I guess my fascination with motorcycles started in my early childhood when my older brother
got an old school minibike with a 3 horse-power engine in it. Of course, it was "his" and I
couldn't ride it, but Mom and Dad over-ruled and I was eventually able to get it moving by
myself, pants caught in the open clutch and all. From that moment on, I was hooked on 2
wheels!
Growing up on a 22-acre horse farm and working on a 200-acre dairy farm led to many
opportunities to ride. My first real bike was a 1974 Honda XR 75. I think I rode it to the moon
and back about 3 times! I loved that little thing! As time went on, my friends and I got bigger
dirt bikes which turned into 3 wheelers then into 4 wheelers which led to racing motocross! I
never finished in the top 10 but I was having the time of my life. Once out of high school, cars
and women were the thing, I traded college for a big block 1970 Z28 Camaro, hindsight is a
killer when I think about that one!
One evening in the early 90's my brother brought home a 1985 Honda V45 Magna. At first, I
thought he was crazy, until he let me ride it! Holy schnikes! I had to have one! Beginning in
1995, my boys Austin (29) and Tyler (26) became my priority with sports, BMX, 4-wheelers, then
motocross, again, growing pains, grandchild, life in general. When the boys were racing, I got
the itch to race motocross again with them, which led me to breaking both ankles and put me in
a wheelchair for 3 months. In early in 2000, I had a grand-mal seizure, in bed next to my ex-wife
thank God, which led to the discovery of a malignant brain tumor. Surgery, radiation, chemo and
24 years later and I’m still stable! I didn't get the opportunity to buy my own street bike until
2005 when my neighbor bought a brand new 2004 Honda VTX 1800C. As a result of his new
purchase, I bought his old Suzuki VS800 Intruder. It was a great starter bike, and I learned a lot
about riding the streets. Things didn't work out for him financially and he ended up selling the
“X” to me. Feeling bad about his financial distress, I gave the keys to the Intruder back to him
and having almost nothing, he shed a few tears and so did I. I've put over 100K on the X since
October of 2005. I did a lot of local riding and bar hopping at first then in 2014, I decided I
wanted to stretch my wings a little farther.
There had been a poster of a covered bridge hanging on the wall at work for about 10 years so
and one day I said where is that? Turns out it was Watson Mill Covered Bridge in Comer, GA,
(675 miles 1 way). So, I made the decision to take a long weekend just to ride through it. As
“practice” before my first “solo” tour, I set out from Northern DE towards Western MD, maybe
300 miles round trip, easy peasy. I’m not scared to admit that I was scared and shaking going
around the Baltimore beltway the first time! All the “what ifs” passed through my mind and I
turned around, defeated, after 100 miles. A few weeks later, full of confidence, I set off on a
glorious 1900-mile round-trip tour of covered bridges and waterfalls throughout VA, GA, NC,
and WV.
A couple of months after my return from that beautiful 9-day trip, another grand-mal seizure,
behind the wheel at work this time. I rear-ended a 3500 series dually while stopped at a traffic
light. Thanks again to God that there were no injuries to anyone involved! Because of this
seizure, the doctor told me that I had leukemia and would need to be on chemo for the rest of
my life. It’s almost as if the seizures were telling me to go to the doctor because something was
critically wrong with me. I’m grateful that the seizures are under control, and I have a new
outlook on life.
I have done quite a bit of solo touring, week long vacations with small riding groups and
sightseeing since then. Now is the time for me to face the ultimate challenge. I cannot wait to
put myself to the ultimate test and find out what I’m really made of on the 2024 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge ! In light of the physical and mental fears that I have faced in my lifetime and because of the
challenges that so many men and women face on a daily basis, I have chosen 2 non-profit
organizations to help show people that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that they are
not alone. My fundraising contributions will go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
and
No comments:
Post a Comment