WHO IS CRYSTAL?

OCT 3, 2021

Who am I? Hi, my name is Crystal and I'm from the beautiful state of California in the United States. I was born and raised in Northern California in the Bay Area and never moved away. I wasn't always adventurous. I can thank my friends and family for introducing me to all my hobbies that have shaped the person I am today. They introduced me to running marathons, weight lifting, camping, hiking, backpacking, motorcycles, travel, you name it. I took all these interests and ran with them.

I have the mentality that life is short and we must do all the things we say we are going to do "someday", plan for them and take action. It's a cultural belief in the United States that when we reach the age of 65 and retire, then we can do all the things we want. But 65 years of age is not guaranteed, neither is 55, 45, 35, and it goes on. So the time is now.

What has my motorcycle journey been like?

I have been riding sportsbikes for over 10 years and got my M1 license during my senior year of college after my friend took me my first motorcycle ride where I rode pillion! This was such an exhilarating experience! We went very fast and did wheelies and endos. After that, I decided I needed some control. My first motorcycle was a used 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250. I put 29,500 miles/ 47,400 kilometers on it mainly by commuting during the weekdays and went mountain carving in the twisties during the weekends. I rode that for 8 years until I totaled it while riding a road I had ridden hundreds of times: a backroad truck route over an abandoned railroad track with potholes all around it. But this particular time, my front tire hit the pothole infested railroad track at the wrong angle where I then highsided and superman-ed over the handlebars. My precious bike was totaled.

Within a few weeks, I purchased a used 2015 Kawasaki Ninja 300 and continued riding. It wasn't until 2020 that I started cross country mototouring with my Ninja 300. Covid restricted air travel, and I thought, what better way to be social distant from others than to ride a motorcycle in my own helmet breathing only my air? And this began my passion of cross country touring. I have ridden from California to Yellowstone National Park, Chicago and Baja, Mexico. With each of these trips, I gained more confidence to go further.

What am I up to now? I've always wanted to backpack Europe since my early twenties, but never did it. Finally after reaching a certain point in my professional career, and being laid off twice from different jobs, I took that as a sign from the Universe that I needed to chase my dreams of traveling Europe. My dream of backpacking Europe has since evolved into mototouring Europe when I realized how much faster riding is than walking around with a giant backpack. I purchased a motorcycle in Europe and am currently preparing for my big trip. Paperwork, insurance, packing and more! For the most up to date of what I'm up to, follow me on Instagram or YouTube.