Meet Shawn G., another super active and passionate member of the Twisted Road community.

A self-proclaimed "wannabe engineer and database administrator" by day, Shawn spends his free time exploring the best riding roads East Tennessee has to offer. 

Having recently relocated to Knoxville, Tenn., from Colorado, he’s taken full advantage of being near some of the most iconic twisty roads in the country, from the Tail of the Dragon to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Shawn’s approach to motorcycling is both strategic and adventurous. 

After initially getting into bikes later in life, he turned to Twisted Road as a way to test-ride potential future purchases, experiencing motorcycles in real-world conditions rather than short, structured demo rides. His rental experience led to the purchase of motorcycles.

His Twisted Road journey has taken him from the foothills of Denver to cross-state road trips in search of new bikes and experiences. 

With an ever-growing collection of motorcycles, an insatiable curiosity for different engine layouts and riding styles, and a knack for making the most of every Twisted Road rental, Shawn truly embodies the spirit of discovery and passion that defines this community.

Let’s learn a bit more about Shawn. 

Tell us about yourself.

I’m a wannabe engineer and database administrator during the day. I recently moved to East Tennessee to enjoy some warmer weather and be closer to world-class, twisty roads.

How long have you been riding, and how did you first get into motorcycles?

My motorcycle journey started when I was around 11 years old. My neighbor got a Honda XR100 for Christmas, and I hopped on the back—only to immediately dump it and scrape my shoulder and elbow. 

That same afternoon, I wrote up a proposal to convince my dad to let me get a dirt bike. He shut it down with the classic “no motorcycles under my roof” talk.

I actually waited until my 30s to scratch the itch finally—probably a good thing, as I’d have killed myself if I had a bike at 18. I took my MSF course, found a 2007 Suzuki GS500F in Nebraska, loaded it up in my truck, and brought it back to Colorado. I spent the whole season commuting and playing in the foothills around Denver, learning an incredible amount along the way.

After my Suzuki finally died at the beginning of a new riding season, I started attending factory demo events to test out different motorcycles. That’s when I discovered Twisted Road—it allowed me to experience bikes on real rides rather than in controlled demo environments. In the past year and a half, I’ve rented five different bikes through Twisted Road, using the platform not only to test potential purchases but also to explore new areas in a way no rental car ever could.

I currently own a 2017 Yamaha XSR900, a 2016 KTM 690 Duke, and a 2007 Moto Guzzi Breva 1100. I’m considering renting a couple of them out in the near future!

What’s your favorite motorcycle, and why?

My baby is my Yamaha XSR900. It was my first "big-boy" bike, and I spent a year and a half trying to track one down after renting one through Twisted Road. 

I finally found one in March and immediately tore it apart to make it my own.

It got a good season in the Colorado foothills before I moved to East Tennessee, and now it’s my go-to bike for runs on the Dragon, Foothills Parkway, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Cherohala Skyway. It’s a gentleman’s brawler of a bike—a hooligan in a suit. 

You can putt around town in third gear, using all that low-end torque to avoid stalling, or you can roll into it and lift the front wheel on the highway. It’s always ready to play.

What moto trips have you taken? Tell us some highlights.

One of my favorite trips was a motorcycle tourism road trip I took in the early fall, with the goal of riding a Kawasaki Z900RS at a demo event. 

I missed the Denver stop on Kawasaki’s "Good Times Demo Tour," so I road-tripped to Albuquerque for another chance.

To make the trip more worthwhile, I lined up a dealership demo on an Energica Eva Ribelle Essesse—holy hell, I’ve never experienced anything like that bike. I took so long on the test ride that I missed the demo tour in Albuquerque entirely. 

What did I do instead? I drove to Durango for a Harley-Davidson rally at a nearby reservation and rode 10 new motorcycles that weekend, completely unsupervised. I couldn’t get enough.

More recently, I was scouting East Tennessee for places to live. I rented a V-Strom 1000 near Sevierville and spent a few days blasting through the hills of Tennessee and North Carolina. 

I fell in love with the area—and now, I get to do the exact same thing on my lunch breaks!

What hobbies do you enjoy when you're not riding?

I started my career in oil and gas in the early 2010s as a pipefitter’s helper, welder, and fabricator. It’s a skill set I’ve kept fresh as a hobby, and it comes in handy. 

Being able to fix anything you own is super convenient, but being able to build the things you want instead of buying cheap, flat-pack junk is even better.

What’s your dream motorcycle trip?

My bucket list trip would be flying into Italy, renting a Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak (or something similar), and riding the Alps from west to east into Austria—eating something new at every stop!

How did you discover Twisted Road?

I found Twisted Road while looking for ways to rent motorcycles to help me decide on my next purchase.

If you're a renter, what’s the most memorable trip you’ve taken on Twisted Road?

Big toss-up between two rides:

• My first time on the Tail of the Dragon on the V-Strom 1000

• Running Cripple Creek Highway on the XSR900—a stunning experience.

What’s the best thing about being part of the Twisted Road community?

My favorite part is returning a bike to its owner and seeing them just as excited to hear about its adventure as I am to tell them about it. I love BS’ing about bikes, past trips, and new rides. The Twisted Road community is amazing—we’re all the same kind of nerd at heart.

What advice would you give to new Twisted Road members?

Go ride a bunch of bikes. Save up your free rental days from Twisted Road’s One, Two, Free program for the really special ones! 

Make sure your rentals are different enough that you’re learning something new—try a bike with a bigger front tire, a different engine layout, or a new riding position. Don’t just rent different colors of the same bike.