SO WHO WORKS HERE ANYWAYS?

Today at LRS we wanted to put up a little information about some of the people who work here at Long Ride Shields and those who contribute to the MLAT BLOG. Over the next week or so Ill take a little time to post some information about all of our staff, but today Ill just introduce myself.

My name is Matt Gardner, President of Long Ride Shields.

I was born and raised In Reno Nevada at the foot of the sierras and the gateway to the great deserts, Reno is where Ill raise my family, and it was here where I first learned to ride.

My first bike like most of us  was a 50cc honda and as a kid I graduated through a slew of other dirt bikes and ATV's In high school I bought my first beater road bike a Virago 750 and from there traded up bike after bike to an 02 Road King, a College graduation present from myself :) I Will probably ride that King until either I or it dies, whichever comes first.

MY ROAD KING

My greatest love besides my wife, dog and Little 2 year old girl, are the roads of the sierras.

Myself and Wife - Before I got fat!

Our Daughter

Drover My dog

The Sierras

As a kid I learned each and every byway and back-road from bishop to the Oregon border and everything in between. Growing up here you learn the history and the stories and as a rider I thrive on learning details about the places I go and the things I can see along the way, a ride is 99% about the journey and only 1% the destination.

Trail to the Sun, Glacier National Park

California coast

Last Year I accomplished one of my bucket list rides by traveling a 4500 mile route from Reno to Sturgis The LONG RIDE WAY AROUND.  Our trip took us 10 day of hard riding and we traveled up the california coast line and through the national parks on our way to the BIKER MECCA that is Sturgis. It was a true adventure and I loved every minute of it. If you read back through this blog you can see our posts leading up to that ride.

When I started Long Ride Shields I was in college and all I really knew at the time is that I needed to figure out a way to get the wind off of me. I had purchased an older Road King Classic and had put an aftermarket fairing on it. There was so much buffeting that I couldnt stand to ride the bike.

It didnt take me long to make a solution to my problem. I had grown up in the family business, at a company called Quality Plastics Inc. Which was owned by my father and Grandfather. I had grown up making different projects in the shop, and with the help of some of the guys at QP I came up with my first prototype windshield for my Road King. The first shield was called the Long Ride Shield - Ultra Classic, and over time it has evolved into what is now our Ultra Elite Shield. Eventualy I started selling a few of the windshields I had made on Ebay and then decided I liked the product enough that I would give it a go as a profession.

So here I am three years latter and I couldn't be more proud of what LRS has become.

I have on my staff aside from the workers at Quality Plastics, Three awesome Team-Mates who help run and manage LRS. They are James, West and Jeremy, and each of them brings a unique set of skills and humor with them that add character to each and every thing we do.

Here at Long Ride Shields we make products for bikers, that are made by bikers!