RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY
What happens when a bunch of seventy plus year old geezers dust off their biking leathers to ride their motorbikes to the Sahara Desert? Or to put it another way, why would a group of senior citizens swap their regular, middle class lives for a desert adventure? Surely the answer has to be “Why not?” Sometimes it takes a thought pause, or an out of the blue event, to drive home the message that life is too short and that opportunities should be grabbed while there’s still enough time to catch them!
For author Keith Futcher his light bulb moment was a magazine photograph. If a picture speaks a thousand words then this one couldn’t stop blabbing. Everything about it – the composition, the lighting, the knowing grins of the two celebrities (Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor) posing with their motorbikes – hinted of something more than a lads’ own road trip. It was the implied fantasy that struck a chord: the idea that Futcher could somehow translate the laughter, the risk running, the derring-do, the camaraderie in the face of danger, into an actual, lived, reality. Crazy? Off the wall? Maybe, although Futcher had no problem finding two like-minded souls ready, willing, and able to sign up for the chance to witness a Saharan sunrise!
The result of this leap into the delightfully unknown is Absurd, an affectionately written memoir about friendship, self-discovery, and big life affirming love. Once the intrepid trio hit the road, word began to spread: three became five then five became seven with an ex-Special Forces operative and a war photographer making up the final number. This posse of senior citizens rode from Spain to Tangier taking on the craggy folds of the Rif, the Atlas Mountains (home to one of the world’s most dangerous roads), the Cirque du Jaffar and a hair-raising excursion through the Gorges du Ziz. The boys were often saddle sore after a hard day’s riding, although warm nights under the stars tucked up in sleeping bags took the edge off any discomfort…along with the coffees and hot spicy meals served up by welcoming locals.
Every day brought its own challenges including last minute changes to the road co-ordinates, all of which threatened to disrupt their schedule. Still, the lads gamely soldiered on taking each setback in their stride, and in the end, it was worth it as there’s something special about watching the birth of a new day on the sands of the Sahara at Erg Chebbi. What’s so Absurd about that?
Written by GB Publishing Org
