I was born in Puerto Rico in 1964. I lived in the Southwest corner of the island, away from the hustle and bustle of San Juan. It was rare to see motorcycles in my neck of the woods. Even though we were a little disconnected from mainstream, TV brought us all a little closer together back then. So, at a very young age, I knew who Evel Knievel was. One of the first toys I ever remember asking for, and getting, was an Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle. I remember placing all the stickers on myself and enjoying many hours of play. We had granite floors in the house which made a perfect miniature stunt cycle world for me.

Around age 10, when I began to develop a love for all things mechanical, I came across a 1/8 scale BMW R75 Wunderbike model by Revell. It was my first of several plastic model builds. I loved this bike and proudly displayed it in my room, above my desk, for 3 years. I had to part with it when we moved to Texas. Our move was supposed to be temporary, while mom worked on her PhD, but it turned out to be permanent because my parents split up. After the divorce, we could not afford much but I'm thankful that mom was able to afford a nice Columbia Revere 10 speed for me. I've been on two wheels since and still have that bicycle today.

While in High School, my brother, Jose, got a good deal on a 1981 Yamaha 400 Special from a friend of his. This was the first and only motorcycle I test rode before going out on my own and buying my 1983 GS1100E. My 3 brothers and I are all two years apart, we all learned how to ride on that little 400. My brother, Fernando (Fred) met his wife on this bike. On one summer day, he stopped by a house where several girls were having a slumber party. He gave almost all those girls rides until he took his future wife for a ride. They stopped at a park and ended up talking for hours... the rest was history. My brothers and I all wish we still had that bike in one of our garages today. Funny how the choices we make at an early age shape who be become as (so called) adults today. I say "so called" because I've noticed many of us are still kids at heart. And, from my point of view, there's nothing wrong with that.