Achievable Dream DVD Series

achievabledream-boxI am now convinced there are aliens living among us.  I became so convinced after watching the Achievable Dream DVD Series produced and hosted by Grant and Susan Johnson, the founders of the Horizons Unlimited web portal.

This five-DVD disc set features interviews and presentations from ordinary individuals (I could have sworn that I saw at least a few of them in my local supermarket) who are living the dream of traveling the world on two wheels.  It is when I looked into the passion-lit eyes of these seemingly ordinary people, that I became convinced that they are aliens indeed.

My conviction became a certainty when after watching the Achievable Dream I turned on CNN.  The well-coiffed and expensively clad announcer gleefully reported on yet another peril around the world.  His report was followed by a commercial for the latest anti-depressant; followed by the commercial for the latest SUV, with a name vaguely implying adventure, but enough TV screens to block even the driver from experiencing any of it.  Certainly, the CNN announcer was from a different planet than Horizons Unlimited folks!   Have these people not heard that the world is a dangerous place?  Do they not know that just to go to their local grocery store they need to have that SUV from the commercial?  Interacting with locals!  Apparently, in other galaxies they do not explain that its best not to talk or even get too close to “those” people.  I suppose the truly adventurous souls could take a quick peak at them through the thick windows of a climate-controlled tour bus, but then retreat quickly to the “local” hangout where no local would ever set a foot.

Achievable Dream DVD PictureThis DVD-series is a masterfully produced Encyclopedia Britannica of traveling the world on a motorcycle.    The gracious, caring and infinitely knowledgeable hosts, Grant and Susan, and other presenters of all ages, backgrounds and riding styles, including Ted Simon, Sam Manicom,  Austin Vince, Tiffany Coates and Annette Birkmann, leave no stone unturned, “t” uncrossed  or “i” un-dotted.  If you ever wanted to know how many pairs of underwear to take on an around the world motorcycle journey (the consensus seems to be less than five!); what is Carnet De Passage and the best wine that pairs with it; or the most effective way to avoid meeting locals (staying home!), the answers are all on this DVD set.   There is even a Ladies on the Loose program, hosted by Lois Pryce, who manages to make even dirt biking look glamorous, while addressing every (and I do mean every!) question a female rider might have ever had about traveling the world on two wheels.

However, the excellent production quality, insightful and inspiring interviews and the overall point that the dream of traveling the world on a motorcycle is indeed achievable, did not fool me.  I saw right through it!  This series is so much more than a comprehensive “how-to-guide.”   It is an alien recruitment tool!   One of the best they got!

In fact, after watching this series, I feel strange.  My right hand curls into this bizarre, half-closed position and then twitches up; visions of distant lands and their people dance in my head;  I HAVE to sit on my motorcycle, if just for a minute.  Then I glance in the mirror and notice the same sparkle I saw in the eyes of the aliens in the series.  I am one of them now.  And, I don’t want to go back.

Henry YampolskyAbout the author: Henry Yampolsky is a new rider and writer who finds motorcycling to be an extension of his meditation.  When not riding, writing, meditating or contemplating doing one of the three, Henry spends time with his wife, Juliya, and works as a lawyer in Philadelphia.

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