Global Kindness On Two Wheels

Ron 0:03

Without a doubt, my greatest privilege while working in a global corporation was collaborating with teammates from around the world. From the United States to India to Brazil throughout Europe. Early on, I realized that while the news and social media can often highlight our differences, the truth is that the world is filled with kind, compassionate people who care for their families and who love and value others. People from all walks of life who live lives with meaning and with heart. If you need proof, I have a fantastic interview for you today. Welcome back to the Peace Love Moto podcast. I'm your host, Ron Francis in Loveland, Colorado, and today we offer a powerful reminder of how a shared passion for motorcycles and the open road can unite us across cultures and continents. My guest today is Ahmed Wagih. Raised in Egypt and currently based in Vietnam, Wagih is a devoted motorcycle enthusiast with a genuine love for Harley Davidson's and a deep, compassionate spirit. Through authentic social media videos, which captured my attention, he spreads the sense of joy to riders and non-riders around the world. In this interview, we'll explore our global writing community, a memorable journey across the Pacific Coast Highway, and the adventure of building and riding a custom chopper through Ho Chi Minh City. And how traveling by motorcycle just highlights the inherent goodness in people everywhere. So, yeah, this is insightful. This is a lovely interview and a lovely conversation. And I'm so proud to get to share it with you. Thank you for joining me today. Stay tuned. Recorded in beautiful lovely colorado. Welcome to Peace LoveMoto, the podcast for motorcyclists seeking that peaceful, easy feeling as we cruise through this life together. Are you ready? Let's go.

Peace Love Moto And Today’s Guest

Ron 2:43

We are so much alike. Those of us who learned that motorcycling makes us happy. And once again, I have a guest today who represents exactly how I feel. We're on different parts of the planet, opposite sides of the planet, totally different backgrounds in so many ways, but we're so much alike. So, Wagih, thank you so much for being on the podcast today.

Ahmed Wagih 3:08

Thank you, Ron, for having me as well. Super excited. I was actually very surprised to see an invitation from you, and I was honored. And I said, you know what? I need to do it. I need to share my experience. And I listened to many of your podcasts, and I immediately related with them. You know, I felt that this guy speaks the same language that goes into my mind every time I swing a leg on two wheels.

Ron 3:31

Well, I felt exactly the same way. And if I'm not mistaken, I called you right away. But it was through through Instagram or maybe through Messenger. Yeah. Instagram. Yeah. And I was just so impressed with all of your videos, but one in particular that I want to circle back to. But I was just so impressed. I showed it to my wife. We were on the patio as we watched that. And I thought, not only do I need to have this gentleman on the podcast, I need to call him right now. So I did. And you answered the phone, and we had this great conversation. So just thank you, you know, in advance for making me very happy, lifting my spirits, and for what I've seen as evidence, too, that you're lifting the spirits of a lot of people out there.

Harley Love From Egypt To Vietnam

Ron 4:23

So if we may, if you would just fill in the the listening audience, where are you now? And maybe how did you get into the whole motorcycling thing?

Speaker 2 4:34

Sure. So first of all, I'm Egyptian 100%. So I believe I'm a descendant of the ancient Egyptians, the pharaohs. I believe they're their DNA is everywhere across my body. And I currently live and work in Vietnam. So an Egyptian in Vietnam who is a very big fan of motorcycling and especially Harley Davidson. I was just telling you, probably I'm I'm more into Harley Davidson than uh than the average American, despite the fact that I'm not American. So uh but we'll come to that. I'll I'll explain a bit more.

Ron 5:07

And for those who are listening, who I know are not viewing right now, behind you is a Harley Davidson sign. The employer.

