Ride the Dream - See the World
By Jean West Rudnicki
Deep in the Amazon Rainforest, at the bottom of a decrepit wooden
bridge, amid dripping wet foliage, lay thirty-four year old Simon
Thomas, adventurer extraordinaire, out cold. Above, the wheels of a
motorcycle spun as the machine lay on its side, balancing precariously
on the bridge and in danger of toppling over the edge and crashing atop
the unconscious biker. His wife, Lisa, scrambled to hit the motorcycle’s
kill switch then rushed to her husband’s side not certain if she would
find him dead or alive.
Two and a half years earlier the two young Britons had embarked on
a dream, selling everything, loading up “Tinkerbell” and “Tarzan,” two
modified BMW motorcycles, and heading out on an ambitious, recordbreaking
journey around the globe, visiting seven continents and 122
countries in a single trip destined to last years. Before Simon’s tumble,
the couple had traveled across forty-one countries, including a bonechilling
ride to the frigid Arctic Circle.
Back on the hot, humid rainforest floor, Thomas slowly stirred. He
remembers landing head first and feeling his helmet compress hard
into his shoulders. The fall left him unconscious for at least fifteen
minutes, and waking he felt intense pain in his neck and numbness in
his left arm and hand. The sensations, or lack of them, troubled him.
He downed pain killers, and kept pushing on, fighting rain and mud
and a motorcycle that repeatedly wouldn’t start forcing frustrating days
spent on its repair. It would be three weeks and a grueling trip through
the jungle before the couple reached a hospital in Sao Paulo and
learned that Thomas had, in fact, broken his neck in his fall. Doctors
were astounded that he survived at all. Another 1.5 mm, they told
him, and he would be a paraplegic.
It wasn’t the first time this daring young man had defied medical
odds. In 1999, while enjoying a successful career in sales and marketing,
Thomas was involved in a serious motorcycle accident, which all but
severed his right foot and did crush his lower right leg. Doctors told
him he would always walk with a limp and would likely not run again.
After 12 months of no walking, months of agonizing physical therapy
and five major operations over two years, Thomas set about learning to
walk again. Not only did he walk, he ran a half marathon, rock climbed
in Yosemite, walked the Grand Canyon and played rugby.
The 1999 accident, however, had been one factor in his and Lisa’s
decision to ride their dream. “Twelve stationary months gives a man
time to think,” writes Thomas in an article appearing in Men’s Health.
“I realized I’d been planning for too long. It was time to live life.”
There were other life-challenging experiences in the year leading up
to their decision that weighed in as well – Lisa’s father had emergency
heart surgery and Thomas’ mother had been diagnosed with breast
cancer. After spending one solid month in serious deliberation, the
couple opted to go for it. Leaving behind good-paying jobs, they would
circumnavigate the planet without assistance, while helping to raise
awareness and funds for three charities and attempting to set or break
four world records.
Thomas, whose background included marketing and promotion,
solicited sponsors such as BMW, Fujifilms and others, while the couple chose three charities near to their hearts
– CancerBackup, the British Heart Foundation and
Water Aid.
They modified their bikes with larger, long range
tanks, and boxes for carrying their kit. Tinkerbell,
an R1100GS, is Thomas’ machine and Tarzan, a
F650GS, bought specifically for the trip, is Lisa’s.
The couple said their goodbyes to family and
friends and rode off in May 2003, traveling the easy
hills of Wales, Ireland and Scotland, as warm up for
what lay ahead. In June they ferried to Norway and
began a nine-day trek into the frozen Arctic. It would
provide the first inkling of what “adventure” really
meant and the incredible stamina and determination
necessary to see it to its end.
“Adventure,” Thomas writes, “is a simple yet
misunderstood term and we’re slowly learning the
gritty reality of what it means…‘Adventure’ isn’t
glossy Hollywood stuff. It’s taking a chance, starting
down a path that you don’t have all the answers to
and finding that the unknown isn’t always dangerous,
it’s just unknown.”
