Who is Mr. RC?

How It Started

When I was a kid, I always dreamed about having a motorcycle. I used to ride around in the yard on a blue hand-me-down Huffy bicycle wearing garden gloves, a green Ninja Turtles helmet, and star-shaped sunglasses, making burbly motorcycle noises (and sometimes tearing up the grass… sorry Dad). My head always turned when I heard a bike pass by. At the time, I thought it would be a Harley (as you’ll later read, I still have never owned one…)

In high school, I convinced a friend to sign up for the MSF (that’s Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course with me at the local community college. It was a three day course that included an evening of classroom instruction and two days of riding on some old 1980’s Honda Nighthawks. We barely went faster than 20mph, but I was instantly hooked, even despite the pouring rain on the second day of riding. I passed both the written and riding portions of the course and added an endorsement on my license shortly after. Unfortunately, a bike didn’t come right away – money was tight, and as a high schooler, it’s not like I had much to play with; so I was just stuck dreaming.

New Bike, New Rider

It wasn’t until I moved to Seattle that I finally bought my first bike. I owned a car at the time, and decided that I was just going to sell it and use that money from the sale to finally buy a motorcycle, even if the bike became my only vehicle. This was probably not the smartest decision given the frequent rain in Seattle, but I was determined to get riding. My first bike was a 2007 Suzuki GSXR-600 – certainly not my dream bike by any means, but it got me out on the road and learning.

As a new rider, I found it challenging to find my place in the motorcycling community. I rode a sport bike, but didn’t stunt or do track; I liked cruising and traveling but didn’t have any friends to go with and wasn’t confident enough to get far out on my own; I liked the idea of dirt, but didn’t have an off road capable bike. I was also really limited when it came to funds to buy gear, so I often was looking for ways to make my money go as far as possible, especially so that I could commute through all four seasons in a place where it rains the majority of the time.

Riding Today

I don’t ride the supersport much anymore despite still owning it, my typical daily bike is a Ducati Monster that I commute on and travel on, whether a day trip or a long adventure. My day job keeps me pretty busy, but it’s nice to be able to ride on the way to and from work. I’m a firm believer that the correct number of bikes is always one more than you currently own, and with so many out there to try, I’m always up to try something new! Of course there is only so much garage space.

One of my dreams is to be able to travel a lot more on two wheels, be that locally and regionally or internationally. In late summer 2023, I spent three weeks riding through Norway, and it’s completely convinced me that the best way to experience a place is by riding. You get this incredible connection to the road, experiencing all things from the twist in the road, to the sights and smells along the way. It was also the first time I ever rode an adventure bike (a KTM 1290 Super Adventure R), and definitely piqued my interest in one for longer travel; it was just so much more comfortable and capable.

Ride Caffeinated

I created Ride Caffeinated to be the resource that I never had when I was a brand new rider. It can be daunting getting out on the road the first time, especially if you don’t have any friends who already ride to get out with. There’s a big difference between riding around some painted lines in the parking lot and dealing with traffic on the road, especially if you’re developing those skills on busy roads in a city, dealing with more and more inattentive drivers.

Though the MSF course is designed to teach you the bare minimum, there is so much more out there to learn about – What do I need to know for my first group ride? What gear works well both on and off the bike? How do I keep my bike safe while parked? What do I do in inclement weather? The list goes on. The motorcycle community is constantly growing, and it’s our duty as riders to help new riders along their way into becoming proficient and confident veterans of the sport, to help it continue to grow and flourish across the world.

In addition to anything educational that I might post, I’m here to share my stories – to share in the passion of motorcycling as a sport, to share adventures across the globe, and connect with others along the way. Welcome friend, I’m so glad you’re here.