Reporter and thrill-seeker Matt Power grinned
childishly while sitting in a small cafe in Prospect Heights.
He probably had that same smile on his face while clutching the
handlebars of his motorcycle and rolling 5,000 miles through
the Andes, South America’s majestic mountain range.
Power recounts his astonishing adventure in "The Andes:
Full Throttle," a story for "National Geographic Adventure,"
a quarterly magazine that offers readers tales of exhilarating
escapades. On Nov. 20, Power will read excerpts from his piece,
talk about the trip and even show some pictures of his adventures
at The Half King Bar and Restaurant in Manhattan.
GO Brooklyn got a preview of his hair-raising tale over coffee,
when the freelance writer told of the beginnings of his love
affair with motorcycles.
"It’s part of that American philosophy of motorcycles representing
the absolute freedom," said the Prospect Heights resident,
who caught the fever in his mid-twenties. "It’s just such
a great way to travel."
Originally from Vermont, 32-year-old Power moved to Brooklyn
nine years ago. Working as a motorcycle courier in the city,
he was able to develop his "Jedi sense of balance,"
which prepared him for future adventures.
But mainly it was his twin desires to write and to travel that
have brought him to where he is today.
"I wanted to live my life, rather than the life that I figured
the world expected of me," said Power, "and thus far
it’s worked."
After a brief stint as a grad student at Columbia University,
Power decided he didn’t want to be a student anymore. Working
as an unpaid intern at "Harper’s Magazine," he came
to hone the necessary skills and is now in his fourth year as
a full-time freelance writer.
About a year ago, Power approached the editor at "National
Geographic Adventure," and said, "I want to do a motorcycle
trip in South America," which he had never previously visited.
The editor agreed and Power began to organize his itinerary.
Finding nine companions of vastly different backgrounds – but
all sharing a great passion for motorcycling – Power was ready
to roll.
As he talked of deserted roads giving off a "sense of openness
and emptiness," or the city of Cuzco in Peru, or even the
four or five spills he took on his Kawasaki KLR650 that seem
inevitable on a five-week journey, Power’s bespectacled face
beamed under his beret.
"It’s amazing to go someplace that totally feels like the
opposite end of the world," said Power.
The bikers faced some bad roads and other perils, he recalled.
Just a few hundred yards in front of him, a member of the biking
crew who was dazed by the long hours on a flat, tabletop road,
failed to react in time and flipped over a flock of sheep running
across the road.
"He broke his leg in several places," said Power with
a grimace.
He went on to tell of the secluded places they visited.
"We were like the center of attention," said Power,
describing curious locals asking a million questions that put
his "mediocre Spanish" to the best possible use.
Photographer Henry von Wartenberg was part of Power’s posse,
and this Argentinean rider is a key player in his travelogue.
"It was terrifying," said Powers, as he tried to re-enact
von Wartenberg riding backwards on his motorcycle, steering with
his legs while taking pictures of the surroundings and the other
’cyclists.
Over the course of their long journey, the writer and photographer
became good friends, said Power. In the story, he recalls the
duo’s extra excursions, or the time when "Henry was riding
on the back of my bike, facing backwards taking pictures, and
I just totally wiped us both out."
With a smile, Power added, "But we just got up laughing."
Whether climbing the Great Wall of China, dirt-biking through
Africa, spending a year in India, boating down the Mississippi
River, or paragliding with actor Ewan McGregor, Power wants to
live life to the fullest.
But even while rocketing down treacherous Bolivian roads, Power
knows he has to pay his own health insurance. Yet there is something
about extreme traveling that just keeps him coming back for more.
In a "constant pursuit past the horizon to see what’s next,"
Power goes and somehow lives to come back and write about it.
"I just love that feeling of going sort of off the well-trodden
path," he explained.
What’s next for Power? Well, an idea stemming from the Andes
motorcycle trip might bring him back to South America to tackle
the vast deserts on horseback, while following a group of gauchos.
He’s planning on bringing von Wartenberg along.
When asked if he can ride a horse, Power replied, "I could
probably figure it out OK."
Journalist Matt Power will read from
his story, "The Andes: Full Throttle," at The Half
King, 505 W. 23rd St. at 10th Avenue in Manhattan, on Nov. 20
at 7 pm. For more information, call (212) 462-4300 or visit the
Web site www.thehalfking.com.
