HER STORY | Harmony Castille

Her Story. A series of blog posts telling the stories of 'women who ride' from all corners of the globe. We hope that by sharing these stories we can help encourage other women to build their confidence, learn from others and inspire others.

This month we have an incredible story by seven year old,  Harmony Castille, from Denver, Colorado.
Her story embodies the phrase 'Carpe Diem - Seize the Day'! Harmony went straight from training wheels on her bicycle to a pocket bike and is now racing her very own Ohvale 110 on the track. 

We have no doubt she will achieve her goal to race in the MotoGP when she is older! We hope you enjoy her story.

Hi, I'm Harmony Castille, I am seven years old and live in Denver, Colorado. 

I have been around motorcycles since I was very young. My great grandparents loved riding them for their subframe enjoyment. They shared this love with me and gave me my first experience sitting on a motorcycle. It was when I was nine months old. 

Almost every time I would go over to their home, I would ask to go to their garage so I could sit on their Harleys. When I turned two my family gave me a birthday present of a battery-powered trike to match my Great Grandpas. I was so excited my family could barely get me off it. 

One day when I was six years old,  I was sitting in the living room with my Mom and Dad. My Dad was watching a video on his phone. I went and sat on his lap to see what he was looking at because it sounded interesting. He was watching kids race motorcycles. I thought that was so cool! I couldn’t take my eyes away from the phone.

He looked at me and asked, “Would you want to do that?”. I jumped up and shouted “YES! YES! YES!”. My excitement was so strong it couldn’t be contained.  We spent the rest of the afternoon watching videos of kids racing and talking about the sport. 

My parents then went and bought me my first pocket bike to learn on. The funny thing is, I didn’t know how to ride a normal bicycle without training wheels, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me!

We spent the weekend in a large grass field trying to teach me how to balance and ride. Once I got the hang of it there was no looking back! We started going to any open parking lots we could find. 

This eventually led to me getting my first actual race bike when I was six: an Ohvale 110. Being so small became a challenge for me. We had to have the subframe lowered a lot just so I could stand on tippy toes to hold the bike up. I also needed different adjustable brake and clutch levers to fit my tiny hands. We were extremely grateful when we found my ASV levers. Not to mention finding the correct sized gloves and boots has also been a challenge. 

I love everything about my motorcycle and my sport. I love learning not only how to become a better racer, but also how to maintain my bike and how it works. 

Due to my Dad being in the medical industry and COVID we weren’t able to go to the track this year. I am very excited for the track days to come in 2021!

My dream is to be able to go to MotoAmerica next year to race, and when I’m older be a racer in MotoGP Moto 3. 

Deciding to go with this sport has been the best thing I have ever done.  It has taught me to never give up on myself, and if I don’t get it right the first time I have to just keep trying. I’ve also learned that things can be hard but if I push myself I can overcome any challenge. I use this mindset not only when I’m racing but also in my day to day life.

My advice to anyone starting their journey like me is that age and size don’t matter. If you want to learn how to do something then go for it! Make sure to never give up because no matter who you are,  you can do anything if you just push yourself!