Embrace The Ride You Have

Chris Woodard 0:10

Whether you ride a motorcycle or not, you know, there's no perfection in life, there's no straight line in life. Um, embrace the life that you have, you know, and go explore. Whether it's walking, hiking, just get out and do things that feed your soul, that balance you. And that's going to make you a lot happier person. It's going to heal you. And imagine if you can incorporate that on two wheels. If you don't write already, my advice invest in two wheels, you know. Yeah, it's just, you know, go out there and get at it, you know. Explore the world around you. You know, it's waiting. Truly is.

Meet Chris And Wind Therapy

Ron 1:46

Through his school civil ADV training and tours, he doesn't just teach people how to handle a big adventure bike on the dirt. He introduces them to something a lot deeper. Because he's able to weave centuries of indigenous culture, sovereign lands, and living history right into the trail, giving his riders an experience that touches their soul. So pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee and settle into your comfortable chair and enjoy this conversation with my new friend, Chris Woodard. Stay tuned. I am so glad that I have met our guest today, Chris Woodard. And Chris, just uh you are my neighbor to the West, I guess. I guess we're we're uh both in the Western United States, but welcome to the Peace Love Moto podcast. Thank you for having me, Ron. I appreciate it. And Chris, just just uh briefly, because I I want to I want to definitely circle back to this, but share with the audience uh what you do.

Chris Woodard 3:02

So I am a current uh adventure motorcycle instructor. Um the unique aspect about that is that I am the first MSF certified ADB certified instructor in Arizona. And I'm also the first Native American in the United States to be a certified ADV motorcycle instructor while also being the first to actively teach on a Native American reservation in the United States. Um, so needless to say, I love being on a bike. Um, and when we talk about um genres of bike riders, I always tell my clients or my students the bike doesn't care what your gender is, it just wants to be ridden. And that's the beauty of we can all agree on what we refer to commonly as wind therapy when we're riding a bike. It's just a unique aspect that you have to have a skill set to ride a motorcycle. Not everybody does or can, but you have to be you have to be present, you know. So there's that balance that you have to be balanced, you have to be present riding the motorcycle, but emotionally and mentally, there's this amazing aspect that takes over when you're riding a motorcycle, whether you're riding on blacktop pavement or you know, you're riding off-road. It's just this overwhelming emotional, mental stability that takes you to a different place. And it just releases so much stress and and tension. Quick funny little set or story. When I was going through instructor school for total control, there's a whole chapter on the mental aspect of riding motorcycles. And a whole chapter for total control as instructors identifies roading riding motorcycles as the poor man's zen. And as we read through it and researched, and I was like, man, this is just wind therapy. But they actually broke it down, created a whole chapter as as instructors that we could pass on and teach to our clients and our students. But I thought everyone that rides a bike feels the same way. We get it, you know, and and that's a cool thing, you know, that bonds everybody. Doesn't matter what bike you're riding, where you ride, it's all the same effect that we can all understand. So yeah, I love being on a bike.

Ron 5:14

Absolutely, absolutely it is. You know, we have we only met each other five, 10 minutes ago for the very before we started following each other for a bit. Oh man. Well, that's true, that's true. But it there are just so many check boxes that are getting marked for me of what you and I have in common. So, yeah, I came from the corporate world for sure, but I have been a part-time, very part-time tour guide in Rocky Mountain National Park for about six years. Maybe this is my seventh year. I'm gonna start working with them again very, very soon. But here's what I think, and you correct me if I'm wrong here, Chris. But here's what I think you and I are absolutely in sync on a love for nature and a love for introducing others to nature, and like in our in your case too, with with motorcycles, but but taking them out to a space where possibly they haven't been before, having this what I call a conversation with their mom, with mother nature, yeah, learning to listen, and just uh opening up possibly a whole new world for people. I want to tell you this too, and I this is not in my notes at all, in my little sticky notes, but here's something that I picked up. I watched one of your YouTube videos, or maybe it was a YouTube video posted by one of your clients, and this this lady who was recording. Yes, she was thrilled, she was thrilled for so in so many aspects of what you presented to her. So I guess I want to turn it turn it back to you. You you obviously have a love for people, love for nature, like we were discussing a little bit earlier, and and that that combination, I don't I don't think we can lose with that, my friend. I I really don't. The the joy of motorcycling, the joy of the outdoors, and the joy of people, you you got it all.

Chris Woodard 7:14

Well, it it didn't come easy, it didn't come natural, and I never had a vision or a dream that I would be where I'm at today regarding life on a bike.

