Recently, I reached out to see if any of you were interested in contributing to Bike-urious so we could increase the breadth and depth of featured bikes. I was ecstatic to see how many readers answered the call, and over the next few weeks you’ll be meeting some of them. Let’s meet another new contributor, Matt Hinkle! I’ll leave the intro to him:
Hi, my name is Matt Hinkle. I’ve always been curious about the prospect of writing about my first love, cars and motorcycles. When Abhi wrote that he was looking for volunteers, I figured I’d try. I’m a member of a family that does two things very well: motorcycles and accounting. While that sounds like a strange combination, let me assure you, it absolutely is. Usually those things are mutually exclusive, but somehow we make it work. However, my family has been into motorcycles much longer than we’ve been accountants. My great uncle was (ironically) the first Harley Davidson dealer in Southwest Ohio.
I actually remember the day the above photo was taken. In the coming years, I fell in love with motorcycles from the back of that 1988 K75C, a bike I still very much wish we owned. In fact, I still have some gravel in my elbow from the day we totaled it when I was 11. I think it was God’s way of reminding me, “Don’t be stupid”.
I got my motorcycle endorsement as soon as I could, and have been riding ever since. My first bike was an R1100R, then an R1150R that I now keep in Colorado, then an R90S and a DOHC R1200RT both of which I still have. I’ve also recently put a deposit on a ‘95 R100GSPD Classic that was featured here several months ago. Hopefully I’ll have a write up about flying to Austin, TX and riding it home to Florida soon.
I enjoy riding out in Colorado and all over the west whenever I can. To date, I think my favorite day of motorcycling was the day I did the Million Dollar Highway outside of Ouray, CO.
I’ve done many trips both with my family and alone, but we seem to enjoy each other’s company and enjoy traveling as a pack. We also did an 11 day Edelweiss trip through the Alps and the Dolomites on a Multistrada. I’m happy to say I’ve done the Stelvio, a day I will never forget.
Although relatively straight with no altitude changes with the exception of the 7 mile bridge, I’ve also enjoyed riding to Key West a few times, riding in the northern part of my home state of Florida, riding to the west coast, and just generally getting lost.
Carolinas:
Pensacola, riding the perimeter of the state:
Moab, inside Arches NP:
Outside Aspen:
Finding interesting places around Florida:
About two and a half years ago, I took a year long hiatus from motorcycles. After riding the Alps, riding Florida just didn’t compare. I really thought that my last day on a motorcycle happened that summer in Europe, and was content never getting on one again. I didn’t have an accident, or anything more serious than dropping the Ducati I rented in the parking lot. For some reason, I just never wanted to get on a bike again. I did a lot of soul searching in the span of time and realized that if riding stopped being fun, I wasn’t going to keep doing it. There are too many things in our lives that can bring us joy to spend them voluntarily doing things we hate. It was a trip in Colorado on a rented F800GS that made me realize this hobby of ours is always going to be my lifelong passion, I just had to find a way to make it fun again.
I think that’s what I hope to accomplish with Bike-urious. I want to keep finding ways to make this hobby fun. I knew I was going to like Abhi after I read about his Beater Olympics. A friend of mine on ADVrider once told me, “As long as you’re having an adventure, who cares what other people think?” To that end, my goals here and with motorcycling in general are to always be having an adventure, and always be having fun. In addition to motorcycles, my other favorite pastime is volunteering with my Rotary club.
Because my background is in BMW’s, that’s what I’m going to focus on. It’s the brand I have the most experience with, and feel the most comfortable speaking on. I’m looking forward to featuring some great ones soon and even have an idea for a feature or two.
Thanks,
Matt