51 / 178
51
www.MountPleasantMagazine.com|
www.ILoveMountPleasant.com|
www.BestOfMountPleasant.comtual experience. He’s already journeyed on his motorcycle
through parts of Mexico, Morocco and Patagonia.
While the varying views of regional wildlife and snow-
capped mountains would have been ideal captures for
Instagram, Vlcek explained that once in “race mode,” your
priorities shift.
“Social media is the last thing you are thinking about,”
said Vlcek. “You could turn around and be faced with a
four-foot drop. You have to be fully in the moment and
aware of your surroundings.”
As the owner of Parrot Surf & Skate on Coleman
and co-owner of Channels, on King Street in downtown
Charleston, he considers racing and riding to be somewhat
of a meditation that helps him unwind from the stress of
everyday life and responsibilities.
“When I’m on the bike, my head is 100-percent clear,”
said Vlcek. “I’m not thinking about anything else.”
Never one to call himself competitive, Vlcek’s main
motive to do Dakar is about not looking back in regret on
the chances he failed to take. Expressing the frustration that
comes with seeing friends pass without fulfilling many of their
life goals, Vlcek seizes each moment as if it were his last.