Livin’ the dream!

“I have cancer.”

Paul’s words blasted through the phone, but shock kept them from registering. This sentence seemed so surreal coming from my dear friend’s lips.

“What?! This can’t be!” was all I could utter. My mouth was paralyzed.

“Two years of planning my round-the-world, and it’s in
the toilet. What’s the point?!” I could feel him giving up.

“Wait, don’t slip away. I know it’s hard to see it right
now, but there may be a reason why your trip isn’t happening the way you planned it. Listen, I need you to hang in there with me. Can I ask you something?” As these words rolled off my tongue, I felt the strongest pull to help Paul heal. It was a pull I had never experienced in all of my life. It was so strong that it felt like a calling.

“Sure.” He answered.

“Will you let me help you heal? I know we can do it together.” And with that invitation, Paul felt drawn to say, “OK”. It was at
that moment that I knew how the rest of my life would play out…in a bigger picture sort of way.

This intense period of healing and connection pushed this friendship into a beautiful relationship where life dreams converged. From a foundation of optimism in the midst of a battleground, the round-the-world dream was reborn…one year later. Except this time it would be with a loving partner.

But, as a solo riding mama, how in the world was I going to be able to break away from my kids longer than my longest ride of ten days? There was only one answer. They would come with us. This vision of the family round-the-world adventure ride is very clear in our minds, and something we are making happen in 2012.

Now, for the fun of landing a Ural motorcycle, and customizing the sidecar into a cushy rig for my daughter Alana, 10, and my son Dimitri, 7. This is a dream I’ve had in my mind and have talked about in my ride reports for years. It’s finally coming to fruition. I have always envisioned a sidecar in my future, and now I get to orchestrate its design. Two of my biggest passions rolled into one…riding and designing. This is how I am going to share my world with my children and be by their side as they discover our world as a whole lying in wait to unfurl its beauty for their new eyes.

I invite you my dear ones to follow along. This is going to be a journey of a lifetime for so many as it represents hope, dreams, love and determination. We have our vision focused on making this trip happen, and those of you who come along for the ride will get to witness great things unfolding before all of our eyes.