Trading A Stereo For A Bike

Chris Woodard 7:25

Most of my clients, most of my friends, people that ride, their stories are always they begin when they were little kids riding dirt bikes. I never had that experience. My first introduction to a motorcycle, it's an odd story. I was in the military at the time, and my roommate was getting, we were stateside, and my roommate was getting ready to get transferred overseas to Germany, and he had a motorcycle, he had a little 350 uh Suzuki, and I had a stereo system. And he couldn't take that bike, so he traded me straight across my stereo for the motorcycle. Now, that said, go back in time, I didn't have a helmet, I didn't have an endorsement, no safety gear. I was that guy that was on a motorcycle and it was sink or swim, learned as I went, and a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, tennis shoes, some aviator shades. It was that was it. That was my introduction to riding a bike. But it also from that point on, it was just it was also affordability. A motorcycle versus a car as a young soldier. That was all I could afford. So it got me into that was the the gateway drug to motorcycles for me, was that smaller CC bike that I could, you know, get around on and have fun. So I eventually upgraded to a 750, a Honda Shadow. And then side story, when I left the military, I became a police officer out here in Arizona. And as I went up through the process, I became a motor officer. So that was probably my first professional exposure to professional writing, you know, on a motorcycle. So when I went through motor school, when I left that field, I was back in the military. This was kind of going back when the first Gulf War started. I was reactivated active duty. So I spent the rest of my career on active duty until I retired. But the motorcycle was always a part of that journey for me. I at some capacity I had always had a motorcycle as an adult then. So my kids, I saw I had this one motorcycle, how I got back into it. I saw this motorcycle pop up for sale, and it was a 2005 BMW 1200 RT. And I was like, wow, this thing looks immaculate. It was beautiful red color. So I kept tracking it for like three weeks. I'm like, this is not selling. I mean, maybe there's something wrong. So long story short, I reached out to the person that had it up for sale. They were, I live in Phoenix in the metropolitan area, small town of Gilbert. They were selling this up in Reno. Once again, I hadn't been on a bike for a bit. So I told my wife, I called the number, made the deal, and flew a one-way ticket from Phoenix to Reno, did the paperwork and got that bike and rode that bike all the way back home. It's like 960 miles. Yeah. It's supposed to be a two-day trip. And I was going to stop overnight in Vegas, but I was so close to home that I was like, I'm just going to grind it out. And there's a little bitty town halfway between here and there, and it's called Wiki Up. And at the time it was a little bitty gas station. It had a little bitty table. And so I laid on that table till I catch a nap. And the truck driver's like, I'll watch you. I got your back, bro. Just go ahead and take a nap. So I got a power nap of like 30 minutes in, and then I was back on the road. But that's how I got back into it. So fortunately for them, you know, they set me up with all the safety gear, the riding jacket, the helmet, and everything as I rode home that 16-hour time period is what it was to get back home. And

Sammy Hagar’s Bike To Coaching

Chris Woodard 10:52

the thing about it, that motorcycle was actually Sammy Hagar's motorcycle. No way. It came out of his personal collection, and his son owns a car shop up in Reno. And so his manager was putting that motorcycle up for sale. And it was like they were interviewing me about my riding ability, how my passion was. And I kept thinking, dude, I'm all in. I'll I'll buy the motorcycle. So that's who actually met me at the airport was Sammy Hagar. Oh man. We did the paperwork. He took me to lunch while they set up all the paperwork. And to this day, I still have the title to that motorcycle. I've I've since I gifted it to a pastor who was a former motor for here at our police department, Gilbert PD, but I still have that title for that motorcycle with Sammy Hagar as the original owner on it. So it's things like that. My daughter, she signed me up for an advanced motorcycle safety course, which I took here for Team Arizona. And for those that don't know, Team Arizona is the second largest motorcycle safety school in the United States behind Florida. So everybody in Arizona goes to their facilities here if you're not going to a Harley Davidson dealership. And I went through that class and then I got an email and they asked me if I would be interested in applying for an instructor's position as a writer coach. And at the time they only took classes once a year or once every other year, and they only took 12 students. So it was very competitive. You had to show up, interview, you had to demonstrate your skill on a motorcycle. And you know, it was a long process. And then they would choose who they were going to accept. And I'll always remember that night when I showed up. I was standing in the parking lot and I was counting people. I knew that there was only 12 slots available. And I literally was looking and I was almost about ready to leave. I was really intimidated, thinking, man, there's sport bikes, Harleys, cruisers, dirt bike, everybody that was on a bike was there trying for a 12, 12-person slot. And I was getting ready to leave. I just felt really uncomfortable and not confident at all. And there was a lady that was standing next to me. She said, What are you doing? You know, like my head was bobbing. And I was like, I'm just counting. And she's like, Why are you counting? And I'm like, I'm counting how many people are here, how many I have to beat out to be one of those 12. And she goes, Oh my gosh. I was thinking the same thing. I was just going to leave. And I was like, then let's just stay the course and we'll just, you know, compete. And we did. Fortunately, both of us actually were one of those 12 that made it in. And that was my first step on becoming a motorcycle instructor as a rider coach for Team Arizona. So I did that for, you know, a good substantial amount of time. And then so I went through all the classes for different certifications as an instructor. It was just, you know, honing my skill. And I loved the ability of riding a motorcycle and teaching other people and students and things. Yeah. But when the ADB side came out, I had purchased my motorcycle BMW 1200 GS Adventure. And we all go through this with a large bike because during that time period, everybody was on a big bike. And I looked at it and I was like, there's only like a couple hundred miles on this bike. And this is a smoking deal. It never made it to the showroom floor for the local dealer. I just saw a picture, I picked it up and boom, and I went. We did the deal. And I went and rode it in our community in Hill River. And we have a road that's a dirt road and it's solid, hard packed. But then I made a turn, a bend, and it became a washout. I had never ridden a big bike off-road or anything. So I was committed and I went going. And then it was like, you know, I got stuck, didn't know the skill, didn't have, you know, I was just, it was sink or swim, crash or bird, you're gonna, you know, make it through. And

