InsideOut Travel--Around the World

DESTINATION: AROUND THE WORLD


	Last Days of the 20th Century, Part 2
	by Lever Rukhin In last month’s installment, Lever Rukhin decides to sell the paintings of his late father—a man he remembers fondly but whose fame he sometimes feels like a weight—to finance his trip around the world on Fulcrum, a BMW motorcycle. After a late night phone call to an art dealer in New York, Rukhin packs up his things and rides out of Los Angeles, determined to document the last days of the 20th Century.				The money made from selling my dad's paintings as well as my savings had not yet been deposited into my checking account apparently, but I had $100 in the account. I had a new debit card and wasted no time on this little detail. Moe and Larry were deep asleep and didn't wake as I slipped out the door. A thick late-night fog rolled in from the Pacific Ocean as I shifted through gears towards Malibu. I accelerated nervously, the engine sounded horrible and I swerved from lane to lane, fighting to find balance atop the bike. I leaned forward and twisted the throttle along a curvy stretch of Pacific Coast Highway, heading north towards San Francisco. “I accelerated with the confidence that I was riding toward some sort of greatness, I could feel it, I was, yes, I was… out of gas.” I covered 100 miles thinking about what to look for, and what to document. Pulling over and doing a random survey would be so lame. I tried to come up with a plan, a strategy, but these thoughts suddenly took second place to an even greater concern—the motor. more >> << home
	Jan. 2004 Copyright 2003 InsideOut Travel << disclaimer