Kazuki Uchida is no ordinary businessman. He actuary makes money. That is close to being unique in Japans depressed economy today. He is making money because he made a decisive move at the right time.

Uchida runs a bookbinding and printing business in Tokyo. It is a modest enterprise inherited from his father, employing some 20 men and women. He used to receive orders for his service from publishers and other customers through layer of middlemen. After paying commissions to them and paying wages to his employees, he made little profit. This was typical of small-scale printers and bookbinders. It still is.

About 10 years ago, Uchida came across a brochure describing unique machine made in Switzerland capable of folding printed material in an almost infinite number of forms on a mass scale. He instantly fell in love with the machine and placed an order without even taking a look at the actual thing. Its price was close to one-half of his annual gross sales revenue, but he did not care. He knew no body else in Japan had one, and he knew it would revolutionize the bookbinding business.

Uchida proved right. When the machine was delivered to his factory, he played with it, studied it, slept with it and finally mastered it. Uchida used the machine to start producing a new type of direct-mail package, which he named the “Mailable Pack“ He aggressively marketed it and began receiving orders for it directly from customers. The rest is history. His gross sales increased by almost 400 percent and he no longer depends on middlemen for his business.

But this is not the only reason Uchida is not your ordinary businessman. In addition having a love affair with the Swiss-made machine, he has another continuing love affair -- with motorcycles. It goes back to 1964 when, then 16 years old, he began riding his first little Honda. At age 18, he took off and rode off his bike from Hokkaido to Kyushu, covering 11,000 kilometers in 50 days.

This was not however, just an angry young man revolting against his father and the Establishment. For 25 years later, after his wife died leaving him with their three daughters, he decided to realize his life-long dream -- a motorcycle tour of the United States. He bought a mighty, 1,370 cubic-centimeter Harley Davidson Ultra-Glide motorcycle. In 1992 he made a test run from Aomori to Kyushu, covering 3,500 kilometers in four days. Regaining his sense of balance on the two wheels, he then rode his Harley from New York to Denver, covering 3,400 kilometers in three- and-half days. He did it without telling anybody, not even his daughters.

Then, convinced he could make it all the way to the West Coast, he tried again in 1994. This time he drove n from New York to San Francisco in 82 hours and 55 minutes. This was apparently the world's fastest crossing of the North American continent on a motorcycle. But the Guinness Book of Records refused to certify it because there were no official witnesses. He therefore calls it the ''Not-the-Guinness“ world record.

That time, his three daughters accompanied him in a van across the continent. He and his daughters distributed 5,000 Mailable Packs along with way to San Francisco, each containing a friendship message between the citizens of the United States and Japan.

Having realized his dream, has he stopped adventurous rides? No. He will take to the road again this May, biking from Los Angeles to New York in seven days.The trip will cover 5,000 kilometers, and this time Uchida will distribute Mailable Packs containing messages about the prevention of AIDS.

The Japan Red Cross is one of his official sponsors for this upcoming ride. In 2002, he plans to ride from China to Russia in 20 days through the Mongolian highland. In 2005, from Malaysia to Nepal in 20 days. Then, in 2008 he plans to ride from Tokyo to London through the Korean Peninsula, China, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the rest of Europe in 120 days By then, he reckons that all the conflicts in this part of the world will have ended. By then, he will also have turned 60 years old.

Uchida calls himself a Crazy Rider. It seem however, more appropriate to call this energetic Japanese man a Dream Rider.