Why Young Dads Still Ride: Lewis, Paul and the Search for Time, Trails and Sanity

For years, Clive Barber had been trying to get two friends — Lewis and Paul — onto the podcast. Between work, kids, broken bikes and life generally getting in the way, it never quite happened. But one evening, with the garage doors finally shut and the kids in bed, the three of them sat down to talk about something that resonates with a lot of riders: what it means to be a young dad who still loves motorcycles.

It’s a familiar story. You spend your twenties and early thirties riding whenever you want. Weekends disappear into trails, trips, tinkering and the occasional questionable decision. Then life shifts. Kids arrive. Work gets serious. Time becomes something you negotiate rather than own.

And yet — the bikes remain.

The Engineers Who Ride

Lewis and Paul aren’t ordinary riders. Both work in motorcycle engineering — Lewis at Royal Enfield, Paul in another corner of the industry — and both have the kind of technical insight that makes their riding stories even more interesting.

Lewis came into motorcycling almost by accident. After studying mechanical engineering, he worked in oil and gas before realising he’d made a mistake. A job at Triumph changed everything. “If you rode a Triumph,” he laughs, “you could park right outside the design office instead of walking ten minutes from the car park. So I took my test and bought one.”

Today he works in studio engineering, helping shape the earliest stages of new Royal Enfield models — the sketches, the clay, the concepts. He’s the person who tells designers what’s possible, and tells engineers what’s actually achievable. A kind of creative referee.

Paul’s route was different. He’d been a road rider for years, owning big adventure bikes like the KTM 1290 and 890, before discovering off‑road riding. “I got bored of the road,” he says. “I wanted something more adventurous.” Iceland changed everything. After a two‑week trip with Lewis, both men downsized to lighter, more focused machines — Lewis to an AJP PR7, Paul to a Kove 450 Rally and a trials bike.

The Iceland Moment

Their Iceland trip became the spark for something bigger. Paul wrote a journal while he was there — partly because he forgets everything, partly because the experience felt important. When he turned it into an article, ABR Magazine published it under the title “That’s Why Dads Go to Iceland.”

It struck a nerve.

Because for a lot of riders, especially dads, adventure riding isn’t just about bikes. It’s about identity. It’s about having something that’s yours. It’s about coming back home a better version of yourself.

The Time Trade

Both men talk openly about the guilt that comes with riding when you’ve got young kids. The negotiation. The balance. The compromise.

Paul’s wife, Danica, sees his riding as something that makes him happier — and therefore makes family life better. “She told me to stop feeling guilty,” he says. “I come back nicer. More engaged. More fun.”

They have a simple system: they trade time. Paul gets a weekend here and there. Danica gets her own adventures — bikepacking, running, whatever she wants. They each have their own bank account for hobbies, so money doesn’t become a source of guilt either.

Lewis has a similar arrangement. “We’re sensible about it,” he says. “We don’t disappear for whole weekends. We meet Friday night, ride Saturday, and I’m home for bedtime. Or we ride after work. You fit it around family life.”

Both men agree on one thing: kids aren’t a burden. They’re brilliant. They’re the best part of life. But riding gives them something that makes them better dads — a reset button, a breath of fresh air, a reminder of who they are outside of nappies, school runs and sleepless nights.

The Bikes That Make Sense Now

Their bike choices reflect their lives.

Lewis rides an AJP PR7 — light, capable, occasionally temperamental. He spends more time fixing it than riding it, but when it works, it’s magic. He rides technical trails in Wales, ACT routes, and the occasional North England loop.

Paul has gone full off‑road: a Kove 450 Rally, an old Africa Twin, and a trials bike. “The Kove is awful on the road,” he laughs. “I rode it to Whitby once. Hated it. Got a van now.”

Both men have learned the same lesson: lighter bikes mean more fun, less stress, and fewer injuries — especially when you’re riding on borrowed family time.

The Young Dad Reality

The heart of their conversation is something a lot of riders feel but rarely say out loud.

When you become a parent, your time stops being yours. Your energy stops being yours. Your weekends stop being yours. And yet, the desire to ride doesn’t disappear. It just becomes harder to justify.

Lewis and Paul have found a way to make it work — not by riding less, but by riding smarter. Shorter trips. Earlier returns. Mid‑week blasts. Shared responsibility. Mutual respect.

And the truth is, they’re not riding instead of being dads. They’re riding because they’re dads — because it keeps them grounded, happy, sane, and connected to the part of themselves that existed before parenthood.

Why This Matters

Adventure riding magazines often focus on big trips, big bikes, big landscapes. But the real stories — the ones that resonate — are often smaller. They’re about people trying to hold onto something meaningful while navigating the chaos of modern life.

Lewis and Paul aren’t influencers. They’re not chasing sponsorships. They’re not trying to be famous. They’re just two young dads who love bikes, love their families, and are trying to make both fit into the same life.

And that’s a story worth telling.