& MOTORSPORTS
THERE IS NO ROUTINE RIDE
Every rider knows that feeling when you swing a leg over the seat and convince yourself it’s just a quick trip. Maybe it’s five minutes to the store, a familiar loop through roads you’ve taken a hundred times, or just a short break in the middle of a busy day.
It feels like a routine, but it never is.
Every riding community carries names that never stop mattering. These are the people who rode with us, laughed with us, showed up for rides, and then never made it back home again.
Names like Devon Connor, Richard Rios, and Christopher Sparks; these and many others, are carried quietly by the people who knew them best.
We don’t always talk about it, but every rider carries loss in some form. Every group, club, chapter, or friend group has names that remind us how quickly everything can change.
This isn’t written to create fear. It’s written to honor
them. Most of us keep riding not because we forget, but because riding was part of who they were, too. It becomes one of the ways we remember them.
Still, there are lessons that stay with you long after the engine cools, and the most important one is that there’s no such thing as a routine ride.
Traffic changes, roads change, weather changes, and people change. A moment of distraction or a single split-second decision can shift everything.
That doesn’t mean we stop riding. It means we respect the machine and the road.
One of the simplest ways we can protect each other is through consistent communication. Tell someone you’re riding, share where you’re going, and let them know when you expect to be back. When you return, close the loop.
It sounds like a small detail until it becomes everything. Phones die, plans shift, and roads take longer than expected, turning a quick ride into hours without a signal. In those hours, the people who care about you are left waiting and wondering.
We owe each other more than silence. We owe each other awareness
and the basic respect of letting someone know we made it home.
The riders we’ve lost aren’t just names. They were people who loved the road. They understood the feeling of open throttle and sky. They lived in the space between destinations. They remain part of every ride that follows.
If you’ve lost a rider in your life, take a moment to remember them. Share their name. Share a memory. Let them be spoken about again.
Because as long as we hold those memories, they’re still part of the ride.
Sarah Jackman WRITER
Devon Connor Christopher Sparks Richard Rios
Editor
Richard
Writers
Richard
Gary
Photography Richard
Graphic
Sales
Richard
Biking with Butterfly
June 17, 2020 — Sad to see the mountains disappear in my rear view mirror as we ride from the lush San Bernardino National Forest to the seemingly never ending sands of the Mojave Desert. Riding CA-18 down the less busy north side of the mountain enjoying the beauty and switch backs along the way. As the trees get smaller and slowly disappear and we feel the intense heat rise from the Mojave Desert. A strange feeling to have sand surrounding our seemingly small bikes
to the way off desert hills as we ride through the vast emptiness of the desert.
I am glad to have experienced the deserts of America but I am not hearty enough to live there. Way too hot for me. We camped on much of this trip across country but wimped out at stayed at hotels in the desert. The average temperature while we were there was 111 degrees. We were lucky as it does get much hotter.
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=3ML_xc3r8jw
BIKER FRIENDLY DIRECTORY FOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
All of California
Valerie Houseworth
Mortgage Broker
1398 W. Herndon ave #205 Fresno, CA 93711
559-273-8257
www.instagram.com/ your_loan_gal_val
Central California
Graphic Design Services
Jennifer Turk
559-708-8122 jenhturk@gmail.com
Inhisimage Cleaning LLC
Professional Cleaning Services
559-286-8207
www.facebook.com/ InhisownimageCleaning559
Karaoke & DJ Service
Tina & Papa Rick 209-376-1894
Central Coast California Cravings www.californiacravingsca.com
Clovis
Sassano’s Men’s Wear
448 Pollasky
559-299-4430 www.sassanosmenswear.com
Fresno
420 Compassionate Care
Medical Cannabis Cards
559-498-3899
Daruma_Doll559
https://www.instagram. com/daruma_doll559/
Clawson Motorsports
6334 N. Blackstone Ave
559-435-5020 www.clawsonmotorsports.com
Graphic design
Jennifer Turk
559-708-8122 jenhturk @gmail.com
Kooty
Freeze Dried Kreations
559-2132-8271
Ruff Cuts Dog Grooming
Dana Bartram
559-558-0018
Friant
Crafters Garden Boutique 17304 N. Friant Rd
559-999-2376
craftersgraden@gmail.com
Mariposa
Happy Burger Diner
5120 Highway 140 209-966-2719
www.happyburgerdiner.com
Steve’s Sportsman Café 3441 Woodland Dr. 209-966-8223
www.facebook.com/ StevesSportsmansCafe
Nationwide
Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys
4400 Coldwater Canyon Ave Ste 200 Studio City, CA 800-424-5377 www.russbrown.com
North Fork
Buckhorn Saloon 32992 Road 222 559-877-8700
http://www. buckhornsaloon.net/
To have your business listed for $8.00/month
Contact Richard 559-572-3573
