Cooperider around the world
Motorcycling to experience life abundantly
I had seen him with a dog a few times. He’d grab a coffee, take a table on the outside terrace overlooking Beirut, and read. What brings this European-looking biker to Lebanon? These days, and to this Starbucks in particular? What’s his story? I was intrigued.
This was as good a time as any. I approached him. The 5-minute conversation became a 3-hour excursion, including coffee, Lebanese red wine, spaghetti bolognese, family, and friends. Ginger, our dog, and Cooper, his “co-existed” during :-)!
He’s been fascinated with people who traveled, discovered new cultures, and saw raw nature at its best. The photos they shared shaped who he is today. Traveling is part of his raison d’etre. He wants to see the world and its people, to experience Earth in its purity.
When I met Julien at Starbucks
Motorbiking
In France, taking the motorcycling test within five years of taking the one for cars was convenient. So, he did, without planning on buying one.
Little decisions can take our lives on a long, impactful, and unexpected trajectory.
When Julien’s parents saw his motorcycling license, they told him, “We don’t want to see you on one.” His mom, who works at the local hospital, has seen her share of biker casualties. His dad is a traveler, hiker, and bicyclist, and at 60, he continues to motorcycle. Biking kept creeping into his life as he traveled with his dad on three-wheeled scooters to 🇫🇷 France, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇪🇸Spain, 🇵🇹Portugal, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇳🇱 Amsterdam, and Corsica.
Time and bikes deepened the relationship with his father as they rode together for four consecutive years. He learned how to ride long distances on two wheels, appreciate risks and fatigue's impact, and understand his limits.
From a scooter at 22 to a BMW 1200 GS at 27. He never thought that his father would actually help him pick the bike up, and with 2000 euros in his name, his mom helped him take out a loan. She wanted to travel “with the boys” vicariously. Before having been in an accident, she traveled, took photographs, and created documentaries.
He takes it honestly, after his parents: travel, photography, and documentaries.
Lessons from his share of accidents
He got into a big accident after a trip to Corsica and Sardinia. Going too fast, his bike flipped several times and got a beating. He slid on the asphalt and lucked out. He learned that high speed can cause pain to the family he loves.
“We want to see our son have fun on his bike, but we do not want him to die because of his passion.”
Smaller other slides taught him how to fall off and learn his limits. A 240-kg machine can become a weapon if not respected and used correctly.
“When I ride, I feel responsible for myself and everyone else.”
His other accident was someone else’s mistake. The car got bashed, the bike was fixable, and he stayed in one piece again.
The Coralie factor
Coralie, his girlfriend and business partner, is a biker herself. She understands where he is today and where he’s going. She works in France and tries to meet him once a month on the road.
The kiss of life!
Being two decades his senior and with more experience in life brings a certain comfort level to the relationship. She encourages him to self-fulfill, to seek his dreams, and to be fully alive. He enjoys the discussions, support, and spending time with her. Being a self-made woman, she encourages him to go into his own business. She continually smiles, wears the most likable temperament, enjoys a nothing-is-impossible attitude, and loves and supports Julien.
Biking as a culture
To him, biking is an instrument of freedom, a tool to experience cultures and live abundantly.
“I cannot live without my bike anymore.”
He’s glad he got it now and before starting his own family. Fathers restrain themselves from getting one for the risk it potentially puts on their families. He feels it’s easier when kids grow up with a bike at home.
His travels help him develop self-reliance, humility, and sound judgment of character. He learned about the sport and techniques of gauging parameters such as weather, road conditions, and other vehicles. He lost 5 kg since he took off from France. Motorcycling has given him a ticket to a new community.
“It doesn’t matter your background. The minute you ride, people are happy to share the road with you.”
