Michael Lewis: Going Nomad

Michael Lewis plans to spend the next five years traveling the world solo on his motorcycle. His goal is to reach the top and the bottom of major land masses, while experiencing the people and culture along the way. This is not a travel video; it's a series of short interviews aimed at unravelling the thought process that led Michael to trade his house, his practice, and most of his worldly possessions for a life on the road.

Traveling into the vast and sometimes remote regions south of our border is not for the faint of heart. Mike's candid conversation will make potential travelers aware of some of the factors involved in undertaking an adventure of this magnitude. Mike discusses his route from Seattle to South America, and then on to Africa, Mongolia and back.

We shot this video in March, just before Michael left on his epic journey. This video project consists of six short webisodes, where we discuss different aspects of Mike's impending journey; the route, crossing borders, shipping a bike, health and travel insurance, the costs involved, and how he is not the most likely candidate for this type of adventure. And he discusses Write Around the World, his non-profit organization dedicated to the support of quality education for the underprivileged children of the world.

Mike arrived in Sucre, Bolivia on October 17th and fell in love with the people and culture there. Sucre is the prosperous capital of Bolivia, and it attracts families from rural areas who migrate to the city to work in hopes of a better life. Many of these families are under an intense strain to make ends meet, and often times the mother is left alone to fend for herself. The children have no choice but to work on the streets -- sometimes being the family’s sole earner -- foregoing school in the process. Ñanta is an alternative education center for the working street kids of Sucre. Mike was so touched by the center that he is planning on returning to Sucre to
volunteer after he reaches the southern tip of South America in December. Please watch Mike’s video introduction of Ñanta.

Since March, Mike has made it all the way to Puerto San Julian, Argentina. You can follow along by visitng www.mikesglobaladventure.com.

Battery Powered, Ferrari Fast

The Tesla Roadster is an all-electric sports car produced by Tesla Motors. The Roadster is the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells, and the first production EV to travel more than 200 miles on a charge. In October 2009, the Tesla Roadster set the world distance record for a production electric car. It drove of 311 miles on a single charge.

The Roadster accelerates from 0-60 mph in less than 4 seconds. It's fast, it's sexy, and it's electric. We spoke with Jon Taylor, Regional Sales Manager for Tesla Motors in Seattle, WA. Jon is, not suprisingly, passionate about the brand -- and he states quite eloquently why Tesla is a car of the future -- one that just happens to be available today.

Nine-Sixty-Eight

In the book, Fast Women: The Legendary Ladies of Racing, Todd McCarthy noted that the heyday for women automobile racers came in the 1950s. McCarthy referred to the period between 1953 and 1958 as "a privileged moment in the grand sweep of American automobile racing, a small window of time when the sport was accessible to virtually anyone with a desire to pursue it; if you had a car and were good enough, you could drive it to a track and race."

Today, however, women represent a disproportionally small demographic in the racing world, and this appears to be especially true in motorcycle racing. Take the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, for example. Participation is open to anyone, but only 3% of the competitors are women in the motorcycle divisions. The fact is, there are more umbrella girls on the grid than there are female racers.

I am not trying to make any political statements here. Racing is what it is. And there is good news; women are competing, and more women have been entering the fray. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that Brianne Corn was competing in the 750cc motorcycle division this year. The 750cc division is an exceptionally competitive class and attracts a lot of top riders.

Brianne Corn is the motivated, humble, and remarkable woman who was scraping pegs alongside top racing talents such as Davey Durelle and Gary Trachy. She's 40 years old, and she's only been racing for the past five years. What got her started? It was a trip to Italy, and a casual encounter with a couple of fully caged rally cars, power sliding though narrow mountain passes in the shadow of a castle.

We shot this interview with Brianne as she was preparing to race the Peak's grueling 156 turns -- starting at 9,000 feet and finishing at 14,100 feet -- on a bike she put together herself. Brianne was not racing in some powder-puff exhibition class; this was the real deal.

The Art of Perseverance: Glen Cox

We spoke with Glenn Cox on July 18, 2009, during a Pikes Peak International Hillclimb practice session held at Devil's playground. 2009 marks the 8th year he has competed at PPIHC, and he readily admits being addicted to the second oldest race in America.

Last year was his first attempt in the 1205cc division, where he rode a KTM Super Duke 990. He reflected on his crash that likely cost him second or third place. Despite his crash, and through sheer perseverance, he still finished the race, passing several riders on the way to the finish line.

You might expect a rider to be gun shy after crashing like that, but Glenn seemed relaxed, smoother, and faster. He said he was determined to make it to the top, and was setting his sites on a top three finish.

Glenn also discussed improvements to his KTM Super Duke, namely the Motobox intake system which added an additonal 15HP to this already potent motorcycle. And of course, he talked about "the skateboard mod." We think he should have left the wheels on...