Mud Season in Copper Canyon: JJ Lewis
“You can’t do it alone. You have to go through it with others.” -JJ Lewis
Adventure Motorcyclist JJ Lewis recounts a multi-day guided tour through Copper Canyon, Mexico in February of 2020. A gifted storyteller, JJ invites us into the exciting and emotional details of his life-changing experience including river crossings, sideways sleet and peanut-butter slick mud. The life-lesson is sure to inspire. For all you influencers out there, this one takes twist, (and turn) from the traditional path of leadership. Let’s ride!
1:18 – Early years. The South West. Divorce. The gift of motorcycles.
2:15 – The new life dad was building. Everything seemed okay on the back of a motorcycle.
3:10 – Calico ghost town. Brrrap across the desert.
3:40 – The Good Adventure Co.
5:45 – Copper Canyon. Crossing into Mexico. Small towns, drug cartel.
7:30 – Issues with dad. Parkinson’s. “Recognition he was never going to be the dad I needed him to be.”
9:14 – Memories. Apologies. Reconciliation. “Love you, dad.”
11:29 – Trip is set in motion. It’s going down.
13:45 – Thirty-five degrees and sleeting. Mood’s sliding.
14:33 – Mom calls. Dad passed. Walking into the rain.
15:38 – Thought I needed to be “that guide”. Soaked to the bone. Heated grips no match for the cold.
17:55 – River!!! Three feet deep, gushing over the road. Thousand foot fall.
18:55 – Human chain. Holding hands. Bringing each bike through the rapids.
20:20 – Great rider. Waved off the other two riders and hammered through like a madman.
21:30 – Decked out F-250’s, 16 year-olds with AK-47’s. Totally different culture.
24:00 – Back tracking two hours to the rendezvous.
28:00 – Views are incredible. “You think the Grand Canyon’s amazing? The Copper Canyon is a network of vast beauty.”
29:00 – Peanut butter thick mud. Clutch is burning. “Dude, my dad died a couple days ago.” Brotherly connection.
31:00 – “We got you, JJ”
33:00 – No margin for error. Missed a turn. 5 miles in rain like you’ve never seen.
35:00 – I didn’t need to the fearless, attractable leader.
36:00 “This is going in my book!”
37:00 Kissing the ground.
38:00 Life-lesson: “There’s no choice but to go through it. You can’t do it alone, you have to go though it with others.”
39:00 End.
To book a trip with JJ: visit “GoodADVCompany” on Facebook or “GoodADV” on Instagram.
#TakeYourMedicine
