Easy Riders

BY Hope Cristol

They’re traveling across continents on the adventure of a lifetime

     Chris Cockerell and Melissa Araya had just finished reading Long Way Round, a book about actors Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman’s motorcycle trip from London to New York.  Chris was smitten with the idea of a long haul on two wheels.

     “We should do something like this,” he said to his wife.

     Melissa, who has rheumatoid arthritis, quickly asked, “What about my medicine?”

     She relies on etanercept (Enbrel), which must be refrigerated.  Chris said he’d figure it out.

     He explored a variety of coolers on the market, but none would have worked for the journey he had in mind.  “I needed something that could be dropped at 60 miles an hour and survive.  I also needed something that was dual voltage, so it could be used on the bike and also inside the hotel rooms,” says Chris.

     A self taught mechanical whiz, he built a small, durable, dual voltage refrigerator and wired an extra battery on the bike—a 2009 BMW 1200GSA, which he further modified with backrests and a comfortable seat.

     After a test trip up the east coast from their home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Melissa, 49, was satisfied that her knees and the fridge could withstand the months on the road.

     Their major trip began last May.  They shipped the motorcycle to Montana, rode through British Columbia and headed down  the west coast to Central America.  After an October break at home, they resumed their plan to cover more of Central America and then South America, before finishing in Antarctica by the end of January.

     For Chris, this is a grand adventure combining his three favorite things: motorcycles, traveling, and time with his wife.  Bust Melissa has a very different take.

     “For me, honestly, it’s a test of myself.  I’ve been in the corporate world for a long time”—first in travel marketing for American Express, now running her own travel consultancy—“and I’m used to looking pretty.  Now I’ve got dirt under my fingernails, helmet hair, and I wear the same thing every day.”

     She is also proving to herself that rheumatoid arthritis doesn’t have to limit her life.  Melissa is diligent about taking care of her body on the road, just as she does at home, to keep symptoms at bay.  She works out most mornings, avoids wheat and caffeine and eats anti-inflammatory foods.

     Occasionally her knees get sore, so she takes a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug or uses Voltaren gel.  But before long she always gets going again: exploring caves, climbing mountains, and riding for hours in every possible weather condition.

     “I just want to be able to keep up with my husband,” she says.