Learning Dirt Skills The Hard Way

Chris Woodard 14:36

I tried to turn around and I couldn't. And the bike is heavy as we all know, that platform. And I struggled, man. I was like overheating. I started taking my gear off. And there was seriously a point when I was like, forget this. I'm leaving this bike here and I'm hiking out. I'm walking home. I was that committed, like I'm done. I could, you know, forget this. And all of a sudden, this guy comes down with a four-wheel drive pickup truck. He has his five-year-old son and he had just been driving. He was just exploring. And he saw me and he says, Hey, are you okay? Do you need help? And I was like, Yeah. So he got me turned around and he says, Whatever you do, get up on the pegs, second gear, roll on and just go. Don't worry about me. Don't wave goodbye. Just go. And so I did what he said, and I got up on the pegs and I was gone. And man, that rear tire kicked up so much sand. And I just remember seeing it. It was all in his face and everything. And I felt horrible because I was like, I just kicked this all up in this guy's face. But he got me going. And I never to this day saw him again out in the community. But I was so grateful because he was the guy that at a time when I was struggling and was really literally prepared to say, I know why people give up on a big bike. He got me at it. And from there, I just, you know, started riding more, met up with a couple of other instructors. I was already an instructor at that point for Team Arizona. Me and another instructor, Paul Metsuda. Great guy. We went with uh West 38 Moto. So that was my first introduction with Dusty and that team. We were instructors already. So we went down to Barrago Springs, Southern California. We trained with them. That was a great experience that honed the skill. The following year, we did Baja with that team. So it was just one more thing was going on. And as my skill was continuing to build and my confidence, the MSF created in 2022 the first ADV certified instructor school. But where I live in Arizona, the regional area is in Boise. That's the only place you can go, even to this day. Boise is the only place that you can go to get your MSF, your ADV instructor certification. Yeah. If you live out here in the West.

Ron 16:42

Yeah.

Chris Woodard 16:42

Yeah. So I went to uh the school. I had asked Team Arizona if they would send me, and the team, the the owner was like, there's no future in ADV riding. There's it's just a passing fad. Nobody is going to be riding off-road big adventure bikes. And I was like, okay. So I paid out of pocket to go to uh Boise to get my certification as an instructor. And when I came back home, they didn't even acknowledge it that I had the certification and I, you know, and that I could teach both on-road and off-road at that point. So that kind of created a personal wedge for me because I felt like this is a diminishing skill. So I love to do this. And long story short, as the years went on, you know, I decided to create Civlik ADV training and tours and teach and continue to teaching. And that's what I currently do. That's how I got into doing it on my own. And Civlik ADV, Civlik is my native name. I'm a member of the Hila River Indian community. That's Akma Atatum, people of the river. And my native name is Civlik. My grandfather christened me with that name. Civlik means whirlwind in our language. And that's the symbol of my logo. That symbol that you see on my helmet or on my jersey, this symbol here is our symbol for that. So because there were so many first being Native American, teaching in our community, and sharing that passion with others, it was just kind of a no-brainer to me that that was what I wanted to choose as a name, as a brand name, was who I am. It represents me. And Whirlwind is just kind of the fit, you know, of my life story. So that's how I got into it of you know, teaching on my own. And

