CC Biker & motorsports
vol 5 issue 10
Please tell’em CC Biker and Motorsports Sent Ya
november 2020
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CC Biker & Motorsports
Honoring a veteran: Brandon long
by Johnny Killmore for Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys Oct 19, 2020
Riding motorcycles is a hobby to many, a calling to others. For Brandon Long, it’s a necessity. Bitten by the bug after riding friend’s dirt bikes as a kid, his first street bike came at age 26, as a present to himself after a divorce. Like many U.S. Marines, he was planning what bike to get once he returned from a deployment to Afghanistan when an explosion changed everything. But even in the early stages of his recovery, Brandon was thinking to himself, “how am I going to ride again?” It took years, but there’s no point in fighting to recover from a neardeath experience if you don’t plan on living… really living. That’s why this year Brandon pointed his customized 2019 Harley Tri Glide away from his home in Florida and toward Sturgis, for the 80th anniversary of the biggest biker rally on Earth. That’s where some of the Russ Brown crew ran into him, repeatedly, because Brandon made sure he got around, seeing as much as any rally-goer can see at an event so huge. With such a unique story, it was just a matter of time before we could both get decompressed after the rally and sit down for a chat. We wanted to know why motorcycles are so integral to Brandon’s life and what kind of
effort he had to put into getting back behind a set of handlebars. RBMA: “So how did you first get into motorcycling?”
BL: “I’ve been interested in motorcycles my whole life. Most of my family had motorcycles while I was growing up and I got to go on my first ride when I was around 11. After that, I had a buddy that let me ride his bike while I was in high school. Never got a bike of my own until I was 26. People had said I couldn’t ride and that it was too dangerous for me but I did it anyway. It was my gift to myself after my divorce.” RBMA: “What first drew you toward military service, and why the Marines?”
and what job did you have?”
on the scene. If it wasn’t for the BL: “I was 0311, infantry. I joined bravery my Corpsman [comin February of 2009 and was in- bat medics for the Marines are jured in December 2010. I sep- called Corpsmen, attached from arated from the Marine Corps in the Navy] and fellow Marines showed, I would not be here toSeptember of 2012. day.” RBMA: “Were you planning to make a career out of it before be- RBMA: “Damn. So obviously it takes years to adjust to that kind ing wounded?” of change. So I’m imagining the BL: “I did want to make a career focus being in recovery and physout of the military. I was wanting ical therapy, so how long was it to do eight years in the infantry before you started thinking about then switch to the Navy to learn riding motorcycles again? What medicine and medical practices” problems did you need to solve RBMA: “Things changed drasti- to get back into riding?” cally after being wounded obvi- BL: “After I was injured, one of ously: how and when did it hap- the first questions I asked impen?” mediately after the explosion as
BL: “Since I was about 4 years old, I’ve wanted to be in the military. I was at a parade once when the military members came by. I told my mom I wanted to be a soldier in the Army until I saw the Marines. Then I told her ‘I have to be one!!’ The overall discipline and courage of a Marine had me hooked from a very young age. I did everything I could in my life to make sure I could be a Marine. I got into trouble in high school that almost made it so I couldn’t join, and I was devastated. But luckily with hard work and determination, I became a Marine as I had BL: “I was wounded on December 21, 2010, in Sangin, Helalways dreamed. “ mand Province, Afghanistan. I RBMA: “When did you serve, was leading a foot patrol out by the Helmand River when we saw hundreds of stacked rocks on the sides of the road. It was my job to try and find a wire of some sort, or even the explosive itself so we could call EOD [Explosive Ordinance Disposal] to destroy it. In the process of looking for indicators, I stepped over a bush to get a better look at a cluster of rocks. In doing so, I stepped on an IED [Improvised Explosive Device]. When it went off, I immediately lost my left leg at the knee, and my right leg was mangled almost all the way to my hip. I also took a rock through my right leg and into my intestines from that blast. I was conscious almost the whole time until the helicopter arrived
if I was going to be able to ride again. I had planned on buying a bike when I got back from that deployment. As I did my recovery, I looked everywhere for ways to be able to ride. It wasn’t until about six years after my injury that I was able to make that happen thanks to the help of the Harley Davidson staff in Jacksonville, Florida.” RBMA: “What made riding motorcycles worth the effort? Why do you still ride?” BL: “The freedoms that come with a motorcycle were definitely worth all the effort it took to ride [again]. Wind therapy helps me out a lot on days where I am in my head a lot. I still ride because that’s one thing that lets me feel Brandon Long Continued on page 2