ADVENTURE HERMIT
This month Thunder Roads Colorado
Magazine introduces Joe Trey. Joe is
a self-described “Adventure Hermit”.
What is an Adventure Hermit you may
ask; we will let Joe define that himself.
“Ad-ven-ture Her-mit - An unusual
and exciting, sometimes hazardous,
experience or activity performed by a
person acting in solitude.”
As I Picked myself off the ground, the label on my Toughskins was
an all too familiar reminder of how un-tough I really was. Bigger
than most kids my age, and even those several grades above
me, I was a target for anyone looking to gain playground respect.
Knocking down this oversized 5th grader was an easy task, but my
best defense was only a few tried. Those who did usually employed
a sucker punch and a quick retreat to celebrate their success. Today
was no different.
My sleeveless denim vest did me no favors as my elbows hit the
ground first, scraped two layers of skin off and promptly began to
bleed. At least he skipped my face. I was an easy bleeder and this
always gave the aggressor unearned extra clout for drawing blood.
The truth was, it was nothing a cold wind and a breeze couldn’t do
just as easily. The boy stood above me only long enough to say,
“Your vest is stupid! How can you have both US Army patches AND
Free Spirit patches. You’re Stupid!” And with that, he ran away to
6 Thunder Roads Magazine® Colorado
celebrate his toppling of the gentle, perhaps pathetic giant. I thought
of my motorcycle riding uncles with their free spirited long hair; and
my grandfathers, all decorated war veterans. I loved them all. I felt
I represented them equally with my patches. Of course they were
sewn onto my vest by my mom. I was too tough, or uncoordinated,
to sew them on myself. But I couldn’t understand the extreme
anger? The experience would haunt me for years and would vividly
return in my mid-20’s.
Fast-forward 2 years to a near death experience involving a car, my
ATV and me. My uncle Ted was a successful racer of the then legal
3-wheeler ATVs. I idolized him and spent every waking hour trying to
become an accomplished rider. One afternoon, when crossing the
street from my house to a neighboring field a speeding car collided
into me. Leaving me with a mauled foot, split head and a compound
fracture that would take months and a couple of surgeries before I
fully recovered.
For various reasons, it would be more than 14 years before I started
riding again. In 2006 I moved from my home in Connecticut to
Colorado. When I arrived in Colorado the mountains and wide-open
spaces screamed motorcycle to me. As soon as I had enough money
I purchased a Honda 600 Shadow directly off of the showroom floor
of Aurora Honda. Within 6 months I returned and traded it in for an
1100 Aero, with chrome spokes and wh