Michael Yang

Motorcycle Traveler, Author, Korean American Tech Entrepreneur, and Investor with a passion for World Travel on Two Wheels and Sharing the Journey.

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

My life's journey thus far -

I'm excited to share this video that captures my life's journey using old photos and the latest AI technology to bring my childhood and early adulthood to life. When I first saw this video, I grew emotional because I saw my parents and grandparents come "back to life" before my eyes. It brought back memories of their hardships and the sacrifices they made to give us the best opportunities in life. And it's through their sacrifices that I'm able to have the life I have now. Without them, my adventures wouldn't be possible.

I showed this video at my book launch party, but wanted to share on my social media because of the impact it had on me. (Both English and Korean subtitles are shown on the video):

https://t.co/zcmYhTPWo1

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

D-32

2026 motorcycle adventure trip
Northern Europe

Germany, Denmark, Norway (Nordkapp), Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Czechia.

Thanks to everyone who helped me to plan my motorcycle route through 9 countries in N. Europe including Nordkapp in Norway this June and July. I now have a much better idea on the route to take. I will be renting a BMW GS in Heidelberg and ride for around 5 weeks. I will be sharing my travel posts on my Facebook account and share it to motorcycle travel related groups.

https://t.co/Wm3FkhypLm

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Wow. What a day!

This past Saturday, I held my book launch party at the EK Art Gallery in Koreatown, LA, to celebrate the publication of my book, Coming Alive on the Ride. I couldn’t believe the day had finally come. After nearly 4 years of working on my memoir and months of planning for this event, I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love from my community.

Before the event started, I was full of anticipation, and my mind was racing with all the chaos of transportation, logistics, and setup. Then, when I saw the giant LED screen with slides & videos of my journey and heard the travel playlist music playing inside the gallery, I was beyond happy.

During the event, I was so excited that my hands were shaking while I was eating lunch! I literally couldn’t contain my excitement. I was so happy that everyone was having a good time, and overjoyed to share my love of adventure and motorcycle travel with all the family, friends, and guests there.

After the event, I was actually sad that I didn’t have enough time to talk to everyone, and I felt a twinge of regret that I didn’t take longer to express my deep, sincere gratitude for their coming to my launch party. Though a few days late, I want to thank everyone for taking time out of their busy schedules to celebrate the launch of my book with me. I appreciate you all more than I can put into words.

As I left the event venue for home on my motorcycle, and my adrenaline wound down with every passing mile, my body was tired, but my heart was full of shin-nah-geh (신나게) 🌟
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#comingaliveontheride #michaelyangauthor #travelmemoir #adventureawaits #nevertoolate

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Exciting news! 📣

Next month, I’ll be holding author speaking & book signing events at 2 local independent bookstores for my book Coming Alive on the Ride:

📚Flintridge Bookstore on 3/15 at 4-5:30pm

📚 Vroman’s Bookstore on 3/21 at 4-5:30pm

It’s extra special when you get to hold events in your own hometown and local communities, and I can’t wait to share about my journey to self-discovery, my motorcycle adventures, and my Korean American heritage.

If you’re in the area, please stop by for a chat!
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Amazon preorder: https://t.co/XcHA9zb9Mm
#comingaliveontheride #michaelyangauthor #travelmemoir #lifejourney #immigrantstory

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Riding shin-nah-geh (신나게) across North America 🏍️

Before every ride, I feel butterflies in my stomach. It’s a mix of excitement and subtle fear before venturing into the unknown. No matter how much you plan for an adventure, you never really know all the things you’ll come across. So I steady my mind, pray for safe travels, and set off for the road.

These photos are from the summer of 2022, during the longest motorcycle trip of my life from Los Angeles to Newfoundland and back. During those long hours on the road, I remember asking myself “Why me? What did I do to deserve such an amazing experience?” If I had to sum up my thoughts from this trip, I felt a deep sense of gratitude because of the blissful moments I was blessed to be able to see and enjoy.
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#comingaliveontheride #michaelyangauthor #travelmemoir #adventureawaits #motorcycleadventure

[Startup Archive @StartupArchive_]

Elon Musk: “Failure is irrelevant unless it’s catastrophic”

Elon is asked why he’s so tolerant of the failure that often stems from taking big risks, to which he responds:

“I think of these things as: There’s a certain amount of time, and within that time, you want the best net outcome. For the set of actions you can do, there will be some which will fail and some which will succeed. And you want the net useful output of your actions to be the highest.”

He uses baseball as an analogy:

“You can’t just sit there and wait for the perfect pitch . . . So what you’re really looking for is: What’s the batting average? There’s going to be some amount of failure. You just want your net useful output to be maximized. Failure is essentially irrelevant unless it’s catastrophic.”

