Why We Ride: Drew's Story
Over the past year, if you had work done on your bike at Moto Julia, you spoke with Drew. He is our only service writer right now. I describe Drew as a wookie (I know Star War references just have a way of popping up in my writing). He is tall. He is 6’’2” who used to be 6’4”, so his arms don’t match his body (there is a story here, but not mine to tell). The beard and arms with a quiet, seemingly kind disposition gives him the wookie look in my opinion.
Drew grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma. There is not much in Guthrie. Mainly woods and open fields. Drew had friends that had 50cc dirt bikes. From the moment he sat on that little bike he was enthralled. Unfortunately, his dad considered motorcycles “death traps,” and would never let Drew own one. Side note, Drew found out years later that his dad rode motorcycles until Drew was born, but gave them up because they are “death traps.” Another side note (a side, side note?), his dad tried to instill a love of cars, but for Drew, his true motorized love was/is the mighty motorcycle. Drew was bummed that he couldn’t own a dirt bike; he never let his dad know that he was riding them with friends in the fields. Such a naughty boy.
There is a term called frequency illusion, which is a cognitive bias in which, after noticing something for the first time, there is a tendency to notice it more often. For example, if someone learns a new word, he or she will start to see/hear it often immediately afterwards in movies, books, etc. Drew started noticing bikes everywhere he looked after riding on the little dirt bikes. The church member with a Honda Goldwing, Easy Rider, the cruisers passing by on the freeways, and watching Jesse James (West Coast Chopper entrepreneur not the outlaw) he saw motorcycles everywhere. However, it was not until he was 24 years old that he bought his first motorcycle.
In 2010, stationed in a more stable location, no significant-other to sway him away, Drew took his reenlistment bonus and bought a motorcycle. He purchased a used 1995 Honda Shadow Ace from a youth pastor who did have a significant-other swaying him away from motorcycles. This starts a string of mishaps and owned motorcycles. Cliff notes time!
1995 Honda Shadow Ace - owned for 3 weeks, dropped, and traded it in for
2006 Yamaha YZF R6 - After a squid phase, he sold it, but soon afterwards purchased a
2002 PURPLE Harley Sportster - I emphasized purple because it is cute. He sold it and later purchased
2006 Harley Springer Softail - it had ape hangers. It was loud and couldn’t turn- he loved it. Front brake seized on his way in for an annual service, and he traded it in for
2015 Harley Road Glide- This was cherry colored. It lived until May 2019, when New Orleans had a flash flood. He wouldn’t own a motorcycle again until February 2020, when he started working at Moto Julia. He purchased a used
2013 BMW F800 GS- this is where he became smitten with adventure riding, but he traded it in, and got a great deal on a
2018 Triumph 1200 XCA - this one has a short and sad history as it was pushed over by a random person then later stolen. He took his insurance money and purchased a
2020 BMW R1250 GS EXCLUSIVE - He is in love with this bike. He has added so many farkles to it, getting it ready for adventures to come. (Teaser: Drew and I will be tackling the Mississippi Hill Country Loop during Mardi Gras. Stay tuned for pics and ride reports). This is the bike he has right now.
Thus concludes Drew’s roller coaster ride of motorcycle ownership.
Drew rides because it “feels good.” He talked about how he can have an absolute crap day, but the moment he sits on and takes off on his motorcycle, the stress melts away. He is becoming more enamored with off road riding as he rides trails, even on a big bike like the 1250 GS.