Wesley is a founding member of the Rally for Rangers. Since its inception, as an avid motorcyclist, Wesley spearheaded the Rally for Rangers, raised awareness internationally about the National Parks of Mongolia, and rode in all rallies.
Wesley is the founder of Trend Digital, www.trend-digital.com, which specializes in post-production imaging services for e-commerce clothing and fashion retailers. Wesley is also a photographer, adventurer, and traveler and has documented the tribes of Omo Valley, Ethiopia, to the nomadic shamans of Mongolia. He currently lives in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Tom Medema developed a passion for national parks at a young age on family vacations throughout the American west. This passion turned into a career as a park ranger spanning nearly 30 years. Tom is equally passionate about national parks and public lands around the world and has worked with parks and monuments in South America and Europe as a subject matter expert in the field of interpretation and education. The opportunity to support the protection of natural and cultural heritage of parks and protected areas around the world is an opportunity he is excited and humbled to be a part of.
Tom is a sports and outdoor enthusiast, spending much of his free time enjoying two-wheeled travel by mountain bike, road bike, and motorbike. Over the past 20 years he has owned Harley-Davidson and BMW bikes and is currently riding an F800GS on the back roads and trails of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia in preparation for the next epic and compelling adventure protecting the worlds special places one motorcycle at a time.
Growing up in Reno, NV, Bryon grew up taking full advantage of the outdoors. Hiking, camping, fly fishing, and mountain biking filled Bryon’s childhood and it wasn’t until he moved to Berkeley, CA for college that he got his first taste of motorcycles. While at the University of California Berkeley, Bryon helped to build the world’s first autonomous motorcycle, Ghostrider. Working on that project got him hooked on motorcycles for life. One bike led to 2, then 3 and is currently at 9, although most don’t currently work (but will soon). In 2013 he completed an Iron Butt ride around NV and still looks for any opportunity to take on a new challenge or adventure on a motorcycle.
When not spending time working on motorcycles and cars, Bryon has a real job working at a company building agricultural robots.
After watching “The Long Way Round” Bryon put Mongolia on the top of his bucket list of places to travel. It was a quick decision to join Rally for Rangers after finding out he could ride motorcycles and do something valuable for the national parks of Mongolia.
Lance was born to be an adventurer. Early days in Minnesota with a pack of cousins on mini-bikes and fishing skiffs kindled a life-long love of the outdoors and passion for two-wheeled travel. Fishing led to climbing and after a stint in the Navy he became serious about alpinism. Climbing and skiing led to work as a guide in the US, Europe and Latin America. “I’ve been fortunate to spend time in so many wild places around the world. Preserving and protecting them for future generations is really important to me.” A 2004 trail ride down the Baja 1000 route cemented offroad enduro riding as his new passion.
“Some of my outdoorsy friends assumed that off-roading ran counter to conservation and stewardship of wild lands. My friend Kacey Smith, avid Baja rider and guidebook author calls herself a tree hugging dirt biker. That could be a tagline for Rally for Rangers!” Naturally, when Lance heard about the Rally for Rangers, he signed up immediately. Lance rode in the 2017 rally to Otgontenger and is excited to return to Mongolia in 2018. “Mongolia is one of those places that exists in our imaginations as the embodiment of wild and untamed. It’s worth saving.” Lance invites you to join this grass roots movement, where the simple gift of some little motorcycles pays such exponential dividends.
Anna’s first foray into the two-wheeled world had a less than auspicious start when she whiskey throttled her rental scooter onto a sidewalk during her college fall break in the Bahamas. Nevertheless, she persisted. Upon moving to San Francisco at the age of 27, she purchased a used motorcycle and for weeks practiced riding around the empty streets at dawn. Motorcycling quickly became a passion of hers and before she knew it was commuting daily on a motorcycle, spending her weekends riding the back roads of the Bay Area, and boring all her very patient non-rider friends with nonstop chatter about bikes.
Anna works in construction robotics and when she’s not exploring California on her much-loved Street Triple R and trusty WR250R enjoys cooking, SCUBA, snowboarding, camping, traveling, and hosting pig roasts. She also recently launched a wine label called “Countersteer” and is excited to be able to combine her interests in wine and motorcycling (although obviously not at the same time).
Anna knew she wanted to participate in Rally for Rangers the instant she heard about the program through friends. Her first dual sport adventure, a 2,500-mile trip along the Carretera Austral to Ushuaia, was an unforgettable experience that opened her eyes to the joys of exploring the hidden corners of the earth on two wheels. Given the positive impact motorcycles have had on her life, she is particularly inspired by the mission of Rally for Rangers —to better the lives of those who are working hard to protect Mongolia’s natural resources—and is honored to have been chosen to take part in this year’s Rally.
Pete has been riding motorcycles since he was a teenager. From minibikes to Harleys to dual-sports he is always looking for a new adventure. He works as a Physical Therapist in his own private practice helping people with neck and back pain and always wants to expand the scope of helping others. Rally for Rangers provides him with this once in a lifetime experience combining a passion and a challenge with a true purpose.
