Rewards arent just the result of hard work, but also of huge risks. It all starts with a dream and recognizing when the opportunity has arrived.
The date is June 15, 2014. My wife, Sash, and I are in a motel room in Bakersfield, Calif., about 230 miles north of where we started in San Diego. If you know Bakersfield, then you know its the armpit of California. Our only reason for coming here is because Sashs daughter is having her first baby.
Otherwise, staying in Bakersfield for an entire month is just the first stop on a motorcycle road trip that might last forever. We might never return home again. Sash and I may just ride from town to town until we die.
Steve Johnson and his wife, Sash.
There are times I wonder if Im just dreaming all this. It was in 2011 that she and I got together. Each of us had been married to other people, Sash for 15 years, and I for 21. Neither of us was happy in our marriages, at best content, though often frustrated. We were each 45 years old when we decided the other was the soul mate we had searched for in vain. We took in some deep breaths, explained the situation to our spouses, and got divorces. It brought up a lot of emotional upheaval from our respective families, we lost a lot of friends, even lost some respect from the community, but we had each other.
In the divorce, I gave up the house, the furnishings, the car, our checking account, our retirement account, pretty much everything I had worked for, except for my motorcycle and pickup truck. We still co-owned the Internet media company we created.
Sash still had the house after her divorce, along with one car, but no money and no income.
I ended up hiring her to do sales and marketing for my Internet media company. She performed brilliantly, boosting company revenues. It turns out she has a knack for sales, relying primarily on her charm, social skills, and being a genuine believer in what she sells. In a years time, the domestic housewife and soccer mom was transformed into an dynamic, brazen, and sexy businesswoman.
The following year, Sash and I started our own marketing company together, and later married. At the start of 2013, Sash bought her first motorcycle after earning her endorsement at an MSF class. Three months later, we set off on our bikes for a six-month road trip across the country and back. After logging 15,000 miles on the road, through rain, hail, wind, and heat, Sash had come of age as a motorcycle rider.
Getting ready to leave San Diego at the start of their trip.
Moreover, the six-month road trip gave us the chance to market our marketing company, as well as strengthen client relations with my Internet media company.
In early June, she and I spent time with her daughter and son-in-law. It will be any day now that Sash becomes a grandmother for the first time. I suppose the greatest reward in raising a child is to hold its own child in your arms, and feel confident that youve laid a solid foundation for it to grow.
For myself, I cant help seeing a parallel. I created a business and lifestyle that gave birth to the woman that Sash had wanted to be. In a way, Im like a proud papa watching her shine.
So now, were back on another motorcycle road trip, but this time instead of six months, were looking to make it permanent. Our marketing company is growing. Now, shes the one doing the leading and Im following her. Its not to say that our relationship is perfect, however. We still have our fair share of fights, perhaps even a little more than our fair share. There are still a lot of bad habits formed from our previous marriages, and theres still a lot of hurt from our childhoods.
But the road is wide open ahead.
I plan for this article to be the first of an on-going series covering our new life on the road together. When we come into your town, Sash and I would love for you to contact us for a get together. I hope youll follow along.
About the Author Steve Johnson and his wife, Sash Walker, are contributors behind the WRN section Sash amp; Steve Life on the Road.Steve has been riding motorcycles since 1985, and is the writer behindRoad Pickle, an online motorcycle touring publication, andMotorcycle Philosophy, his own personal perspectives on motorcycling. Steve and his wife,Sash, currently operate their own marketing and website development business catering to the motorcycle industry. He now rides a 2006 Honda ST1300 and has ridden all over the United States and Canada. When hes not riding or working, hes enjoying a craft brew and writing his science fiction novel. Steve and Sash live and work on the road.Visit Steve on Google+
Thank you for the invitation Peggy! We will certainly look you up when we get that way. We’ve never been to Kentucky, so I’m interested in coloring it in on my map next year. I doubt we’ll make it this season, but I’m looking towards next spring.
Great read Steve.Hubby and I spend as much time as possible on our bikes as well. He rides an 05 Yamaha FJR and I ride a 2010 Honda NT700. I’ve been riding my own for five years now and Hubby is a “lifer.” We’ve taken some motorcycle vacations that leave our friends in awe. Tell Sash that I understand completely about sacrificing style for a life of freedom on the road. Hubby brews his own beer also and enjoys sampling all the different “flavors.” I like to extend an invitation to the two of you to “swing by” our place if you pass through central KY. We seem to have a lot in common and share a common love of riding. Keep the stories coming. I’m enjoying riding along with the both of you.
Thank you for the invitation Peggy! We will certainly look you up when we get that way. We’ve never been to Kentucky, so I’m interested in coloring it in on my map next year. I doubt we’ll make it this season, but I’m looking towards next spring.
Great read Steve.Hubby and I spend as much time as possible on our bikes as well. He rides an 05 Yamaha FJR and I ride a 2010 Honda NT700. I’ve been riding my own for five years now and Hubby is a “lifer.” We’ve taken some motorcycle vacations that leave our friends in awe. Tell Sash that I understand completely about sacrificing style for a life of freedom on the road. Hubby brews his own beer also and enjoys sampling all the different “flavors.” I like to extend an invitation to the two of you to “swing by” our place if you pass through central KY. We seem to have a lot in common and share a common love of riding. Keep the stories coming. I’m enjoying riding along with the both of you.
Wonderful post, Steve. I enjoyed hearing your perspective on the Sash and Steve story. And I’m getting to know you through your writing.
What a great story. I too enjoy the passion of riding. I hope you enjoy many many happy safe journeys together.