Crew

Bill Langford

Hi, my name is Bill Langford. I was born in California, although I spent my early years growing up in Richardson Texas, a small town just outside of Dallas. Growing up in the country as a young boy, I was infatuated with any two-wheeled motorized bike. I could ride for days in the Texas hills chasing armadillos, jackrabbits and cows.

After high school I joined the Navy and spent 5 years on Nuclear Submarines and Special Ops. Returning from the service I moved back to California and graduated from Cal State University, Long Beach. I own a design and manufacturing business in the sports industry called TRI ALL 3 SPORTS. We manufacture hard-shell cases for the transportation of racing bikes and racing wheels. We also make cases for Homeland Security and Special Ops. I am an avid cyclist and IRONMAN Triathlete. My wife Barbara is also an IRONMAN Triathlete and motorcycle enthusiast. We enjoy camping in our Sportsmobile, Photography, and target shooting.

I love motorcycles and have a number of BMW's and Ducati's. Riding a BMW or a Ducati on a racetrack will certainly get your adrenaline going. However my real passion is for Adventure Riding, exploring the backcountry on dirt trails, enjoying the beauty of our country that you don't see from a concrete highway. I have ridden all over the western part of the United States and Baja, including the Continental Divide from Mexico to Canada with Jim Hyde.

I met Jim Hyde in 2006 and joined his team in 2007. Our goal as Coaches at RawHyde is help you to develop the skills and confidence necessary to take you out of your normal comfort zone. To challenge you to take the journey that separates those who are only bystanders in life; to those who truly participate and explore the riches of life.

Jason Houle

Hi my name is Jason Houle. I was born in New Hampshire and have resided in Arizona for the past 30 years. I have been coming to RawHyde since 2008. Just like most of you, I was a student myself at one time and then just fell in love with everything that this place has to offer. It is a life changing experience, you might say.

I have been riding motorcycles since I was about four years old, and there is nothing else that I would rather be on then two wheels. If I'm not at my “real” job building power lines for a utility company in Phoenix, then I am on my bike riding, training and practicing doing what I love to do. The world has many adventures awaiting us and I feel like you should be trying to do as many as you can; ESPECIALLY on a motorcycle. I also enjoy spending time with my wife (who also rides) and my lovely daughter.

Some of my other hobbies include mountain biking, hiking, overnight camping and just doing anything that gets me outdoors.

I look forward to meeting you and helping you conquer your off-road fears. I will see you in the dirt, let's go ride!

Jon K.

Hello and welcome to the incredible world of Adventure Riding!

I’m Jon K. and I’m happy to say you have come to the right place to develop your skills and confidence as an Adventure Rider. I started riding street bikes as a teenager and made many mistakes as I learned how to handle a motorcycle on the congested roads and freeways of Southern California. It wasn’t until many years later that I took my first motorcycle safety course and realized just how much I had yet to learn. The importance and value of quality motorcycle training cannot be overstated.

I grew up with an appreciation for nature and a love of exploration. With that in mind, I made the transition to dual-sport motorcycles in 2005 and discovered a whole new world of possibility on two wheels. I attended the “Intro to Adventure” training at RawHyde Adventures in 2011, and joined the staff as a coach and guide later that year. Since that time, I have had the pleasure of coaching and guiding tours while working alongside some of the best (and most entertaining) adventure riders to be found anywhere.

I’m proud to be part of the RawHyde team and I look forward to seeing you on the trail!

Lauren Kennedy

Hi there! I’m Lauren Kennedy. I was born in Louisiana, and grew up a swamp rat, roaming around on a farm with my sister, 5 dogs, 10 cats, 30 cows, countless turtles and a horse. Both my parents are ‘gypsies’ and loved to travel and camp. Ditto my granny, who was prone to spiriting us gals away on road trips around the south, usually driving 90 behind a semi with all the windows open, and our bare feet hanging out the windows, stopping at every creek, rock shop and bbq joint we could find. My dad rode and raced dirt bikes when he was younger and we always had bikes around. My mom is a saint who spent most of her time trying to introduce us to a bar of soap, and out-fishing us all with a cane pole and a cricket.

My parents moved us to Wyoming when I was 16, and although at the time I was sure I would die, eventually I discovered that I loved the mountains as much as I loved the swamp. I now live in Manitou Springs, Colorado, at the foot of Pikes Peak.

Several summers ago I was dating a Fella who rode a BMW R1200GS and introduced me to Adventure riding world. I spent an entire summer on the back of a GS and I fell in Love (with the GS, NOT the Fella). Last year I sold my Vulcan 800 and became the proud owner of a BMW G 650 GS Thumper.

Last summer a friend introduced me to RawHyde Adventures. They are an exceptional and amazing group of people, whose spirit for adventure and love of life I heartily endorse and enjoy. I jumped in with both feet and you’ll find me at the Colorado camp. I am a Licensed Massage Therapist, so when I’m not at Camp I’m doing massages, trying to grow vegetables on a red dirt hill, running or mountain biking, keeping the bears out of my compost bucket, going to as many music festivals as I can or making my way to one of Colorado fabulous craft breweries. I look forward to meeting you!

