I don't know who or what to attribute riding motorcycles to. My parents basically had one rule, no motorcycles. Can't ride one, much less ever own one. If you get caught on one, the punishment was severe. So we didn't.
Despite that, I had a pic of some little Honda in my dresser when I was maybe 10. Not even sure where I found the advertisement, guess a magazine or something. I would pull it out and look at it periodically and my plan was to get one someday when I could do it on my own.
Before someday came, my daughter did. Not long after, her mom skipped town and I became a single father raising her solo. At that point, I figured no way on motorcycles. Can't get squished and leave her behind, so I put it on hold a bit longer. Kinda forgot about it actually.
Somewhere along the way, I figured jet skis were safer and we started doing that together. First her on back, then she got her own later on. She went off to college and I sold the jet skis and got into riding bicycles for a few years. While riding up a big hill on the bicycle somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the Hill Country, a couple of ADV bikes flew by me and it got me thinking about them again.
My daughter recently became an LVN and has started her career, so I figured she'd be ok at this point if I got squished, so I went and bought a motorcycle. And then another. And another
Kinda making up for lost time, I guess. She also got interested in it seeing me do it, so I got her one and we ride together some now when she's free from work.