Paul Koehler- Geerhed

Under the Helmet project 📷 Heather M Bowes

Meet Paul, proof that life will work itself out as long as you don't forget your love of the motorcycle. Thank you for sharing your story!

“I’ve always been a gearhead. When I was a kid I had an electric three wheeler I zipped around on and many bicycles but no motorcycles.

My parents wouldn’t let me have one. My friends had dirt bikes and if my parents weren’t around I’d ride their dirt bikes and mini bikes. I went to vocational school from 10th to 12th grade to learn auto mechanics. I lived to ride and race. It didn’t make a difference what it was - if it had an engine and wheels I was going to build it and find someone to race. I always had a shop full of projects. At 22 I ended up opening a shop to build things for others. Primarily Jeeps, VW rail buggy’s and later on streetrods. Lots of good stories there but back to bikes.

I bought my first bike as soon as I moved out of my parents house. It was a 1972 Kawasaki 750 Mach IV, 2 stroke triple. Thankfully, I wasn’t smart enough to work on it so it never ran right. I had several street bikes and dirt bikes after that. Some of my favorites were a 78 GS1000 drag bike, a 1978 Bultaco Streaker that almost cost me my driver license more than once, a RM250 I motocrossed (I grew up a few miles from Loretta Lynn’s where the Amateur Nationals are held and miles and miles of trails were there for riding), I also had the normal assortment of Harleys including an ironhead in a severely raked out Amen Savior frame with a Springer that I rode to Sturgis from Tennessee as well as Daytona and a few other far flung locations. My back and kidneys still haven’t forgiven me for that bike. I’ve always loved the many styles, designs and power plants you can cram between two wheels. For me riding a bike was akin to flying thru the air, free, a singular focus on living life in the wind, therapy. I couldn’t imagine life without a bike.

In 2009 I moved from Tennessee to New Hampshire knowing no one that was into the same stuff I was interested in. Yet, I found the same kind of gearhead friends I’d known in the South. Some of the bikes I bought after moving to NH were a 1982 Moto Guzzi California ll that I absolutely loved. Smooth power, gobs of torque, it looked sharp! 1962 Bultaco Metralla model 8, A 1981 Maico that was a beast. Grab a handful of throttle and you better be locked in and hanging on with your knees too. A ripping 1985 Husqvarna 510TE and a KTM 420.

Shortly after moving there I started a business buying and selling vintage motorcycles and parts. Craigslist introduced me to tons of people near me as both buyers and sellers, many also becoming friends. I traveled the country buying vintage bikes. Sometimes flying out west and buying a bike that i would partially disassemble there and box up to mail home for cheaper transport costs. I’d put engines in igloo coolers with wheels and check them as baggage for the return trip. I met a lot of great people in my travels. Using eBay I was able to find an international buyers market. I’ve bought and sold somewhere north of 300 bikes in the last 12 years.

It sounds like an idyllic life but behind the scenes I was struggling. In 2009 I got sick. Little did I know that in the span of four years I’d go from the picture of health to a shell of who I formally was while doctors tried to determine why I was deteriorating. By 2012 I could no longer ride. I lost my balance. Neuromuscular issues made formerly simple tasks difficult. I didn’t have the strength to throw a dirtbike around the trail or even hold a bike up at a stoplight. I sold most of my bikes over a couple of years thinking my riding days were over. I was showing signs of early onset dementia. Even the simplest tasks required great mental effort. During the downtime from riding i turned to another hobby, tooling leather. Mostly portraits of motorcycles and motorcycle related art.

Fortunately, 2013 brought a Lyme disease diagnosis. I started a treatment plan that put me back on track to living life and riding a little, but not cured. It didn’t last long though. In 2015 I had to have an emergency spine operation. During recovery my doctor advised against riding or racing for a year but I felt good enough to race a few months later in 2016, a vintage race called The Rock Crusher Harescramble on my 250 Maico. That didn’t work out for me so well. I had to have two more spine operations to repair damage to the first spine repair. My doctor strongly advised against anymore offroad racing. In a search for something safer to race I met Paul Lynch and Henry Syphers who told me about roadracing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with USCRA. I bought a bike from Henry and raced a month later. It was what I’d been looking for in a motorsport. It was different from MX and has taken a bit of relearning. I’ve had a ton of help and encouragement from fellow racers. It’s truly a racing family. I felt a new freedom.

