When he first heard of the Riders of the Sierra Madre Touring Company in 2009, Lakeside resident Terry Vidal wished he owned it.
Although he knew nothing about the industry, he recalls being envious of founder John Gilbank: “Man, I was really kinda jealous – and it stuck under my skin.” The universe listened, the way it sometimes does, and when an opportunity to purchase Riders came about in 2019, Vidal knew the time was right to step away from his position at the helm of the Lake Chapala Society.
With a graduate degree in Museum Studies and years of experience maintaining historic sites across Minnesota, and running the largest and oldest historical society in the United States, Vidal may not seem the obvious choice for a motorcycle touring company owner/operator. Scratch the surface, however, and you’ll find that motorcycles have always been in the picture.
In fact, the Kawasaki (Kaw) Vulcan 1500 on display in his shop in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos – complete with custom cow paint job and a cowhide seat – was his mode of transportation when he worked in Minnesota for the historical society. The winter commutes were cold, he reflects, adding for emphasis, “those rides were damn cold. Northern Iowa and Minnesota is essentially Canada.”
By 2008, Vidal decided he’d had enough of life north of the border and that same year, married his girlfriend, Amalia, in Mexico City, quit his job, and after Thanksgiving in 2009, made the permanent move to Mexico.
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