I think that many people dream of riding but cannot cross the line. They spend too much time thinking about the safety of a car cage and airbags. They never reach their dreams of riding and becoming free…
Then there are those of us who ride and soon realize a new dream such as the once in a lifetime adventure by Alex Chacón. We then understand that we are not as free as we believe.
But sadly the dream remains only a dream. We do not have the time, the health, the money or the conviction to reach out and grab it.
I find myself basking in the beauty of Alex’s videos, pictures and stories that he shares with us at http://www.expeditionsouth.com/. Can you imaging the life changing journey this would be.
A friend of mine introduced me to “A Modern Motorcycle Diaries” and I just keep thinking about what I would do if I had the opportunity to re-live my life. Am I too old for a 500 day journey?
Who knows? Perhaps in the upcoming years my wrist, my business, my health and my life commitments will all line up and I will have the opportunity to meet Alex and perhaps take half of his journey.
In the meantime, lets all enjoy his ride…
These kinds of trips always fascinate me — their exotic nature, the physical challenges, and the sacrifices of time and money a person has to make to embrace them. There is a lot of focus in our culture on undertaking extreme actions whether motorcycle trips, jumping off mountains or some other adventure that takes a person beyond normal limits.
And I enjoy watching, looking, reading.
For me though, the bigger challenge is finding the same spirit and enlightenment in my backyard. I’ve come to believe I can look at the same place everyday for a lifetime and still not see everything. I end up asking myself if these grand adventures are consumptive desires on my part or something else.
I don’t know the answer.
The modern motorcycle diaries video has been in the post cue on my blog for a long time but I couldn’t quite figure out what I wanted to say about it. You’ve done a great job of putting it in a context that makes sense. Thanks for that insight!
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Peter,
By all means, if you have the money and time, do it.
If I had both, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
David
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