Speaker 2 5:15

Absolutely. And if you go to my garage or or downstairs, you know, in the in the front yard, there's Harleys everywhere. Even on the on the front side of the house, there's a big sign of Harley. And every new neighbor that comes by, they think I work for Harley Davidson, but actually I have nothing to do with motorcycles in terms of business. So uh yeah. So let me tell you, how did I get into motorcycling? So I was actually studying in the US. I I came to the US in 2010 to do my master's at the University of Texas in Austin, the McComb School of Business, which is a great school, and I'm I'm I'm I'm indebted to them for all the great knowledge that they passed to me. And during the time that I was doing my master's over there, I was staying with a guy in his house, and he saw me, he saw me every other day going to pick up my grocery from Walmart every other day. And I had to go with a higher frequency per week because I have only two hands and I can carry two or three bags in each hand, and I didn't have you know a bicycle or a car or a motorcycle. So he told me one day, why don't you come with me to the garage? So I said, okay, I've seen enough American horror movies, but I think I'm gonna survive the day. You know, uh he he he can't mess with me, you know. I'm uh I'm an ancient, I have the DNA of the ancient Egyptians in me. So I went down with him to the garage. It was like I think 6:30, 7 p.m. So it was the sunset, and you know, he opened the garage, and I saw this bike covered with uh with uh with a white cloth, and then he took it off, and the dust started to, you know, flow in the in the air. And then I saw in front of me a fat boy, black 1996. And immediately I connected it, of course, with the movie with Terminator 2, and I started to connect the whole thing together. And he told me, Why don't you try and ride my father's motorcycle? I said, But I don't know how to ride. He told me, I'll teach you how to ride. Don't worry, it will take you, I don't know, a week or two, and then you'll be okay. I said, but I don't have a license. He said, I mean, half of the people living in Texas, with all the respect to them, they don't carry licenses, so it's okay, don't worry. We'll figure this out later. I mean, we'll figure this out later.

Ron 7:28

I can laugh because I'm from Texas originally.

Speaker 2 7:30

Yeah, okay, okay, okay, okay. No, but I know you're all good law-abiding citizens, guys. But uh, but this is the way he convinced me to get into it. So he taught me for a week, and to be honest, I was a bit intimidated at the beginning because you know, Harley Davidson's are heavy bikes, they're loud, and you know, I had to get used to that. But after a week, I remember I started to take the bike alone on the on the you know internal roads, and then I came very close to the freeway. And you know, I remember like I had like two or three minutes on the side before I get on the freeway, thinking, should I do it or not? Should I get on the freeway or not? Am I ready or not? And it was just a week since I started riding for the first time in my life, okay. Yeah, and I said, you know what? Let me go for it. You know, let me try. And if I'm not comfortable, I can just, you know, take uh take an exit. And I went on the freeway. And Ron, I'm telling you, something opened in my mind for the first time. Wow, there are areas in my brain that were not operational before I got onto the freeway. The moment I was on the freeway, riding at I don't remember, maybe 50, 60 miles per hour, something just unleashed inside me. And I started to see the world from a different perspective. Because I'm I I was used to seeing the freeway from behind glass, from inside a cage. And it was the first time that I'm seeing it from the outside, and and I can see everything in true color, in true HD color in front of me at speed. And since then I've been addicted. It's 15 or 16 years since I did this, and I'm still riding whenever I

Learning To Ride In Austin

Speaker 2 9:19

can. I make sure that I get on my bike and I ride, and it has to be a Harley Davidson, because since then I started to understand and to learn more about Harley Davidson, and I really related with the brand and with what it did over the last 123, 24 years since it was established.

Ron 9:38

You know, I uh I see your joy, uh, your wonder in the videos that you make and that that you share on Instagram and and others in other spaces. And that that's so cool that you share them in such a creative way. So what is your background also in regard to movie making or video making? Uh you're you're very, very good at it, very creative.

Speaker 2 10:06

Is that the marketing side? No, I mean, maybe there's a bit of marketing. So I'm I'm a pharmacist by training. I I work, I'm not gonna mention the company, but I work for the biggest beauty company in the world. And so I have nothing to do with filmmaking, I have nothing to do with motorcycles. I'm actually in the beauty business. So, but I taught myself. I taught myself how to edit and how to, and it's more how to pass what I feel to the people because that what got me into it. You know, like four or five years ago, I felt that what I feel, I cannot keep it to myself. You know, I I cannot keep this feeling because I felt people who don't ride, and I know that riding is not for everyone, but people who don't ride, I I feel they're unlucky. I feel we're the lucky bunch on earth because we get to feel that I don't know what other activity, sport, hobby, whatever you want to call it, gives the same feeling to anyone, consistent feeling, you know, across across a period of time. Because you can do things that can generate momentarily kind of orgasm, whatever you want to call it, but something that keeps exciting you, you know, for a period of time, be it two, three, four, five, six, seven hours over days. I've never seen something that can do that. So I wanted to share that with people, and I wanted people to understand what this means. Plus, I come from the Middle East, and uh motorcycling is when it's being used, it's used as a mode of transportation. It's not really used as a mode of uh or something for leisure. So I wanted to also create content in Arabic in order to pass you know this to them and also to introduce the Middle East to Harley Davidson. Because I believe that this brand is again beyond being American, it's a transversal brand. It's uh it's uh it's uh it's a brand that is for everyone in the world. And I wanted as well to pass this love that I have for the brand to people from the from the Middle East.

