My First Year Riding
My Motorcycle Journey & the Lessons That Saved My Life: PART 1
I started riding motorcycles in 2007 while stationed in Fayetteville, North Carolina. All of my close friends rode, and during deployments we constantly talked about the bikes we’d buy when we got home. At the time I didn’t ride yet, but the way they described the freedom and adrenaline told me I was going to fall in love with it.
My best friend—my brother for life—said he knew exactly which bike I needed. So when we returned from Iraq, I jumped straight into my riding journey on a Yamaha YZF-R6. For my first three months I chased friends who rode faster 600s, 750s, 1000s, and even 1300–1400cc bikes. Looking back, that was my first hard-earned lesson: **ride your own ride.** I should have stayed on the 600 and built real experience for at least six months to a year before advancing.
Instead, I bought a brand-new 1300cc Hayabusa. Physically, I was in peak condition as a paratrooper and SAW gunner—but mentally, I wasn’t ready. That became my second lesson: **motorcycling requires both mind and body at their best.** Even then, riding is never truly “safe.”
For the next nine months, I rode every day—without even having my motorcycle endorsement. What started as quick rides often turned into multi-state trips to places like Myrtle Beach or the Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee. We also ran from the cops—looking back we were reckless thrill seekers and we didn’t know any better.
One night, after a spontaneous ride back from Myrtle Beach, my brother and I were chased by state troopers and eventually stopped at a roadblock. Somehow, after a high-speed pursuit, I was issued a court date and allowed to ride home. Because I was preparing for a PCS to Fort Carson, Colorado, I flew back to North Carolina for court. I was lucky—the judge dismissed all charges. My friend, facing a different judge on the same day, received a three-year prison sentence for the same offense.
The judge later shared that his daughter had been killed in a motor vehicle accident.
When I returned to Colorado, I immediately enrolled in the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course. **That became one of the most important lessons of all: get trained and get endorsed.** Not only does proper certification remove legal stress, but the skills and safety knowledge you gain can truly save your life.
