Your life can change in an instant.
That's not a cliche; it's a simple truth. Neither you nor I know what's going to happen next. A day might start like normal, then instantly become something else faster than we can blink. And that something else might literally change your life.
When Sophie Morgan was 18, she was seriously injured in a horrific car crash and required immediate and extensive medical attention. Among other things, her skull required reconstruction, and two vertebrae were so damaged, she was paralyzed from the chest down. Recovery was possible, and she fought her way through, but her life was forever changed.
On the 20th anniversary of her crash, Morgan decided to plan an audacious trip that she'd been dreaming of for seemingly forever. See, she'd been greatly inspired for years by legendary round-the-world rider Elspeth Beard's memoir, Lone Rider. And she decided that she wanted to ride across the continental United States on her Can-Am Spyder F3.
Maybe you wouldn't think that a paraplegic person would dream of riding around the world on their own. But if you truly think that, then it's clear that you've never met Sophie Morgan.
I'm proud to say that I've had the honor and privilege to have met and ridden with both Morgan and her friend, Kristina Allison, who also appears in this documentary.
Until 2024, while I'd ridden plenty of motorcycles, I'd never ridden a Can-Am three-wheeler. But I had the chance to roll out with these ladies and a few others for International Female Ride Day, and it was an incredible, powerful experience.
When we did our ride, Morgan had already completed the cross-continental US journey on her Spyder that you'll see if you watch this new documentary, Driving Forwards. She alluded to the journey briefly in conversation, and also mentioned that a movie was in the works.
And now that it's here, I think it's a must-watch, no matter who you are and what you ride.
Morgan, if you ever get the chance to meet her, is truly one of the most determined people I've ever met. Sure, there are myriad things in this life that clearly haven't been built with disabled people in mind. But you'll never meet someone who fights harder than Morgan does to change that.
And like most of us, she's a person who contains multitudes. She's a rider, a disability advocate, a TV presenter (and she's currently presenting the 2024 Paralympics, for heaven's sake), and the founder of the Rights on Flights program.
While some two-wheeled motorcyclists scoff at trikes, the simple truth is that many of the folks riding them are more hardcore than your average weekend warrior who's only ever doing Starbucks crawls around their town on their overly-expensive, shiny new ADV. Because you know what? They had to make an extra effort to get out and ride, but they're still not letting anything get in their way because they love riding. Period.
When I climbed onto a Can-Am for the first time, I didn't know what to expect. I wasn't sure how hard I could push it, nor how different the handling would feel from what I was used to.
But it was Morgan who encouraged me to push harder, to lean into corners, and to ride more aggressively than I, in all honesty, had started the day thinking that I could. She had me follow directly behind her and observe her lines for a bit down a canyon road, and she was absolutely right. I'd started off riding far too gently at first, and I started having way more fun once I started pushing harder through corners.
Like she did. Like she does.
During our lunch break, she told us more about how she'd repurposed a few other pieces of hardware (a gun rack and I forget what else) to securely hold her wheelchair on the back of her Spyder while she rides. It's yet another illustration of the ingenuity that riders, as a community, can come up with when the solution to their problems doesn't yet exist.
Don't see a readymade solution? You can make one yourself, if you want it badly enough and you're willing to fight for it.
Go watch this documentary. And then go do whatever epic ride you've had cooking in the back of your brain. You absolutely have it in you to do it. I believe in you.