Building Civlik ADV And Riding BDRs

Chris Woodard 18:29

I have ridden six BDRs backcountry discovery routes since that time period. My most recent was I just finished the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route. I wrote it in the first week of July. So I was in the sweet spot. Everybody that wrote it prior to that were dealing with snow and closed roads. Everybody that came that week after me was dealing with rain and closed roads. I was in the sweet spot when I started it in that first week of July. Yeah. And I started with another rider. And unfortunately, he had some problems with his bike that he couldn't finish. So for the last four sections, the last four days, I was on my own completing the route. And the beauty of our community, riding motorcycles, I was posting each day, and people found out what had happened. And somebody took my riding jersey, or my not my riding jersey, my riding jacket. Griffin Moto sponsors me for my riding gear. And I had a brand new jacket that I was testing at the time. It was going over my Alpine Stars air vest, airbag vest. And in the morning I was getting ready to leave. And I won't say the town or whatever. And I know it wasn't a rider, but it was taken. Oh no. And I posted that, just you know, my disappointment. And our entire riding community, two things happened. One, everybody reached out and supported me. People offered to overnight me gear, bring me gear, offer me a place to stay, a place to eat. And they knew at that point I was on the rest of the route by myself. So everybody each day was like, hey, you know, they were just checking in with me to make sure that I got from one stage to the next of the route, you know, one section to the other. And that was the confirmation that though physically I was on my own for those last four sections. But mentally, emotionally, I was not. I had an entire community that was behind me that knew I was on my own, and everybody was checking in. So it was pretty cool. It was a cool experience to do that by myself. There were some of the challenges, sections being by yourself, that I'm like, all right, this is a little spicy. Um, I got through it and I enjoyed it. So there are things like that. I I've had the ability, the opportunity to be on a bike. And that was my most recent completing that PDR. The other thing I think is people ask me, how did you become an instructor? How did you start your own company? And my advice is wherever you're at, there should be a school that you can apply to to be an instructor or a writer coach, an MSF certified, you know, facility organization. Or you can go through Harley Davidson. Harley Davidson has a writer academy that you can go through their program to be MSF certified as an instructor. So that's my advice. If you ever want to become an instructor or do this on your own at a whole new level, start there to become a writer coach and then start to build your skill set, your experience, your knowledge, and share that passion. It probably taken me about seven years to get to the point where I'm at from where I first became a coach to being on my own now. So I think that that's the opportunity of if you really want to teach and you want to share that passion, you have an opportunity to do it and get certified. And our certifications are national certifications.

Ron 21:43

So you can go anywhere and teach, you know, at that point. I didn't know, Chris, that our conversation was going to go in this direction, but you're looking at the guy who is interested in that. That's me. Okay. I am. I'm 64 though, so I'm thinking this through. I have been. Very much interested in that. I'm just like you. I love people, love riding motorcycles. I'm a good motorcycle rider, but I need to, gosh, I have been thinking about that seriously. I I absolutely love my opportunities to take people into the national park as a guide up there. I've been a corporate instructor, I've been a college instructor too, and and I have I really love people. I love the whole education process and all that. But no, you you're talking to the right guy because I have been very interested in that. I I I know I need to get better knees for walking around and stuff.

Chris Woodard 22:36

As I'm getting throwing cones is probably the biggest stressor, you know, when you're throwing cones for the pattern. I can tell you this as a rider coach, it's very precise when you're on the blacktop throwing cones. Everything is marked. But throwing cones on the ADV side doesn't have to be that precise because there's no precision when we're riding off-road. There are patterns that you have to throw those cones, but it's less stressful. So therefore, you can set up your cone patterns and you can, you know, run your exercises. And it's much more of a natural flow, that kumbaya flow with your clients for your students. And, you know, people appreciate that versus when you're teaching as a rider coach, they're competing, they're trying to get through the class to get their actual motorcycle endorsement. So they're exceptionally overstressed and they're they're worried. But when they are going through classes with me, they're already experienced motorcycle riders. They already have an endorsement, they already ride, and I'm either honing their existing skills or I'm teaching them how to ride off-road. And those are three different levels, you know, beginning level of level one, intermediate for level two, and then a more technical rider for level three. Those are the guys that if you want to be a technical rider and you want to learn how to ride BDRs or long distances off-road, and you're going to come across different types of terrain, those level threes are the guys that I get prepared to make that journey. For example, one of my clients this spring, I trained him to get prepared to ride a motorcycle in the Himalayas this year in June. So that was an awesome experience of having that impact of teaching someone how to ride a motorcycle off-road, get prepared for some of the environments he's going to face, and be able to successfully do that. And that was a bucket list for him of riding a motorcycle in the Himalayan mountains. You know, it was like 21 days. Oh man, that's huge. Yeah. So for me, that's what I love sharing that passion, helping somebody along their journey, and then being able to know that you contributed to their success and and you know, completing some of their dreams and stuff too, you know.

Ron 24:37

Yeah. I will most certainly but before we end this interview, most certainly be coming back to this, and I'll be posting all of the information for folks who are interested in signing up for your tours and for your instructions and stuff. I'll have that in the show notes most definitely. But at a high level, Chris, let's say a guy like me or whatever, I'm retired now, got all the time in the world, I guess. Yeah, according to my wife, that's not right. But uh, but but how would I go about then signing up? I know I go to your your website, and can you just kind of walk me through the process? Right.

