Why do we do what we do?

1979 YZ 400F

JUST laying here this morning... mostly thinking of my motorcycle career.  It's been varied to say the least.  Having spent nearly 25 years directly involved with the biz and several more indirectly, I thought, why do we do these things?

XT 600 A South of San Felipe, Baja

XJ600S Seca II near Chetwynd B.C.

Me... I had an early interest in things mechanical and of course bikes were amongst them, but it was something else that got me going I think.  I was a bit of a round peg in a square hole to begin with, being a refugee kid.  Bikes were a way to extend my dreams of travel and adventure and escape.  Compared to many over the years, I was very fortunate that my parents if

















not encouraging, were at least understanding about my desire to ride.  I had a bike at age thirteen and rode it all over the place for a whole summer without so much as a license!  Even when I turned fourteen and rode the bike downtown to the motor vehicle building somewhere around 109th street, the examiner asked me point blank, "How did you get here?"  I lied, "oh a friend with another bike came down with me..."

Kazue/DT 50 Rocky Mountains AB

DR 200 SE Arizona back country

Of course he knew I was fibbing but administered the test anyway.  I failed, neglecting to stop before leaving the parking lot.  A second try a few days later was more successful and at the ripe old age of fourteen... I was FREE and Mobile!   

Over the decades I have ridden virtually everything and every type out there.  I took an early interest in motocross, and not only raced for 15 years but ran clubs, built tracks, studded tires and raced on ice etc.  After awhile, having nurtured my early craving for travel farther afield and ridden to Jasper and Banff on small displacement two stroke street bikes, I bought a BMW, which at eighteen, rode coast to coast.  Since then I have been very fortunate to ride dirt, desert, street racetracks and even a YSR 50 from PEI to Toronto for the '89 Yamaha dealer convention.

YSR 50 Burlington PEI

Suzuki T 350 Rebel HW 63

If you look in my garage today you'll find a scooter, two Honda step through's, some vintage bikes, an old Trials bike, a couple sporty bikes, my Thunderbird, a quad, three displacements of dual purpose bikes, all of which I have ridden or ride today. 

Italian scooter in Cuba

Having been in the business so long, often you'd find your customers or friends preferring a particular aspect of riding, like touring bikes... or sporty bikes or dirt bikes.  I feel equally comfortable on everything.  I could be riding my Trials bike in the morning, then in the afternoon, be riding the mountains (or coast now that I'm here) on a sports touring bike.  I could be tooling around the mountains of Giganta on the DT or XT, or bags loaded, be climbing the Bear Tooth Pass.  I could even be carving a corner in the Swiss Alps!

Diversion 600, Swiss Alps

For anyone stuck on a single facet of riding, I say... expand your zone, push the envelope and try something different, who knows... you might find touring or trekking the back roads and trails invigorating to your soul!

Tom Tabbert and I on Elsie's, Cabot Trail

Ride on!