While at NHMS I saw a racing Sidecar piloted by Adam Cramer. I remembered a few years earlier sitting in the shop with friends and watching Doug Donelan’s Sidecar videos on YouTube, saying someday I wanted to do that. I got my chance when Christmas Day of 2017 I hopped in my truck and drove down to Georgia where I bought an unfinished Sidecar project. Two months later I was racing it at Roebling Road Raceway with Patrick McGraw as passenger. I’d found my true love in racing - sidecars! I had a lot of fun racing it and had several passengers over the three years I had it. I sold it last year after buying one a little more modern. After racing the newer one at Laguna Seca and Carolina Motorsports Park early 2020 I tore it down for a complete chassis and engine rebuild. Covid put a halt to racing for the rest of 2020. My next race was February 2021 at Roebling Road. Despite working hard, with lots of help from friends, I wasn’t able to complete it before I left for the race. I loaded it anyway and I left New Hampshire for Georgia. On the way I had to stop for a final court date held over the phone for my divorce. It felt like I’d finally closed a long and painful chapter in my life. I was ready to live again! Little did I know Roebling would once again introduce me to a love.

I made it to the track at 7am after a heavy rainstorm. I parked and walked to registration. On the way back (wearing my cowboy hat ;) I saw a cute woman talking to a group of people about her tent getting flooded and sleeping on the concrete floor in concessions. I said hi to her and the group and went to my trailer to unload and set up my camper. A bit later Dale Lavender introduced me to her. I offered her my race trailer with a heater to sleep in that night. I never did get my Sidecar on the track that weekend but I did meet my other love at Roebling, Andrea Blake.

https://fueledandfed.com/journal/andrea-blake-no-straight-lines

[ If you haven't met Andrea, head over to here Andrea ]

We found we had so much in common right off the bat. Both of us have health issues that forced us to face realities we never imagined and make changes to stay healthy. Both of us overcame things in life that shaped us. Neither of us were looking for a partner but we both recognized that we’d found someone that completed the other person.

I dropped her off at the airport Sunday knowing this was just the start of something better. Her passion was being a passenger on a racing Sidecar. As an accomplished rider herself I knew she’d do well as a passenger. A week later I asked her if she wanted to go to race school the next month and copilot for me. Her dream became a reality and I’m so happy to have played a role in that. She did an excellent job as a passenger and in subsequent races did great as a solo racer. As much as riding and racing motorcycles has made me happy, meeting and spending the last year with Andrea has pushed my happiness over the top.

I’ve also raced landspeed on both conventional motorcycles and a Sidecar. I’m looking forward to introducing Andrea to land speed racing. We both ride dual sports and street bikes. I still have several bikes. I think I’m down to 24. One of the bikes I’m working on restoring is a 1975 Canam MX2 125. My friend, Steve Semuskie, is helping me get it race ready with the goal of getting me back in harescrambles again, albeit on a smaller displacement bike which should be easier with my limitations. It’s always great being in the shop with friends. I’m also pretty far along in the build of a twin pulse jet land speed racing Sidecar making a total of 600 lbs of thrust. It will run at Loring AFB in Maine with the goal of 200 mph. My next venture is starting a motorcycle adventure tour business in West Virginia. In the interim I’ve been transporting motorcycles for customers and still buying and selling vintage bikes.

If you asked me looking back if I’d do anything different the answer would be a loud NO. All roads have led me to where I am now and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Chasing one love led to another love.

What fuels me?

My autoimmune issues caused severe food allergies and sensitivities. I’d gotten down to eating mostly bland fish and rice. Just surviving and not enjoying food. After meeting Andrea and learning her diet my whole food universe was expanded. Both of us eat such good food now. Largely veggies and grains, which may sound boring but Andrea is so creative and inventive. She’s been able to recreate most of the foods I loved and couldn’t eat anymore using ingredients that are safe for both of us. We love cooking together and it’s a joy to eat again. Sushi is by far my favorite food, consumed in the company of good friends with lots of laughter. “