If someone were to ask you to close your eyes and imagine a motorcycle – what would it look like? Would it be a gnarly chopper with ape hangers? A chromed-out cruiser with loud pipes? Maybe even a sleek sportbike? For me, the answer has always been a Standard. There is something about the UJM’s from the ’70s that appeals to me. It is probably why I’m drawn to modern Naked Bikes.
My first experience with motorcycles came when I was a kid. My father was an avid rider in his youth but parked the bikes when it came time to raise a family. Even though they never ran, I always thought they were cool.
It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I learned to ride and got a bike of my own. I took an MSF Basic Rider Course with my (now) Mother-In-Law and spent a couple of seasons riding before I did the same thing my father had done. When it came time to raise a family, I parked my bike and told myself it was too risky with a baby on the way.
Years passed, and motorcycles became a distant memory – something I used to do as a young man. That all changed on a random Spring day in 2020. I was sitting on my back deck lamenting that I had several hobbies but nothing I was passionate about. Out of the blue, a loud sportbike blasted down the street and kicked up a memory from my past.
I remembered being in my twenties, roaring down a back-country road on my 1980-something Suzuki GS450. A smile plastered across my face, and no stress was in sight. Sitting on my deck, I realized that I had missed riding and wondered what it would be like to get on a motorcycle again.
Being the compulsive person I can sometimes be, I immediately went into the house and asked my wife what she thought of me riding again. Being a supportive woman, she got behind the idea and told me to make it happen. And just like that, I was suddenly in the market for a new-to-me motorcycle and all the gear that went along with it.
WaltInPA Blog
In 2006, I created a Cigar Blog with a friend called Stogie Review
. It was never intended to be anything big, just a place for us to recommend cigars back and forth to one another. To our surprise, people started following along, and our little Cigar Review Blog took off.
We wanted to capitalize on the surprising growth of our Blog and began posting content several times each week. After nearly three years of writing about nothing but cigars, I was completely burned out. I thoroughly enjoyed writing, but I needed something else in my life to talk about. In 2009, as a New Year’s Resolution, I launched WaltInPA.
It was everything you might expect from a Personal Blog. It lacked focus and darted from one topic to the next. It was random, and it was terrible, but it was just the creative outlet I needed to break the monotony. Hardly anyone paid attention to it, but it was my little space on the internet to talk about whatever interested me.
After more than a decade, WaltInPA has changed a number of times in both design and discussion topics. Since returning to Motorcycles in 2020, that has been the focus of this blog. It is what I am passionate about and what I enjoy sharing with my audience.
About Me
As the title of this blog implies, my name is Walt, and I live in Pennsylvania – Southeast PA, to be more specific. I am a socially awkward introvert that, oddly enough, loves the sense of community. In addition to motorcycles, I enjoy cigars, bourbon, and socializing with my small circle of friends.
I have a wonderful wife who is incredibly supportive of all the things I suddenly find myself interested in. We have three children together – all girls who thoroughly run me ragged. As you may be wondering, Yes – at times, I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of estrogen and emotions. It can be maddening at times, but I love them all dearly.
I’m old enough to have fond memories of the 1980s and love watching reruns of retro movies and tv from my youth. I grew up in the proud neighborhood of Kensington, Philadelphia. Despite my fond memories, it saddens me to think of what that neighborhood has become.
In 2018 I started a business with a friend – Superior Shop Drawings. We produce Millwork Shop Drawings for Commercial and Residental Markets. Even though it can be tremendously stressful, it allows me to work in a field I love.
If you would like to learn more about me, I would encourage you to poke around on WaltInPA and follow me on Social Media.
