Updated January 2023

Pat

Hello, my name is Pat, and I’ve been a motorcycle addict for 50+ years.

Is admitting that supposed to start some kind of healing process? Seems to me, being a lifetime motorcycle enthusiast, ne addict, has been my healing process. I’ve been riding since I was 11, and by 13 I had a pretty good idea that I was going to have to find some way to make this a lifestyle and a career.

Hang out at the local dealership long enough, and they put a broom in your hand. Work up from there. Go to college. Continue to work in dealerships. Graduate. Buy a dealership. In an oilfield town. During tough times. Oh yeah, and go racing….enduro, roadracing, off-road GP… great fun, but not paying the bills.

So, go to work for the U.S. distributor.

After 33 years at Yamaha Motor Corporation, I decided to retire a bit early to pursue my dream of continuing to ride around the world. The company was great to work for, and gave me unimaginable opportunities. Besides all of the great people I’ve been honored to know, I’ve been able to ride a lot of cool products, travel extensively, and work toward my goal of riding around the world.

I’ve spent a good portion of my life on two wheels, either for work, racing, riding on- and off-road on weekends, commuting, or touring across the US, Canada, and Europe (now through 50 countries and counting). It’s always been my therapy, both physical and mental. Nothing makes me happier than when I’m on a bike.

Between July 2015 and August 2016 I rode a Yamaha XT250 across Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa, and Europe, covering 34 countries and 32,000 miles. After returning to the States and going back to work for another five years, I retired, and together with my wife, Diana, have continued to ride the globe. In 2021 we completed an 18,000 mile trip across the US and to the top of Alaska on a Yamaha 700 Tenere, and in 2022 we did another 16,000 miles around Europe, and another 2,000 miles in Southeast Asia. The bike is currently stored in Spain, and we hope to pick up several more countries in Europe in 2023.

Diana

Born and raised Native Texan. After 40 years as a dental hygienist, I retired to follow this crazy dream that Pat shared with me of riding a motorcycle around the world.

Traveling has always been a dream of mine, but until I met Pat, I never dreamed of doing it on a motorcycle. I’m not a rider myself, although I do have Valentino Rossi’s pit scooter from the 2010 US MotoGP and I ride it around the neighborhood now and then (did I mention I’m a HUGE Rossi fan?). My three adult kids think I’m crazy, but the grandkids just think it’s cool.

We committed to this journey solidly and we’re making it happen. We’ve found that in many cases, we can actually travel for less money than staying home (more on that in the blog as we go). This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but I believe that if I can do it, you can too.