Cycle Connections

The evening of Thursday, September 11, wasn’t your typical bike night at The Other Place in Olathe. Owner, Troy Stedman and Gail Worth-Wilson, owner of Gail’s Harley-Davidson had teamed up for a special 9-11 Remembrance Ride and Bike Night.Roger “Fatboy” Fleener, Director of the American Heartland KC Chapter Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) helped promote the ride by sending out flyers and e-mails to Gail’s customers and to fellow H.O.G. members. Roger also contacted the Belton, Overland Park and Olathe police departments to arrange a police escort for the ride. The ride originated at Gail’s Harley-Davidson in Belton. After the rain…

Since Wednesday, September 17 was a gorgeous evening for a ride, I packed my camera and notepad in my roll bag, fired up the Fat Boy and headed to Russo’s Pizza & Pub in Lee’s Summit, Missouri for bike night. I’d been to Russo’s before, however tonight they were having a wet T-shirt contest, which gave me a little added incentive to check things out.

Veteran vs. Biker? Maybe not.How does this story tie in to this veteran’s page? My childhood story reflects my early development and display of individualism and imagination; two character traits that would take me down a life-long path of bikes and a military career.Over time, I’ve observed that many individuals with a military background share numerous traits as those who ride motorcycles. Traits such as individualism, imagination, a strong sense of adventure, risk takers, the need for speed, like being different, not afraid of being alone, seek out tight friendships, and will back a buddy in a tight situation; did…

Tying it all together.As I look back at my self-determining childhood challenges and dreams, I now realize how they helped me prepare for the seriousness of riding and a military career. Both paths led me to develop the vision and skills capable of modifying just about anything to make it work; which at times varied between the desire for comfort, necessity or just plain survival. These skills did not come naturally. Some were taught, many were developed by hands on experience, and much more came through in-depth reading. I have been taught plenty by my father, friends and a few…

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