Personal History
I am a decorated USMC Combat Veteran who served in Kuwait during Desert Storm / Shield. I currently hold a position as a Sr. Program Manager for Johnson Controls Incorporated, responsible for our inventory intelligence product offering / programs. I am divorced with a live in Girlfriend of going on 10 years now. I have a 31 year old Son and a daughter who I lost in 2018 at the age of 23. I'm an avid Dog lover, who currently has (2) German Shepherds, and a Cat to appease the girlfriend. :)
I learned to ride Dirt Bikes at around 8 years old on a Taco that my then stepfather bought for me. I wasn't supposed to ride it when my parents weren't home, but I of course didn't follow that rule... managing to bang myself up a good bit from time to time, and getting in trouble for breaking the rules. And that was the point where I got 'the bug' to ride anything on 2 wheels. BMX, 10-Speed, old crappy mountain bike, Dirt bikes, Street bikes, you name it... if it had 2 Wheels, I was all about it. I spent up through my early 40's predominately riding Street Bikes (Cruisers), and have done several Iron Man runs. Riding became a way to escape stress and 'the real world' for a little while. A way to re-center myself and destress. Around 2006 I started a group online of '109' riders, and started hosting semi annual events. Events which eventually grew to around 50+ riders per event. Unfortunately around 2009 the rides started getting a bit too aggressive for the street, with too much testosterone, me having to pick up too many wrecked bikes, and me having to go visit too many people in the ER after a Mishap. Then it was finally my turn. I had a very close near miss that I am pretty certain would have left me dead. I decided that day that I was no longer going to ride my Cruiser through the mountains like I was on a sport bike, and actually buy the right bike for ripping through the mountains / twisties. I then bought my first Sport Bike. A 2008 Suzuki B-king.... because why not grab a 190 HP 1340 CC sport bike as your first one, right?
Once I started riding the sport Bikes I really didn't want to ride the cruisers any more, and while I still have one... it just sits in the garage. Over the course of time I've owned the Bking, a 1200 VFR, a BMW S1000R, and Aprilia Tuono, and currently a Ducati Streetfighter V4s (200Hp at the wheel, in a 420lb bike). As more time elapsed, and my skills progressed, I found myself where I was needing to run around in the triple digits to get my 'fix'. After getting a ticket for 75 over the speed limit it became painfully obvious that I needed to find a new outlet... But, I'd been logging 20 to 30k miles a year just playing around on the bikes, and not riding was obviously not an option. Nor was jail time.
Thankfully I had a friend introduce me into riding 'track days' on the sport bike. I bought all of my gear and started riding track around 2015 with my BMW. And once again the bug got me... I learned really quick that I loved running at the track. To the point that I was hitting the track 10 - 15 times a year, and never really riding on the street. And while technically we weren't supposed to 'Race' on track days, we often wound up competing with each other. Over the course of the next couple years my skill progressed to where I was running in the Expert group and decided that in 2019 I was going to get my race license and race in the CMRA. Exciting times over the horizon... unfortunately though, it was winter, and not being able to ride had me somewhat depressed and in a funk.
So... I decided, why not get back to my roots and go get a dirt bike to ride during the winter. It will help me stay in shape for season, and keep me out of the winter blahs. So I of course went out and bought a KTM 300XCW 6 Day, TPI. Mind you, I hadn't ridden a dirt Bike in probably 25 years, but of course I need the biggest, baddest 2-stroke they make. So, I bought one and started riding in the woods with a couple of my buddies who also rode track with me. I got banged up pretty good, far too many times, and realized I had bought way more bike than I had skill. But I couldn't trade it off, so I read a whole bunch, talked to my buddies for critique and advice. And slowly I figured out how to ride that beast. I rode during the winter, with an occasional woods ride during the summer between track sessions.
Fast forward to the next winter, and the new group of friends I had made riding in the woods talked me into doing my first woods race on the KTM. My very first race I placed 2nd... and once again I was bit. Now all do is Race the dirt bike, fix the dirt bike, practice for racing the dirt bike and think about riding the dirt bike, whenever I am not. 2021 I raced my first full season chasing a championship and rode my Ducati maybe 2 times all year.
Aside from Dirt Bikes, I am also the President for my local chapter of the Punishers LEMC. (Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club).
Our club is global, with several thousand members around the world. All Police, Fire Fighters, Military, or EMT. Our moto is 'In Service to Others', and we spend a great deal of time, money, and energy in community and charity support. My chapter focusses on helping Kids, and adopted a family this Christmas who had fallen on hard times (Parents and 4 kids). I am very proud of my brothers. We raised $1k for this family and helped to provide them with a Christmas they never expected. Which brings me to my final engagement and comment. (I know this is probably overly verbose).
One of my brothers and I have adopted an 11 year old kid who is very excited about riding dirt bikes. He has shared on numerous occasions that he wants to ride and race like we do. So we are in the process of getting him all of the necessary safety gear he needs (Rider / Bike protection), and will be working this winter on getting him suited up and skilled enough to make his first run at a race season in HareScrambles.
Very Excited about this...
Riding Goals
This past season was my first season chasing a series Championship in the AHSCS. Having won my class, I will be bumping up a class and looking to podium another season in the new class. In addition however I have found that I rather enjoy the Enduro Race format. So this coming season I intend to chase the BlackJack Enduro Series championship. Taking this on in parallel with chasing another AHSCS podium is a bit ambitious, both financially and from a time perspective, but I think doable.
Competitive Highlights
This past season I ran roughly 18 races. In those races I pulled off (4) 1st place podiums, (4) 2nd place podiums , and (3) 3rd place podiums. Winning my Class for the Series, along with the Ironman title.
2 of my 18 races were in the BlackJack Enduro series (a completely new format to me), and managed to pull down an 8 of 18 and 3rd of 17.
Pretty sure I can have a competitive season in that series.