Chris Woodard 25:15

So

Booking Training Plus Fly In Options

Chris Woodard 25:16

we opened up my next training session starts for the fall. So we coordinate that to be September 23rd. That's the first day of fall. So the calendar is currently open for the fall sessions. So you can go to civilicadv.com to the website, and you can scroll to find the dates of training or the tours that you want, and you can choose that date and it'll it'll block it out for you. There's some questions there about your experience and and you know your knowledge and things. We're actually that's the most efficient way to do it if you want to choose a date and a time as we go into the fall. And then it'll notify me. I'll reach out to you and we'll coordinate a schedule and a time and what that training is going to look like. Some people like to do the standard training for comb patterns, which we always incorporate, but I like to also elaborate on where are your strengths, where are things that you want to hone, your skills, what you know, to build your confidence. Because sometimes people, you know, they know the basics, but they haven't really been challenged in some very technical elements of riding a motorcycle off-road, especially an adventure bike. So that's kind of that one-on-one, those conversations that I have with my clients of creating a curriculum for them that's very personal so that we're meeting their needs so that when they're finished with that training day, I also incorporate it at least an hour to an hour and a half after each training day that you'll actually be on the bike. We'll leave the range, and we're gonna immediately go on a short, you know, one hour, hour and a half jot through the reservation. So now you can implement those techniques that you just learned on the range. You're gonna do it in the real world so that it's muscle memory. And that's a thing for me is I want you to enjoy it. I want you to feel confident, build that confidence, and go home that day feeling that, hey, you know what, I learned something new, you know, and you really, you know, you get to share that. You get to go and look forward to your next adventure on a motorcycle. Yeah.

Ron 27:10

From from a logistics standpoint, then I so if if someone's flying in from across the US or across the country, across the world or whatever, would they fly in then to Phoenix? Yes, they would.

Chris Woodard 27:23

I'll share this with you. We're currently working on a program for what we refer to as a flying ride. So I'm working actually with Colorado Motorcycle Adventures. So we're going to take a portion of their fleet for the fall and we'll coordinate the logistics to bring those motorcycles out here to Arizona. So then we'll have the ability for clients to fly out and they'll have a bike set up and ready for them. Oh, um, through Civlik directly, I currently have my original 1200 GS Adventure as a rental bike. Plus, I have gear that uh someone could come out and they'd have access to, you know, a 1200 GS adventure with gear. That's my personal bike. And I'm currently on the 1300 GS.

Ron 28:01

That's pretty well, yeah. I have not ridden it. Yeah, I've kind of been a little apprehensive about the way it looks. I'll just tell you. I don't know, man. It's just and I'm thinking about the adventure. Seems a little bit boxy to me, but I'm I know I'm getting you off track a little bit. But how do you feel about the 1300 motor on this bike?

Chris Woodard 28:20

Okay, so let's go back to the aesthetics real quick. I was the same exact way when I because I'm coming off of GSA and I was waiting on the GSA, the 1300 GSA, but it didn't come to the United States until a year after we got the GS. So I was like, man, it just looks like a huge box. But everyone said the negative comments about the GS platform, the GSA, that 1200 series, the 1250 series, everybody was like, oh, it's a big rhino, oh, it's a big box, you know, it's an elephant. It's one of those things that I can say going to the 1300 GS, I felt like this might be too small for me, you know, and I love it. It's actually very light. Obviously, the same engine, same setup as the GS Adventure, but it carries just as much weight. You know, I have my Moscow gear, my pantiers, the uh rackless 80 liter. So I have that set up. And once again, I just did the Montana BDR from Arizona all the way there, southern border of Canada, and back home on the 1300 GS. Very comfortable ride, very balanced. And it's really, it doesn't matter what bike you're riding. When people ask me what's the best bike out there, my response is always, whatever bike you're currently riding is the best bike. You know, once again, just you know, go out and explore, you know, the world is there. One last unique element, or one of the final that I kind of like to address in my community is being autumn. We assimilate people into our culture. And it's very important to me to get to share our culture and our history. And it's not just with our native people, it's a lot of Western expansion that crossed into our community that I get to share people like the stagecoach, the Butterfield Stagecoach Express. There's a section of that that runs through our community that no one else has access to because it's within our tribal sovereign land. But that's part of the tour process that I get to take writers, and they get to explore that. And they get to see our native culture with our petroglyphs and our cultural areas. We have a Japanese internment camp that very few people know it exists, but it's there. So there are things that on our tours, you get to see a part of our culture, both our past and our current history, and what our future looks like for our people. And that future also impacts everybody else around us. For example, I created a curriculum for the Hilo River Police Department for their motors and to teach them how to ride the 1250 series, the RT, to transition to the GS platform to patrol off-road on an adventure bike. Oh cool. I created that and we've trained them. That's the first in the in the United States on a Native American reservation for tribal police officers. They're all state certified, but to teach them how to ride a street bike off-road as an adventure bike in a patrol capacity. So that's pretty cool. And, you know, I've also had Aprillia with Rapardo Veloce that have collaborated with me and sponsored me. And some people have seen that. They've seen me testing and writing the April, the Turig Rally. I had that opportunity to ride it before it was released in the United States. I had the opportunity to ride that bike first and test it. So there's a lot of first for me. You know, I got to test ride the hot Harley Davidson, the Pan America in Germany of all places, before the pre-production when it first came out. So there's things I've I've had the chance to do. How did you get that opportunity? That's amazing. They only had two in Europe at the time, and I was there on business, and I chose to look at a bike, and I was going to rent one, and they were like, they knew that I was an instructor. So they gave me the opportunity to ride that bike because it had just come in. It hadn't been road tested at all. Nobody knew anything how it handled. So Harley Davidson gave me the opportunity for Dusseldorf Harley Davidson to ride the motorcycle for 11 days. They gave me routes to go ahead and try both on and off-road. They wanted me to introduce it to the riding community there and then give feedback when I came back, you know, 11 days later. And that bike, that's the first generation. There were obviously problems. I think we're in the fourth generation of it now. So a lot of that has been weeded out. But part of that feedback for me as a professional motorcycle rider and instructor was giving it back in suspension, the handling. There was an air dam. I got to ride on the Autobahn and the fairing, for example, there was an air dam around the cockpit that wasn't addressed. It no longer exists now because of this. The air flowed up between the forks and it came right over the cockpit and it was hitting me at chest level and it was lifting me up off the bike because it was cupping underneath my helmet and lifting the helmet and lifting me off the bike. I think I was at about 245 kilometers an hour on the Autobot because I was doing like what that top speed was. Um, but that was also the feedback, the aerodynamics, the stability of the bike, and giving that feedback so that it was adjusted. So that's that's kind of the thing. I'm BMW, one of their national trainers, you know, out here for Arizona. And the BDR, a backcountry discovery route. They invited me and just chose me as an ambassador this summer. They normally don't do that. I'm the first in the history of the BDR to be chosen as an ambassador midterm. They normally don't do that until the end of the year. They'll accept applications in November, December, and they'll make a choice uh for January. So that was a huge honor for me to become an ambassador. So I represent the BDR out here in Arizona. Yeah, congratulations. It's wonderful. Yeah, thank you. So once again, there's a lot of first for me that, and they all, you know, revolve around my later years as a motorcycle rider. I, you know, I didn't get here alone. I've had a lot of support from my family, my wife, other coaches and instructors, and just the organization, the community itself has given me the opportunity to share that passion with other riders and sponsoring me, you know, in various events and things. And Griffin Moto sponsors me for all my my riding gear. So they're, you know, they're sponsors for me that I've had to work to get to that point where they trust me with their product and they ask me to test it and stuff. So uh yeah, that's that's part of the gig life on a bike.