Turning Riding Joy Into Videos

Ron 12:02

Well, that that's wonderful. And the timing I think couldn't be better for your promotion of Harley Davidson, given the fact that this year is the 100th anniversary of Route 66 here in the United States. Yeah, I've ridden parts of Route 66 myself, uh very, very nostalgic. And I'm just so glad, too, that it's being it's these tiny little towns that are off the main freeways these days. And I'm so glad that they're being promoted and supported now, especially with this 100th year anniversary. And you're absolutely right. As I so I worked in a big international business for a long time. I I won't mention the name of the company, but its initials were IBM. So it would be indiscreet for me to mention the name of the company. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe initials. And I had the privilege of working with so many international people who were colleagues and became friends too. And over and over I would hear them say, Oh, it is my hope, it's my dream to ride a Harley Davidson across the United States on Route 66 to see that. And it it I get it. I can't agree more.

Speaker 2 13:13

I can't agree more. You know, I've ridden on so many roads around the world, and I always ride a Harley, so I figure out a way to rent a Harley wherever I go. And I can tell you that there is no place for me like the Midwest of the US. With all my respect to all the other states, they're all great, and there are so there's so many amazing roads, you know, on the east, on the west coast, on the southern states, on the northern states, but the Midwest is just out of this world. And I believe that if Harley should be ridden on any roads, it should be the Midwest, yeah, in my view.

Ron 13:46

Yeah, absolutely agree. So I'm retired now, which gives me more time, more freedom to go when I want to go and uh praise God literally that I married a woman who now for 40 years who lets me go. She knows she knows it's good for my heart. You're lucky and privileged.

Speaker 2 14:04

I am I would love to know her one day.

Ron 14:06

Yes, oh absolutely.

Speaker 2 14:08

And get her to speak to my wife. She's also great, but you know, sometimes she's a bit resistant to what I do. But I would love for her to give her some advice. Let's let's plan on that.

Ron 14:17

Yeah, I'd love to have this dual conversation. That that would be an interesting interview, too, with our wives. I never thought of that. That's a great idea. But I guess where I was going with this is that, for example, have you had it? Have you had the opportunity to ride through what we call monument valley here in the United States? One time, yes. Yeah, oh man, to me, too. The the remoteness of that. Gosh, how do I well, you know what I'm talking about? I'm sure hopefully our listeners do too. It's just undescribable this openness, this vastness, and then these rock formations, mountain formations in all directions that are so amazingly weird. I remember when I was riding root riding down through Monuma Valley and on a particular road where I saw some other motorcyclists pull, I mean the middle of nowhere. They were pulled off to the side of the road, and there was actually a little pull-out there, and they were taking pictures. So I stopped and just to see if I could take a picture with them. And it was Forrest Gump Point from the movie where Forrest Gump is is walking or jogging. Yeah, I know, I can't. It's just not it's right there. And oh, there's just so many wonderful things about that, too. But just getting out in those and you know what?

Speaker 2 15:36

Just just you know, relating to what you just said, I think for me, one of the most uh pleasurable moments within the trip or any kind of road trip is the people that you meet on the road, and especially the ones on two wheels. I mean, there is a connection that cannot be explained. No matter who they are, no matter what they are writing, any kind of brand, not just Harley's, in the US or in any other country, there is a connection that happens immediately. I don't know, there are so many explanations for this connection. You know, they say, okay, we share the same risk, we share the same love, we we we we know the feeling that we get, and we appreciate the fact that others, you know, have the same feeling when they when they get onto. I mean, there are so many reasons, but this connection I believe is super sacred, and and it connects people from all around the world, even if they don't speak the same language. I've met so many people that I could not understand a single word of what they're saying, and they could not understand a single word of what I was saying, but we just you know kept on you know exchanging gestures, hand gestures with each other and showing love for for each other's bikes. And we didn't speak a word.

