Riding out to help the planet on a Royal Enfield diesel

A diesel Royal Enfield takes on a global issue at its own, slow, pace

Two young men are riding a diesel powered Royal Enfield motorcycle through the Northeast United States talking to the people they meet about climate change.

Erik Fyfe and Albert Thrower, friends since sixth grade, post video interviews they conduct on the blog Slow Ride Stories. They kicked off the trip with a sail up the Hudson River on a sloop, motorcycle and all.

Sailing seems environmentally friendly, and the two riders are pleased when they find bio-diesel fuel for their Royal Enfield.

The 9-horsepower diesel, loaded with two people, video equipment and pulling a trailer, required a push to get up some hills.

Diesel pulling a trailer required a push to get uphill.

Climate change is political poison in the United States, with most politicians anxious to avoid addressing it.

Erik and Albert obviously lean toward the view that we'd better not ignore it. They're out to get people talking by asking what they think, even if it means Albert has to get his ponytail cut off so they can chat up the hair stylist.

 "The only way we're going to be able to do something about it is if we figure out how to engage everyone into this conversation. So going and talking to random people on the street is a little bit of an experiment, to test out what's it like to try to talk about this kind of difficult issue that maybe makes some people uncomfortable, because it is so politicized. And, then, to figure out what people know about the issue, and what might be some effective ways to talk about it," Erik says.

They have a sense of humor, the scenery is beautiful and there's that Royal Enfield diesel motorcycle to root for.