Please dont ride emotionally. I lost my son.

My name is Matea Huff. I am here to share a story about my son who died two years ago today in hopes that it will change some of the way you motorcyclists ride. I have nothing against riders, my son loved it, he said he felt freedom in it, and i know many of you will continue riding the way you do, but i still need to share this story.

It was two years ago today on november 18th. I remeber the timeline perfectly. It was around 9pm and i was folding laundry after getting home from work. My son Daniel, was 18 and a senior in highschool. He was in his room on the phone with his girlfriend. I know this because i heard him yell her name a few times. I heard muffled shouting many times. I didnt think much of it beacause his relationship with his girlfirend was often shaky and very on and off. To this day i still feel guilty for not checking in on him. After his call ended he walked out of his room into the family room. He grunted towards me he was going for a ride. I told him "Okay, be safe." He proceeded to leave on his Honda CBR 1000 rr. It was a 2008 model. I didnt know much about motorcycles at that time, I was divorced when he bought it and never looked into the make and model. I didnt know what that machine was cabable of. He left the house at around 9 like i said earier.

20 minutes later at 9:27 pm he was pronounced dead. I dont want to get into details. It was gruesome.

Daniel had crashed into a barrier of the highway after losing control of his motorcycle. A witness who saw the crash estimated that right before Daniel lost control he had blown past her at a speed in exess of 150mph. His body was launched 127 feet from his motorcycle where it impacted the barrier.

My son died that night, two years ago, because he had access to a machine he was not capable of handling. I dont deny he rode irresponsibly. Im glad he didnt hurt anyone else. But to this day i feel the guilt for letting him have that machine.

Ride safe. Not for youself, for your loved ones. They dont deserve the pain.