this is a special event that warrants a blog of its own. i finally met my idol...he's to me what britney spears is to lonely wankers. i was nervous for the whole day actually, anticipating what is gg to happen when i finally DO meet the man and what i was gg to say and stuff. As the day wore on, my spirits lifted as they never had before on a dreary monday.
the ride there was filled both with child like glee and trepidation. how was i to make conversation with a man who writes such brilliant journals on his rides? am i fit to even talk to him? M technik (an adventure bike shop) came round pretty quickly. That's where eris is preparing to strip down the bike to reach the rear shocks. looking around, i see no sign of the big man. (at least he looks big in his photo galleries.) a pretty excited eris told me murphy and him went for dinner downstairs at a kopitiam while he prepares his surgical tools for the strip down. i look on at the legendary bike. Fully touratech fitted fuel tank and the werks on the piece of german technology all crammed into the mass of metal bringing this lonely gentleman all the way from california till now in Singapore.
Soon after, a elderly chap called robin joined in asking us where the viking was. He claimed to be a huge fan, reading his journals from the beginning and like me, was filled with wonder at his choice of words in orchestrating a piece of literary magic. but it became soon evident that he was full really getting TOO excited and was practically brisk-walking when i led him to the coffee shop.
then, i caught a glimpse and then 2...and without a doubt, here was the giant that led us thru a journey we never set out from. sitting cross legged and mouthing a plate of duck rice, he gave firm handshakes and off robin went, tooting away on how he is a humongous fan blah blah blah.....i was introduced by murphy as the guy who introduced his webbie to the vara riders and a wide grin broke out from him. to be appreciated by my idol really feels very good indeed .the only other idol who grinned at me is my godzilla figurine.
indeed, he is exactly wat i envisioned. about 2m tall with a build of a body builder, wearing huge boots and slacks (from my fav brand as well, columbia trailwear) and as usual, the "guilty" t shirt. speaking as he wolfed down his second plate of duck meat, he talked about how beautiful singapore is. actually anything is beautiful if u have spent the last month riding and camoing in the borneo jungles attacked by aggressive mosquitoes and bogged by the heavy damp air of the jungle.
there was another caucasian at the table, nikolas. a balding chap with a thick german accent, i found out he was from greece, educated in germany and is a project director for starhub in implementing the digitisation of its cable services. he also happens to be the owner of the 1150 GS with the china flag proudly displayed on its beak. for the uninitialiated, it usually means that they have conquered that country if a flag is displayed on the bike. It also usually means that that is a dream that they have had ever since they were hooked on motorcycle touring.
for such a busy person to have the chance to go for such long trips, im amazed at how singaporeans go to handling expats. with too much respect and too much leave. anyway, i thought he had a blessed life. having rode from euope to north africa and toured much of europe, he has gone thru much of wat i can only dream of.
so he and robin started exchanging stories of laos, cambodia and thailand routes and roads. and i listened with pricked ears for bits of info which may prove to be helpful in the future. afterall, thats what i was there for. it's quite amazing what a similar hobby such as the love for the ride outdoors can do....a project director speaking abt his passion with a lab technician and a newly graduated student.
back at m-technik, eris was almost done and glen was amazed at how fast he stripped the bike. i really felt proud that eris was acknowledged and having heard glen described singapore in such glowing terms earlier, i felt the urge to stand up and sing majula singapura. eris hoped to be a BMW certified mechanic one day and a testimonial from a BMW sponsored guy could only help by leaps and bounds.
the meet couldn't have ended better. we took a couple of pictures and i had one with him and my bike...man, i really REALLY felt so damn happy.
anyway, he's also a pretty horny guy, staying up in a geylang hotel after spending a night at murphy's, but this all adds up to spicy reading on his journals about his romances. if thats the right word.
nothing could spoil this day man. not even taking the mrt back after depositing the bike at rosli's could wipe that smile off my face. wat a day!
life has only started after u start your trip....
more pics of him, me and my bike soon...
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