NEVER TOO LATE - BY KEITH KELLY

It is never too late for the bike life. Florida is sunny all year round. It is the second state in the country with highest motorcycles demographic. As of 2021, Florida data showed over 645,000 registered motorcycles. Infl uential factors could be advantage of fuel economy, easier to maneuver the overcrowded roads, or maybe the more spirited way of transportation.

Common sentiment of riders is there is something else to riding motorcycles than just going from point A to point B.

The bike lifestyle changed my life. Born in a small one redlight town upstate New York, there was not much to do besides skate, ride BMX or, get in trouble. I bounced around job to job, waking and wondering how I could skip work. Of all things, house arrest kickstarted my career. I had found a loophole that if I enrolled into college, I could get off house arrest, get away from my dead-end job, and take a break from my small hometown. One thing stayed constant; cars. I absolutely loved working on cars. I enrolled at SUNY Delhi for automotive technology. In 2013 opportunity knocked and I moved to Florida. Left the state of modifi cation laws, rusted out chassis, and vehicle inspections. 8 years as an automotive technician, 29 years old, in 2019 I discovered bike life.

After seeing coworkers who became friends at the dealership, I worked at leave work and go ride, I purchased a Honda Grom and learned. They taught me. I discovered the scenic backroads and, how therapeutic riding in the open air is. I learned basic maintenance and the unwritten rules of group riding.

I discovered a local group of riders who meet every Sunday morning to ride. This is when I began to live the bike life. To this day, my closest friendships have emerged from motorcycling. That’s one of the beauties of bike life. It brings people together. No matter your religion, your race, what bike you ride, what you do for a living, we are all family. Sunday morning rides are my highlights. No matter how the day turned out, it would always be better. This ride became my own Sunday morning church.

Eventually I realized automotive was not my calling. I was over 10 grand into a nitrous K-series Del Sol. I parted out the entire car. I got rid of everything automotive. I found a local motorcycle repair shop in the Port Ritchey, FL area that just opened up; 1stmotopowersports.com. He was a one-man shop with the help of his wife in the offi ce. I stopped by at least once a week for months asking this man for a job. I had little to no experience on motorcycles.

After weeks and weeks of me asking, I fi nally got the job. I got rid of everything “automotive”. This was my true calling. I fi nally was excited to go to work. I couldn’t understand how I had lived

29 years of my life so naive, so unaware, of this culture. To me, this was a rebirth. It is never too late.

After one year of riding, I stumbled across the FSUPD Motorsports Team off ering a deal that seemed too good to be true. $100 off track day? They’ll prep my bike for me? One on one coaching?

The Florida State University Police Department has a motorcycle team. Their mission is to get racers and “street Rossis” off the streets and into a safe and controlled environment. I signed up for both days and before lunch on day one I was hooked. I was learning so much information and realizing so much about my own riding and limitations. I had improved my riding by an insane amount with only two days! I felt like I was actually achieving my goals. I spent the next year doing everything I can to do one track day a month. There is no excuse to ride in the best possible parameters. It was after track days that I had learned we are only able to use about 80% of our riding skill on the streets. We need the safe, controlled, gravel and car free track to be able to really focus, fi nd and control our limits to truly progress as riders. I couldn’t help but wish I had gotten to the track as soon as I got on a motorcycle. I’ve been riding track for one year as of May, 2022.

January, I decided to race. I started to tear down my zx-10. I signed up for every

event I could get myself to, with or without a bike ready. I borrowed bikes. I borrowed a lot of bikes. I owe over 6 months of progression to my close friends who let me use their bikes. I had a diff erent bike almost every event. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for bike life and following my dreams. As of now, all my parts are in and it’s time to learn how to really progress. I have the support of my boss and shop, 1st Moto Powersports and my family. I have the support of other motorcycle shops who make sure my track needs are taken care of. I have the support of more people than I can even think of, all who I met because of this bike life. What I don’t have is excuses. At 31 years of age, I am now privileged to race motorcycles with only 2 years of experience because it is never too late to pursue your dreams.

Special Thanks to: Tom and Lorna Mattern Ryan and Alicia Webb Chace Morrison Nick Vetrano Michael Haire Andre Kress at Corsa Moto Works Oscar Solis Michael Acquisto Brandon Wolf