Following a Dream on I-8

It’s 104 degrees – just stopped to buy some cold water since I had another hour to drive.  I was going 75 MPH on I-8 between El Centro, CA and Yuma, AZ.

Traffic was light but I could see something on the shoulder about half a mile down the road. Mmmmm – not a car – not a truck – no, this was a rickshaw being pulled by a guy in  camouflage gear. I love a good story so I hit the brakes.

It was there in the desert that I met Allie. Allie is a pretty cool guy. Quick to smile, easy to talk to and more than willing to share a story or two.

Allie is from Oceanside, CA where he shuffles tourists around in his rickshaw. Apparently, a well know citizen there. Allie has a dream; Allie has a goal; Allie has an obsession do do something that is completely out of the box.

Why am I writing about Allie? Because he is doing something that most of us will regret NOT doing. Following your dream – giving it all up just for your dream.

Allie is trying to set the world record at pulling a rickshaw the longest distance. Starting in Oceanside and heading for Miami – an 18 month trip. It’s not the first time he tried. A couple of years ago he was hit by a car. Injured his leg; killed his dog and ruined a perfectly good rickshaw. Now, he is trying again. This time with some high tech things going along with him. You can follow him (since he has GPS) on his web site at www.rickshawroadtrip.com or on his Twitter site (rickshawtrip).

I gave Allie my cold water – gave him some money – and sorry I could not spend more time with him. Guess I could have – I was racing to get to a hotel with a cold beer – Allie was racing to get to the rest stop on the freeway so he could transform his rickshaw into his bed for the night.

My passion is photography – I truly believe that even though my life work is done on the left side of my brain it’s when I give the right side a job – time for me stops, Maybe just maybe, that encounter with Allie gives me a reason to follow my dream.

What about your dream?