Ron 16:43

Yeah. Wagih, you have hit on exactly what the purpose of this podcast

The Sacred Bond Between Riders

Ron 16:47

is. Uh it has evolved a little bit, but not too much. Peace, peace of mind that you and I know very, very well that we gain from riding a motorcycle for whatever happens in our head and our heart. Love, two parts of that loving ourselves, taking care of ourselves, realizing that it's good for us, it's good for our families if we go out and we have this experience of relaxation. It's good for us. The other half of love, though, is loving, showing love in some way for other people. And that's, my friend, that's what I just from watching your Instagram videos, that's what I captured from you is that you genuinely have a love for other people. As you mentioned, it's just so easy for us. We're we're we're we're lucky, it's just so easy for us having this commonality of getting on and off a motorcycle, and others are too, that it makes that conversation start or helps that conversation start. But that's what I appreciate in you, my friend. I I see it. You genuinely have a love and care for other people. So where did that come from? Is it were you brought up that way? Is that the way your parents were or siblings, or just society that you grew up in? How did you learn to be, instead of just faced inward all the time, wondering about what's going to make me happy next? How did you how did you come to realize that, you know what, part of making me happy is making you happy? That's what I see. And I don't want to put words in your mouth.

Speaker 2 18:19

No one has asked me this question before, so I'm trying to, you know, dig deep to to get an answer. But it the one thing that comes to my mind is that you know, being Egyptian is, and you know, my my country is not the easiest country to live in, given the economical strains that the country faces from time to time, and the geopolitical tensions that are all around the country, and the very big population. So we are roughly 120 million living on five percent of a thousand kilometers square, which is in miles, I don't know, or in foot. Difficult for me to do the the the conversion, the uh the the imperial, but but I I think Egypt probably is the size of um maybe California, I guess. So so we live on five percent of the of the of the country because we live around the river Nile. So the competition is extremely high, and we tend to you know to fight for what we want and what we need as a start, and family is super important. So when you have such kind of communities, family it becomes paramount, and I'm very connected to to my family and to my greater family, and I was told from the very early years to engage and to exchange and to listen and to talk to people very openly on the streets, and this uh makes you a bit more competitive because you need to build a network when you're living in such communities or such societies. So I believe the fact that I was very connected to the people and I was very open, and I was raised in a family that really encouraged this kind of exchange and participation and you know, uh out of this will to create this network, you know, and to be a bit more competitive. I think that's this is this is part of it. This is one. Two, I think it's also genetics in nature, you know. I'm just I'm naturally and an extrovert. I like to connect, and I'm also a very introvert, you know. I I I prefer to go on solo riding for five or six days, you know, for 10, 11 hours in the saddle without you know having anyone to to support me. And I always talk about this on my videos that when you're alone, you're depending on yourself, you're taking care of yourself, you're focusing on yourself, you have no one to count on except yourself. So uh I have this mix, you know. So when I'm with people, I'm I I exaggerate my extrovert side and I try to connect with the people. And when I'm alone, I exaggerate my introvert part that gets me to uh to you know to enjoy myself and to know myself better.

Ron 20:49

Yes. We have to be related somehow. I feel you you stated it so well. I I feel exactly the same way. I can turn off turn on the extrovert, maybe now I can turn that on, but so often I ride by myself a great majority of the time. I love to go and meet a stranger at a coffee shop and just just or or just stop in the middle of the forest or in the middle of a mountain scene or whatever and just say, look at this to myself. Maybe I'm saying it to God too, but look at this. This is this is we're so much alike there.

Early Riders Club And Riding Is Life

Ron 21:25

We I mentioned this before we started recording, but the of uh of all the videos that I saw on your Instagram, it was the video where you're interviewing these older gentlemen.

Speaker 2 21:39

And you just early writers.

Ron 21:42

Yes. That that's what that's what made my heart in my head explode. Where it I decided I have to meet this gentleman, you. I have to meet you. And I was so enthusiastic, I just called you right then, right off, right off of you answered the phone and we talked. Would you mind describing that video? And as you mentioned before, how it exploded and why?

