How often do you get the chance to do something extraordinary? How often does this perfectly align with your passion? This is my take on Harley-Davidson's #DISCOVERMORE2015 #RIDERWANTED. https://www.facebook.com/LetsRideNorth/ http://riderwanted.harley-davidson.com/ My name is Marco Ryser, I'm a forty year old husband, dad and managing partner of the branding agency www.vitamin-c.ch based in Zürich, Switzerland. July 2015 will be the 10th anniversary of my company and this DISCOVER MORE campaign would be the perfect excuse for a sabbatical. I've spent the past two decades riding motorcycles – I never owned a cage. Although the birth of our son put motorcycling to a brief but grinding halt for my wife an me, a solution was found in the vintage Harley-Davidson WL '45 (1942) sidecar-rig. Ever since, we're out on the road whenever time, money and the weather gods allow. My daily ride is a hopped-up, chopped and bobbed 2008 XL1200N. Its current state pays tribute to the Japanese custom scene while still keeping it street legal. Living in Motorcycle paradise with its scenic routes and the Alps make for wonderful weekend trips. On our thousands and thousands of miles up and down this continent, we find ourselves permanently taken aback by the vast variety and the beauty of good old Europe as well. No matter how far we go, we keep longing for more. As soon as we make it back home, we set out to plan the next trip. Don't get me wrong, we love our place! However, there are certain limits to traveling in groups, especially if children are involved. While kids are a great ice-breaker to start a chat with locals, they also limit your traveling radius. Riding a 73 year old 45 cubic inches flathead is having much the same effect. In addition, a group of friends also creates a sense of home and security: Somebody always has your back. No matter how far from home you are, there always is somebody you know and who speaks your language. This is shielding you from the ultimate exposure to the road you're traveling on. It keeps you from discovering more. The Concept After learning about the #DISCOVERMORE2015 / #RIDERWANTED campaign, I've gathered all my friends and family. They gave me a plethora of inspiration, time and support to follow through with this once-in-a-lifetime chance to spend a summer as an ambassador for the Harley-Davidson brand. A one way ride Any biker has the occasional thought when approaching the turning point of a round-trip of: "What if I simply rolled the throttle and headed on?" I want this thought to be the motto for the summer of 2015. I want to start all the way down south, where the hot summer sun is glaring in the chrome and the dark nights reveal a view on stars never seen before. Tenerife, Spain is about as far south as one can go riding on European soil*. There I want to set my inner compass north, to Hammerfest, Norway, where the sun never sets for weeks at a time. This journey is about a profound passion for the things we do To up the exposure for me some more (as if arctic temperatures weren’t enough), there’s the human element. So many people love to ride motorcycles, Harley-Davidson in particular. Too many, actually, to put them into a single category. Least of all the 1%er category everybody envisions off the bat. The common denominator is passion. I would love to meet people along this route who feel very passionate about what they do, even if this doesn’t involve bikes or Harley-Davidson. I would love to spend a day in their shoes, go fishing with them, bake the local specialty at 3am or look after their herd of sheep for a day. I want to learn about their passion and share mine. A route going from one extreme of Europe to the other will guarantee a wonderful variety of passionate people. We all are Harley-Davidson and I am the 99%er. I want to follow this inner compass. I will quickly find my pace, my flow, my Zen and wonderful people on the way up there.