Tünde Semmi-Kis has been riding motorbikes since she was a teenager, and not even her modelling career could stop her. Since then, her passionate hobby has become almost a profession as she helps transport emergency blood supplies to hospitals using two wheels. 

How long have you been passionate about riding? 

I have loved motorsport since I was a kid. My dad taught me to drive a car when I was nine, but he did not support me motorcycling because he had a serious accident in the past, and did not want to worry about me. However, the ban had the opposite effect as I was only 14 when I first got on a bike.

Since then, with a bit of exaggeration, you have not got off the saddle. Weren’t you interested in racing? 

It became clear early on that I was too tall to speed bike as well as be a jockey which was my other big dream. 

Yet you completed Budapest–Bamako Rally, the first Hungarian woman to do so. 

It was a huge experience, preceded by three-quarters of a year's preparation to build up my confidence in off-road riding. Africa is fascinating, so if anyone has a chance to go on a similar adventure, I can only encourage them to take it.

As a tough rider you have built a modelling career, how do you coordinate the two? 

I started modelling when I was 14 – the same time I started riding. I would not say I had loads of talent, I just reacted better to the camera than the average person. The two went hand in hand, and my boyish and girlish sides balanced each other out well. Plus, with my modelling work, I was able to get financial backing for riding. 

As a beauty queen weren’t you banned from two-wheel vehicles? 

They knew that a ban would not work with me, so they let me do it within certain limits! But I had to give up my own motorcycle so that I would not be tempted every day. 

How did you get involved with Harley-Davidson?

My life has been linked to the iconic American brand for over ten years. Attila Dobai, founder of the Budapest H.O.G. chapter, invited me to festivals, where I would help out as a hostess before I started to take part in test rides. I was among the first to try Pan America in the Czech Republic. 

Will you visit the Harley-Davidson 120th Anniversary Festival in Budapest on 22-25 June? 

Unfortunately, I will not be there which is a shame! I am sure it will be a great party though.

Do you have any plans for bigger rides this year? 

I would like to enrol in a four to five-day enduro course because my next goal is to ride from Budapest to Tibet – the journey would last almost a month. 

Why Tibet?

There is no spiritual reason, I simply have a long-standing desire to go there! 

With all your experience, you still attend riding courses regularly, why? 

I need it for my volunteer work because I participate in providing emergency blood supply with the ‘Bloodriders’. We deliver blood by motorcycles to hospitals across the whole country – 60-80% of the time it's used in special surgeries. 

How did you become one of them?

One and a half years ago, we created an experience ride for disabled children at the Pető Institute, and the Bloodriders were also there. After the ride, they asked me to join them. We are on duty every week or two, and it is a special feeling to be able to contribute to the complex process of saving a life, even if you're only a tiny link in the chain. 

Beáta Csanálosi