Speaker 2 22:08

Sure. So I every year I try to dedicate one week, which I get as a I don't know how you call it, a green pass or whatever it is from my wife to take this one week for myself. So I usually and I always do it in the US. And I choose, you know, a route and I say, okay, I'm gonna go into this direction, I'm gonna land in this airport, and I'm gonna fly out from this airport, and I'm gonna take a bike from here and I'm gonna end up there. What am I gonna do in between? You know, somehow I know, but I don't know. I don't even book any kind of hotels or any kind of motels. I just keep on riding until I'm tired, and then I go into Airbnb or whatever, and I try to search for a place to stay in. And I've been doing this for so many years. And sometimes I take a guy, someone with me, and sometimes I go, I go alone. So last June I had two guys who were supposed to join me, and then they decided to pull out last minute. So I said, you know what? I'm still gonna go. I've been doing it. I I'm um I've booked, I've planned, you know, over all my my time. So I'm I'm gonna go. And I went, and this was the end of June. So I landed in LA and I decided to do a full California loop. You know, I wanted to do, you know, Sequoia, and then I did uh Highway 395, and then I did Yosemite, went to San Francisco, and then down the Pacific Highway, which for me was now is ranked maybe number one or number two in terms of the best roads I've ever taken in my uh in my life. And after I did my five days of you know, of this loop, I stopped over at Neptune's Net, which is, I believe, one of the most iconic stops along the Pacific Highway. And I was there, you know, having my lunch. And then I saw these older gentlemen as I believe they're young, you know, they're young at heart. They may be old in terms of age, but definitely, definitely younger than me and you, I can assure you. So I saw them come with their bikes. They were four guys, and one of the bikes was quite surprising because it felt like it's a bike from another planet, not from ours, because it had parts from everywhere. You know, it looked like a shovel head, but it didn't have a shovel engine. It had an Evo engine, it had a what you call it, a uh a tour pack that was cut and burned and melted with a swept-up fishtail exhaust that was going through the side of the of the tour pack, and it had an odometer that was not connected to the bike, but was actually taken or a speedometer that was taken from an aircraft that has a nozzle. And this nozzle, uh, you know, the air goes through and then it calculates or it measures the difference between the dynamic air and the static air, and it somehow moves the needle and tells you the speed. So it came off an aircraft.

Speaker 24:48

That's so creative.

Speaker 2 24:50

This bike unbelievable, you know. And I looked at it, and then the guy who owns the bike, he's he's one of these bunch, and he looked at me and he said, You know who built this bike? I said, Who? He said, A friend of mine, it's not me. It was very honest, you know. And he told me this bike went to Sturgis more than most of the people that are around here. Said, okay, tell me more. I'm interested. And then he started to tell me more about their club, and they all came together and they started to tell me about the Early Riders Club, which is one of the oldest clubs in California, and actually the most senior member of this club is 93 years old today, and still riding, still riding up till today. 93 years.

Speaker 25:34

That's called I'm writing it down. Early riders. Oh my goodness. The early riders, yes.

Speaker 2 25:41

So, and then you know, the way that they were talking and the way they started to make jokes about their trips to Sturgis and their trips around California. I said, you know what? I need to know why these people still ride till today. Because as you said, exactly, I looked at them and I said, if I'm like them by their age, I will be the luckiest person on earth by far. I am lucky, I am happy to leave this world, you know, having completed my mission and have done good for my family and for myself. So I said, you know what? I need to ask them. And this is when I took my mic, my microphone out and I said, you know, guys, Robert, Patrick, Tom, Ron. I told him, guys, I need to ask you, why do you write? And the first Robert was the first guy, and I think he's the one that really resonated with uh with many of the people who viewed the video. He said, writing is life. This was his first word.

Speaker 26:42

Yeah.

Speaker 2 26:43

And I said, you know what? I've never thought about it in that way. Writing is absolutely life. And I started to later on, you know, when I watched the video, because I watched it, I don't know, maybe 50, 60, 70 times on the airplane. I was editing this video on the plane on my way back to Hu Chiman, you know, from LA, because I landed in LA and I was flying back to Hu Chiman. I was editing the video on the plane, connected to the internet of the airplane, which is a very weak internet, and most of the apps that I use need internet. And I was struggling to do the editing, but I was enjoying it because I kept on watching it, you know, more and more. And when I thought about it, riding is life. Absolutely. You know, if you do not plan your life properly, it could end up being a very miserable life, just like riding. If you don't choose your company when you're riding, be it the motorcycle that you will ride, be it the people that are going to be riding with you, it's gonna be a miserable life or a miserable ride. If you choose them properly, it could be the most amazing life, it could be the most amazing ride. In life, you don't know what's coming your way. You have to anticipate. Everything is unpredictable in life. And this is exactly what riding is. And I believe that as riders, we tend to accept what happens in life because we are used to dealing with, you know, ad hoc changes across the road. Something will pop up, you know, uh, some sand, some gravel, uh, a car that will pull out or pull over, you know, in front of you, and you will need to react to it. This is life. This is life. It cannot be more illustrative of what riding is. And that was the first word that he said. And then the second guy, and and then one more thing he said, he said, if there is something wrong with me, and if I'm on the bike, nothing would be wrong with me because nothing is wrong with the bike. Yeah, and that's exactly what happens. You know, we might have the heaviest uh, you know, complexities and struggles in our hearts, but once you get on the bike, which is a very a very honest machine, you know, a very honest machine. If you take care of it before you swing your legs on it, and if you ride it properly, it will treat you properly. And it's it's absolutely right. Once you're on the bike, nothing is wrong with you. It just it disappears, it goes away. And then the second guy said riding is a freedom for him. And he said it in a way that was so genuine because I can tell you riding is freedom, but you won't feel it in the same way. But if you see him saying it and you hear him saying it, it's coming out of years of riding on the open road. It's something that he believes in to the bone, you know. I think every cell in his bone marrow believes in freedom come coming out of riding a motorcycle. And the third said, wind into my hair, and he has a very big beard.

