Bikes in the Blood – Why I Learned to Ride Motorcycles

I grew up around motorcycles. My grandpa was a daredevil in the USO, my grandma took a dirtbike around Mexico, and my dad has been on bikes since he was 19. So it really wasn’t a surprise to anyone when at 25 I decided to get my motorcycle license. If anything, there was more of a wonder about what took me so long.

In my teen years I rode on the back of a few bikes, but didn’t catch the bug – not surprising since riding pillion still isn’t really for me. It wasn’t until Jordan let me cruise around a parking lot on his 1969 Honda CD175 that I was hooked. I couldn’t get enough of that little bike and I loved shifting through the gears.

I took my CHP road course a few weeks later and picked up my first bike – a 1981 Suzuki GS450 – at a swap meet. A set of tires later, and I was on the road!

It’s been a lot of miles since then, but I keep coming back for that total excitement I felt cruising around that parking lot. It’s like reliving that moment every time I get on the bike.