Leigh went from dreaming of motorcycles as a young kid to planning a dream trip as an "old" kid. Read about his motorcycle evolution. Plus, we're loving the vintage photo of him on his 1968 Honda CB350.

Tell us about your riding experience. How long have you been riding, and how many bikes have you owned? How did you first become interested in riding? 

Growing up in a family of 3 boys, my dad had 3 hard rules:

✔️ No football 
✔️ No guns

and the hardest one for me,

✔️ No motorcycles

All were banned for their given dangers, but I was so jealous of a school friend who was free to go wherever he wanted on his motorcycle with his learner’s permit, while I required a parent in the car with me for the months until I could finally get my full license. So when my folks split up when I was 17, guess what I did? I cut my teeth on a 1968 Honda CB350. I remember being amazed to see the name of Honda on anything other than a car! That bike would always hesitate and sputter at 50 mph.

After learning how to wrench on the bike from a different friend, I finally replaced a couple of split vacuum diaphragms in the carbs to smooth out the engine. Two summers later, I had to sell the little CB to buy a cheap VW Beetle to drive to a student internship for my college major.

For the next four decades, though, I managed to keep that endorsement through a half-dozen different states, numerous birthday renewals, marriage, and parenting 2 boys myself. Funny thing is that both my guys have thought about getting licensed but never pulled the trigger. It was actually the threat that my oldest was going to do just that made me consider getting a bike after so long.

The more immediate mid-life crisis decision that my work-commuting ride partner made to get his own license���and leave me to commute alone in a car during the warm Maine summer months—that found me buying my second bike in 50 years, a 1992 Yamaha XJ600 Seca II.

I found a great online community of Seca enthusiasts at xjrider.com, and I and fell in love with riding and wrenching all over again. The latter was not to my wife’s pleasure, since the addition of an old Yamaha Virago 750, which took a year to get back on the road, had me spending too much “me time” and not enough “us time”. So to reduce the “me time”, I bought my 2015 Yamaha FZ-07, and for a few months I had three Yamahas lined up in my garage!

I love the FZ-07, but a once in a lifetime trip with my best friend to Key West on a pair of Harleys got me thinking that the old bod might need to retire the FZ-07 and find something more fitting for my age. Then, that fun little machine would become the next rental opportunity for Twisted Road New England riders!

Have you taken any long moto trips? Tell us about them. Where did you go, where did you stay, and who did you ride with? 

When my closest friend decided to get his motorcycle license at age 60, I was excited for him. When a slip in his riding test gave him doubts about his new skills, I dreamed up a trip that would take us from Miami to Key West—5 years out. Time enough for him to get his riding skills fully developed. Four years later, and graduating through a progression of bikes that put him on a brand-new HD Heritage, the time was right for this trip of a lifetime.

Tom tells the story so eloquently in his blog post that I will only summarize it by saying that the ride was everything I could have possibly dreamed about when I first rode that CB350 to his house, the first summer after we met in college. Read Tom’s story. It echoes my experience and memories to perfection!

Below is the the original trip plan for The Old Fart Retirement Blues Miami to Key West Hog Wild Last Gasp Good Ol’ Boys Road Blast. Luckily for us, we didn’t wait for COVID to hit, but started in March 2019 (whew! dodged a bullet!).

Tom brought his Harley Heritage on the car train from Washington, DC to Orlando, met me and my just-baptized granddaughter at my in-laws' place in St. Petersburg, and the next day I rented my matching Heritage and we were off to Key West. 

Tell us some more about you: Where do you live? What kind of work do you do? 

Maine is my home (for the last 40 some-odd years). New Hampshire was my work state (for the last 30 some-odd years), until I retired a few years ago.

What are your hobbies? What do you enjoy doing when you're not riding? 

Aside from the obvious (riding), I am a photographer (former first career and college major). My passions also include a lifelong obsession with cats (since I was 5 years old), electronics, and do-it-yourself endeavors.

Tell us about your experiences with Twisted Road, as either an owner, as a rider, or both. What do you enjoy most about being part of our community? 

I started my interest in Twisted Road when looking for rental opportunities before the trip to Key West. I have yet to rent—even though the choices are ever-expanding, both in number and in location—but sometime in the near future I plan to rent!

What are your favorite rides near your hometown? 

I like to head up to the Sebago Lake area and just keep going North until my butt hurts!

Last question - where do you hope to ride one day? 

I would like to ride internationally, anywhere in another country (or anywhere that is wild in this country, for that matter!)

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