Or perhaps I just don’t know how to define a passion. Is it the one thing that unlimitedly occupies a part of your life? Or is it the activity that let the time flows without you even noticing? After all I enjoy playing soccer, running marathon, going to a cinema for the less or more commercial movies. I love baking cakes, although it does not necessary always fit with my running goal. :) But I wouldn’t say those are my passions.
And then there is something special: I simply get on my bike and drive. I’m not a motorbike enthusiast. It’s a means of transport to me. Ideal one. I simply drive, 15, 20, 2000km. I love the feel of the air on my face. I love stopping in the middle of nowhere, standing there and just being there for a moment and then driving again. Sometimes, I come across a curious stranger and talk about apple harvest. Sometimes, I’m chased away.
My passion is being in the moment and forgetting about everything else. Using the world as an engine of discovery. I soak it all in. Time is flying, live is running, I push my physical and mental boundaries. Since a few years, I’m returning to my beloved South America to ride my bicycle. Yeah, I know, it’s the slowest means of transport, but faster then by your own foot. It’s simple in use, depends solely on you, it won’t argue. You will never get upset about it. It actually helps you makes local friends. Often with an express way from a shared smile to a dining table. 3 words that describe my adventure in South America: independence, pain, tears of happiness.
Yes, travelling with my two wheels is my passion.
Discovery Journey
I think it was love at first sight. Since I was a kid I watched ‘Pepper and Vanilla’ with a legendary Tony Halik. His photos of Americas from 60s were just breathtaking. For me it’s all started with a few trips to our mountains. Lack of financials and no passport were blocking my motivation to go abroad. We didn’t have internet, mobile phones. Information was incomplete. Well, the last has actually triggered in me the desire to discover. It was short after the system change and I think mentally, we were still a communist country. So people who travelled were seen as extremely courageous and a bit crazy. And I admired them.
This is it
The first trip abroad with a group of friends took me to Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and it changed my life style. Soon after I went to France, Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom. The biggest challenge was money. My first job earnings went literally to fuel my trips. By now it’s more than 50. But it’s really not about the stamps in your passport, it’s about looking at the world from a different angel and seeing things you haven’t noticed before. It’s about discovering places you know well in a different way, thanks to the layer of experience you have gathered.
Year 2010 was the biggest break for me. I got my driving licence for a motorcycle to go to Georgia. With a heavily limited budget, I finally bought my beloved Suzuki DR800 and was travelling for a month in Balkan countries, through Turkey to Tbilisi in Georgia. And I knew this is it. The moment when you set up the tent and after 5 min it becomes your home in the middle of nowhere.
Try it
In today’s world you do need money to travel. Trips I take require decisiveness, moderate courage and time. The most difficult is to find the balance between work, family, social obligations and the moment you pack your backpack and close a door. Oh yes, and it’s good to have a bike too. All trips start in the same way - taking this first step - and then the adventure starts.
Find out more about Lukasz's passion (blog in Polish) on: 8kontynentow.wordpress.com/
