Why We Ride… James’ Story

“Riding allows me to get out of my own head and focus on purely what is ahead of me, whether that’s the track, road or trail.  Nothing else matters when I’m on the bike.”~ James M, TOS/NW Moto technician

Time for another installment of our Why We Ride series, this month check in with our newest addition to our technician team: James and ask a few questions.  Thank you James for letting us get to know you a little better and understand why YOU ride!

James started riding around the age of 4, so it’s safe to say they don’t remember their first time on a motorcycle. Being on two wheels was as normal from an early age as say going to the park. James recalls one of their earliest memories was riding his brothers hand-me-down little KTM 50 mini Adventure (think the smallest and slowest 50cc made by KTM available in the early 90’s, faster than a XR 50 or PW 50 but not by much) playing around in an open field at one of the motocross tracks just going flat out from end to end.  Turns out when you’re 4 and on a dirt bike, you don’t pay attention to your bladder and they ended up peeing their pants at full throttle and just kept going.  Why stop if the deed is already done?

I asked James about their journey when they were first learning to ride, the who/what/where/when/why.  In their own words, James shares with us their experience.  “I grew up in a motorcycle shop just outside of Chicago and my older brothers and dad all raced motocross, so every Sunday during the season we were headed out to the track.  On my 4th birthday I asked my dad to take the training wheels off my bicycle so I could jump off the ramp we had built on the sidewalk.  Safe to say I nailed the landing on the first try.  As time went by, I asked my folks if I could have a dirt bike like my brothers and eventually started racing shortly afterwards.”

I asked James “What is your fondest motorcycle related memory?” In their words:

“I don’t have a particular memory that stands out, but I’d say in general all of the silly things I did on my Tiger 800.  From racing the Desert 100 to beating it up in the PNW single track while leading folks on dirt bikes.  I’m a huge proponent of the best bike is the bike you already own (that being said, I beat up my Tiger while also owning a KTM 250 SX that would have been much more adept at single track). Finding that flow on a 500lb adventure bike on a trail just wider than your handlebars is pretty hard to beat.”

Challenges and Victories, we all face these and we wanted to know how James approached both.  The first challenge James faced was their height and having a 28″ inseam while wanting to ride tall bikes most of the time. The second challenge they faced was riding the fine line between speed and control. In pushing their limits too far they have had their fair share of crashes, paying the price with broken bones/bikes because of it and have turned this into a win by learning something every time.

Victories include making it to the Loretta Lynn Amateur Nationals in the Women’s class. It was the last year they raced in the women’s class and they went into the race with the personal ultimatum of: If they finished within the top 10 they were going to race professionally in the Women’s Pro Motocross series and if they didn’t finish in the top 10 they were going to pursue transitioning medically by beginning hormone replacement therapy.  They ended up choking and finished 37th out of 42, that December they began Testosterone.

When asking how it was to transition in the motorcycle world and they recounts how it felt in their own words: “Transitioning in this industry was a trip.  Working in a shop that I grew up in as the owners daughter, where customers knew me since before I was in the womb, and then showing up with a low voice a few months later took a lot of people off guard.  I went from having my recommendations to customers be disregarded to having what I say taken as gospel.  I do what I can each day to try and make it better for other trans and queer motorcyclists.”

I wrapped up my conversation with James by asking them how riding and being a part of the motorcycle community adds their living experience.  James shared they find joy in teaching friends how to ride and work on their own bikes. They enjoy being part of the process of watching friends push through the struggles of learning the clutch and persevering until the point where it becomes second nature and the friction zone is no longer a mystery. Watching friends finish a day of learning to ride with a huge smile on their face is everything.

Want to know more?  Stop by Triumph Seattle and say hi to James!  They are always excited to talk motorcycles and love hearing your story too.

“It’s all about having fun really.  When it comes down to it, we ride motorcycles because they’re incredibly fun.  They’re a super complicated puzzle that whether you’re riding them or working on them, are a blast to figure out.” -James M