Our sport that we love so much is dangerous. I am not telling you something that you don’t already know. We push those fears aside because, well, quite frankly, that feeling of riding a dirt bike is addicting. It is not only addicting, it also brings life as well as meaning to all of us that swing a leg over one in any capacity. From a factory rider to a weekend warrior and everyone in between, motorcycles are a way of life. Sometimes that way of life bites back in a huge way and alters our trajectory of being able to live a dirt bike life. Enter MotoDemption. MotoDemption is a non-profit organization that makes motocross a reality for those with physical disabilities by providing the bikes, adaptations, instructors, and resources necessary for safe and fun riding. They get folks on new bikes. Simple as that. The MotoDemption crew works around the clock to customize bikes for the guys and gals who want to ride again. Some want to get back on a bike after their injury, some don’t. I met a rider recently who did.
I got a call the week before the KC66 Ride Day that MotoDemption was bringing a few adaptive riders to Fox Raceway for some ride time and that they needed a volunteer to help some of the riders get on the bikes as well as ride with them when they got on the track. I immediately obliged and looked forward to meeting the riders as well as learning more about what the foundation does. I was told that I would be assigned a rider that has not been on a bike since his crash and that I needed to get a full tutorial on how to properly make the day as safe and fun as possible. Immediately after I heard that, I got nervous. Am I going to be able to help enough? Will I know how to act around a person who had a life altering incident? What if the rider crashes, will I be able to help immediately? These are all the questions that ran through my brain. However, Davey Gonzales (founder of MotoDemption) reassured me that I would be fine and gave me a full tutorial on how to lift the rider on the bike, how to safely strap the rider in, how to help him take off, how the adaptive bike works and even strapped me in so I could get a firsthand feel of what it was like to ride such a machine. And I will say this… Riding an adaptive bike is much more difficult than it looks, and it looks tough, right? The bike only leans/turns in a way much more like a quad than a dirt bike. When you jump something, you are essentially seat bouncing everything you decide to jump (takeoff and landing) and the straps that go around the top of the rider’s thighs applies pressure to the legs in such a manner that it can bruise. Once I got the hang of shifting (which is done via a red or green button cluster on the bars, as well as an auto clutch provided by Rekluse) and leaning the bike, it still gave me that old familiar free feeling that riding a dirt bike always do for me.
The rider I got paired with on Saturday was Anthony Picchione. Anthony had a life altering crash at the 2021 Mini Os in Florida that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Anthony and his family come from Connecticut and have devoted most of their extra time and money to help make Anthony’s moto dream come true, just like a lot of other families do. Anthony spent some time at South of The Border training and was looking to make an impact on the sport that he loved so much, but that crash would leave him wondering what was next. What was next was that Anthony would get surgery to fuse his severed spinal cord and begin the road to healing (mentally and physically). You see, part of Anthony’s mental healing was to someday get back on a bike so he could say that he conquered his demons and that his last ride wasn’t the worst experience he’s ever had in his life. I got all of this out of the first five minutes that I spoke with Anthony! Anthony didn’t tell me a sob story about his crash, instead Anthony was excited about riding a damn dirt bike! Anthony is built different than most of us! After meeting this 20-year-old kid, I can sit here and say Anthony is stronger than I am! Davey (owner of MotoDemption) told me that he was asking to ride an adaptive bike before his one-year anniversary of his crash, but MotoDemption has certain safeguards in place about getting on a bike before the one-year mark of the injury, for rider safety measures. Sometimes with dirt bike riders you have to save us from ourselves, and Anthony was no different in that regard. However, what separates Anthony from most of us is that he didn't look at this injury as a “poor me” type of situation, rather he looked at it like “let’s kick this situation right in the ass!” I like this kid!
As Anthony was getting dressed, I spoke with Anthony’s mother Deb, and she said she Anthony was the first one up in the morning yelling, “Let’s go riding!” Deb was telling me that she was a little nervous, but Anthony’s father was a little more emotional than she, which to me as a father of a son that rides, is understandable. As I got Anthony on the bike and strapped in, I could see his eyes light up like a Christmas tree! Gone was the injured kid and what returned was those eyes of a motocross racer. Cam Peterson (Yamaha factory road racer) and I gave Anthony a quick tutorial about the bike, and he was off! Riding side by side with Anthony as he took his first shifts was something I will never forget. We were hooting and hollering and having a great time just like two dudes do when riding dirt bikes together. Anthony absolutely killed it on the bike. His elbows were bent, was in the attack position and even floated over some jumps. Oh, we had a crash, but that tip over was actually good for Anthony. MotoDemption had a lead rider (for one choice) and then two riders behind Anthony to aid in case of a crash. Our lead rider Connor Olson warned Anthony about an outside line which had a rut in it, but as a rider that has never been on a bike in this capacity, it’s hard to judge how the bike reacts when strapped to it. Anthony learned real quick what the bike reacted like in ruts after that and to me that wiped away any nervousness he had because he shredded that KTM 350 SX-F like he had been on it for months!
Once we were back in the pits and got Anthony off the bike, that is when some emotions started to hit. Anthony just rode a dirt bike again! Only one short year after his crash, he was back on a bike! I could see the waterworks through his mom and dad’s eyes when I pulled up and then it hit Anthony as well. To be around something that powerful is something that I have never experienced. A 20-year-old kid with a heart of a lion and parents that allowed him to come back to something that affected all of their lives, is something special. Anthony and I sat next to the bike he just rode, and he said something to me that got me a little choked up. He said, “I felt like I was just out riding and didn’t think about my disability once.” This is the power of dirt bikes. Even though it can “take away,” it can also “give” as well. MotoDemption allowed Anthony, as well as his family, to heal a piece of themselves that had been missing since that day back in November of 2021. There are dozens of others who have had that exact experience because of this foundation. Davey and all of his volunteers should be proud of the work they are doing and will continue to do over the years to come.
Driving home I got a little emotional and called my wife. I spoke about how the day went and the moments that I shared with Anthony and his family. Seeing the Picchione family smiling and enjoying being out with the moto community again really hit me hard in a good way. This is all because of Davey and the MotoDemption team. If you’ve had an injury and are thinking about getting behind those bars again, you can come out and ride with a whole bunch of guys and gals who love riding as much as you do. MotoDemption puts on moto camps annually to re-introduce you back to dirt bikes all in an environment that fosters a smooth transition back to this incredible sport. Thanks to Anthony for being a kick ass kid and insuring me as well as others that day. A big thanks as well to the KC66 Foundation for having the MotoDemption team out and special thanks to Connor for asking me if I would help. If you want to learn more about the MotoDemption Foundation you can go to motodemption.org or follow them on Instagram at @motodemption.