In Real Life with Laurent Bugnion—Adventure on Two Wheels
One of the aspects I enjoy so much about this series is helping remove the idea that Microsoft employees are a certain ‘type.’ This couldn’t be farther from the truth! Each day, I get to work with such a diverse group of individuals with talents, interests, and passions that range far beyond expectations.
We’ve met professional musicians, competitive athletes, active volunteers, and this week, we meet Laurent Bugnion, a senior cloud advocate who spends his free time on two wheels zooming over the winding roads of Switzerland.
The wheels are a specific type: A 114-cubic inch Harley Davidson Fat Bob. (For the non-motorcycle types, as the name indicates, this is a large bike!)
But the Harley isn’t just a mode of transport for Laurent. It’s a lifestyle. And he leverages his community organizing skills off the bike to help create and grow a community on the bike.
A lifelong bike enthusiast, Laurent started riding at age 14, and rode quite a lot, starting small and acquiring bigger and faster bikes—until he had a family. The bike took a backseat for many years, but as the kids grew up and didn’t need as much of his attention, he found his way back to riding. He told me he chose the Fat Bob not so much for its mechanical prowess (which it indeed has), but for the opportunity to form a community.
“I wasn’t set really on Harley so much, but there was something in the lifestyle and the community. There's something around the Harley attire and lifestyle which I feel are very in-line with my personality. And it makes me feel good.”
Laurent hit on an important point, especially in our current times. Community is critical to a feeling of leading a complete life. Laurent’s day job is focused building developer communities, and he transfers that skill to his hobby. Feeling he didn’t have the available time to commit to the full-blown Harley motorcycle club, Laurent found his community on Facebook.
Within his Facebook group, he arranges group rides, which have ranged in size from 10-70. (Imagine driving on winding Swiss roads with 70 motorcycles around!) Laurent told me the best part of his community is the diversity—getting to know and gather with people from all walks of life.
“It was really great to find a totally new community. Some of them work in construction, banks, hospitals, and more. It’s been fun discovering a whole new brand of people who all have the same passion, which is riding the bike.”
I’d say Laurent’s found his calling, and I’d love him to take me for a ride someday with his motorcycle community.
For updates from Laurent on developer platforms, Harley riding, and his other adventures, you can follow him on Twitter. Additionally, he co-curates/hosts a web series on Learn TV called Hello World.