Meet The New Rider # 1376 Dan Middleton

 

 

 Hello All,
I am Dan Middleton (#1376). I grew up in the small southern town of Loxley Alabama. I like to think I had a pretty normal childhood. Average grades, average athletic ability, and average height. After high school I joined the US Marine Corps, and after a couple years found my way to a reconnaissance unit. 

 

Over the next 20+ years I bounced to 7 different duty stations and deployed all over the world. After retiring from the USMC, I decided to get a formal college education. In 2020, I completed my BA Economics, and in 2022 I finished my most recent degree - MS in Data Science. I have two great kids, and 3 even better step-kids. I feel clarification is needed, when I say “kids” I should say that their ages range from 30-18. So maybe not “kids” per se, but still super great nonetheless.

 

 My first bike was a 1973 Honda 350 F that I rode to every day to high school. My next bike was a 2014 Suzuki Hayabusa and, after realizing that I was not as limber as I once was, I decided to switch it up completely and bought my first HD (2018 SGS). On that Street Glide I discovered that I really love touring across the country on a bike. There’s something purely spiritual and introspective when you see the landscape changing right in front of you.  I took 2 separate summer trips - each over 17,000 miles - on that bike, and when the time came to get a refresh, I bought my current bike (2023 RG ST).

 

 I’ve done a couple trips on it so far, but the best of all my long rides was when my wife joined me this past summer on her Indian Super Chief. Seeing the world change around you is humbling as I described earlier, but to do it with someone makes the experience more than a “yeah, I saw that.” It elevates the moment to a shared memory, facilitating the manifestation of something beyond oneself, giving those who shared the experience an unspoken connection from which they will forever have to the other. As one could assume, I have had many shared experiences with my recon brothers while I was on active duty. I didn’t realize how truly special that was 'till I went several years without it. Now thanks to my wife, her support, and the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge , I may just find it once more… If I can be so blessed.