Can two total Instagram strangers become best riding friends? Add to this the fact that one is a woman and another is a man and top it up by mentioning that they don’t live in the same country.
The short answer is yes and despite all odds and crazy shit happening when people meet online this friendship proves that adventure motorbike riders are something else, regardless of their background, creed, age and distance.
When I liked a cow story Lisa shared in April 2021 I would have never imagined that after a year (covid, sickness, money issues, among other things) we were going to spend 10 days riding in the Pyrenees.
My original plan was to take her on easy trails around Catalonia to show her the best views and nature this region has to offer for any adventure motorcycle rider. However, since it was around May I knew there was going to be some snow up in certain mountains in the Pyrenees so I had planned another trails. Like I previously said, Catalonia alone has more trails than you could ever imagine.
Riding Skills
One of my biggest worries before she arrived was her riding skills, but soon I would find out that this woman who had got her CRF300Rally before getting her riding licence , was more than capable of riding most trails, and on top of this I noticed that she didn’t mind riding on a harder trail.
Sure she dropped her bike, but so did I and who doesn’t drop a bike when going on long distance adventure riding?
I must say that despite not having previous experience riding her motorbike she had the advantage because she had to ride from Germany to Italy to catch the ferry. Sure, it was asphalt but it counts. On other hand, she used to ride downhills with her mountain bike, and that experience and skills were transferred to her motorbike riding.
I’m not going to hide the fact that she is a much better downhill rider than I am, it’s a fact.
Communication
Most adventure riders I’ve met in my life are very easy going people and conflict is almost non-existence. We normally stop, enjoy the views, the animals, the rivers, sunsets and skyline on a clear night. Despite not having an intercom we never felt the need to use one. When we stopped we would talk, laugh, laugh a bit more, eat, debate about life or even have a nap, because why not.
And at night when we were not riding it would be exactly the same, effortless and long conversations about various topics but be sure that motorbikes were in most cases part of the topic.
Obstacles
When you’re riding off-road you count with one another and this was put to test the very third day when we decided to take one of the easiest trails in the Pyrenees. Unfortunately, there was some snow left and a section of the Pyrenees which can be normally done in two hours ended up taking seven hours. This was a big challenge for her because she had never done it and also because she thought her tyres would not help. But that’s the good thing when you ride with another person, because this other rider can give you the extra push and confidence to push through the hardest obstacles you could have ever imagined.
To have fear is normal, it’s a self-defence mechanism but when you’re told you can do it, it’s because you can do it. I’d learnt in the past from my other riding friends, some of them have amazing riding skills and whenever we go together if one cannot make it, that one guy encourages the other one or the group to push through and keep riding and eventually we all make it through. With Lisa this was not different.
Friends forever?
Yes, when you ride with someone for 10 days, you sleep out in the wild, you face crazy obstacles, you become best friends, it doesn’t matter the distance.
Would I do the same with a dude?
Yes, why not? I always invite people to come over and ride with me here in Catalonia. I’m lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth to ride off-road. On other hand, not having a family also gives me the opportunity and flexibility most people don’t have to go out and ride. I have already invited many people but for one reason or another it has only been Lisa who has come and rode with me but it does not mean she’ll be the one and only. I really enjoy meeting and riding with people from all around the world because that’s how I grow as a human being and a rider.