Cooperider around the world
Motorcycling to experience life abundantly
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I had seen him with a dog a few times. He’d grab a coffee, takes a table on the outside terrace overlooking Beirut and reads. What brings this European looking biker to Lebanon? These days and to this Starbucks in particular? What’s his story? I was intrigued.
This was as good a time as any. I approached him. The 5-min conversation became a 3-hour excursion, including coffee, Lebanese red wine, spaghetti bolognese, family, and friends. Ginger, our dog, and Cooper, his, “co-existed” during :-)!
He’s been fascinated with people who traveled, discovered new cultures, and saw raw nature at its best. The photos they shared shaped who he is today. Traveling is part of his raison d’etre. He wants to see the world and its people, to experience earth in its purity.
Motorbiking
In France, it was convenient to take the motorcycling test within five years of taking the one for cars. So, he did, without planning on buying one.
Little decisions can take our lives on a long, impactful, and unexpected trajectories.
When Julien’s parents saw his motorcycling license, they told him that “we don’t want to see you on one.” His mom, who works at the local hospital, has seen her share of biker casualties. His dad is a traveler, hiker, bicyclist, and at 60, continues to motorcycle. Biking kept creeping into his life as he traveled with his dad on three-wheeled scooters to 🇫🇷 France, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇪🇸Spain, 🇵🇹Portugal, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇳🇱 Amsterdam, and Corsica.
Time and bikes deepened the relationship with his father as they rode together for four consecutive years. He learned how to ride long distances on two wheels, to appreciate risks, the impact of fatigue, and understand his limits.
From a scooter at 22 to a BMW 1200 GS at 27. He never thought that his father would actually help him pick the bike, and with 2000 euros to his name, his mom helped him take a loan. She wanted to travel “with the boys” vicariously. Before having been in an…
