Why We Ride

Great bikes and the people who love them.

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Jeremy Cupp

_{Photos by Adam Ewing}

Adam Ewing has been photographing riders and their bikes over the last few years, capturing them in moments of rare stillness. A lawyer, a mechanic, an entrepreneur, a CPA, a soldier—Ewing’s portraits are of men and women who, in their daily lives, seem very different from one another. Hoping to find some shared, expressible desire that calls so many to the open road, no matter where they come from—a high-octane sense of freedom, the chance to unplug, the rush of the wind, the value of staying grounded in the present—we posed the question, why do you ride? The takeaway: Riding is the answer, not the question, and the question is different for everyone. As one rider told us simply, if you ever rode, you would know. 

Steve Bunker, far left • Age: 58 • Bowling Green • Occupation: USAF, retired; currently at Defense Logistics Agency at Fort Belvoir • First Bike: 2007 Honda Shadow Sabre • Current Bike: 2017 Harley Davidson Street Glide CVO • Favorite Ride: Bull Run III

Bunker served in Operation Desert Storm and in Somalia. He and his wife Pam, also a veteran and a U.S. Army civilian operations employee, ride with the Northern Virginia Chapter 27-2 of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. The group organizes the annual Bull Run III ride, to raise funds for veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury. 

Adam Darby, second from left • Age: 22 • Richmond • Occupation: Graduate student • First Bike: 1997 Honda Nighthawk • Current Bike: 1973 BMW R75/5 • Favorite Ride: West on Route 6 from Richmond to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Afton

Darby rides a bike with a past. The original owner, a family friend, picked up the BMW R75/5 in Munich in 1973 and rode it around Europe that summer. Forty years later, he sold it to Darby, who had always been interested in the bike and its history. Last summer, Darby and a friend motored along U.S. Route 1 down to Key West, camping along the way. 

Beth Captain, second from right • Age: 44 • Lakeside • Occupation: CPA • First Bike: 2009 Yamaha V-Star 1100 • Current Bike: 2016 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic • Favorite Ride: Southbound on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Captain had gotten pretty comfortable seeing the world roll by from her perch on the back of her husband’s Harley Road Glide Ultra. But after a 13-hour ride back from Daytona Bike Week he told her she needed to get her own ride. Captain now cruises on a Harley Heritage Softail Classic. “It’s my happy place,” she says. “It’s two-wheel therapy.”

Jeremy Cupp, far right • Age: 39 • Grottoes • Occupation: Custom motorcycle fabricator • First Bike: 1979 Honda XR-80 • Current Bike: 2007 Triumph Bonneville • Favorite Ride: Route 340 to Love Gap and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Cupp, owner of LC Fabrications, constructs custom motorcycles. He recently sold a flat-track “Speedway” bike he built from scratch (the engine a blend of Buell and Ducati parts) to a collector who now displays the bike in a Dallas motorcycle museum. Cupp also rides: “Every once in a while when it’s been a bad day, I get on my bike and go on a big loop ride. On a bike you’re really in your environment instead of just passing through it.”

Don Jackson, far left • Age: 45 • Henrico • Occupation: Government worker • First Bike: Kawasaki Ninja • Current Bike: Kawasaki 2X 10R • Favorite Ride: The Five-and-Dime along Routes 5 and 10 from Richmond to Williamsburg 

Pam Bunker, second from left • Age: 52 • Bowling Green • Occupation: U.S. Army, retired; currently in Army Aviation Operations at Joint Base Langley-Eustis • First Bike: 2010 Harley-Davidson Softtail Deluxe • Current Bike: 2016 Harley-Davidson Street Glide • Favorite Ride: Bull Run III

Travis Robinette, second from right • Age: 35 • Glen Allen • Occupation: U.S. Army veteran, currently a heavy equipment service tech • First and Current Bike: 2013 Harley-Davidson 883 Iron

Three tours in Iraq left Robinette with PTSD, but he says, “Riding has been the greatest help of all.”

