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- August 30, 2025 - 6
- September 6, 2025 - 10
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Hello, my name is Cliff Crabtree and I am honored you are reading my bio.
By reading this I am assuming you share the same passion and goal as I; to be a skilled, safe motorcyclist. Like the other RLAP instructors, I have ridden for many years and assumed I was an above average rider. It wasn’t until I took a motorcycle class in 2002 did I realize how little I really knew about riding a motorcycle. Since then, I have taken many motorcycle classes to improve my skills.
Additionally, I became a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Instructor and a Riders Edge Instructor. After all of this training, I thought my skills were pretty darn good. I was then invited to participate in a motorcycle class using police skills and dimensions. What an eye-opener that was; and quite humbling! This stimulated me to seek further training and many hours of practice. The big motorcycle was not going to be my nemesis!
It was during MSF Instructor training in 2004 that Gary and I met. We became good friends and developed a healthy respect for our diverse skill sets as MSF and RE instructors. As we taught many MSF and RE classes, I watched Gary develop his RLAP-GL franchise. As the franchise grew, Gary and I began to realize by bringing together our separate skills and experiences, we could potentially take RLAP-GL to a new plateau. We joined forces in the spring of 2012 and have not looked back. It is so rewarding to see a motorcyclist progress through the RLAP exercises and be able to perform a 24 foot U-turn for the first time on their motorcycle.
The success of the students is what brings me back weekend after weekend to the range. Don’t let the motorcycle tell you what to do; you take control of the motorcycle and let it work for you. Come see us at Ride Like A Pro – Great Lakes.
Thank you for your interest in Ride Like A Pro-Great Lakes. I hope to see you on the range in the near future.
Contact me at: cliff@ridelikeapro-gl.com
Hi, my name is Gary Lewandowski, and I share a very similar story with Jerry Palladino, the founder of “Ride Like A Pro”. For many years I considered myself a fairly decent rider until I took police motor officer training and was taught exactly what a top professional rider and the machine was really capable of doing. I was indeed changed and I have never looked at motorcycle riding the same since that day. On a very dark day back in 2000, I witnessed a very close friend die in a motorcycle crash, and that memory still haunts me to this day. It was soon after the shock wore off that I made my mind up to become a Motorcycle Safety Instructor so that I could help people interested in riding to learn correctly, and further, to help those who have experience become even better.
I became a certified MSF Instructor as well as an Instructor with Harley Davidson’s Rider’s Edge program. I also serve as the Motorcycle Safety / Training Officer for the Macomb County Sheriff’s Motor Division and am part of the City of Hazel Park Michigan’s Police Auxiliary Motor Units training officer. I recall back in 2003, how I came across Jerry “Motorman” Palladino’s “Ride Like A Pro” web site. I was impressed so contacted Jerry to discuss his program.
That same year at Bike Week in Daytona I had the opportunity to finally meet Jerry and Donna. I told Jerry that I had come 1,250 miles to shake his hand, and we shared a good laugh over that one, but more importantly a friendship was born.
In May of 2008, I was invited to work with Jerry & Donna on an actual “Ride Like A Pro” class. I found they are genuine, honest people who are totally dedicated to everyone who has ever swung a leg over a motorcycle. We share that same philosophy and the desire to bring a higher level of riding skills to all motorcycle riders, and with that, Ride Like A Pro – Great Lakes was born.
Today, it is my honor and privilege to be part of Jerry Palladino’s Ride Like A Pro Team, and to be able to bring the “Ride Like A Pro” classes to Michigan and the Great Lakes area. The classes are challenging as well as fun and relaxed…and most importantly, you have my personal promise that you will come away a better, more informed and confident rider.
There is no graduation from the college of motorcycle riding!. Always strive to improve yourself, and never, ever compromise your safety or the safety of others for the sake of image.
Looking forward to seeing you in the classes and out on the roads!
Contact me at: gary@ridelikeapro-gl.com