58.KRIS GROWCOTT

Hibernation Portrait No. 058:S04 :: Kris Growcott is a restless entrepreneur and journeyman. He loves a good challenge and thrives under the pressure of starting something new and having to learn and absorb everything about it. Kris recently left a full-time job in advertising to help rebuild a small motorcycle apparel company called Draggin. They make kevlar reinforced denim. Only thing is, Draggin didn’t want his help, they wanted sell him the company. So seven months later he and his wife, 5 months pregnant, were driving a moving van and trailer full of stuff, moving the business from North Carolina back to St. Paul. Talk about embracing change. A year later Draggin HQ is up and running, their son August was born and things are going well.

Kris is no stranger to the moto life. He grew up in Australia, and on school holidays the family would head out of town to visit his uncles farms. They use to rip around on old Japanese dirt bikes, probably what we'd consider scramblers now. Whenever there was a chance he’d jump on the back. “I loved the sound of the engine and the feeling of freedom and smelling the fresh, country air. It all started there.”

Around the age of 6 he was tired of bouncing around on the back, so Dad kicked started the bike, plopped Kris on the seat and off he went. “I was riding on the gravel driveway that wound through the fields at the farm. Dumped the bike at the first corner, and couldn't lift it up, so Dad got the bike back upright, threw me back on, and off I went. Determined to keep riding. Eventually I got it and rode around in circles until I was tired. Rode past the house, beeped the horn, and Dad knew I was ready to get off. Did one last circle and when I got back to the house Dad was waiting. I stopped short of him and dumped the bike again. But I knew how to ride, and was pretty stoked.”

His most memorable ride was a 10 day excursion through Thailand on a Honda XR250. “We went north to the Golden triangle and rode down along the Meekong. We didn't have a set plan. Just stopped when we were tired, hungry or interested in seeing something new. We rode through one area that was a questionable border with Burma. We were told not to stop in that area and I swear I saw a guy with a gun walking through the trees along the side of the road. He wasn't hunting rabbits. On our last day, we realized we were riding towards a huge motorcycle gathering. We joined up with a group of Harley Riders. We had no idea about etiquette back then and rode right through them, pushing our bikes as fast as they could go. We were lucky not to get run off the road. It was awesome.”

Kris owns what I consider to be one of the greatest motorcycles ever designed. The Speed Triple. His is the 2010 Special Edition. Red with a simple white racing stripe and of course the original round headlights! Before Triumph decided to throw their integrity out the window. He found it in Florida and bought it sight unseen. It’s a beauty.

If you’re not into the storm trooper look, but you want to keep the skin on your legs, stop by Draggin HQ in St. Paul just down the street from BlueCat, and say hello to Kris. You might also see him in his yellow van at first Thursday’s or anyone of the moto shows around town this year.

57.ADAM WIRTZFELD

Adam Wirtzfeld grew up in a military family. His Dad was a Naval Aviator. They moved 22 times before Adam was five years old. He has clear memories of Mountain View, CA before it was silicon valley, and fuzzy memories of living in Japan. Eventually they settled on a 400 acre farm a few miles northwest of Northfield, MN where he got his first taste of life on two wheels. At the age of 17, on the back of a ’79 Suzuki GS1000: “Even two-up, the acceleration was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. “After a run down our long gravel driveway, we switched spots and I got my first taste of twisting the throttle and holding on for dear life with my dad shouting advice over my shoulder--"ease off on the throttle for the turns, don't use your brakes--bikes and gravel don't mix!" Luckily I had been driving manual transmission trucks on farms since I was about 13, so the shifting part came easy. A big, heavy 1000 cc street bike was a little unforgiving learning on, and I very quickly learned to respect it. I'll never forgot how that bike flew over the ground.”

Learning to use tools, making and fixing things is second nature, his Dad built their own home over a 20 year period, including most of the furniture, and did all the maintenance on their cars. Now, Adam is very conscious of sharing that experience with his son. “I'm by no means an expert wrench, but I haven't encountered anything that I couldn't figure out with a few tries and some research. There's a ton of satisfaction to be derived from taking something that isn't running, figuring it out, and turning it into something that not only gets you where you need to go, but is also beautiful to look at.”

