Meet The New Rider # 1208 Misty Rasdall

My name is Misty Rasdall. I was born and raised just outside of Kansas City, KS. I live in Seattle and have been here for a few years now. I’m fairly new to riding having started in March 2023 on my first bike, an 05’ Sporty. I had a lot of trouble figuring out the manual transmission since I had never driven a stick shift before. But my partner and fellow Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge rider, Harold Chase #940, worked with me and as soon as I understood what I was doing, I was gone. I realized quickly that when it comes to motorcycling, I was born of this. So, I bought an 04’ Heritage that I named Pegasus and in my first 6 months of owning it I rode 1k miles in less than 19 hours, did a 5k solo to the Midwest and back, and put over 25k miles on that bike. We will be making this ride together as well. 

I've been diagnosed with ADHD and Celiac Disease for a while now. So, no gluten for me. But, I was recently also diagnosed with Autism, OCD, and PTSD. Riding was immediately, and has continued to be, a form of therapy for me. It’s time that I’m not being judged, triggered, or forced to conform. I also lost 225 pounds during the Covid lockdown after flying to Tijuana for gastric sleeve surgery in December 2019. I’ve been eating keto ever since to keep it off so I can continue enjoying living life and riding.

I learned about the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge from Harold and I knew that I had to tackle it for myself. We rode to the 2023 Hoka Hey Rendezvous in Eagle Nest, NM where I got to meet many of the other riders and get a lot of good advice. I have always been attracted to things that challenge me whether it be mentally, emotionally, or physically. I expect this will be a test of all three. However, I am taking on this challenge to honor the man and woman, Jim Red Cloud and Beth Durham, who started it, to join an awesome family of fellow riders, and to get a really cool patch… I have already proven to myself that I am a warrior and survivor because every time life has tested me, I've passed the test. Like the Hoka Hey, life is a challenge, and in the end it’s only with ourselves.