I'm Roland Cannon, 46 years old and I live in Utah. I started riding at 6, and never quite grew up enough to stop.
As far as the law is concerned, I started street riding when I was 16...but probably closer to 14. That was on a kz650. Moved up to a xs11 yamaha after that. Many dirt bikes owned as well.
My younger brother died last year and I pretty much used the bikes as a way to make me want to live...to look forward to something, anything. With the long winters in Utah, that sometimes meant taking a bike down to the bare frame for cleaning. Put it back together the next night. Repeat process the next week to avoid going crazy.. Once the ice was off the roads, that feeling of freedom returned. Its easy to worry about whats going on in life, but when the faceshield clicks, your brain had better be concentrating on whats in front of you. No time to feel sadness, guilt, and anger over what you truly never had control of anyway...
Somewhere along the line, my wife of 22 years decided to go for a ride on the back of the sv 650. She loved it and came home the next day with a stack of gear from the local shop. I've done enough to the sv to make it a nice handling sportbike (horrible stock suspension) but soon realized it was not the perfect choice for two up rides over 20 miles.
That brings me back to the c14 I just bought. I've had it exactly one week and have found a way to put 700 miles on it. That's while working and providing daily care for my mother who is homebound with MS. Actually, that's why I needed the high speed touring bike..to make it the 12 miles, round trip, to her house!
As far as the law is concerned, I started street riding when I was 16...but probably closer to 14. That was on a kz650. Moved up to a xs11 yamaha after that. Many dirt bikes owned as well.
My younger brother died last year and I pretty much used the bikes as a way to make me want to live...to look forward to something, anything. With the long winters in Utah, that sometimes meant taking a bike down to the bare frame for cleaning. Put it back together the next night. Repeat process the next week to avoid going crazy.. Once the ice was off the roads, that feeling of freedom returned. Its easy to worry about whats going on in life, but when the faceshield clicks, your brain had better be concentrating on whats in front of you. No time to feel sadness, guilt, and anger over what you truly never had control of anyway...
Somewhere along the line, my wife of 22 years decided to go for a ride on the back of the sv 650. She loved it and came home the next day with a stack of gear from the local shop. I've done enough to the sv to make it a nice handling sportbike (horrible stock suspension) but soon realized it was not the perfect choice for two up rides over 20 miles.
That brings me back to the c14 I just bought. I've had it exactly one week and have found a way to put 700 miles on it. That's while working and providing daily care for my mother who is homebound with MS. Actually, that's why I needed the high speed touring bike..to make it the 12 miles, round trip, to her house!
