Not a lecture about riding safety with a parent present. This is about why father daughter motorcycle riding is one of the most important things I have done, and why I still believe that after twenty years of doing it.
How Father Daughter Motorcycle Riding Starts: Growing Up at the Track
Growing up, I got to miss school sometimes to spend days at the track. My dad would rip through the field and I’d be there with the boys watching. Years of that, and then he put me in go-karts and surprised me with my first quad so I could rip trails while he raced. He took me for a practice run before leaving me unsupervised. I hit the throttle, wheelied on the first try. He was upset for a few seconds, then proud.
Karting hooked me completely. I loved it and felt like a little badass out there. I didn’t go professional — that lifestyle meant spending less time with friends than a young girl wanted — but when I raced for fun, I let the boys eat my dust. As I got older, I wanted motocross. My dad found me a dirt bike and took me to the tracks whenever he could. We were in Hollywood, Florida, which meant driving hours past the Seminole Reserves to a basic track. But it worked.
The Ducati Monster 696 and Learning to Ride Together
At 14 I wanted a motorcycle. My dad said wait until 16, then changed it to 18. The day I turned 18, I signed up for the MSF course, passed it, went to the DMV and got my endorsement. My dad surprised me with a Ducati Monster 696. Since he owns Shift-Tech Carbon, it was covered in carbon fiber by the time it reached me. I was the coolest teenager in the room.
For a while, I could only ride with him — no solo rides allowed. At first I was frustrated. Later I understood how lucky I was. We rode together constantly. That feeling, of riding alongside the person who handed you the passion in the first place, is something I don’t have the words for. There were so many days worth telling you about, but there is one specific one.
Arai Press Launch in Daytona Beach: The Best Day of Father Daughter Motorcycle Riding
I was invited to the Arai Press Launch in Daytona Beach to test the Defiant-X and Classic-V helmets. My dad came along. He had never tried flat track before and got the opportunity to do it that day, with instruction from Johnny Lewis and Josh Hayes. He went out there and handled it. To be at that track together for the first time — in a completely different discipline, with two professionals walking him through it — was something I will never forget.
The smile on his face that day is the image I keep coming back to when I think about what father daughter motorcycle riding actually means. I am grateful to Arai America for making that day possible. We still ride together — from that first track at the Seminole Reserves to days like the Laguna Seca Pirelli track day, every shared ride adds another chapter. That has not changed. And every single person should find a way to share something they love with their parents before they can’t anymore. If you haven’t ridden with yours yet, this is the challenge: go get them and go ride.
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