Looking back at my past, I have always had a fascination for motorcycles and life on two wheels. My pops has been riding motorcycles ever since he was a teenager and would tell me stories of all the joy and dangers of riding. He was very wise to explain the differences of dirt riding and road riding. At a young age I learned how much joy motorcycling could bring me as long as I learned how to ride safely. He shared his knowledge and experience with me as to how he has been able to enjoy riding most of his life. When I was ten years old, my pops took me on a week long road trip to New Mexico from California. We trailered three motorcycles with us. His cruiser, his dirt bike, and a child sized dirt bike that we had borrowed for me to ride. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! When we arrived in Gallup New Mexico, we turned onto a dirt road which brought us to a ranch with what seemed to have hundreds of miles of dirt bike riding trails all over it. It was the happiest I have been in my entire life. Just my pops and I, spending one on one time together. We spent the whole week riding hundreds of miles into the New Mexican out back. We chased wild elk on our dirt bikes, chopped firewood, and shot rifles. This was before I had ever ridden on the street, so when we weren’t riding on back roads and trails I was on the back of my pops’ cruiser riding around the town of Gallup. He grew up there and showed me all of the places he played as a kid, where he went to school, and where he caused trouble with his friends. It was the coolest trip I had ever been on and I will always be thankful for that experience. After that wonderful trip, I knew I was going to be just like my dad. I was going to ride motorcycles for the rest of my life.
As I grew older and begun battling with my addiction, the dream of riding started to fade away. The fascination was still there, however my time was being consumed by my addiction. Almost a decade went by and I was even further away from my dream of life on two wheels. I came to Colorado with nothing but the clothes on my back. After eight months of getting a handle on my addiction, I got my first job. Then all of a sudden, my dream was in sight once again! I didn’t have any savings yet but I had hope that by the time winter was over, I was going to have a motorcycle of my own. I was saving every penny I made that wasn’t going to bills. “Being an independent adult was expensive! How do people manage this?” I thought. Winter came and went and the spring was upon us. The weather was getting warmer and by July, I was looking through all the newspaper ads and all over craigslist for my dream toy. Then on July 9th, 2018, I embarked on a trip to Denver with a close friend of mine to purchase a motorcycle. Now a year later, I am living my childhood dream. It’s been the cheapest therapy I have ever received. Jaywalker saved my life and I am once again, the happiest I have ever been.
-Forrest D.
As Chief Executive Officer Bill provides leadership and manage all day-to-day operations of Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care residential addiction treatment program for adult men.
