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"I thought I had experience and knew how to ride," said Lamborn, who works at Colledge Tire & Auto in Kennett Square, PA. "Then I took a class and figured out I didn't really know how to ride all that well."
"When I rode prior to going through advanced training, I thought I knew how to ride," Linden, a Paramus police lieutenant, said separately. "What I found out was that I knew next to nothing."
Look at them now.
Linden and Lamborn took home first place in the partner ride at the Keystone State Motorcycle Skills competition, held earlier this month in Gettysburg — a video of which is going viral with more than 3.6M views on TikTok.
Going viral has been unexpected for Linden, who helms the Paramus Police Department's motorcycle unit and has won multiple awards from previous events held for riders nationwide.
"The people watching know how hard it is, I think they were waiting for someone to crash," Linden joked. "But it's exciting to have us go viral in a way that shows us in a positive light."
The annual event is for a good cause, too, raising money for families of officers killed in the line of duty. The event is several days long and is comprised of multiple competitions. It culminates with a ride through Gettysburg.
According to event organizers, this year's competition raised nearly $10,000.
Lamborn, an instructor at All Level Motorcycle Training in Holmdel Park, met Linden at a similar event four years ago. It was then he noticed that the two shared similar riding styles, and decided to partner up.
"He's an incredible rider," Lamborn said of the lieutenant. "We would practice together going through courses at an event whether it be training or competition. Our personalities matched up."
In this particular event, the degree of difficulty was off the charts, Lamborn said, noting the narrow lanes that left ample room for error. Not to mention, the bikes are 850 pounds, or more.
"It takes a lot of hours of training and practice to make it look easy," Lamborn said. "It only looks easy because there's a lot of time invested to make it look easy."
Linden said it was all about going back to basics and not trying to deviate from them. Linden uses his bike while on the job in Paramus, and said when responding to an emergency and having to ride at a fast pace, having the right skills is paramount.
Linden, who has been riding a motorcycle for 12 years, trained through the Maryland State Police, and has become an instructor in the course.
"You learn techniques that turn you into a good rider," Linden said. "It's very important to practice braking."
When responding to an emergency call, Linden said he has to balance the rush of adrenaline with the need to get to a scene safely.
"You need to get yourself back down from that adrenaline rush and remember to go back to those basics," Linden said. "Your head is on a swivel."
An even bigger thrill for Linden was getting to visit Gettysburg. He was even given the opportunity to ride his motorcycle through the historic battlefields:
"It makes you remember the sacrifices all these people made for us," Linden said.
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