When Adam isn’t on Dad duty, at work, on the road, or in the garage, you might find him on stage playing the Saw with the Roe Family Singers. They’ve been playing ever night at the 331 Club for almost 12 years and are currently recording their 5th full length album.

In late 2014 Adam’s health started to decline, and his Doctors couldn’t figure out what was going on. All sorts of speculation, Lymes disease, MS, ALS, AIDs, hepatitis, his symptoms were puzzling. After an agonizing 6 month downward spiral, he could barely walk on his own, and was unable to carry his 2 year old son when they discovered his endocrine system was shutting down. Caused by a tumor squishing his pituitary glad against the back of his skull. The surgery involved sending some small tools through the sinus cavity to the base of the brain. A delicate procedure due to the proximity of the optic nerves and carotid arteries. 2 months later he was 100%. “It was definitely the closest to confronting my own mortality I had ever come, and my overall regret when faced with the possibility of dying (besides wanting desperately to see my son grow up) was that I wished I had spent more time with my family and friends and less time working. I try to remind myself of that insight, but it gets harder to remember the more enmeshed back in the day-in, day-out routines I get.”

The URAL is from 1995 with a motor upgrade from a 650 to a 750. He enjoys the ability to ride year round on icy lakes pulling friends on snowboards and bombing around town in blizzards. So the next cold day after a fresh snow if you see an old orange-red sidecar scooting around with a big red beard and a grin full of teeth give him a honk and wave hello. He’s one happy Dad and damn stoked to be alive.

56.CASEY BURRES

Casey Burres, and his three daughters. They all like to help Dad tinker on the bike over winter. The eldest Olive has a lot of hands-on experience changing oil. Ever since her first ride she now requests rides to school. So there’s no doubt she'll be a rider someday. Dad isn’t sure how he feels about his daughters riding the streets, and that has everything to do with other drivers… but he knows he can't stop them as they get older.

Casey has a sharp eye for the tasty. This sweet little ’07 Bonne is all his handy work, and apparently it’s got some extra getup and go thanks to a few mods he made. Once the snow drops he’s usually got a running list of maintenance and cosmetic items to tackle before it melts. This winter that list includes chopping the front fender, upgrading the brake rotors and replacing the camshaft cover seal.

When Casey isn’t riding or wrenching with his three girls, he’s shooting and editing videos for Lifetime fitness, and when he’s not at work or doing Dad stuff, he’s roasting his own coffee beans. Thats right. Casey is a small batch Coffee Roaster, and he’s got a bigger plan inspired by our Moto Community (I had a cup of his coffee and it was the best cup of coffee i’ve had in a long time):

“For quite some time I've had the desire to start a moto-inspired coffee shop, a gathering place for fellow riders to meet. A good spot to grab a coffee before heading out on their next adventure. We've settled on the name Civil Roasters inspired by the Community. Most Biker Communities get a bad wrap but my experience with the local scene has been very civil and everyone is willing to help each other out. My long-time buddy Tom Poch and I have been riding and camping together for many years and one thing we never go without on our trips is good coffee. We've most recently decided to take this dream and start at the beginning by roasting our own beans with hopes to grow into a larger roaster and/or shop someday but we'll see what lies ahead. Its definitely going to be a ride but as with any true motorcycle trip it's about the journey not the destination. My hope for Civil Roasting is that it represents being adventurous and gathering with folks over good coffee whether they have different political and/or religious views and that we can all just listen and be more civil toward one another.”

I think we can all get behind that dream Casey. Keep riding and roasting brother.

055.JIMMY HICKS

Jimmy Hicks has been making candles in the garage on and off for a couple years now, a simple meditative process that allows him to sit with his thoughts. Like some of us, he’s never been much of a wrench, for the fear of screwing something up. He prefers to just wait out the winter with a cold beer and good company. Jimmy always liked motorcycles as a kid. When he found out both his Dad and Grandfather used to ride he was floored. Then at age 22, Easy Rider with Fonda and Hopper lit the fire.

