I’ve been driving off-road my whole life. My father first put me in when I was about seven years old. He had bought an old 1972 Honda 125cc motorcycle from a neighbor and we spent the next several months fixing it. When he was finally ready to roll we would take him out into the desert and he would let me ride in the back.

Although he didn’t let me ride it alone until I was twelve, the thrill of sitting in the back, feeling the wind in my hair, and the motor racing between my legs was enough. When I was finally old enough to ride the bike myself, my dad went out and bought us Yamaha MX bikes. I, of course, had the 125cc and my father had the 250cc model. I had some of my best childhood memories on that bike and continued to ride through high school and college. When I got married and had my two children, I wanted to pass on the dirtbiking tradition to them.

However, as any parent knows, once you have children of your own, your mindset changes. When I was young, I rode recklessly, my motto was “Live fast, die young and leave a nice corpse”, but when there are children in the picture, you have to think about their future more than yours. If I am in a motorcycle accident and cannot work, how can I support my family?

So after a lot of haggling, bartering, and a lot of noise, my wife convinced me to sell my motorcycles. However, we reached a compromise: I sell my motorcycles and buy something a little safer for my children and I to enjoy. We decided on the Yamaha Rhino. It has four wheels instead of two, and a sturdy roll cage to keep occupants safe if something goes wrong. When I first saw the thing, I must admit … I was disappointed. One of the things I liked the most about motorcycling in the desert was the lack of safety gear … the danger was exciting. But when my kids and I first went out into the desert and drove the Rhino, we had a blast! The Yamaha Rhino 660 has a 660cc engine, this thing has the potential for great speed, and my wife is happy to see her husband and young children safely hidden under our DOT certified helmets and that sturdy cage. 1 “anti-roll. I could still drive” recklessly, “but I knew that if something went wrong, we would all be safe.

In the end, I realized that when you have kids, there are some things you have to sacrifice, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up your hobbies entirely! It just means that you have to make some “adjustments”, in terms of your lifestyle, to be a loving father and family man.