I made a work trip to Asia recently to work out some production issues and source materials. This was my 4th trip like this in the last few years and each time I, or we, go, we try to squeeze in a little of non-work fun since we already traveled that far. On this trip I decided to visit friends in Tokyo, one of my favorite cities. If the visit needed any further justification, I also had some sales research and a meeting in Tokyo. And, since I was there, why not work in my favorite way to explore… a motorcycle trip.

The whole Japan segment of the trip was great. It was a nice contrast to the exhausting factory visits in Hong Kong and China.

It's nice to have friends in Tokyo to find the good little restaurants.

It was pretty easy to find a motorcycle rental in Japan, although it seems that I found the ONLY rental place that caters to geijin(foreigners) like myself. Fortunately, they had a bike available and they were great to deal with.

I saw some amazing areas and met great people. If you ever want to meet great people that can give you a locals tips, or possible a place to stay, or even better- make new friends in great places try www.couchsurfing.org

If you’re apart of our Facebook fan page (and you should be, if not!), you may know about our Going and Need Gear initiative. It’s for those who are planning to travel and need some great travel gear to take with them. You simply tell us about your plans- where, when and why you’re excited to go- and this makes you eligible to win a free bag and wallet!  We give them away to someone who’s shared about their travel plans every time we pass another 100-fan mark on Facebook. So far, we’ve had 3 winners. Wanna meet them?

Luciano:
Our first winner was about to embark on one of the most important trips of his life! In Luciano’s own words:

I will travel to Kampala, Uganda, Africa in two weeks to finalize and hopefully bring back our new adopted daughter Nampiima, a kind, super-bright, beautiful five-year-old girl from the village of Bulanga. The process has taken almost 2 years, but it’s well worth the effort.  Once there, I plan on taking a safari with my daughter, going chimp-trekking at an island on Lake Victoria, and visiting the largest thatched hut/tomb in the world to learn about the history of Nampiima’s ancestors, who worked as the king’s blacksmiths, forging the royal weaponry.

Wow, right?!

Anna:
She was preparing to leave for 6-7 months, flying to Bali then traveling from there through Java, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand. “What I am planning,” Anna wrote “is not a vacation, but a complete restructuring of my lifestyle as I know it…. It’s the biggest goal I’ve ever set for myself and I have been completely determined to make it happen.”

And we were determined to help! We sent her a brown Director, a toiletry case, and a snazzy Mojito wallet. Anna is still traveling, but she updates us regularly with new photos and stories. We’re living vicariously through Anna and loving it! For example, here she is motorbiking in Koh Lanta:

Colleen:
A former Peace Corp volunteer in Zambia who now volunteers somewhere at least once a year, Colleen spent this last Christmas holiday in Buenos Aires, Argentina working at 2 orphanages. Along with a photo, Colleen sent us an update when she finally made it home. Apparently, the gear was great, and so were the Argentinians. One of them even adopted her for Christmas and New Years since she was far from family. After tackling Argentina like a pro, Colleen took her Malcolm Fontier gear to Panama to volunteer on two organic farms.

Do we have topnotch fans or what? And we can’t wait to meet some others! The more fans we get on Facebook, the more more stories we can share, and the more gear we can give away. So spread the word and please say hello the next time you’re browsing around on the interwebs.

Anonymous persons,that we may or may not know, recently went to an undisclosed location in the Caribbean known for mojitos, cigars and old cars – they say it was an amazing place. From what they told us, the landscape and architecture is stunning, the people are beautiful and welcoming, and the culture has to be experienced. At a time when cultures blend and blur across borders, it’s great to visit a place that is so unique- despite some unfortunate effects. If things change, we hope this amazing place is able to keep the great things it has going while enjoying the benefits of more open borders. I hope to visit someday!

Definition of "Making Do": sharing a pair of roller skates.

One of our Mojitos, meets its namesake.

I am about to head out on a new adventure- this one on my motorcyle. The rough plan(I find a moto adventure, or any adventure for that matter is better without too much planning.) is to ride about 6000 miles total through the NE of the US and then Nova Scotia, Prince Edwards Island, and New Foundland, Canada-and back to Atlanta.  The 1st leg of the trip I’l be riding with my dad with him on his 39 year old motorcycle. For the mid part of the trip, my wife will join me and ride on the back of my bike from Portland, Maine to Halifax, Nova Scotia as we follow the coast. On the northen most part of my trip I’ll be riding with my good friend and frequent riding partner, Brian.

The name “Slight Right on 85N” comes from the early planning of the trip as I roughed out a 6000 mile round trip route from Atlanta in Google Maps- the 1st line of the direction were “A slight right…”. Never mind the following 1500 turns on 100’s of roads over 6000 miles. To me, the name is a reminder that every big (ad)venture starts with a small step.

Here’s a shot from the 1st leg of the trip when I rode my bike to NY a few weeks ago on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Stay tuned for many more adventure stories from the road.

This post is a bit of a pay-it-forward. A random meeting in the gym led to me gaining my dual nationality so, it’s the least I can do to pass on the word and hopefully help someone else. I recently regained my Belgian nationality which gives me dual Belgian/American nationality.  I didn’t waste any time getting the Belgian passport and as I write this I am sitting on a plane returning home from using it for the 1st time.

Basically, what I would tell anyone is this: it is worth looking into- you never know if you might qualify until you check. If any of your ancestors in the last few generations emigrated then look into it.

My story went something like this: I was at the gym about a year and a half ago. I started talking to a guy named Nick as we shared a machine.

Nick: “So, where are you from, blah, blah, small talk, etc…”

I replied: “My dad grew up in Belgium, my mother…etc”

Nick: “Do you have your dual citizenship?”

Me: “No, I don’t think I qualify.”

Nick: “You should look into it, my grandfather was from Italy and I recently got my dual Italian/American citizenship- neither myself or my parents had ever even lived there.”

Nick’s wheels started turning: “You know what, I think there’s a Belgian Consulate in the building across the street where I used to work. Come with me, let’s go see!”

We walked out of the gym and took the elevator up to the 27th floor- and there it was. Turns out there are only a couple in the US and one happened to be across the street from my gym, and the guy I shared a machine with happened to know about it. I promised Nick I would come back the next day when the consulate was open and ask about dual nationality. A little over a year later, some paper work and about $150 in fees, and I have it.

My case was definitely a little more straight forward than most. My dad was still a Belgian citizen which gave me automatic dual-citizenship when I was born.  I went by what others had told me and assumed I lost it at age 18 unless I served in the Belgian military- definitely the last thing I was thinking about at 18! Turns out that the info was wrong and I actually had it for a little longer but it would have required some paperwork to keep it. Either way, I would not have it or the super-cool EU passport if I hadn’t met Nick. Nick had a similar story of a random meeting of another Italian-American that told him to look into it. So, to anyone reading with even the slightest chance of being eligible- I say look into it immediately. The Belgian Consulate basically just told me, “Yep, no problem, we’ll help you regain it.” and sent me to their website to start downloading forms. They had a list that stated clearly who was eligible. I would assume other consulates are just as organized, so finding out if you qualify only take a few minutes of clicking.

Many have asked “Why?”.  If you are here on this site you probably don’t need to be told this- but “Why Not!?” We all love adventures and you never know where a trip, or life, may take you- and it’s good to have options. Venture Boldly.

BTW- Nick, Thanks – where ever you are!