Ron 34:31

Oh, for sure for sure.

Culture, History, And Sovereign Lands

Ron 34:33

Um I I wanna I want to talk a little bit, if you don't mind, about the significance of the native community that you're a part of. And here's a little bit about me. As I was growing up on my on the Francis side of the family, so my dad's side of the family, it was always talked about that we in some capacity had native blood. And I was I was always so proud of that, and and I and I never investigated it really, but I finally did, and I was crushed because I found out I'm not at all. I'm like 99 English, specifically from Cornwall, England, which nothing hopefully none of the listeners that may be in Cornwall, England I want to visit there, and my family has roots there. But there was a part of me that was so crushed, I was hoping to find out that that I had native blood somewhere in my family where I could go out and do the national park tour in Rocky Mountain National Park, where I do talk about the Native Americans who were there, and where I could say that was my family too, but I can't say that. But I I would so I would so love that, and and I do, I do have a very keen interest in the westward expansion, the impact there, the brutality that was part of that, and the in the native culture. I am I'm very, very interested in that. As a matter of fact, it was it was just about this time last year. I was just solo motorcycling, and I was near Durango, and I should have had my notes in front of me. But anyway, I I stopped at a uh at a national parks place there that that there was a Native American village that was right in that area. So I stopped in there, I watched a couple of the videos, looked at the artifacts and everything, and it was just beautiful. But I bought a book while there too, and it had a lot of the a lot of the quotes and sayings and beliefs of the Native Americans, and and I just really fell in love with that, I always have, but maybe swinging back to a question for you given given your background, your family lineage, and the community that you're a part of right now, do you see that as impacting the way or having an effect on the way that you want to treat other people when they you when they come along on your tours and get to see these very special spaces?

