31 May 2006
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Gold Member, Contributing Vendor
Veteran HUBBer
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
Posts: 181
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16 countries, 1 bike to expand healthcare access to the Bottom of the Pyramid
This is not a story of heroic acts, but a story of personal struggles to fulfill a dream. This is the story of a young man that decided to abandon it all and decided to follow his heart, to ride his BMW and to live a dream.
My dream was to explore the Latin America on a motorcycle and develop a deep understanding of the healthcare systems of the region. I want to use this experience to set up an organization that would increase healthcare access to those the needed the most – the poor.
The Rider
I was born in 1980 in Florence, Italy - the birth place of the Renaissance. At the age of four I moved with my family to Nicaragua, a country that was undergoing the Sandinista revolution.
For the next few years we traveled and lived between Italy and Nicaragua. It was then that I developed my love for traveling and different cultures. Most importantly it helped me to see the injustice and struggle that poor people face.
At the age of 13 I started illegally riding my sister’s scooter around the narrow streets of Florence. The next year I made the Italian National Rowing team. The following years were filled with Italian Championships, numerous national and regional races, wining important international races and participating in the World Rowing Championship.
I gave up rowing to dedicate more time to my studies. In 2002 I graduated cum laude and several honors with a bachelor of science in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. Then I pursued a master’s degree in business and biotechnology, which allowed me to secure a job after graduation and become a published author in the scientific journal, Nature.
At the age of 24 I started working for a pharmaceutical consulting company. I had a big office overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Orange County, California working for Fortune 100 clients.
Two years later, all that would change and I would find myself negotiating room rates in run-down hotels or trying to find a safe place to pitch my tent with no income and debt collectors calling me. Along the way I found amazing people that made all the sacrifices worthwhile.
The Concept
The idea of the trip took shape in college after coming across the book The Motorcycle Diaries of Ernesto Che Guevara. His story combined my passion for healthcare, traveling and motorcycles.
The idea would ferment in the back of my head for five years. Finally, I was able to finance a used 2005 F650GS Dakar. I knew that would be the motorcycle that would take me around Latin America, but I didn’t know when the trip would happen.
Since I had little experience riding a big motorcycle on dirt I signed up for a three-day off-road riding course. During the course, I met four riders planning to ride from Alaska to Argentina the following year. It felt like destiny to meet these riders who had plans to ride in the exact place I wanted to go. At the end of the course I returned to work and I asked my boss if it was possible a four months unpaid leave to join the other riders. They thought I was crazy, but they liked the idea. Unfortunately a few months later the four riders all backed out - the trip was postponed!
At first I felt disappointed, then sadness that I wouldn’t do the trip and then I got angry that everything was postponed. The anger turned into courage and I decided to go alone. This time it would be my ride, a solo adventure, a journey for healthcare access!
Healthcare Needs
Since the day I realized that I would travel alone I started researching the healthcare situation in Latin America. I found was nothing new to me but provided hard numbers of the current situation. Studies conducted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization have shown that in Latin America between 20% and 77% of the general population does not have access to medical care, and that on average 78% do not have any form of health insurance. In global terms, around 30% of the total population of Latin America and the Caribbean (166 million people) is partially or totally excluded from access to health goods and services.
The goal was to better understand the current barriers to access across Latin America and to analyze the array of public, private and social sector solutions both in Latin America and other developing nations that can best address the problem. Based on this analysis, a business plan would be produced that incorporates the best innovations from different initiatives to outline the model for a self-sustaining organization that distributes product to the rural and neglected areas. The ultimate goal would be to establish a multinational organization that expands healthcare access to those who need it the most - the poor.
Preparations
The longest trip I had ever done on a two-wheeled vehicle was a few years earlier when I borrowed my friend’s 150cc scooter and I spent a week traveling around Tuscany with my girlfriend at the time. All we had was two back packs, some money and a bottle of water. I knew that I would need a lot more than that to travel around Latin America but I had no idea what.
The biggest challenge was that I had no money saved up for the trip and only eight months to find it. Early on I realized that the trip would last until the money ran out and throughout the trip I would have to continuously find additional funding. I started learning about programming and set up an online journal that I would use to raise money. I applied for new credit cards and applied for a loan.
I purchased a Garmin GPS with WorldMap and I started mapping out a possible route that would cross all the countries. The route was not based on travel guides but a route that avoided major cities and would allow me to see rural communities where I was hoping to find the greatest healthcare needs.
I stated researching motorcyclist travel blogs and reading books of motorcycle travelers. I made a list of all the things I thought I needed and discussed it with other motorcyclists. Everyone had different theories on what is needed and what is not and what you should do. Then there were so many brands for the same product all claiming to be the best on the market, each with unique features. Researching the gear to take on this trip turned out to be more complicated than I had ever though.
Planning the healthcare research, meeting with old professors and talking with other researchers, reviewing published literature and contacting healthcare organizations was tedious and time consuming. When I had a rough research plan and a rough route I realized that to accomplish all my goals would require at least two years on the road and more money than I could ever find. Everyone recommended that I should depart at a later date, organized my self better and save more money.
In February I put my work resignation for August. When June was around the corner I pulled the trigger, I received the new credit cards and used them to purchase all the gear that I had researched. I didn’t have cash so I decided to sell everything that could not fit on the motorcycle. At the beginning of July, three weeks before departure the bank turned me down on the loan.
By then, I had received most of my gear and I decided to do one last a weekend ride into Mexico to test the new gear, get used to driving with a fully loaded bike and get an idea of what military checkpoints and border crossings would be like. My first trip to Mexico turned out to be a disaster and probably one of the scariest in my life. My front tire blew up going approximately 80 mph, I lost control of the bike, ended up on the opposite lane and I crashed hard. I was sure I had broken bones and the bike was destroyed. The trip to Latin America would be postponed indefinitely. Fate wanted it differently, and there was only damage to the panniers and a couple of scratches to the bike.
On my return to the United States three days later, everyone recommended that I cancel the trip or at least postpone it until I could find someone to ride with me otherwise I would kill myself. One week before departure, and after several presentations, I got a loan that would get me started on the journey.
Last edited by SalCar; 15 Mar 2007 at 21:08.
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Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
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(ONLY US RESIDENTS and currently has a limit of 60 days.)
Ripcord Evacuation Insurance is available for ALL nationalities.
What others say about HU...
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"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
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Lots more comments here!
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Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
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