Home: North Vancouver, BC

Job: yes

I went tree planting with a friend of mine one summer and while riding in the back of a VW van on the highway, we were dreaming of all the things we were going to buy with the giant piles of cash we were going to make. We had all sorts of crazy ideas, mainly associated with things that went fast. That's when a black sportbike went by going the other way, and I said "yeah, I want a Ninja!" I have no idea if it really was a Ninja, but it was black and it was a sportbike. I didn't know anything about them except that they looked rocketship fast! So next time we were in town, I bought a motorcycle magazine to learn more. Luckily for me, it was a "buyers guide", so it had all the models in it. I fell in love with the look of the new FZ600's, but my wallet couldn't keep up with my lust, so I ended up getting a used 1977 XS400. I was hooked.

I had a few other bikes, then took a break from riding while I went to school. Afterwards, a coworker brought me along to a bike show, which reawakened my passion for riding. I got a 2000 VFR800 (love the sound of those gear driven cams!) and rode it all over the place. But after a few years, I wanted something more, something different. That's when I learned about dualsport. I'd ridden dirt bikes as a kid, but I'd never seen bikes that could do dirt and were street-legal. After much reading and surfing the net, I had just saved up enough for a 2004 KLR650 when a pickup truck turned left in front of me and totalled my poor VFR! Ok, I can take the hint, time for less road riding and more time wallowing in mud.

The KLR is a great bike, but after a while I was starting to bend/break stuff on it a little too often, and was wanting a bit more power. I started looking around for more dirt-ish type bikes, but ones that would still be able to do at least a little bit of highway. There were quite a few choices (WR450, TE610, etc), but in the end, I got a 2006 KTM 525 EXC. Lots more power, better suspension, MUCH less weight! If I go riding with Claude and Tracy on their 525's, I've always got spare parts handy!