Tuesday 1/20/09 San Luis, Argentina
Meet Moto.
Motomitsu Ikemoto.
He’s 61-years-old and he’s on a two-month cycling trip from Buenos Aires to Santiago. Yeah, he’s a Japanese grandfather who’s about to cycle his bike over the Andes. Yes, he founded Japan’s only adventure cycling organization 30 years ago. And yes, he rode his bicycle around the world on a four-year-trip when he was in his 20s. But all of these things don’t make him so cool.
Moto is awesome because when I saw him, in the middle of a hot afternoon on a shadeless stretch of baked asphalt dozens of miles from towns in all directions, he was as positive and cheerful as anyone could be. He couldn’t stop smiling. Sure, he was hot and told how uncomfortable he felt in the relentless midday sun, but he didn’t let the oppressive heat taint his attitude. He reminded me how important the mind is in creating our experiences, in writing our memories and scripting our moods.
Moto is revisiting places he visited by bike 37 years ago. He’s going slower now, and, thanks to the warnings of his family and employer, he’s not camping anymore and is instead staying in hotels–”They wouldn’t let me bring my tent this time because they said I’m too old to camp in strange places anymore”–but he’s still going. He’s still moving, still plotting, still working on projects and bike trips and newsletters.
He looks like he’s in his 40s and has the energy of a candy-fueled preschooler.
Interesting Moto fact: In the 1980s, he carried his bicycle to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa’s highest peak. I couldn’t figure out why he did this exactly–he admitted that he couldn’t ride a single inch of the route up or down, that he had to carry the bike the whole way, but I’m guessing he just really bonded with his bike over the years and didn’t want to leave her, lonely and unloved, down at the mountain’s base.
If you can read Japanese, check out his bike club’s website here.
*****
Where will you be when you’re 61?
What sort of smiles will you sport?
What sort of energy will you spill out into the world?
I could tell you where I am at 63, but no one would be interested.
By: Dad on January 22, 2009
at 12:46 am
You meet the coolest people! It’s so great you’ve had this opportunity! He seems like an awesome guy!
By: Kate on January 22, 2009
at 6:49 am
Dude. I cannot even think of words. I guess other than AWESOME!
By: Joe on January 22, 2009
at 9:00 pm
I love your style of writing and i am going to keep on tabbing back on your website. right now i am following this other website which is about these 4 guys travelling on their bicycle from alaska and heading to argentina.right now they are in ecuador. just keep on getting more and more information about people doing something with life at 60 or 27 and me i am just sitting infront of my comp…reading?
their website is http://www.ridingthespine.com
By: manisha on January 25, 2009
at 3:47 pm
Wow! This man is an inspiration! The power of a smile and positive thinking is priceless! Makes me really think about who I want to be and what I want to be doing at the age of 60…
By: Heather on January 25, 2009
at 10:47 pm
Hi, Andrew. I’ve been playing catchup with your blog. I couldn’t resist responding to your entry on Moto, the Japanese 61 year old you met. You see, I turn 74 on Wednesday. However, years ago, I taught a college course in Thanatology — a course mainly for Nurses who confronted death on a daily basis. I always started the semester by indicating that the class was not really about death, but about life and living. As an exercise I had the students draw a timeline of their life — into the future and with a definite ending date. It was one of the gimmicks I used to help young people confront their mortality. I suggested that to help them in the exercise they find a famous person who was born a century before them and then note the milestones in his or her life and the significant dates along the way (marriage, birth of children, achievements, death). Since I was born in 1935, I had chosen a famous person born in 1835 — he happened to be Mark Twain. As you may know, Twain wrote and traveled a lot in his latter years — something I emulated. But to get to my point, Mark Twain died in 1910 — are you with me? Next year is 2010. As I followed his milestones, I checked them off, and tried to keep up with his activity in my own life. No, I never attained his level of fame — but I will soon cross off his final milestone. I would tell my class that my goal was to live my life to the fullest and consider it a success if I kept as active as Mark Twain till I reached his age of 75. Whatever I would be able to do after 2010, I’d consider a bonus. Up until today, the one date I had some concern about was 2007 — because that was the year I reached the age at which my dad died. He died in 1982 at the age of 72. So I’ve outlived him by 2 years. Sorry to burden you with this bit of chatter, but it was a good way to confront my 74th birthday (my family was here today to celebrate with me). Inspired by your active and cheerful friend, Moto, and your questions in your blog, I feel good at having been able to share this bit of information. The fact is, actually, that I am more active at 74 than Mark Twain was at this point in his life. Last year I went to Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia. This year I am scheduled to go to San Francisco in March and Mexico in November. I’m working two jobs that I love: Alumni Coordinator, where I am able to interview people like you via SKYPE (who knew that that would be possible in my lifetime?) and County Historian — where I can share my love of history with thousands of people every year through my lectures and writing. I wish I had done a little more physical activity in recent years, as I can feel the effects of a sedentary life in my bones and muscles. However, I’m working on it — and riding vicariously with you on your great adventure helps. Life is good with 4 great children and 4 wonderful grandchildren and a very supportive wife. Mark Twain traveled extensively in 1907 and was still writing in 1909 — so he lived according to one of my mottos: I’d rather wear out than rust out.
Andrew, keep inspiring me with your wisdom and that of many of the people you meet along the way, like Moto. I hope I’m still “spilling energy out in the world.” Most of the guys my age have been in bed since 9:00 p.m. As I write this, it is 2:00 a.m. And, oh yeah, not many guys I know have an earphone from an I-Pod stuck in their ear every day like I do. I’d like to meet Moto and compare notes. Our secret?– smile a lot and enjoy what you do (or better, do what you enjoy!)
Joe Laufer
By: Joe Laufer on February 2, 2009
at 7:00 am