Speaker 29:43

Uh-huh.

Speaker 2 29:45

So, you know, when I was looking at him, it's just it's so genuine, you know. It's air, and the guy has a has a lot of hair, you know. So, of course, I don't have hair. I'm a bold guy, so if if you're gonna be posting a picture, people will see it. So I I I I couldn't relate with the hair part, but I related with the wind coming into your uh into your face. But I saw him and I saw how he described it and how he said it, and I immediately connected. And the last guy, Chris, who owns the the the chick magnet, he calls it the chick magnet, which is the the the shovel evil, you know, bike that comes from from different places. He called it, he calls it the chick magnet. I think it was on Easy Rider on the magazine. It was uh it was named by them as the chick magnet, that's what he said.

Speaker 30:34

Uh-huh.

Speaker 2 30:34

So he was the last guy, and I told him why do you ride? And he said one word. He said, fun. Yeah. Yeah. And coming up from someone who's in his late 70s or early 80s and still saying fun was just I don't know how to explain it, you know. It just it it it's like two wires connected between him, his heart, and my heart. And then they took me, they told me, you know what? We want to take you on a ride. Where are you going? I said, I'm going to the two lane live. I have an interview with them. They're they're having me on their podcast. Yes, I watched that by the way. I love their podcast. Yes, Galen Alans. So they knew that I was in in LA. They called me Galen and told me, You want to be on the show? I said, Yes, I would love to. I would love to. And they were very nice to have me. And I said to the guys, I'm leaving from here and heading to Kanoga Park in Cali in LA. This is where their headquarters is. So they told me, you know what? We want to take you over there. So we're going to take you for a ride through the snake, and then we'll head over there. And they took me on the ride. And I can tell you, and I will keep on saying it, this is the best ride I've ever had by far. Oh, not the no, I mean, I had better roads, but I'm saying that it's the combination of the road, them, and what they told me at Neptune's net. This whole combination just took me into a nirvana. I I was I was over the clouds, you know, and and I saw Chris on his check magnet riding next to me and behind me. And I got it on camera on my Insta360, and I posted it. You can go back and see it as well. He was like uh, I don't know, he was like a seven, eight year old, you know, riding his bicycle. Yeah. Happiness in its absolute and purest form. Purest form. And and this made me, you know, and I was sometimes when you when you're in social media and you're posting, you ask yourself, you know, are you doing good? Are you really sharing genuine stuff? Are you really, or is it just because you want to show off sometimes? Because, you know, things, you know, I'm I'm gonna be honest, not everything is pure, you know. Sometimes you get these feelings that come through, you know, that are not pure. But then after I did and I posted this video, I felt, you know what, I need to continue doing this because this is pure, this is genuine, this is authentic, this is helping the community, you know, to believe in what we love and what we we dedicate our time to when we can.

Escaping Doomscrolling With Two Wheels

Ron 33:11

And would you agree that there's such a need for that now? The need for community, the need for things that are real, as opposed to uh just everyone glued through their phone and watching the news and watching the news updates and what's the next horrible thing that's happening, or people can go down all sorts of different paths when they are disconnecting themselves from the rest of the world. But I I feel that the message that you're relaying is what I try to relay to is as well is that I made myself a note here. It made me thinking back to a quote from Mark Twain, the writer from so many years ago, and he talks about how travel, in any sense, really, travel is fatal to bigotry and narrow-mindedness, that it opens us up to realize that the people around us, so many people around us, when you get past hello or get to hello and how are you? Why do you ride like you experienced there? You learn that, oh my goodness, there are wonderful, wonderful people all around us. And not only that, but the privilege that we have to experience that community through what we love to do through motorcycling. But I I always circle back to my experience as a tour guide in the national park, too, having the opportunity to be out in nature, to feel the heat, to feel the cold, to feel the crosswinds, and then then to stop and to realize that like Monument Valley, wow, look at this. This is this is HD.