John Ryland, far right • Age: 48 • Richmond • Occupation: Owner, Classified Moto • First Bike: 1981 Kawasaki KZ550 • Current Bike: 2002 Honda XR650L • Favorite Ride: The Five-and-Dime

A former art director at the Martin Agency, Ryland built two post-apocalyptic bikes that featured in season 5 of The Walking Dead.

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Angela Kenyan

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Matt Danielson

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Scott Takahashi

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Angela Kenyan, left • Age: 40 • Richmond • Occupation: Human Resources Director • First and Current Bike: 2014 Dyna Switchback • Favorite Ride: Skyline Drive 

Kenyan, a novice, rides with the Richmond Harley Owners Group to honor her late boyfriend’s memory. “You need to just let your mind go and do it,” she says.

Matt Danielson, center • Age: 51 • Providence Forge • Occupation: Attorney specializing in motorcycle law • First Bike: 2001 Harley-Davidson Dyna Lowrider • Current Bikes: 2013 Harley Road Glide and 2017 Triumph Bobber • Favorite Ride: “Getting lost in the back roads of Southwest Virginia.”

In a prior life, Danielson was a Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney in Newport News. But he also loved motorcycles, and in 2003 received an offer he couldn’t refuse from one of his now-partners at the Motorcycle Law Group, which has offices in four states: “Come work for me and you can practice law, ride your motorcycle, and when you’re not arguing cases, you can wear jeans and boots.” 

Scott Takahashi, right • Age: 47 • Richmond • Occupation: Martial Arts Instructor • First Bike: 1984 Honda Rebel 250 • Current Bikes: 2013 Ducati Monster and 2013 Ducati Multistrada • Favorite Ride: Blue Ridge Parkway and tertiary routes like Route 60 near Buena Vista

Takahashi, who just bought his 50th bike, has been riding since he was 15. Today, he rides with his wife Kyomi (pictured below) and organizes the weekly RVA Bike Night at Richmond’s Mission BBQ. Takahashi is a true believer in the healing power of riding: “How many motorcycles have you seen parked in front of a therapist’s office?” 

Lee Clemens, far left, with his wife, Brenda • Age: 70 • North Chesterfield • Occupation: Owner, Departure Bike Works • First Bike: 1956 Triumph Cub • Current Bike: 1987 Harley-Davidson FLHT • Favorite Ride: “Any back road’ll do. Anywhere my wife and I can try to get lost.”

Wendy Patterson, second from left • Age: 62 • Richmond • Occupation: Retired, banking and transport logistics • First Bike: 2006 Suzuki C90 Boulevard • Current Bike: 2007 Harley-Davidson Street Glide • Favorite Ride: Country roads in and around Lively and Morattico

Frank Robinson, second from right • Age: 61 • Spotsylvania • Occupation: USAF Col., retired; currently owner, Indian Motorcycle of Fredericksburg • First Bike: 1971 Kawasaki 350 • Current Bike: 2017 Indian Springfield • Favorite Ride: Skyline Drive

Kyomi Takahashi, far right • Age: 56 • Richmond • Occupation: Japanese interpreter and calligraphy artist • Current Bike: She rides as a passenger on her husband Scott’s (pictured above) 2013 Ducati Monster and 2013 Ducati Multistrada • Favorite Ride: Blue Ridge Parkway, Route 5 is a close second

Best Rides

More than 57,000 miles of highway in Virginia means great rides are waiting almost anywhere you go. The trick is picking one. Click here for some of our favorites.

Life is a Highway

Click here to watch exclusive video interviews with some of our riders, and hear firsthand what keeps them coming back time and time again. 

Motorcycle Clubs in Virginia

Antique Motorcycle Club of America, Richmond and Chesapeake • Diamond Roses Chapter of Women in the Wind, D.C. and Northern Virginia n Fredericksburg Eagle Riders • Green Knights Military Motorcycle Club, Langley Air Force Base, Hampton • Southern Cruisers Riding Club, Lynchburg • The Virginia British Motorcycle Club, Richmond • Tribunal MC Motorcycle Club, Viewtown (for active and retired law enforcement) • Twin Valley Riders, Roanoke

This article originally appeared in our August 2017 issue.