Joe grew up being called Jody, after his grandfather Joey, who passed away two months before he was born. Not liking it much, he would often ignore his mom when she would use it in public. He eventually came up with the name Adventure Hermit based on his love of adventure and often riding solo. It became sort of a pen name when he started documenting his motorcycle adventures.

Growing up he idolized his uncle Ted Trey, who raced for Honda. This very briefly drew him into the world of racing. He was never very good at it. His style was more towards getting out and exploring rather than whipping around a track. His slowness on the track and inability to clear doubles may have also had something to do with his “choice” not to pursue it.

At a young age a car hit him as he rode his motorcycle across the street to a practice track. This “motorcycle accident” would have a profound impact on the rest of his life. In situations like his, consulting a motorcycle accident attorney can be crucial for navigating the legal challenges that follow such life-altering events. For months following the accident he was laid up indoors. To pass the time he through himself into reading, learning to play any instrument he could and dabbling with computers.

It was nearly 15 years later before he started riding again. But before he felt comfortable about doing so, he flew to Virginia to tell his mother the news in person and to put her at ease about his return to riding. He even let her call him Jody once or twice. No longer trying to emulate his uncle, he began to find his own voice through exploration, writing, video, storytelling and photography.

Moving from Connecticut to Colorado in the 90’s was the best way to feed his passion for exploration. Within an hour of home he can always find new roads or trails that he has not explored before.

He has ridden to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, gotten his mom to ride on the back down to New Mexico, received his Iron-Butt Certification, completed the Trans-America trail (50% solo not counting his trusted KLR) and even attempted to ride 40 mountain passes in 40 hours on his Triumph Scrambler when he turned 40. He made 37.

At some point he even found time to stay home long enough to get married and start a family. He and his wife Beth have two little girls, Sophia and Nya who share his sense of adventure and have passports full of cancellations to prove it!

His best riding partner was his dad who he lost weeks after an epic West Coast excursion from Colorado through Moab and eventually ending up in Vegas. This ride will always have a special place in his heart, but when asked what his favorite ride is, he always gives the same answer the next one!

For more of Joe's adventures, visit AdventureHermit.com