Chris Woodard 37:04

Oh, absolutely. I want people to come and assimilate into our culture, to be part of that, to understand who our people are, where we come from. We've always been here. Our community is very unique that we were one of the few tribes that have never been relocated onto a reservation. This land has always been our land. Oh so everything around here, Phoenix, for example, that was all part of our land, the reservation, all the way up into Scottsdale. So from the southern border of Arizona, my grandmother is Tohonoatum, people of the desert. Our tribe extends into northern Sonora, into Mexico. So we have community members with the Papu tribe that speak Spanish and live on the other side of the border. But the point being is that before Arizona was Arizona, my grandmother was born when we were still a territory here. My family has been here as farmers from the mid-1800s on my father's side. So, you know, we've always been here. But the point being is that there's so much history, native culture and history that exist that most people don't get a chance to see if they're not seeing it in a movie, a documentary, or reading a book. If you come and join me, you get to actually see it, you get to lay hands on it, you get to hear the story, and I get to share that with you. And, you know, that's the part I want you to go away feeling. You're part of us. Now you understand. And that Western expansion. For example, the Mormon battalion came through our community. And when we see petroglyphs, we see them in our community, but you can also see that trail of Mormon settlers that crossed over along the Estraya Mountains and they left their names and the years and that journey too. So they tracked it the same areas that we traveled. There are people that that truly are like, hey, that's American history. That's part of our culture as Americans of who we are, and not just the Mormon battalion, but other settlers that were traveling across the country from different parts of the United States to go Western expansion, that their families had to get from here to the West Coast. You had to come through Arizona, you had to come through our community. So that's part too. I want people, if you have a culture, your own identity and heritage, hey, you probably had your family that came through this area too. So, you know, you get the chance to see that. And one thing that's beautiful for me as a dad is each of my children has had the opportunity where we go to what we refer to as the homestead. It's the same space that as a child, my grandfather helped raise me on the reservation. It's the same space that everybody from him and every generation before, that's where we were raised. That's their land. We farm that land. And my children have had the opportunity individually and collectively to go to that same spot and put a handful of dirt in their hand and let it run through their fingers and know countless generations before you, this is our people, this is our land, and this is where you come from. So that's a culture and a history that I love sharing with my kids and letting them know this is who you are, this is where you come from. You know, we're author, we're the people.

Ron 40:06

That's beautiful, Chris. I had a conversation with a large touring company. And when we as we were talking through things, we we discussed what's easy about touring and what's more challenging. I'm trying to be discreet on this too, but basically what he said is we we, that organization, we do a really good job at checking the box of adventure. So I can take you on a bunch of Harleys or whatever to the edge of the Grand Canyon where everybody hangs their legs off of a rock at the Grand Canyon, holds up a coarse beer, you got a motorcycle behind you, I can take the picture, and that's your adventure, right? So I'm checking that box. He went on to say, what I'd like to do is check the box of purpose. Like, essentially, can you can you come away with this not only of having that adventure and and seeing these things, but know a little bit more about yourself? Absolutely. And that's what I'm I'm hearing from you and your your organization, Chris. Is that yeah, we're most certainly you're gonna have an adventure, but you're gonna come away possibly as a different person, a better person.

Chris Woodard 41:26

I I truly believe that. And that's one of my primary goals of who we are as a people. You know, we're sharing our culture and our history, but it's not just ours. It's not just ours to maintain and keep in-house. If we don't share that with one another, and I want to know what my clients, where they're from and how they ride and their stories too, that that interaction. And it's always moving forward with positive purpose and intent. Once again, when you ride a motorcycle, you already come with this emotion, this mental capacity that's like amazing. And I want to enlighten that. I want to take that to another level for you so that, yes, when you leave our training, that you look forward to coming back for the next tour session because we have seven different tours just within our community. That doesn't include the tours that I do outside the community. So there, there's quite a bit, you know. I love sharing, I love teaching. That's my passion. I'm very fortunate that I'm one of the riders that the question is, I love riding motorcycle. How can you get paid to do that? Let me let me tell you how you can do that. That's you know, I could share that story with people. Yeah, you you know, you commit, you put the time in, and everybody, you know, as we get older, we get more experience. We all have that dream. How can I make that transition of still having life on a bike? And as we get a little older, I'm always inspired when I come across other riders, whether they're on blacktop or off-road that are in their 70s or 80s and they're still riding a motorcycle. And when I complain at times and think, man, I'm feeling sore and I'm getting old. I think of those riders, I think, yeah, just be quiet, get back on the bike and go have fun, go explore. But that's my inspiration that I will still be able to ride a bike another 10, 20 plus years, you know, because it's being done. And riding a motorcycle, one of the beauties is that it's one of the things in life that we can be taught and we can maintain it for the rest of our life. How many things can you actually do that? There's not a whole lot, physical things that you can do for the rest of your life. But riding a motorcycle, you could learn at any age. My youngest student was 15 years and six months for his endorsement. And my oldest was 72 years old. He just wanted to learn to ride a bike and gain his endorsement. His journey started at 72. That's amazing to me. That's our community. That's our community of how we ride and the exposure of people that, yeah, we are definitely a pretty cool, you know, community to be a part of. We're fortunate to be a part of the riding community. You know, anyone who rides a bike. Scooters. People don't know this. My street bike is a 1200 RT. I have the 1300 GS and the and the uh 1200 GS Adventure. But the funnest ride I've ever had is my 2023 Mickey Mouse edition Vespa scooter. I cruise around here on Gilbert, and I have posted videos of me riding that. My wife and I, when we do date nights, we're on the scooter, you know. I never thought myself, I never envisioned that I would ever be riding a scooter. Though I have taught so many people to get their endorsement, I never thought I was that guy, but Rapardo Veloce gave me that opportunity. They're like, Hey, you know what? This guy traded in the scooter. And Colin, the owner, was like, I know you like Mickey Mouse, your family goes to Disneyland. He goes, How do you feel about the scooter? And I called Alice and I was like, What do you think? And you know, typical husband, we're like asking and we're just trying to, how can we finagle this? Yes. And she immediately was like, She was all in. She was like, Absolutely, yes. And I was like, wow, like it was that easy. So that's you know, day nights, you know, for us. Go have dinner, go to get some ice cream, cruise around, you know, in the fall when the weather's perfect out here, you know, on a scooter. So once again, most people see me on a big bike, but I own a scooter and I spend time on that too.

