My
name is Aaron Lee Kuykendall from Winchester, Virginia. I started
riding motorcycles at 19 with no prior experience and had no family or
friends that rode at the time. My first bike was an old abandoned Suzuki
street bike that sat in a barn for 10 years and had every problem
possible. I was hooked from day one of riding it though (whenever it
would run). Fast forward 5 years and multiple motorcycles later; I
decided to take my passion further and enrolled in York Technical
Institute's Motorcycle Technology Center in York, Pennsylvania where I
earned my diploma in Motorsports Technology as well as many
certifications for Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Harley Davidson. Soon
after graduation I started a job at the Harley Davidson plant in York,
PA as quality technician and B Tech, then moved up to an A tech. After a
while of that I decided to move back to Virginia where I continued to
work as a tech in a few different motorcycle shops. I only started in
recent years doing long distance riding. My first road trip was in 2022
on a Yamaha Raider where a friend and I rode from Virginia to Sturgis,
SD then I split off on a solo ride to the pacific coast and back to
Virginia. Within the next couple of years I rode through the lower 48
states plus parts of Canada and Mexico.
I want to
ride the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge because it offers an experience
like no other. It will push me to my limit at times but also require me
to stay focused, not lose track of the goal, problem solving, and
improving myself and skills as a rider. I've ridden for pure enjoyment
and now I want to ride for a purpose to help raise money for the
non-profit organizations that I've chosen. I'm looking forward to
meeting other riders and going through this insane journey.
I have chosen to ride to raise money and awareness for two non-profit organizations close to me.
The first one is for Cure SMA. Spinal
muscular atrophy (SMA) is caused by a mutation in the survival motor
neuron gene 1 (SMN1). In a healthy person, this gene produces a protein
that is critical to the function of the nerves that control our muscles.
Individuals with SMA don’t produce survival motor neuron (SMN) protein
at high enough levels. Without this protein, those nerve cells cannot
properly function and eventually die, leading to debilitating and
sometimes fatal muscle weakness. This one hits close to home because my
lifelong friend known as Kneepatch has a son named Donnie that was born
with SMA. He has been taking monthly treatments for years and shows
signs of improvement. Every year Kneepatch organizes a ride for his son
called "Ride All Day for SMA" to lead a group of motorcyclists to the
SMA Walk-n-Roll event that helps raise money for those affected. His
son's team is called "Donnie's Dinos" and the link is to raise money for
SMA representing Donnie's team, but donations go straight to SMA's
organization.
My second non-profit organization I chose to ride and raise money for is the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in
Boyce, Virginia. BRWC is not only my local wildlife hospital and
rehabilitation center, but also a professional education center. There
they offer a variety of educational programs that teach children and
adults about our local wildlife's history, habits, and characteristics.
They also offer summer internships and year around externships for
veterinary and vet tech students. BRWC is an important facility in my
local area that helps protect, heal, and conserve native Virginia
wildlife while also educating the public on them.
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Sponsor: 141 Speed Cycles
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