Kevin was a hard core endurance rider who lived for big miles and zen-time behind the handlebars with the wind in his face. I rode quite a lot of miles with him over the years, including my first ever Iron Butt ride, and the news from his wife on Facebook yesterday afternoon is still sinking in.
He was a giant of a human being in many ways and always a lot of fun to be around, which is without doubt why so many people remember him so fondly - the amount of comments and posts I'm seeing from people all around the world on his FB profile as well as his wife's announcement is astounding. He cetainly had a personality and general positive outlook on life that I could only ever dream of equaling, whilst at the same time remaining incredibly humble and down to earth, and he made many friends in many circles, as the outpouring of grief online has shown.
The man was also perpetually positive. He had a lot of trials and tribulations on a lot of his many past adventures, not all of which went the way he'd hoped, yet he was always so incredibly positive, not focusing on the negatives of what happened or how (without a doubt) he was dissapointed about the bigger picture sometimes, but instead focusing on how others came to his rescue - riders and strangers alike, and how there was good in all people.
I could only hope to be this positive in life - I have a habit of being a pessimist a lot of the time, and things that he experienced desite the best laid plans would have left me an infuriated angry mess, but he always seemed to find a way to make it a positive, and continue on. We could all take lessons from a person like this. I need to try harder to be this sort of person.
He constantly yearned for the open road, big miles, and the zenn time that endurance riding entails. This sort of riding is not something that everyone enjoys - I am personally a fan of big mile endurance riding, but it's hard to find others that share that drive, and even I have limits... but holy ****, he was next level, and was always looking forward to the next adventure. And he did a lot of it for charity, aside from all his other charitable work over the years.
While sitting having coffee together he'd share bits and pieces of his adventures over the years, including the ups and downs - hearing about his IBA and Hoka Hey adventures (amongst many others) was always enthralling for me as I could only dream of doing some of the things he actually did. Maybe some day I'll have the time and money to be able to do a few of them, but myself and others lived vicariously through him somtimes, and always followed him on Facebook, on his Spotwalla live GPS tracks he shared with everyone as he rode, and afterwards, over a coffee in real life.
The last time I was with him was perhaps 6 or 8 weeks ago when he randomly showed up at the beginning of one a ride with some friends, coffee in hand, and he just hung out and chatted with us all for 15 or 20 minutes before we headed out. Bright and bubbly as always, always positive, and always excited to chat about anything motorcycles. "Little short rides" surely didn't hold much appeal to him anymore (I get it, I feel the same way sometimes) but he still maintained the social connections with his old riding buddies, even though he may not have ridden with us much anymore.
As hard as it is to accept he's gone, I find a little solace knowing he left this world doing exactly what he wanted to be doing - running big miles on the open road with the wind in his face on 2 wheels.
Kevin was on an adventure in Australia doing a ride called "Around the big Paddock", circumnavigating the entire continent. He was about 6 or 7 days in when tragedy struck. It appears he rode off the road and hit a tree. No further news on how or what might have caused it, and I'm not sure anyone will ever know honestly, or if it's even our business honestly. It is what it is.
I was watching his GPS track all last week along with occasional social media updates, and then on Saturday something strange happened with his GPS track that didn't make total sense, but might have indicated a mechanical failure or just a need for some extra sleep. I had a bad feeling in my gut however as that sort of change of plans without a social media update was...unusual for him, especially as the hours wore on.
His GPS tracker is still pinging away to this very moment.
Rest in peace brother, and I hope whereever you are right now you're completing the challenge you had your heart set on, and planning the next one. Keep an eye on your family and all the rest of us here while we're out there with the wind in our face. I'll be riding some miles later this week wondering if you're on my flank.
He was a giant of a human being in many ways and always a lot of fun to be around, which is without doubt why so many people remember him so fondly - the amount of comments and posts I'm seeing from people all around the world on his FB profile as well as his wife's announcement is astounding. He cetainly had a personality and general positive outlook on life that I could only ever dream of equaling, whilst at the same time remaining incredibly humble and down to earth, and he made many friends in many circles, as the outpouring of grief online has shown.
The man was also perpetually positive. He had a lot of trials and tribulations on a lot of his many past adventures, not all of which went the way he'd hoped, yet he was always so incredibly positive, not focusing on the negatives of what happened or how (without a doubt) he was dissapointed about the bigger picture sometimes, but instead focusing on how others came to his rescue - riders and strangers alike, and how there was good in all people.
I could only hope to be this positive in life - I have a habit of being a pessimist a lot of the time, and things that he experienced desite the best laid plans would have left me an infuriated angry mess, but he always seemed to find a way to make it a positive, and continue on. We could all take lessons from a person like this. I need to try harder to be this sort of person.
He constantly yearned for the open road, big miles, and the zenn time that endurance riding entails. This sort of riding is not something that everyone enjoys - I am personally a fan of big mile endurance riding, but it's hard to find others that share that drive, and even I have limits... but holy ****, he was next level, and was always looking forward to the next adventure. And he did a lot of it for charity, aside from all his other charitable work over the years.
While sitting having coffee together he'd share bits and pieces of his adventures over the years, including the ups and downs - hearing about his IBA and Hoka Hey adventures (amongst many others) was always enthralling for me as I could only dream of doing some of the things he actually did. Maybe some day I'll have the time and money to be able to do a few of them, but myself and others lived vicariously through him somtimes, and always followed him on Facebook, on his Spotwalla live GPS tracks he shared with everyone as he rode, and afterwards, over a coffee in real life.
The last time I was with him was perhaps 6 or 8 weeks ago when he randomly showed up at the beginning of one a ride with some friends, coffee in hand, and he just hung out and chatted with us all for 15 or 20 minutes before we headed out. Bright and bubbly as always, always positive, and always excited to chat about anything motorcycles. "Little short rides" surely didn't hold much appeal to him anymore (I get it, I feel the same way sometimes) but he still maintained the social connections with his old riding buddies, even though he may not have ridden with us much anymore.
As hard as it is to accept he's gone, I find a little solace knowing he left this world doing exactly what he wanted to be doing - running big miles on the open road with the wind in his face on 2 wheels.
Kevin was on an adventure in Australia doing a ride called "Around the big Paddock", circumnavigating the entire continent. He was about 6 or 7 days in when tragedy struck. It appears he rode off the road and hit a tree. No further news on how or what might have caused it, and I'm not sure anyone will ever know honestly, or if it's even our business honestly. It is what it is.
I was watching his GPS track all last week along with occasional social media updates, and then on Saturday something strange happened with his GPS track that didn't make total sense, but might have indicated a mechanical failure or just a need for some extra sleep. I had a bad feeling in my gut however as that sort of change of plans without a social media update was...unusual for him, especially as the hours wore on.
His GPS tracker is still pinging away to this very moment.
Rest in peace brother, and I hope whereever you are right now you're completing the challenge you had your heart set on, and planning the next one. Keep an eye on your family and all the rest of us here while we're out there with the wind in our face. I'll be riding some miles later this week wondering if you're on my flank.
