say to anyone, you’ve got to have a go. You got to have a crack. If you want to take that job on, or you're interested in that industry, you need to kick down the doors and find out how you go about it. And that goes with anything: sports or business or friendships or relationships, anything like that. You've got to have the courage and not worry about what other people think. Have a little go and see where it ends up.
[10:48] What one piece of advice would you give your younger self?
Have a go. You're not weird, you're different and you've got to take on that challenge. Your friend might say, “geez, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do that as a career.” If you want to do it, have a go at it. The worst that can happen is being where you are now. But if it opens the doors and it's something you want to do and chase that goal, then obviously you can live a pretty happy life.
[11:35] Thank you so much, Alex. I have many more questions about your tours, but we’ll save those for another time.
Thanks for having me. Really appreciate it.
Please note: All content is correct at the time of recording.
