17th Dec 2022
Two weeks ago I was shocked to find out that my American buddy, Bo Harper, who I rode with on the recent California trip, had been diagnosed with late stage liver cancer. Just a couple of days ago I received the sad news that Bo had passed away!
It is less that 2 months since Bo and I finished a fantastic 2000 mile tour of California. Bo told me at the time he had some health issues which were under investigation; but if he knew then the extent of the problem he never let on; nor indeed did his physical condition affect his riding on the trip, or his ever positive and dynamic personality.
I first met Bo in Feb 2019 during a motorcycle tour of Rajasthan in India; we were introduced by our mutual friend, Fred Dion, whom I had met on a previous motorcycle tour of Thailand & Laos; Fred had known Bo for many years. We spent 10 days together in India and the 3 of us had a great time and got on really well. We kept in touch via WhatsApp and the plan was always for the 3 of us to ride together again one day.
I had hoped that my California trip would be the opportunity we needed, but Fred lives in Malaysia and was unable to make the dates. Bo on the other hand said yes straight away and the plan was set for him to fly in from his home near Chicago and hire a motorcycle from the same rental company and we would ride the trip together.
We spent 8 days together riding the 2000 mile route I had planned; we shared a twin room on 4 of the 7 nights away, so during that time I got to know Bo fairly well. We had our “moments” along the way; Bo’s style of riding and mine were very different, but overall the mix of Brit and American got on well and it was great for me having a “local” with me. Bo was the sort of guy who would strike up an instant conversation with anyone and we certainly met some interesting characters during the trip.
We kept in touch since the trip finished, sharing photos and video clips; when I heard the news from Fred regarding Bo’s diagnosis I reached out to give him my best wishes. He came back with these words “the ride that we did in California was stupendous and wonderful and a great learning experience. That might have been the last motorcycle ride of my life..hopefully we’re not done yet”. A week later he was gone!
There is a message there for us all…Life is a gift..so make every day count!
I am still working on putting together a video of the California trip..it will be dedicated to Bo.