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

I am stoked to share this book trailer with you all!

Amazon preorder link:

https://t.co/lnPZGOiFPe

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Excerpt #2
Coming Alive on the Ride: A Memoir of Motorcycle Travel, Self-Discovery, and Korean Heritage

“A rich life is never without challenging twists and dangerous turns, but it remains one epic journey characterized by one adventure after another. If your senses are tuned in, these adventures come to inspire and instruct you in ways nothing else can. Eventually, they come to define you. And you don’t have to own a motorcycle to experience it all. Although, it wouldn’t hurt.”

Thanks, Chad Horton, creator of Two Wheels and Three Sheets YouTube channel, for the blurb below!

Amazon preorder link:

https://t.co/XvnaiCrS2e

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Excerpt from Coming Alive on the Ride: A Memoir of Motorcycle Travel, Self-Discovery, and Korean Heritage.
https://t.co/5qsvjN7y95

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Thanks so much, Yul!!
Really appreciate your endorsement blurb on Coming Alive on the Ride!
Amazon Link for the Book: https://t.co/PB8bJpgfFw

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

@Clifford98506 Thank you, Cliff!!

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

It was great to present my memoir Coming Alive on the Ride advanced reader copy to my friends Angela Killoren, Abraham Kim, Chil Kong, Alex Cha, and Eunice Song at the SoCal Council of Korean Americans’ (CKA) happy hour gathering in Koreatown in LA. So thankful for their friendship and support.

Amazon Link for the Book: https://t.co/n74Eno2HNi

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Thanks so much to all of you who pre-ordered my book. My book Coming Alive on the Ride made the Amazon #1 Best Seller in Memoir>Emigrants & Immigrants and Travel>Solo Travel categories!!

This book is written for all those who want some inspiration to seek adventure in your life. I hope you will preorder your copy before its release in March 10, 2026! Thanks in advance for your support!

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

#NewProfilePic

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Today is a big day! My new book, Coming Alive on the Ride: A Memoir of Motorcycle Travel, Self-Discovery, and Korean Heritage, is now available.

It’s a book about my journey from Korea to Silicon Valley to the open roads of North America on my motorcycle. It is a perfect read for anyone interested in getting more out of life by embracing adventure.

I am working with my publisher to launch a major bestseller campaign on Amazon today, and I would love your help in spreading the word by sharing this post.

You can learn more about my book and get a copy here: https://t.co/9IVQmYu1PU

I hope you are as excited as I am. Thanks in advance for your support!

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

I will present my adventure motorcycle travels from LA to Alaska, Newfoundland, Canada, and Ushuaia, Argentina, over the last six years at the Adventurer's Club of Los Angeles on May 22nd. The talk is open to the public, so if you are interested, you are welcome to attend by reserving a seat on this website. The talk might be live-streamed on YouTube and available afterwards.
Adventurer's Club is a community of adventurers of all kinds who share the fun and excitement of discovery and adventure. It was founded by President Teddy Roosevelt and 34 members back in 1908 in New York. The LA club was founded in 1921.

https://t.co/HOnKM4LyAY

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

@Clifford98506 Thanks, Cliff! Let’s catch up soon.

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

I am excited to share that I finished the manuscript of my memoir with a working title “Seoulful Adventure” after writing it for nearly three years. It is a story of my life and adventure motorcycle travels, from Korea to America to the open road. The next step is to find a literary agent and publish the book. If you know any good literary agents or publishers, please let me know. I can’t wait til the book comes out soon.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

“The idea for this book came to me during the summer of 2022, while I was traveling on my motorcycle across the North American continent from Los Angeles to Newfoundland, Canada, and back. The trip took forty days, during which I covered 12,250 miles. I was 60 years old. It was the most challenging and exciting trip of my life to that point. And that’s saying a lot given my history.

One of the things about long motorcycle trips is that you have a lot of time to think. On the roads to and from Newfoundland, I often thought about growing up in Korea during the turbulent years after the Korean War, the unique challenges of moving to America as a 14-year-old, and the unexpected opportunities of settling in Silicon Valley as the technology revolution was taking off. I also thought about the challenge and blessing of scaling and selling a half-billion-dollar tech start-up, and the disappointment of going through a difficult divorce shortly afterward. And I reminisced about my family’s long heritage, starting my own family with my soulmate, and discovering my true identity.”

[Michael Yang @michaelmyang]

Excited to be going to Nvidia GTC 2025 in San Jose with my son David to catch the latest developments in AI.