Defending the dream in the age of Covid-19
We had reached the furthest westward destination of our March ride through Rajasthan, the dusty, 15th century citadel town of Bikaner, when the walls of Covid-19 started to close around us. We were still three days ride from our end destination in Delhi and Josh radioed to me through our helmet intercoms that the window to leave the country before lockdown was closing. It was now clear that we were going to have to pull a couple of long, gritty days to make the looming deadline and get everyone to the airport and on their way to their home countries by then. Since that final day, the 21st of March 2020, Two Wheeled Expeditions, like every other travel company on the planet, has been idled.
A client wanders the dunes days before Covid shut down India.
It was two years earlier at my last employer’s corporate offices in Silicon Valley that the wheels to ditch my career in the IT consulting world and start this company were set in motion. The firm where I was employed as a business unit lead managing 500 people and a $20m sales target was consolidating and generous payouts were being offered to those who decided to leave. The fact that I had an unused business class ticket from San Francisco to Delhi sealed the deal: I took the money, shaved my head to a Mohawk, dyed what remained pink, flipped the corporate world a big middle finger and registered Two Wheeled Expeditions as limited liability company. 22 years of adventure riding and one and a half circumnavigations of the globe provided the street cred. From that day on, passion would become livelihood. Six months after launch we hit our stride. The new bookings every month put us on target to fill our 12 tours for the year, the great reviews were rolling in and the team and I got the validation we hoped for: we got the balance right. Price, tour quality and excellence in service delivered the experience our clients had thirsted for. The trajectory was unabashedly upward.
Then came Covid 19 and we all know what happens next. The collective civilization of our planet has been upended, economies have seized and hundreds of thousands have died. We have not had it easy; no one has. But if there is anything that this teeth-kicking pandemic has provided us with, it is time. Time to master baking, to perfect cocktails and to reflect on everything that is going on around us. This article is a collection of thoughts and learnings extracted from the experience and implemented as we do everything in our power to keep our dream alive.
Lockdown in the London Underground
- Don’t Back Down – The old song by Tom Petty accompanied me through the toughest days on the road during a seven-month ride around the world. Not even Talban drug smugglers who stood in our way in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province could withstand the mantra. The message is simple: every day a tide of doubt and even despair gathers around our feet. The stream of negative reports on the future of the economy is relentless and each one of them drives you deeper into a mire of hopelessness. But we humans are resilient and the yearn for adventure is nestled deep in our psyche. That truth keeps our motor torqued and our momentum unfettered.
- Set achievable, near term goals that support the grand vision – Being consumed by everything that cannot be controlled affects so many people right now. But if riding a motorcycle around the world taught me anything, it’s that breaking down any problem into small, manageable chunks helps you overcome being overwhelmed. Stay the course on your vision and make plans, even in the tiniest increments, to maintain momentum.
- Reset, retool, pivot – When we’re boxed in, we have to play the hand that has been dealt and find a viable path forward that leverages our strengths: the assets, skills, capabilities, and market position we have built. In our current world, we have to accept that fact that the overwhelming majority of the public will not be getting on a plane any time soon. Whether and for how long this is true is beside the point. Being successful entails taking risks and also hedging against risk. Looking for business opportunities that leverage what you are good at in new markets is a strategy for survival.
- Your people are your most valuable asset. Protect them at all costs – The airlines are facing an unprecedented dilemma. With massive fixed costs and passenger volumes down 95%, logic says they should reduce their personnel costs in equal measure. But the fact is, there is a staffing level below which business becomes unviable and a rebound impossible. With small companies like ours, the team is everything and without them you have nothing. Fight to keep them with your last dollar.
- Balance the excessive focus on problems with a regular inventory of everything that is going well – Many of us are in pain right now. There are so many uncontrollable, negative forces impacting us and it is very easy to get sucked into the vortex. While riding my motorcycle a couple of weeks ago, my mind stuck in the quicksand of negativity, I turned my attention to taking an account of all of that is good right now and my mood turned upward. Positive thinking is an immensely powerful force so harness all you can.
- Keep yourself mentally and physically strong, even when it seems impossible – The battle is only beginning, so better toughen up. My routine now includes daily meditation (an app), yoga (via Zoom), running (on the street) and weight training (shopping bags laden with books), all in the comfort of my small flat in London. Nothing can beat you when you feel ready for the fight.
- Seek out the sources of positive energy in your life – On dark days, and many of us will have them, seek out the people in your life who radiate positivity. People like this can help put things into perspective in a time when clouds may be obscuring yours.
- Stay connected with your audience and provide them with hope for future adventure – You have spent a great deal of time and money identifying and connecting with your customer base. Even if people are currently not buying what you’re selling, constantly remind them of why they sought you out in the first place. Eventually normalcy will resume and the world will once again take flight.
Our last ride group – Friends for Life
- Manage cash wisely – Like almost every business except those selling designer surgical masks, we all need to manage costs. This has not stopped us from paying full refunds to all clients who had to cancel. Our company was founded on a principal of treating customers like friends. We actually, literally actually, love our clients and the last thing we want to do to people we love is alienate them.
- Ride your fucking motorcycle – When in doubt, I fall back on two wheeled therapy. Whatever your escape is, do it.
These are the shittiest of times, my friends. We all long for something: the touch of another human, to visit someplace new, to enjoy a meal at our favourite restaurant or a pint at our local pub. But even on the darkest days I can still see a light even if it is sometimes hard to find. We will ride again because we must. There is no option because as adventure bikers, it is the dream that makes us feel alive.