Posted by Carl Gerhardt on Apr 17, 2018
On 4/17/2018, Dirk Weisiger (inventor, traveler, speaker) told the members of the Magnolia Rotary Club about his motorcycle trip from Austin, Texas to Ushuaia, Argentina. Pictured above is from left to right, Rotarian Richard Allison and Dirk Weisiger.
 
Dirk Weisiger started his presentation by telling everyone that everywhere he went, he saw the Rotary International signs and that Rotary is well know throughout the world. Dirk then told everyone that he grew up on a ranch in south Texas and at the age of 18, he left his family and with two buddies went to work for a cattle ranch in Wyoming. It was here that he sharpened his skilled as a rider and a roper. After two years, he wanted to do something else and he decided to go to college. However, he needed to help pay for his college so he sold Bibles door to door for 4 summers. This sales experience led him to start his own insurance firm which made him a nice living and at the age of 48, he decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. In 2012, after a divorce, he decided to ride a motorcycle from Austin. Texas to the tip of South America even though he had never ridden a motorcycle. He purchased a used BMW Adventure Bike from a friend he knew in Austin, Texas. This friend taught him everything he knew about cross country riding and then the two of them set off on his trip to the tip of South America.
 
When Dirk and his friend got got to Oaxaca, Mexico his friend had to head back to work in the U.S. Dirk had to make a choice as to whether or not to go on alone or return with his friend. Dirk then decided to continue on his own and he told everyone about the perils of the ride, the beauty of the countries he rode through, and how friendly most of the people where to him. He told everyone about one hotel he stayed in where there was loud gunfire all around his room from midnight until 2:00 AM and with all the gangs around, he thought he might not get back. However, his prayers were answered and he was able to continue. Dirk also told everyone about Pedro, a man he met in Honduras who thanked him profusely. When Dirk asked him why, he said that years before he had left his country a "nobody", traveled to the U.S., worked for a number of years as a construction worked and sent all of his earnings home. When he returned, he had saved enough money to buy a ranch and hire many of his friends and family to work on it. This made him a "somebody" in his own country. For this he felt like he owed a debt of gratitude to the U.S. and Dirk was an American so he told him he would help him any way he could.
 
Dirk told everyone about a small Baptist school in Managua, Nicaragua called the Colegio Bautista El Calvario that so impressed him that when he got home, he sent enough money to sponsor kids from 7 families in the area and he now gives a portion of the proceeds from his book (Leave Tomorrow) to that school. He brought enough books to the meeting that Rotarians could buy a signed book from him and several did just that.
 
Dirk then explained that once he got on the Pan American Highway (a policeman told him it was the safest route to take), many of the policemen would stop him along the way and take a picture with him before helping him on his way. Dirk specifically told everyone how nice the people of all the countries were to him. Dirk finally ended up at his destination in a town called Ushuaia, Argentina.
 
Dirk told everyone that it was during this trip that he learned the difference between an ego and a calling. An ego looks inward while a calling looks outward. He also learned that everyone has a story (or a movie) to tell and that everyone should live their movie and express their calling. Dirk the ended by telling everyone  to "Leave tomorrow and send him a postcard". For more info about Dirk Weisiger you can read his book called "Leave Tomorrow" or click on http://dirkweisiger.com/about/.
 
At the end of the Rotary meeting, the members drew tickets to see who or if someone would win the raffle. It turned out the Richard Allison won and he immediately told everyone that he would give the prize fund to the Colegio Bautista El Calvario in Managua, Nicaragua that Dirk had spoke of. Dirk thanked Richard for his generosity and thanked the Magnolia Rotary Club for allowing him to tell his story.
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