Pete Has 2 children, Gigi and Jack. Gigi just got her motorcycle endorsement and hopes to go on these trips in the future. Jack is currently finishing his 1st year at Colorado State University. He wouldn’t be able to do this trip if he didn’t have the total support of his girlfriend Kelly. She is also and adventure rider and hopes to go on a future Rally with Pete.
Along with his private practice Pete owns a private Gym and practices Martial Arts on a regular basis. Having the Colorado Foothills in his back yard provides the perfect training ground to get ready for the challenge of this ride.
Pete considers this ride as “A Challenge with a Purpose” Being able to provide these Rangers with the much-needed means to patrol the vast lands of Mongolia is the least he could do to help preserve the environment for the next generation.
Candace is a lifelong motorcyclist. With the help of family and friends, she has experienced riding in diverse settings and disciplines. A three time women’s division endure champion, she collected trophies from racing events like the original Bar stow to Vegas Hare and Hound, Widow maker Hill climb, Women’s Motocross Nationals and many more. The few years she worked as an artist and photographer for a motorcycle magazine expanded her motorcycling world and introduced her to the wonderful people who are part of it.
Candace has been checking boxes on a lifelong motorcycling to-do list and as she nears her 50th year of riding, her list includes Rally for Rangers. Like all of the to-do list items, it will bring people and motorcycles together, but in a way that will accomplish something special.
Candace is a vegan, a technology trainer, and the wife of a motorcycle hero, with two sons and a new grandson waiting to grow into his PW50. She plans to be a centenarian like her grandmother so she can keep checking off those motorcycling to-do list boxes. Still unchecked boxes are: ride her Triumph to Alaska, visit Isle of Man during the TT and more.
Larry is a retired businessman, father to three sons, three grandsons and a granddaughter, all of which he is extremely proud. He lives in Atlanta Georgia with his wife of 42 years, Julie, a successful research scientist. After retiring, Larry was able to pursue his passion for adventure motorcycle travel. Two days after his last day at work, he left on a cross country moto trip that was 85% off pavement, including gravel or dirt roads, dirt trails, mountains and deserts. Other trips have included travel from Atlanta to Mexico and Canada, as well as a trip to ride in Australia.
Larry has always needed activities or challenging hobbies in which he could get deeply immersed. Sometimes the challenges have been physical in nature such as adventure motorcycling, endurance mountain biking, marathons, triathlons, backpacking and mountain climbing. Some challenges are more mentally stimulating such as photography, drone photography and video, fly fishing and reading. Currently enjoying a photography business he began after retiring, Larry spends his free time motorcycling and continually trying to improve his photography and drone skills. With a geographically dispersed family, he spends lot of his travel time visiting his sons and their families.
Beth grew up in rural, eastern NC, surrounded by tobacco farms, and as a bit of a tomboy, spent much of her childhood exploring the fields, woods and swamps there. She developed a taste for the exotic early on through her culturally inquisitive and open-minded parents. Friends from India introduced her to the rich tastes and textiles of their country and sparked an interest in the way other people live, and a family trip to Italy awakened a curious and adventurous spirit (as well as a life-long love of good coffee.) While studying architecture at NCSU, Beth kept her newly discovered love of motorcycling a secret from her family. She also downplayed the dangerous nature of her other passion, rock-climbing, and embraced the chance to spend weekends camping and climbing in the NC and VA mountains. During a 5 year stint working and living in Sendai, Japan, Beth explored much of SE Asia while traveling solo, seeking out the more remote parts of northern India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. Beth returned to motorcycling after a 29 year hiatus and searches out opportunities to improve her skills and build community with like-minded motorcyclists. She continues to explore the world, both near and far, from her perch on her pegs. She is deeply interested in learning about and preserving the natural environment and cultures of our planet.
Like many riders, Jeff’s passion for two wheels and a motor started with a 50cc minibike. The moment he hopped on that little Honda he was hooked. Growing up in the country, and growing in and out of a handful of bikes he quickly realized that a motorcycle isn’t only an exhilarating mode of transportation, but it’s the perfect partner for an adventurous curiosity. Fast forward to 2015 when that curiosity pushed him to reach out to his lifelong friend to plan a coast to coast motorcycle trip across the United States. And what better path to take than the Trans America Trail. Two BMW 800 GS’s, 17 states, 6300 miles, numerous national parks and forests, and countless memories later they completed the trip in Santa Monica, CA. You can read more about that trip at MojoMoto.org.
As a career creative and co-owner of a marketing agency in Rochester, NY Jeff knows the value of a genuine brand and a good story. When he learned of Rally for Rangers he recognized both of those qualities and was intrigued to say the least. RFR combines many of the things he craves. Travel, protecting the environment and the animals that inhabit it, and well…motorcycles. Add to that a challenging ride and the comradely between a handful of riders with similar interests and you have one hell of an experience. Jeff’s extremely honored and grateful to be part of the 2019 ride through Mongolia.