Just a few years down the road he had a journey worthy machine. A Harley Davidson Road King Classic, blacked out with 16” Ape hangers. It was the Summer of ’08. Economy was shit but that Harley was Sturgis bound. After the black hills he broke camp and kept the compass aimed west to visit friends in Portland, down to San Diego, over to Phoenix, El Paso, Waco, then back home up here to Minneapolis. 7,000 miles in total. If he could do it again: “I would've been gone longer”.

Although he regrets letting go of the HD, his stable is stocked with a cafe’d ’81 Honda CX500 and to scratch the McQeen itch a brand new 2016 Triumph Bonneville T-120 Black.

In 2016 Jimmy embraced a new community of friends, and his mantra for 2017 is inspired by an instagram buddy @ridedrinkcamp. Ride. Drink. Camp. Probably another Harley too.

054.JENNIFER SIKES

These machines have mystical powers, and 2016 was the year Jennifer Sikes crossed over to the other side. Passenger no more. It was time for her to ride her own line. This was a pretty shitty year for most of us, but for Jennifer it was simply “the worst year of my life”. Hunter Thompson once wrote “Love is the feeling you get when you like something as much as your motorcycle.” It’s probably safe to say for all of us, when shit gets dark, we crack open the throttle and let the light pour in.

She got her permit in January, bought a 2009 Royal Enfield Bullet from GoMoto in February, completed the MSF course in May, and spent a good month in a parking lot until she got more comfortable on the road.

“It was so exciting and scary at the same time but that is what I needed.”

Her most memorable ride last year was in Joshua Tree National Park at Babes Ride Out in California:

“It was amazing to be able to ride so much and I improved greatly over those couple of days. It was really fun to meet so many other female riders from around the country and just have fun camping and riding. I would absolutely do it again. Although female riders are nothing new, there certainly has been a massive increase as of late. Its something that feels very empowering for me. When I started talking about wanting to learn and get my own bike, no one really believed that I would do it. Which in turn I believed help me stick to it, There's nothing like calling in sick to work to straddle a V-Twin Engine on a beautiful summer day. I love being a woman who rides, it feels kinda cool when people are surprised to learn I ride. Ride by ride I grow more confident and hope to someday take a moto trip in another country.”

She proved the naysayers wrong in a big way. Shortly after the Enfield Jen threw down on a bigger bike. That V-Twin she’s talking about is a beautiful 2016 Iron 883. The metallic green on that bike is perfection. Jen is also one of the founding members of The Lita’s Twin Cities Branch. The Litas are a collective of women around the world who share a love for the open road and two wheeled machines. The Litas are in 17 countries, 117 cities, with over 2200 women members.

“They were started in California by Jessica Haggett and its taken off. Last year The Litas Twin Cities was started by me, Lissa (Go Moto) and Gail Schlegal (Lissa's friend). So far we have just over 30 members. We have monthly meet ups which vary from hanging out a brewery to wrench night at a local shop. We are really excited for spring so we can plan some group rides and increase the number of women riders.”

So this spring when you see a big group of strong women carving through the alphabet roads, don’t be scared, just wave, and look for the purple hair flowing out from under a black helmet. That’s Jen.

053.GABE WELKER

Gabriel Welker in the garage with a cold beer dreaming of twisty back roads on a warm fall saturday afternoon with his son Jack. That's a 1970 BSA A65 Lightning Jack is sitting on. Gabe has spent a lot of time and effort with the help of a tightly knit community of tinkerers getting that BSA into award winning condition. It's a beauty. No surprise though, Gabe is a designer. Details matter, and they came together well on his '07 Bonne cafe'd more like a proper Thruxton. Can't beat that tinted headlight and motogadget speedo. When he's not in full Pro-Dad mode wrangling his two awesome kids you can find him behind the kit in full Pro-Dad-Rock-n-Roll-Drummer mode, dude has been getting his Neil Peart on for 20+ years.