Speaker 2 34:55

Yeah, I agree with you. I agree with you. And and you know what? I mean, uh being glued to the phone is something that is difficult for you to let go because today life is almost revolving around your phone. Anything that you want to do, you have to use your phone. And when you're on two wheels, there's no way for you to use your phone, except maybe you know, to reroute uh your navigation or to choose a different, you know, song, but you cannot do it for more than a few seconds. You cannot eat, you cannot drink, you cannot do anything but focus on the road.

Ron 35:28

Right.

Speaker 2 35:29

And and for me, this is a great way to force yourself and to to discipline yourself, you know, to stay away from your phone and to focus on something and to give your time to something that will bring life into you. I'll I'll tell you something. You know, today I was, you know, I have a I have a I have a chopper that I built over the last six months. It's uh it's a poster XL 1200 that I bought over here in Vietnam. By the way, I've been in Vietnam for a year and I already have three Harleys. So my wife told me this is the end of it, you know, there are no more bikes coming into the garage. So I'm trying to control myself. And I'm here for a certain period of time. I'm not living here forever. So, but uh, but I always try to live to the max wherever I go. So, what I did is I took this bike, I transformed it into a chopper, and I I I fabricated everything over here. I worked on it with my mechanics. So, you know, I I do a few things in my garage, I mess it up and then I send it to him to thank. He fixes it, he brings it back, and I we keep on exchanging, you know, until it got to where it is. And I was riding it on the road today in Ho Chi Minh. And Ho Chi Minh is a very, very busy city. It's full of motorcycles, but very small motorcycles, 125, 150cc, more of scooters, I would say. So for me to ride this chopper in the streets of Ho Chi Minh, I look like uh, you know, a complete outlier. But then I I was I was on the bike and I felt you know my back was hurting. And then after a bit, my brain was going to explode because I felt a lot of headache because of the you know the rumbling sound of the of the evil engine, and I had a I had a swept-up fishtail exhaust that is very close to my ears. Oh so super loud uh for me, although I've put a silencer in it in order to reduce the sound because I have neighbors that are not always happy with my Harleys. So I try to pay respect to them. And I was telling myself, if I'm in that much pain, why do I love this bike? And I said, you know, it's a it's a sadistic love. You know, the more it gives me pain, actually, the more I love it. And and I was on the road and I was telling myself, you know what? Every moment I'm on this bike, I'm alive. Yeah, every moment. And I called this bike '84. You know, Harley Davidson, they had their 72, they call it the 72. They launched it, I think, in the in the in 2016, 17, something like this, 15, 16. It was called the 72. So I called mine the 84. And I did exactly the same logo, but with 84, because that's the year I was born, 1984. So I called it 84, my 84. And I felt that this is my life. You know, life is full of struggles and toughness, and things are not always going your way. And there are a lot of nuisances and things that annoy you from from time to time throughout the day, but you still have to enjoy life and love it. And this is the way I feel alive. This is the way I enjoy it. It doesn't mean that I don't enjoy my other bikes. You know, I have a touring bike, I have an adventure bike, and I love riding them. But this is the thing that brings a bit of spice into my into my life.

Invitations Final Message And Next Steps

Ron 38:31

Yeah, yeah. I I gotta tell you, Waggie, I'm just I'm making a whole bunch of notes here. But over and over again, the thing that keeps coming back to my mind is that I am so honored to be in a community where I can meet people like you because it's so encouraging. I just like everybody else, probably in the world, I started off my morning with my cup of coffee out on the back porch. And too, too early in my day did I start looking at the news. And it's like, oh no, oh no. Again and again and again. Oh man. And they I know the algorithms get me. I mean, I used to work, you know, in IT and learned a little bit about AI and stuff and algorithms and things like that, and they were getting me. They were getting me. And now I feel so much better, my friends.

unknown 39:18

I do.

Ron 39:20

And I will be getting out on my bike shortly. I know we have life still has good people. Oh, it does, it does. And here's the thing is that we've we're finally getting some moisture, we're finally getting some storms that are coming through, which we've needed desperately here in the western part of the United States. And my friend, I'm gonna go ride through them. I rode through them yesterday. When I see a wall of water, some people will will want to, oh, we better get out of this. Not me. Not me. I'm going on the road. I'm gonna ride I want to find trouble. I'm I'm looking for trouble. Because it's just it's just this this wonderful feeling. I mean, I've got the right gear for it. I will be dry. Hopefully, it won't hail or whatever. But it it's just this, it's just this brotherhood, sisterhood that I'm just so proud to be a part of, to be able to meet and have this conversation with you at the at this level that we have today. And oh, I'm just I'm grateful for technology because it has brought us together today.

