#memories

What makes the best memories? Is it the people you’re with? Is it the motorcycle you were riding? Perhaps the location where it all took place? Most times, the best memories are a culmination of variables that fell into place in just the right way. We enjoy reliving those experiences. The feelings they gave us, the sights, the sounds, the entire damn thing, we hold these types of things near to our hearts. It’s healthy to remember, but it’s also easy to get caught up in the past.

All good things must come to an end, my fellow MOrons, and it’s with a heavy heart that I tell you all that my time at Motorcycle.com is officially over. In fact, as these Top 10 lists are usually posted on Thursdays, my actual last day was yesterday. Nevertheless, it’s been a fantastic six-year run getting to ride motorcycles and telling you about it. I’ve enjoyed meeting readers and viewers, and am always humbled when someone says they’ve enjoyed a story I’ve written or a video I’ve been in. It truly is a gratifying experience, and one I never take for granted.

Our first Christmas together she gave me a gift; it was a two-drawer toolbox she had found on sale somewhere. As toolboxes go, it wasn’t anything special, it wasn’t some budget-busting Snap-On deal with drawers mounted on precision bearings crafted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it was just a simple stamped metal no-name box with a small “When the Green Flag Drops, the Bullshit Stops” sticker on it that made me chuckle. Up until then her biggest concern had been whether to major in dance or in history. What did she know about toolboxes or green flags?

It’s hard for me to believe, but right around this time 10 years ago I got my start as a motojournalist, working for Rider magazine under the tutelage of Mark Tuttle, who still helms the magazine today. It’s been a wild and crazy ride this past decade, and every so often I still pinch myself just to make sure this isn’t all a dream. Over the past decade, I’ve been lucky enough to travel to some of the most exotic locations around the world and pilot some extraordinary motorcycles. To celebrate, here are some of my favorite memories from the past 10 years.

Motorcycles and childlike wonder go hand in hand. So do motorcycles and stupid. A lot of things were really good in the good old days, then again a lot of things were definitely the latter. The reason we gather in packs, though, doglike, is because we’re always fun to watch and smell. Here’s to hoping the parade continues indefinitely.