About this story...

I was arriving at a fast food joint and there she was, Standing in full black leather next to her red sport bike. With road rash on both sides of the fairings, this bike had seen many miles. She was talking on her cell phone and I was hungry so I rushed into get something to eat. My food order was ready and I sat at the window where I could see her. She was still talking on her cell phone, then moments later she took her leather jacket off and put on another layer of clothing, as dusk was settling in and a cold windy night was ahead.

There was something about her. There was an expressionless look on her face. I felt the vibe that she was searching for something but didn’t yet know what. Aren’t we all searching for something we think that we want or need but after the journey of finding it, we find another want or need? I felt some type of connection with her, like I had lived a similar life like hers but in another time and place. I had just finished a photo shoot using drones earlier in the day and as I looked at her, visualization flashes of talking to her in interviews and her riding her motorcycle, displayed in my mind. I knew something about this person was very special. So, I threw away the rest of my meal and rushed out to talk to her before she left.

We talked about motorcycles at first which then led to where she was from. She said she was traveling and that she was originally from the state of Washington. I looked at her license plate tags, yup, she sure was. Couch surfing was her means of getting in rest for the night. I thought that was cool, yet at the same time, I felt a certain fear for her well being as I know there are people out there that make very poor judgments and hurt others. She explained further about the high tech dynamics of couch surfing, using the internet to find places to crash, and it eased my fear a bit, but I still had concerns. 

I told her what I was thinking about as I was eating and watching her out of the window. I gave her my card and explained that I love filming regardless of the length of the story. I could do a full length documentary or I could do a 5 minute one. It never matter to me, what matters to me is the content of the story. What matters to me is did it inspire you, did it make you feel awe in a beautiful way. And the few moments I had with her to  talk, inspired me. She had an incredible smile, so I told her my idea… It’s a documentary short about a 23 year old girl who fearlessly travels cross-country through the United States on a Kawasaki Ninja 250cc sport bike, who she is, what inspired her to do this, the people she meets along the way and whatever else is interesting about her taking this journey that most wouldn't.

I met her on Monday afternoon February 8, 2016. We rode our motorcycles and filmed for the following 3 days after. This documentary short film was posted online Sunday February 14, 2016 on YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook and was watched and shared several times.