Around the world starting in Lyon
On Oct 3, 2019, he started his adventure from Lyon, crossing to 🇮🇹 Northern Italy, 🇸🇮 Slovenia, 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇧🇦 Bosnia Herzegovina, 🇲🇪 Montenegro, and Albania. He drove straight to catch up with Coralie, who was meeting him in Athens. Four days of torrential rain made him stop at a 5-star hotel in Tirana. He was so drenched and cold that his hands lost their color. They had to put him in a room for service personnel, yet he still had his steak for dinner.
Cruising Turkey
He felt unwelcomed crossing 🇦🇱 Albania as he was asked to leave restaurants on three occasions. Until today, he doesn’t know why. He rode and did not eat for 24 hours until he reached the Albanian-Greek border. It wasn’t easy. On average, he rode 500 km/day. On a couple of occasions, he had to lift his 400 kg bike and cargo off the ground (Cooper not included).
Enjoying Greece
Julien felt relieved (aah!) as sunshine and smiling faces welcomed him in 🇬🇷 Greece. Laura and Bertrand, a French couple he met, helped him out, and they later took a mountain climbing excursion together.
Laura and Bertrand come to the rescue
In Athens, he spent a week with Coralie sailing before her leaving and meeting him in Istanbul. On his way south to Calamata, he slid on a patch of olive oil. Mechanics fixed his bike overnight, did a complete checkup, and even tended to Cooper’s bag. He needed to slow down after this little accident. So, he met with one of his social media followers, relaxed, and enjoyed the food.
On Dec 25, he met up with Coralie again in Istanbul. “When you leave Europe, you feel it,” he said. Coralie rented a car, put Cooper with her, and followed Julien as they drove through Turkey.
He wanted to come to Lebanon but was not advised to drive through Syria. He put himself on a cargo boat from southern Turkey to Tripoli. This one Frenchman was taken advantage of. Overpaid, slept on the boat’s deck, and 12 hours later, the Lebanese coast magically appeared to him on Jan 16, 2020.
Seeing Tripoli emerge at dawn was magical!
The start of his 🇱🇧 Lebanese experience
Lebanese hospitality at its best
Joelle, whom he met in Greece, invited him to stay with her parents to get him started. 🇱🇧 walaw? 🇱🇧
“It’s not easy to find something affordable, Cooper-friendly, motorbike safe, and affordable,” he says.
“In Lebanon, cats are queens, and dogs are dogs.”
People are afraid of them. The Lebanese are the encouraging kind. Despite their problems — the Internet, power, drinking water, traffic, mobile pricing, and cost of living — they are people with big hearts, overflowing generosity, kindness, and hospitality like no other. Everyone is welcoming, people smile, and they’re genuinely interested in you.
“Lebanon is an important destination for me. I plan to stay here for a few months and prepare for my next step.”
It’s an incredible country with an extraordinary social and religious mix. Things just work in some organized chaos, but they work. It’s a good lesson for everyone around the world.
Given what Lebanon is currently going through, I’m trying hard not to be cynical, yet a big part of me has been and is still a ‘Julien.’
His philosophy taking him forward
Leave a system that might not be for you. Be it country, language, work, or culture. People have immigrated for centuries. Continents have literally moved over thousands of years.
“I believe that we are born to move.”
Need as little as possible: a motorbike and a dog. As long as he keeps meeting people, evolving, and learning new things, he’s good. He’s establishing a digital service company to be able to work from anywhere, get paid, and stay on his mission. He wants to work just enough to keep his bike rolling, to have enough food and water for himself, some meat for Cooper, and a place to pitch his tent.
“Being rich is needing nothing.”
What’s next for Cooperider?
[Update: he took off to France for a break right before the lockdown. He’s launched his company and enjoying time with Coralie in the French countryside. When everything subsides, he will come back to Lebanon.
Then, Japan, Iran, Mongolia, China, and India. Once there, Alaska, the US, and South America. He’ll go as far as his bike will take him, after which he’ll hitchhike. He believes that he’ll find the place that will become home. Maybe Lebanon?
Support his tour here
