Rider Profile - Steph Laroche
Steph Laroche is an all out motorcycle enthusiast whose passion for the sport is obvious within seconds of meeting him. By day he is a Harley-Davidson Technician at Clare's Cycle in Fenwick which has enabled him to learn the many ins and outs of motorcycle maintenance not just for Harley's but for all bikes. When not working on bikes in the shop, Steph can usually be found riding one of his own bikes all across the province.
Steph has participated in our Niagara Ladies Motorcycle clinics for the past 3 years and has played a major role in the success of these events. He has the innate ability to transfer maintenance concepts to new and experienced riders in a way that is easy to understand. Participants leave the clinic with new skills that allow them to take better care of their own bikes as well as identify minor problems before they become major ones.
Steph vividly recalls the “awesome” day in 1993 at age 13 when he got hooked on riding. A good friend came over to his home with little dirt bike (RM50) and asked if he wanted to learn to ride. That was all it took. He bought the little dirt bike and rode it for a couple of years. His enthusiasm to this day is unmistakable.
“The freedom of being on a motorcycle is what keeps my knees in the breezes; being around motorcycles every single day all day long keeps me in love with motorcycling. Meeting all the the people that ride or who just love being around motorcycles is also awesome. In the last 11 years of working at Clare's, I've met motorcyclists from all over the world. Hearing their stories puts a smile on my face on those down days.”
I love to get up very early (4:00-5:00 a.m.) jump on a bike, hit the highway and just go. Sometimes I'll put on 800-1000km's of highway riding. It clears my mind from work. Other times I'll take my Buell, a 97 Cyclone with a little custom work done to it, and go through all the twisties my front tire can find. The route back and forth to work always goes the long way!
Steph took the rider training course at Niagara College and recommends it for every rider because of the amount of learning and the increase in safety awareness that takes place. He credits his defensive riding skills to that course. He also recalls it as a fun weekend with the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.
When asked to describe his favourite motorcycle, Steph's love for riding shines through. “I guess I love them all from touring Harleys to metric sport bikes. They all ROCK! The Harley FLHX is my favourite HD because you can customize this bike for an award winning show one day and ride it thousands of kilometers the next. The other bike that turns my crank is a work of art - a Ducati Supersport 916/996/998. An old friend of mine, the guy that got me into Clare's, had a red `97 916 and it was sooooooo sexy. Since then I've been in love with the Italian motorcycle.”
His best motorcycle experience occurred when he was 18 and was shared with his best friend Phil. “We decided to do a road trip “somewhere” so we opened a map and flipped a quarter on to the map. It landed near Shallow lake so off we went to Shallow Lake . We just couldn't stop there and ended up spending the night in Collingwood before getting up first thing in the morning and heading home through amazing back roads. That was my favourite motorcycle experience because it was my first and to do it with my best friend made it that much better. “
Thank you Steph.