A TIMELESS FUTURE | THE STORY OF LUCA

I've always been charmed by motorcycle adventures, but initially I couldn't really acknowledge it. As a kid, I was too busy hanging out with my friends to be able to focus on my dreams. However, I remember clearly the exact moment when the motorbike entered my life! 

It was a Thursday afternoon. An acquaintance asked me if I wanted to go to a motorcycle show with him the following day. I liked the idea. It was a good opportunity to get to know him better and a change in my everyday routine. The next morning, after quite an odyssey because of delays and missed busses, we finally stood at the entry of the show. It was probably the first time I had ever gone to an event by myself, without it being organized by the school. I remember an incredible crowd of people at the Harley Davidson stand - long haired guys holding their beers… and I still remember the sport bikes stands full of colorful motorcycles displaying aggressive lines and beast-like engines hidden behind the fairings. That was it! The "mania for motorcycles" had struck me too and, in fact, that same night I dreamed of racing on a sparkling yellow motorcycle. Shortly after, I bought a fourth-hand motorbike, my very first bike, and ever since - I still don't know how - all my interests and savings have been channeled into the two wheels. 

For a few years, I had been riding only sport bikes, until a motorcycle accident changed my life forever. After spending a long time in a hospital bed and having lost my left leg, I realized that, in spite of everything, my passion had saved my life. It was giving me the right motivation to build a new life. “How come?,” you may wonder. You see, bike trips put you in touch with the world and give you a strong sensation of freedom. The road, the heat, the cold, the rain... you experience all that  first hand. And these things get inside you and create an experience that I’d call genuine. When you're deep down the abyss, the authentic things are the only ones that matter. 

That's when I finally realized how much that adventurous side in myself was starting to grow. The displacement of the motorbike or its aesthetics didn’t matter so much any longer. It was time to move to moto-touring and off-roading. In the last two years, following the amputation, I have increasingly met my need for true adventures - ranging from shorter trips to those to the North Cape, Tunisia, and the Philippines - to end up with a solidarity trip during this past nonsensical 2020. I am writing these few lines upon concluding this latest adventure in Africa, put in place to help amputated people in African countries walk again. 

I have come to realize that I was born on the "right side of the world", and this understanding has reversed my priorities. Now, I know that the motorcycles can give much more than what they seem and, if used to convey the right messages, they can be an incredible symbol of solidarity and hope for the future.