Speaker 2 40:21

So I exactly, exactly, exactly. I mean, we would have never met, we would have never exchanged or engaged if it was not for two wheels, if it was not for motorcycles, for sure.

Ron 40:31

Most certainly. Yeah, and it's just so helpful. It just made this conversation. I've had no notes about what I wanted to talk with you about, really, other than to start off saying thank you. And I believe that we're very much on the same page as far as life, as far as the love of motorcycling, of the love of nature, love of humanity. I'm just so grateful to have met you. So thank you so much.

Speaker 2 40:57

Adam, I'm I'm giving you an open invitation to visit Vietnam. I have three bikes, and I would love to lend you one, and we can go on a ride. So this is an official and an open invitation. Whenever you decide to make it, let me know, and we're gonna organize something amazing for you over here.

Ron 41:14

I would love that. And the same invitation for you. My wife and I are empty nesters. We don't have kids at home anymore. Our children and our grandchildren live somewhere else, which is so we're blessed with those for sure, but we're also blessed with an empty house. So we live very close to Rocky Mountain National Park and the West and so forth. So open invitation to you as well. I've got a couple of bikes in the in the garage, as well as a membership that I was actually given through uh Eagle Rider for motorcycle rentals. So Harley's everything that I need to be taking advantage of. So open invitation there too. But as we as we begin to wrap up again, I can't thank you enough, Wagih, for this very, very encouraging, very happy conversation that we've had. And would you like to uh close our time together by with a message for the guests that are listening? Anything that you'd like to relay?

Speaker 2 42:11

I'll I'll I'll take this opportunity to speak because I think most of your audience are Americans, I assume, or the majority of yours. So I want to tell them that outside the US, there are people that you know love motorcycles and they love Harley Davidson, which is a hundred percent American brand, but I believe that it goes beyond the US and that the world is not all dark. You know, there are there is goodness in this world, and there are people, and people's needs are always the same across the whole world. You know, people want good food, uh good shelter, good education for their kids and for the for the people around them, a safe place to live in, and you know, a place where they can express themselves in the way that they want. And we, me and you, we chose to express ourselves through motorcycles. So I want to tell them that really the world has good people. And if you travel the world and if you go beyond the borders of the US, you will see that there are people that are are good and and they want good for this for this world. And don't be, you know, mocked by or disused or or deceived by what you see in the news, because the news will choose what to highlight and what not to highlight. But you know, explore the world, go and see it, and and you will understand what I'm what I'm saying. And that's what I do every time I come to the US. Every time I go to France, to Belgium, to Germany, to China, to Australia, to Japan, I go and I get onto my two wheels and I ride and I speak to people. And the more I do that, I realize that people are the same. People have the same needs, they have the same urgencies in life, and they aim for the same. Um, and whenever I see someone on two wheels, the connection is there. So I feel that I'm even a hundred times more connected. And if they're on a Harley, I'm like, I don't know, a thousand times more connected.

Speaker 44:01

Yeah.

Ron 44:06

This, my friends, is how I stay encouraged in this crazy world of ours. I can be reminded through a conversation around motorcycling that there are good, good people in the world who share the same love and passions as we do. Maybe that's the solution, right? Maybe if we can get all the world leaders together to go for a motorcycle ride and go for a ride somewhere where they can just have a conversation, see Mother Nature, and maybe have a discussion and come to some agreements over a cup of coffee. That should work, I'm sure of it. Oh well, we'll keep hoping, right? Again, my thanks to my new friend Ahmed Wagih. And you've got to check out his Instagram account for some amazing videos and wonderful interviews. I'll have a link to that info in the show notes. Hey, if this message resonates with you today, do me a favor and share this episode with a friend, a writing buddy, or someone who might be navigating a rough road right now. I think that this could be quite encouraging. Hey, and if you have a minute to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, that really helps us to reach more writers in the community. Hey, once again, I want to thank my friends at Viking Bags for their product support for this podcast. And if you too would like to be a supporter, I've got info about how to do that if you'd like to. But until next time, write easy, ride present. Have a great day, and I hope to see you out there. Peace.