Welcome to Ragged Edge

We are two Army Vets that found each other 3 years ago and we have been chasing the adventures ever since. 

                It hasn’t always been an easy road but we have taken two broken people and made it work.  That’s what Ragged Edge is all about. Taking people how they are, no matter where they are and inspiring them to face their fears and elevate themselves to another level. We truly believe if you get out there and face your demons that’s where you conquer. And no matter what we are brothers and sisters in arms and will always be there to face the demons together.

We all have dragons to beat.  Substance abuse, laziness, bad attitude, self-importance, trauma, depression, anxiety…..but you can’t get to the castle until you wield the sword. Slay those dragons!!! Don’t be less because the dragon lies between you and freedom. Slay that dragon by pushing that weight one more rep, jumping the huge double, skirting the edge of a cliff, riding some rapids…in those moments you can feel the adrenaline and know what matters most. The world sits still. 

If you happen to fail, fail with glory. Those are the moments that will teach you how to conquer.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

-Theodore Roosevelt

If you never get back up

Dirt biking has quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. Though if you asked me a year and a

half ago, I probably wouldn’t have said the same thing.

My first bike was a Honda 250 r. I like to start in the deep end of the pool. Throw me into it,

drown for several minutes until I figure it out. In other words, that is a big bike for a beginner. My

husband took me up a trail by our house and I was doing pretty decent, I thought. We came to a hill, my

husband stopped and looked back and said, this is an easy hill just follow me. Don’t worry he paid for

that comment later, mostly because he gets to hear me tell this story over and over.

So I follow him, I hit some rocks, my front tire lined up with a decent-sized boulder on the side of

the trail. Knowing I couldn’t avoid it at this point. I heard my husband and all his friends echoing in my

head, when in doubt throttle out. They are all idiots, idiots that I love but idiots nonetheless. So I grab

some throttle and sure enough, I got over the boulder but it launched me onto the side of the mountain

and no one told me what to do if that happens. So of course I put my downhill foot on the ground. See

general mathematics and observation would have told me that my leg was too short but I am not that

smart. I and the bike go crashing down to the trail. My head hits a rock (PSA: WEAR HELMETS), my elbow

is mangled. And of course, now I am hurt (pride included) and pissed.

Craig gets me a little way up the trail to sit down at the base of a tree. I remember just sitting

there bawling and frustrated. There is most definitely crying in baseball. This was going to be a lot

harder than I expected. It took me several more falls, a lot of yelling matches, frustration tantrums.

Don’t even lie, I know you have all had those. But the point is, no matter how ugly, or upset, no matter if

you have to shed some tears or get some stitches. Get back on the bike.

We went on a ride a few months ago and I road obstacles I never thought I would and I can keep

up with the boys. Aside from the confidence and sense of accomplishment. I conquered my fear. And

that is something powerful. Not just in a sport but in everyday life. If you never get back up, if you never

face that fear of being hurt or embarrassed. You will miss out on the greatest majesty that life has to

give. That feeling that you can only get on the ragged edge.

Not my box

I see a lot of cultural boxes that society, in general, try to put people in. These endless

boxes in which some label happy, cosmic-Karen has defined minute parts of your life and

expects you to live within that definition; And if you don’t, well then you can’t be accepted,

you’re obviously wrong, you should be ostracized or you must be something else….. I am sure

we have all felt that way. Like we don’t fit in the box or that we are different, I know I have.

I am a girl whose favorite hobbies include martial arts, shooting, riding motorcycles. I

was often called a “tom boy” and in my older years was asked why I hadn’t come out of the closet.

Sorry, but that’s not my box. They labeled me, but the reality of it was I was a girl like any other,

I just happened to like different hobbies. But I struggled with my self-image a lot. And it is a

daily battle, one that does get easier and easier to fight, but a battle nonetheless to remind

myself that I am worthwhile, I have something to say, and that people want to listen.

So listen up fuckers, don’t live in their boxes. It’s ok to find what works for you. Just look

the world directly in the face and say, that’s not my box. And then go win at something!

If you need some help doing it grab some gear and know that the whole Ragged Edge

team is behind you when you tell them to stuff their box where the sun doesn’t shine. Cheers!