Who's Crazy Idea Is This?

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Who's Crazy Idea Is This?

Chris is to Blame!

Chris gets called crazy and I get called courageous. Not a bad trade off if you ask me.

It was October 2001 and we were stranded on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. There was a storm coming and the only flight off the island was booked. We were offered a space on a boat but we had met Capt'n "Free" Willie the night before and knew it would be safer to brave the storm. We were looking out over the docks watching Capt'n Willie try to navigate the channel when Chris sat me down and asked if I would like to travel the world on motorcycles. To be honest, I had never given the crazy idea much thought and knowing I would soon be swept out to sea I had no reason to say no. Besides, we had taken some pretty extensive trips together and figured if we survived mother nature we would be ready for a new challenge.

When it comes to Chris, motorcycles are his passion. He rides during the week and races on the weekends. At night he sleeps under a map of the world. Just below Austraila he has a picture of a guy standing next to a loaded down bike with the rims stuck in the sand. One ride in the mountains explained why his boots were worn on the sides and one trip to the track explained everything else. I have seen the guy land on his head, slide on his back, and ride wheelies on victory laps! Perhaps this is where crazy ideas are born.

My own motorcycle experience started in highschool with a Thomas Scooter, if it had a problem I could just pedal it home. I pedaled it home once and parked it! It wasn't until Chris and I started planning the trip that I decided to learn how to ride a "real motorcycle". So in Spring of '02 I enrolled in a motorcycle safety course to learn how to ride. The first time we rode together was in a parking lot. The course had taken place on a patch of pavement and I had never gone faster than 15 mph. In the end, Chris gets the credit for teaching me how to ride.

If you're interested, here's the rest

We are:

Chris Jones

Spice Griffith

Hometown:

Atlanta, Georgia
USA

Atlanta, Georgia
USA

Family:

Large

Larger

Age:

33

32

Profession:

Steadicam Operator in Movies and Commercials

Producer- Television Commercials

Experience:

Riding Motorcycles 11 years with 7 years of racing

Some Camping

Plenty of International travel

Riding motorcycles 1 year with no racing experience

Camping all my life

Plenty of international travel

Hobbies:

Hiking, photography, running, cycling, snow-boarding, yoga and building fires

All outdoor activities including putting out fires.

"Why" you ask?

Well, "Why not" seems to be the most natural response, but there is more to it than that. Our goal was never to take a joyride around the world because we had nothing better to do. The idea is and has been to expand our horizons and hopefully emerge truly changed and enlightened. This trip has been a dream of Chris's for years and for me now the dream has become a reality. The bike is only a tool and is merely our means to explore life outside of Atlanta. It just so happens to also be a passion of ours. What better way to see the world then from behind the shield of a helmet and throught the lens of a video camera. And what better way immerse yourself in foreign cultures then across the dinner table. As individuals we will be challenged in ways we have never imagined and we will have set and accomplished a major goal. We will come home with the most amazing stories, and best of all we get to ride motorcycles everyday.

"I don't believe it" you say?

Well you're in luck. We are going to film all of our adventures. According to Chris we will capture everything on film. I am protesting any filming during river crossings or interactions with animals, two activities guaranteed to make you look like a fool. In the end we will come home with a documentary of our travels. If nothing else we will have an extremely long training video on how to pack your life into 42 liters of space.

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