Ron 45:16

I I have one of those electric scooters myself. Yeah, same, same idea, though. I I ride it just about every day, and it it's it's wind therapy at 10 miles an hour. I agree.

Chris Woodard 45:34

It's you know, so that's the thing of once again. Motorcycles don't care what gender is riding them, they just want to be ridden. And anything with two wheels, by my definition, that's a motorcycle, that's a bike. You know, I don't play favorites. I don't care if you're on a scooter, if you're on a sport bike, or any kind, as long as you're out there riding and exploring, that's part of your journey, you know. That's that's the cool part of it, you know. We're having fun exploring the world around us, you know, on two wheels. Yeah, absolutely.

Ron 46:07

I I am so glad we've had this conversation. I'm I'm so honored to have met you and had this getting acquainted this way. I'm gonna be coming your direction as soon as I can. Okay.

Chris Woodard 46:19

Well, you always have an open invitation when you make it out here. You know, you always have an open invitation to come ride with me and stuff, and I got everything that you'll need. So all you have to do is just show up and have fun with me.

Ron 46:29

Well, I would absolutely love to do that. So you mentioned Disney. I'm a huge Disney fan too. My family is. What I've done any number of times is I've ridden my motorcycle from here in Loveland, Colorado, north of Denver, and I will ride halfway to Los Angeles, usually spend the night. If I go to I may go all the way to Las Vegas, that's a long way. Um typically I'll I'll stay somewhere in southern Utah or whatever, and then I'll continue on to right outside of in Anaheim, right outside of Disneyland. I'll have a family member fly in to John Wayne Airport, and then we will join together. I've had my fun ride, they've had their flight. We'll be together at Disneyland for two or three days, and then they fly back and I ride back. So it's, I think I'd be able to go right past your place next time you do one of those. So absolutely.

Chris Woodard 47:21

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and if you ever need something, I'm only a phone call away. Once again, riding a bike. I don't need a heavy excuse to get on a bike and say, hey, Ron needs something. I'm gonna go take it to him, or I'm gonna go beat up.

Ron 47:35

That's that's beautiful. Well, just like you said, Chris, we do belong to a community where we care about each other, not just virtually, but in real life. I went for a ride just today, headed out, oh, I don't know, around 10 o'clock or so. I rode past the winter park ski area, came back home by way of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. It's up at 12,000 feet. It was 62, by the way, up there. Oh, wow. When I was coming over Trail Ridge, that was about three, three, four hours ago. Same thing though. I was outside of Winter Park and kind of in the middle of nowhere, and there was this dude and his girlfriend on a Harley off the bike to the right, and I slowed down, gave them a little toot on the horn, and gave them a thumbs up. They gave me a thumbs up back that they were fine, you know. Yeah, but uh they would do the same thing for me.

Chris Woodard 48:27

Absolutely. Yeah, we check on one another, yeah. Make sure that you know we get home safe.

Ron 48:32

Yeah, and that's a that's a beautiful thing that we are very fortunate, very blessed to have the physical and mental capability to do that and be a part of this community that's just beautiful. If the whole world were like that, there'd be no wars. Can you just imagine? If everybody was a motorcycle rider who cared about each other, what a world we would have. Yeah. Oh my goodness, my friend, thank you so much. It's it's such a pleasure to again to meet you, get to know you, and uh start our beginning of our friendship. Absolutely. Um, we will be sharing a cup of coffee and a handshake soon enough.

Chris Woodard 49:09

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Ron, for inviting me to join you this evening. I truly appreciate you.

Ron 49:26

Talking

Why We Ride And How To Connect

Ron 49:27

with Chris today reminded me of why we do this. And it's not necessarily about the machine or even the miles, it's about connection, and that's a beautiful thing. It's about the quiet, steady balance that you find when you're out in the wind on your bike, but it's also about the community that surrounds you, especially when the road gets a little rough. So whether you're navigating mountain passes or exploring the desert or cruising down to your local cafe, we're all sharing the same simple joy: the joy of riding a motorcycle. Hey, if you'd like to learn more about Chris and his ADV coaching and his guided cultural tours through the Heela River community, be sure and check out the show notes for this episode. I've included links there in order to find out more information and get in touch with Chris. Thank you so much for writing with me today, for listening in, and if you enjoy this episode, please take a moment to share it with your friends or leave a review or head over to peacelovemoto.com to explore more stories and essays and updates on the road. Until we visit again, have a good time out there. I know you will. Hope to see you out there. Take care.