The Glader Family Motorcyclists

This post starts with me giving a quick lesson on the pronunciation of my last name.

It’s Glader. As in Glad-er. As in I’m Glader than you. Or I’m happier than you.

Now that that is clear, I’ll move on.

I grew up Baptist (and I still am) and homeschooled (when I was little). We are Midwesterners, living in the suburbs. Not exactly the poster family for motorcycling but here we are. One of my grandpas have ridden, my Dad and mom do, my Dad’s brother and my aunt, my great aunt and uncle too, even some of my cousins now, as well as family friends ride.

I don’t say this as if there’s never been a homeschool or suburban (etc.) family to ride motorcycles before, but it always struck me as funny compared to the stereotypes that would probably be associated with a family like mine.

I get rides from my Dad every summer since he bought his bike in 2012. It’s a fun thing we can now bond on as a family, and keep each other accountable with safety wise, plus we enjoy every ride, especially in the Midwestern climate we all live in.

Each of my bike experiences have been drastically different as I’ve also gotten rides from a kind neighbor and a college friend of mine as well. My Dad has more of a classic bike, a Kawasaki Vulcan, upright seats, chrome-covered piping, saddlebags, and what not. My former neighbor had a beautiful, top of the line, BMW bike, with all the premium features, fancy systems, beautiful, modern design – it’s his pride and joy. It was really cool to ride and it was my first time on a motorcycle, and that was back in 2008. My friend had more of a “crotch rocket”, with a tiny back seat, and a more streamlined feel; and although he has since sold it I remember it being a very unique, and fun experience, though I would never buy one.

We’re always safety first, just to be clear. We always have our helmets on, and we dress for the occasion as well: leather jackets ‘n blue jeans; and don’t forget the Chucks…or Nikes if you’re my folks. Honestly its become part of my regular wardrobe, I love my leather jacket, and honestly black shoes match with everything anyway.

We love going out for rides in the summer, even though in my immediate family my Dad’s the only one who can be at the handlebars (so far). Even on trips to the hardware store, if it’s sunny out, and summertime, we ride the bike there, and either mom, my sister or I get to take the second seat.

Now I want to take the next step and get my license. I would love to take the class this summer at a local community college. After I pay off my student loans I want to buy my own bike, nothing huge or fancy, hopefully just something with – personality (see: my orange sedan). I want to go riding with my whole family, and my Dad’s bike doesn’t exactly fit everyone (read: its not the minivan).

I love that my family has taken part in this unique subculture and that we’ve found joy in learning about it together. We’ve even gone to the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee and were probably there for like 3+ hours because we all just loved it despite not owning one, oh well.

For me, this all started with biking (pedal style) past my neighbor’s house and him offering me (and my family) rides if we had a helmet. Maybe for someone else, you see a unique hobby online, and head to the store to see if you can buy one, or maybe you hear someones story about that hobby they tried once on their travels, and you get inspired. Let your unique passions take you places that others might be scared of. Try to get your family involved too, they just might surprise you.