The Very Beginning

I am not sure when this exactly all started.

 Perhaps it was seeing a gnarled old man on a motorcycle at a truck stop off of some unknown southern highway whilst crammed into a hot minivan full of screaming cousins. Or maybe while poking along a two way back road in Georgia in 86' Buick LeSabre with my white knuckled Great-Grandmother driving like we were on the FDR drive at rush hour, only to suddenly in the absence of all other humankind hear the deep scream of a motorcycle rip past us as though we were pigeons in the presence of eagles.

Whatever it was that triggered my inherent love for motorcycles when I reflect back as I have done more of recently, I realize what motorcycles have always represented for me. It is freedom.

I can get on a motorcycle and be free. There is no one else but me, my mind, and my machine. My heart beats faster even with the thought of flying along a shaded country road with the throttle rolled and the wind deafening me to the outside world. The sense of tranquility and adrenaline may seem to contradict one another to some. But for me that is where I find peace, at the cusp of danger, constantly pushing myself in order to continue grow and learn.

Ten years ago at the ripe young age of eighteen, pissed at the world and ready to make my stand I decided I would ride a motorcycle around the country as a lifestyle. I would camp as needed, work where I could, and basically haphazardly wing the journey. There was no vision or destination, I just wanted to run. To be free.

Around a month ago I was revisiting my list of goals for the year and making quick progress. Lots of X's next to former challenges. Being only three months in 2014 I felt great accomplishment and yet needed more challenges to overcome. But what would be next? Weighing out reasonable options the motorcycle dream suddenly came to the forefront. But this time it is approached with reason and structure. The dream is the same but being accomplished in a completely different manner. Structured and well thought out.

That is the goal of my writing this blog, to help new riders with the very beginnings of the journey. I hope you can learn from my personal experience, avoiding some of the pot holes I am sure to encounter along the way. From the bowels of the DMV,  to journeys around the world.

 I hope you all can read, enjoy, and learn with me.