Ride On Theo

As I write this somewhere on the other side of the planet Theo M. Schlaghecken is making final preparations to head on the last leg of his motorbike trip around the globe. From the ageless land of Namibia he will now drive across Africa back into Europe two years after he started his journey.

When I heard that Theo would be coming down to India to spend few months working with us at IISE, I expected a weather beaten adventurer, a tough guy biker. Nothing had prepared me for this soft spoken former consultant who chucked it all to ride his motorbike around the world. 'It was a impulsive decision' he said almost apologetically 'I just had three days to decide'. Right away I could relate to the idea of leaving ones comfort zone and venturing out into uncertain future.

Over next few weeks I got to know Theo better. Whenever I saw him I would shout out 'Lets Swim!' and it almost became daily ritual. Over numerous conversations over coffee sharing our experiences, I realized that his journey was more than just criss-crossing continents. I know one day we all would read about your journey but for now you got to ride on, Theo!.