A Year on Two Wheels

Looking Back at 2025 With California Riders — and Ahead to 2026

As 2025 winds down, I find myself thinking less about calendars and more about moments. About stretches of road that felt familiar even when they surprised us. About riders we checked in on. About stories we wish had never happened but did, and the way this community showed up anyway.

California riding has its own rhythm. It always has. It is shaped by fog rolling in off the coast, heat shimmering off inland highways, mountain roads that punish complacency, and traffic patterns that never fully sleep. It is shaped by independence and stubbornness, but also by generosity, connection, and a deep sense that we look out for our own.

As this year closes, I want to say something simple, and I mean it sincerely. I am grateful. Grateful to be part of the California motorcycle community. Grateful to be trusted with people’s stories in their hardest moments. And grateful for the chance to keep showing up in 2026.

2025 Was Not an Easy Year, But It Was a Meaningful One

If 2025 taught us anything, it is that riding in California still demands respect. More cars. More distractions. More pressure on roads that were never designed for this volume. Even riders doing everything right found themselves in situations they did not choose and could not avoid.

And yet what stood out to me this year was not just the crashes or the losses. It was how riders responded.

I saw riders organize fundraisers without being asked. I saw group chats light up when someone went down. I saw people take time out of their lives to check on families they barely knew, simply because they were one of us.

That is the part of the motorcycle world that never makes headlines, but it is the part that matters most.

California Riders Are Independent, But Never Alone

There is a paradox to riding that California riders understand especially well.

You can be alone on a bike, just you, the machine, and the road, yet feel deeply connected at the same time. You can be fiercely independent and still part of something bigger. You can ride solo and still know that if things go sideways, someone will stop.

That sense of connection showed up again and again in 2025.

It showed up in charity rides that raised real money for real people.
It showed up in quiet check-ins after crashes that never made the news.
It showed up when riders slowed traffic to protect a downed rider they had never met.

That is not accidental. That is culture.

Gratitude for the Trust Riders Place in Me

I do not take lightly the fact that people reach out to me after motorcycle crashes. Those messages and calls are rarely polished. They are raw. Sometimes angry. Sometimes scared. Sometimes heartbreakingly quiet.

Being trusted in those moments, especially by riders and families who are already overwhelmed, is something I am deeply grateful for.

This year, I had the privilege of standing alongside injured riders and grieving families across California. I heard stories about rides that never finished, about plans interrupted, about futures that suddenly looked very different.

I also saw resilience. I saw people fight through recovery. I saw families support one another. I saw riders reclaim pieces of their lives that felt stolen.

Being part of that journey, advocating, listening, explaining, and fighting when needed, is work I do not take for granted.

Built by Riders, for Riders, and Grounded in California

California is not just a place I work. It is home. These roads are personal. The riding culture here is not theoretical to me. It is lived, observed, and respected.

When I say I am here for riders, I do not mean that as marketing language. I mean it as a commitment. A commitment to understand how motorcycles move through traffic, how crashes actually happen, how bias against riders still shows up, and how devastating the consequences can be when someone is not paying attention.

That understanding shapes everything I do.

It shapes how cases are handled.
It shapes how conversations are approached.
It shapes how hard I push back when someone tries to reduce a rider to a stereotype instead of a human being.

That does not change in 2026.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we turn the page, I am genuinely optimistic about the year ahead.

Not because riding will suddenly become risk free. It will not. But because I see momentum. I see more riders talking openly about safety without losing the joy of riding. I see better gear choices becoming normal. I see conversations shifting toward accountability on the road.

I also see a stronger, more connected rider community than ever before.

In 2026, I am looking forward to continuing to support riders and families when they need it most. I am looking forward to staying present at events, rides, and gatherings that bring people together. I am looking forward to helping riders navigate the legal system without losing their dignity or their voice.

Just as importantly, I am looking forward to listening. The best way to serve this community is to stay grounded in it.

To the Riders Still Healing

If 2025 knocked you off your feet, physically or emotionally, I want you to know this. Your pace is your pace. Healing is not linear. Strength does not always look like pushing forward. Sometimes it looks like resting, asking for help, or just getting through the day.

You are still a rider. You still belong.

The community has not forgotten you, and neither have I.

To the Families Who Carry the Weight

And to the families who lost someone this year, there are no words that fix that kind of loss. But there is respect. There is remembrance. And there is a promise that the rider you loved mattered, and still does.

Your grief is not invisible. Your stories matter. And your loved ones’ lives meant more than a statistic.

A Final Thank You and a Look Forward

As 2025 comes to a close, I want to thank every California rider who trusted me, talked with me, supported others, or simply kept riding with heart and intention.

This community is resilient, generous, and deeply human.

Here is to 2026.

To safer miles.
To stronger connections.
To accountability where it belongs.
And to another year of showing up for one another.

Ride your ride. Look out for each other. And know that I am truly grateful to be part of this community as we head into the year ahead.