Welcome, one and all, to my first personal blog!
I’m a Scandinavian living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, married
to the most wonderful of Brazilians and working a decent job in online
marketing at a major international company.
I’ve been in Brazil for almost 3 years, I’m a permanent resident, and
there’s a fair chance I’ll stay here for good – though we never know what the
future holds. As well as my life in Rio
I also spent 6 months at a diplomatic delegation in Brasília, where I was
fairly “tuned-in” to Brazilian politics and politicians (even meeting an
ex-president and several senators, and attending several parliamentary hearings
as well as diplomatic dealings and NGO briefings).
As such, being personally very invested in Brazil’s
development and road to a better future, I’ve had a fairly good albeit brief
first-hand look at the inner workings of the processes involved. Brazil has enormous potential and could be a
major player internationally in political and economic terms, but consistently
fails to live up to this potential. I
want Brazil to be as great as it can be.
The actual driving factor behind the creation of this blog
is that I finally got my first motorcycle!
Ever since I was a child, I’ve thought motorcycles were cool, especially
with the classic styling of Harley-Davidsons, Indians, and vintage
Triumphs. Sport bikes never interested
me much (though I make exceptions for Ducatis) – I love customs, choppers,
cruisers, and a few café racers.
However, my parents always insisted on how dangerous motorcycles are –
indeed, a few family acquaintances and T. E. Lawrence died or were seriously
injured in motorcycle accidents – so I largely abandoned my dream of owning a
classic-style motorbike as an adult and started half-heartedly daydreaming
about cheapish muscle cars (like Pontiac Firebirds) instead.
Then I got my current job, where I discovered only after
hiring that I would have to commute from Rocha in the North Zone of Rio de
Janeiro to Barra da Tijuca, an isolated suburb beyond mountains and a swamp,
every day – a trip that can take over 3 hours by bus one-way. My wife suggested it would be easier with my
own vehicle, like a cheap motorcycle. I
realized it made perfect sense: the dream was revived, and I bought my first
bike!
 |
| Yes, the mirrors are set at strange angles. The previous owner swapped the left/right mirrors to decrease the bike's total width, for swerving through traffic. I swapped them back after this photo was taken. |
 |
| Small and cheap, but mine, all mine! So far it appears to be a fantastic starter bike. |
Here it is – a Kasinski Mirage 150, a Brazilian-Chinese
“factory custom” bike built domestically in Manaus in the Amazon. Puny 150cc engine (puny by Euro/US standards;
standard in Brazil – most bikes, especially those used for deliveries, are
125cc or 150cc, actually) delivering up to 13.4 horsepower and 1.38 torques (kgf.m). I bought it second-hand from a guy who bought
it for his wife when she decided she wanted to be a motorcyclist like him; she
only discovered afterwards that she was terrified of biking, so I got it with
less than 1,700km on the clock and still within warranty but at 25% below the
cost of a new one. It won’t get stolen,
because (1) it’s an uncommon model – everyone here favors Yamahas and Hondas –
and (2) it has a few quirks with the ignition, so my biking friends can’t get
it started, even when the engine’s warm – only I can every time.
Now I’m finishing up my purchases of all the appropriate
safety equipment and some simple customizations (e.g. saddlebags and tank
protector). However, with my proud
ownership of a new bike came the spark of an idea. I’d like to gather some friends and form a
group, a motorcycle riding club. My hope
is for the club/community to grow and gather more companions for riding.
--- Wild idealistic
rambling alert ---
There should be an idea, a cause, or a purpose
justifying the existence of a club as
opposed to just a gathering of friends and acquaintances. I want progress towards the betterment of
Brazil: the promotion of socioeconomic reform, by striving towards quality
education for all, pushing for the decrease of economic inequality by pulling
up the living standards of the lower and middle classes, and especially, by
working towards good governance by fighting inefficiency in all its forms –
principally by combating the endless bureaucracy and endemic corruption which are
cancers upon the Brazilian state. The
motorcycle riding club is only a start for an idealistic hope of mine, a small starting
point for, hopefully, eventually being a part of something bigger - a social reform movement or political action campaign. Where first we’ll just be a few friends that
enjoy bike riding, the subsequent networks of friends might lead to a small but
perhaps noticeable social manifestation for reform.
--- /end wild
idealistic rambling ---
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