At a glance, the story of Eric Lobo seems to be a typical journey of self-discovery.

The 40-something builder with a monthly salary of more than 25,000 euros lost 95 percent of what he had during the 2009 global financial meltdown. 

With what was left and some mortgage, he bought a Harley-Davidson motorbike and began traveling, taking photographs of the scenery and people he met, and writing about the trips. He has authored a handful of books, befriended people around the globe -- including the Chechen leader -- found new love and dreams.

But what saves him from those clichés is that he did not take the ride as a “soul-searching journey.”

“People ask me what I think of when I am on my Harley,” Lobo said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Monday.

He was in Korea as part of his journey starting from Spain to Cuba with his Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob.

“The truth is, I think of nothing. Driving a motorbike and being distracted for a second could kill you. There’s not really that much of epiphany going on like you would dream about a renegade. You just concentrate on the road ahead of you,” he said.

He does not use GPS or a navigation system during the journey, and has no specific plans for anything apart from the fact he ought to drive across the icy roads of Canada before April next year, because he is really determined to take all the risks in life as part of his adventure.

Having covered 29,000 kilometers on his motorbike, Lomo has many anecdotes to tell.

He encountered “enthusiastic Russians in Siberia embracing the short-lived spring and summer,” and fell for one women there. With his girlfriend, he joined hot-headed Harley Owners Group members on the Sokcho Rally in Korea and found himself drifting on somewhere in Daegu, miles away from Sokcho. He got lost in translation in the European prairies of Hungary and felt that while they all live in one Europe, they will never be the same.

These stories that made him stronger and happier, getting him 5,000 followers on Facebook and another tens of thousands cheering him every day.

“During the trip I fell short of money and I sold T-shirts and other itms online. People bought them! I think what they bought was not the item itself but my dream, and their dreams of leaving,” he said.

Lobo left for the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia on Wednesday.

After the transcontinental adventure, he plans to write a book about this trip and donate his motorbike -- which be bought for 15,000 euros and renovated the belt, handle, tires and others to attach the luggage and enhance safety -- to the Harley-Davidson museum in the U.S.

He has not yet decided whether he will make another trip. But one thing for sure is that he has become stronger and much happier.

“From the very beginning to the end, it’s just me and my bike. That’s all,” he shrugged.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)