Young rider Jesusleny Gomes Neres has led an adventurous and by no means easy life, but her unshakeable faith has enabled her to face her challenges with courage and strength.

Born in Brazil, Jesusleny has Venetian roots, and like more than half a million Brazilian citizens she speaks Talian, a dialect which shares the grammar and vocabulary of the Venetian language.

It was love that brought Jesusleny to Italy with her then six-month-old daughter in 2001, when she was 17 and a half. She now has three children, aged 22, 10, and 3, and lives in Verona working as a digital marketing entrepreneur and expert in IT platforms and cybersecurity. She also works in Germany and speaks German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Venetian.

Since moving to Europe, Jesusleny has developed a passion for exploring her local area and beyond. In just five months, she visited all 574 municipalities in the Veneto region entirely on foot: 3,000 kilometres in total. Then, at the height of the pandemic in 2021, she walked from Munich to Verona over 14 days, a journey that she documented on her blog, Diversamente Veneto.

“I enjoy sharing my experiences to inspire other people. I believe everyone can overcome their fears and prejudices to realise their dreams,” Jesusleny explains. “Perhaps not everyone has had the same opportunities as me, or can make their voice heard the way I feel I can today.”

Despite her extensive solo adventures, Jesusleny has found that there are still attitudes to be challenged: “I love travelling, and I often travel alone, whether on foot, by car, or on my bike. The first question I’m always asked is, ‘Aren’t you scared?’ Would they ask me that if I were a man? As a woman who came to Italy at a very young age, I know how difficult it is to fulfil your potential and be taken seriously both in society and professionally.”

Jesusleny’s communication skills, and her ability to reach out to people with messages of solidarity and inclusion, have put her at the head of both symbolic and concrete social initiatives.

“Last January, ACI Veneto and ACI Venezia Automobile Club entrusted me with a Fiat 1100 103 T Zagato – only 14 of these were built, in 1953. I drove for 2,600 km around Austria, Germany and Italy to bring the flame of friendship, hope and joy to places dependent on tourism, which had suffered so much during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

It was only very recently that Jesusleny discovered an appreciation for travelling on two wheels – a spark that emerged when she was given her first motorcycle lessons by Renato Zocchi, a rider who has won titles in African motocross and rallies.

“When I was young, I worked as a model and hostess at motorcycling events, but bikes scared me a bit. I don’t like taking risks. However, I was intrigued by the biker environment, with its tough and unconventional outward appearance concealing strong values of solidarity. And besides, the sound of the Harley-Davidson^® engine gets into your veins. Once you've had a taste of it, you can't do without it anymore!”

As soon as Jesusleny obtained her licence in May 2022, she bought a Cross Bones^® and left the same day for Biker Mania, her first rally in Austria. “I didn't know how to take corners – and there are hundreds of them in the mountains! I thank providence I arrived safe and sound through the rain and snow; it was a baptism of fire in very difficult conditions.”

“Every time I set out, I immerse myself in the landscape and I love the encounters along the way, but my thoughts are on making it home: I have three children waiting for me. The fear is real, but it brings responsibility with it. I never feel alone, I always feel God at my side.”

Last summer, Jesusleny set off in splendid solitude from Munich with her Harley^®, bound for Ravenna. Meeting friends old and new, she continued down the Adriatic coast, then along the shores of the Ionian Sea. She finally returned north up the Tyrrhenian coast, travelling some 4,000 kilometres in total, packed full of experiences and life lessons.

As Jesusleny sums it up: “You’re less protected on a bike, you’re at the mercy of nature. This encourages you not to close yourself off and push others away: you might need them. This lowers the social barriers and makes it easier to meet people.”