Ryan Russett

Hi, my name is Ryan Russett. I was born in Waterloo, IA and moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1998 where I currently work a large utility as a journeyman lineman. I have been riding dirt bikes off and on for 25 years and was introduced to adventure bikes in 2012. I have a girlfriend and a son and we are huge supercross fans. My son has been riding since he was 5 and is now 11 and on his fourth dirt bike. My life is based around two wheels whether it be ADV riding, dirt biking, mountain biking, or watching supercross and motocross with the family.

I was introduced to Rawhyde in 2013 when I took a next step class that my friend and fellow coach, Jason Houle, talked me into taking. I had so much fun riding and hanging out with the students and staff that I had to get involved. Eventually Jim let me join the team and I have had many great memories since. It is very rewarding to me to be a coach and teach people how to ride a big bike off road. There is nothing better than seeing confidence grow and forming lasting friendships with students and staff!

Wil Stillens

Hello I am Wil Stillens and I am a Rawhyde instructor.

I have been involved with Jim Hyde since I was 13 years old, what started out as pulling weeds, painting and demolition became the foundation for a very important friendship. Approximately, in 2002 I received a phone call from Jim—he asked me to come see something special that he wanted me to be a part of—and with that, my coaching career had begun. This was an easy transition since from childhood I had been riding dirtbikes, mountain bikes, anything on two wheels basically. I am an ex-downhill mountain bike racer on the California Amateur Cup, the State Series and Nationals. The skills are the same; weight shift, brake control, balance. I loved it and turns out I love teaching it as well.

I love helping others with their motorcycle skills. Adventure riding the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I realize that adventure riding goes way beyond the bike... It is a lifestyle, with some of the nicest people I have ever met. I will do this for the rest of my life. So please ride with us and take the adventure of a lifetime!

Adam Timm

Hi! My name is Adam Timm and I feel lucky to coach, and support tours here at RawHyde. My sense of adventure was cultivated as a child growing up and playing in the woods on the East coast. That led to a career as a professional wilderness guide, and instructor for backcountry emergency medicine classes. I found my way to Southern California at the end of 2013, and while I still do some wilderness instruction, these days, aside from working at RawHyde, I work as a motorcycle mechanic repairing, maintaining and customizing older bikes.

As a longtime mtn biker and cyclist, I've always been fond of anything with two wheels, but didn't purchase my first moto until 2005. It wasn't long after that I was running it down the gravel roads. I took an Intro to Adventure class in early 2016, and a month later was working as a sweep rider for our Base Camp Alpha trips! I was honored to participate in the Expedition 65 trip as support driver/medic/mechanic, and began coaching at RawHyde in early 2017.

I'm excited to see you out here in the dirt, and share my love of the outdoors, education, and motorcycles!!!!!!!!

J.J. Puglisi

Hi, my name is J.J. Puglisi. I fell in love with and began riding motorcycles over 25 years ago. I have a law enforcement background, and one of the highlights of my career was riding a police motorcycle alongside the officers assigned to traffic enforcement. Completing motor school was a rewarding, yet humbling experience that further ignited my passion to develop my riding skills. Thanks to an understanding wife, and a co-worker and friend with similar interests, I was blessed with the opportunity to do just that, but on a big adventure bike, off-road. The best thing about this sport is the joy of sharing it and its challenges with others. I get great satisfaction not just in instructing, but in helping to add more members to the adventure riding family. That is what the RawHyde experience is truly about. See you on the trail!

Steven Torgerson

Hello fellow adventurers. My name is Steven Torgerson, and I’m one of the riding coaches with Team RawHyde. I was born in North Dakota, but grew up mostly in Colorado. I’ve been serving in the Marine Corps since 1998 with my primary job as an H-1 Pilot. Currently I am living in Southern California with my wife and three girls.

My motorcycling background started out with sport bikes then moved into the dirt. Throughout my career I have spent lots of time as an instructor and after finding RawHyde I knew I wanted to be part of the team and share the passion of adventure riding with other people.

I enjoy spending time outdoors, cooking, leathercraft, and anything to feed my wanderlust. See you out in the dirt!

Phil Westergren

Bio to follow.

Tom Biery

Hello, my name is Tom Biery and I am a coach for RawHyde Adventures. I was born in the midwest but have lived most of my life in Colorado where I still reside with my family. I started my time with RawHyde in late 2016 and it’s been a blast. When I’m not riding with RawHyde, I serve as a Firefighter/Paramedic for a large Denver metro fire department. Like many, I owned my first motorcycle at a much younger age – 350cc dirt bike for me. Since then, I have owned several bikes both for street and dirt but, it was not until recently that I discovered adventure motorcycles and landed on a BMW GS. Now that I know what the large adventure bikes are capable of and the places they can take you, I don’t plan on ever getting off of my GS. Thankfully, my beautiful wife loves riding two-up and supports my motorcycle habit.

I look forward to helping others meet their riding goals while making new friends in this thing called Adventure Motorcycling. Here’s to hoping our trails cross…