3000 MILES AND 7 DAYS ON MOTORCYCLES

Two Portuguese bikers connect NJ and Florida to fulfill a dream

Poets used to say that “the dream commands life.”  Motorcyclists Mário Rocha and Fernando Paulo had the dream of connecting New Jersey to Florida, more precisely, going to Daytona Beach, for the annual convention of bikers.

The dream truly does command life as the two adventurers left Newark on October 12 for 7 days and 3,000 miles on two motor bikes. In the middle of day two in North Carolina the pair completed the 11 miles and 318 turns of the mythical “Tail of the Dragon”, a dream within a dream”, according to Mário Rocha.

Mário lives in Carteret and Fernando in Hillside, and have been friends for many years. From year to year they always said they wanted to go on a dream trip “This year due to the pandemic, things actually happened and even with rain when we left on Monday, we were determined to make this trip unforgettable and it ended up being a wonderful adventure that we already want to repeat” said Rocha.

“In the middle of the trip, we stopped in North Carolina to complete some of the biker circuits that the state haS to offer, known as the mythical “Tail of the Dragon”, considered America’s number one motorbike road.

Designated US 129, “Tail of the Dragon” is located on the road between the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest with no intersecting roads or sidewalks to interrupt the journey. It is considered “the destination” of thousands of motorcycle fans during Spring, Summer and Autumn, and is widely considered the ride of a biker’s life.

This adventure is to be repeated – “it was a very interesting experience and the trip itself was very good, since the natural beauty and the pleasure of riding a motorcycle together is something phenomenal” said Fernando Paulo.

In Daytona the two adventurers were received by many friends, who are also addicted to motorbikes, “when we arrived in Daytona and in Palm Coast it was great to have friends waiting for us and to be welcomed by the Portuguese was a great complement to a trip that we will always remember”.

In the end, the two friends hope to be able to repeat the trip, “it was very good, I remember for example, that between North Carolina and Tennessee we rode on about 800 stunning miles and who knows, maybe we have to go back to explore that moment even more and this landscape as well” said Mário Rocha.