Alter Egos

Harley Riding Lawyer

By Beth Nervig

Even in this new era of motorcycling-gone-mainstream, most people who meet the business-suited Craig Wendland—a guy we’ve heard described as “the nicest lawyer you’ll ever meet, and you could even replace the word ‘lawyer’ with ‘person’”—might be surprised to learn he’s a hard-core Harley (and Honda Gold Wing) rider who has biked through more than a dozen different countries.

Wendland, who can regularly be seen wearing chaps and a leather vest while cruising through town, is no Dream Rider or Rolex Ranger—those derogatory terms used to describe the new generation of wealthy riders whose Harleys are more status symbols than street machines. “I’m not one of them,” Wendland says. “Every opportunity I get, I’ll ride.”

Wendland has been hooked since riding his first motorcycle at age 12. “I just remember the wind in my face and through my hair,” he says. “It’s a wonderful feeling of freedom and independence.”

Craig admits he has an alter ego, but he’s adamant that the bad boy stereotype of old-school riders couldn’t be further from the truth. Even at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (an event Wendland has attended five times), where one might envision unruly gangs of bikers exchanging expletives, he has nothing but rave reviews. “You get 300, 400, even 500,000 people in the course of a week at these rallies. I have never heard an angry word from one party to another. I’ve never seen a fight or any trouble.”

Day Job: Business-suited attorney at Wendland, Utz, Stahl, and Mintz.

Alter Ego: Leather-vested motorcycle rider.

Family: Wendland was born and raised in Rochester. After attending law school at UCLA, he and his wife Judy moved back to the city in 1979. They have two grown children—Christopher, who graduated from William Mitchell School of Law and started work at the firm this fall, and Allyson, who gave the couple their first grandchild last year. 

Occupation: For the past 28 years, Craig has been an attorney at the firm that is now Wendland, Utz, Stahl, and Mintz, which has a strong business law emphasis in addition to estate planning, real estate, and litigation.

Seeing The World From The Back Of A Motorcycle: Wendland has motorcycled in 15 countries including Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand, Hungary, Argentina, Mexico, and Australia. “On a bike, every day is a new adventure because you’re going to visit some places you never have, and you’re going to see some unbelievable scenery,” he says. “The joy is in getting there ... all day long I’m doing just what I want to do.”

Kindness Of Strangers: For every place he’s visited, it seems, Wendland has a story of strangers-turned-friends. He was invited to stay at a man’s sheep ranch in Patagonia. In Austria, a group of new acquaintances chatted late into the night like old friends. Some newfound Australian friends gave his group a private motorcycle tour of the best roads in the region. A restaurant owner in New Zealand let Wendland and a pal store their motorcycles inside the establishment. And the list goes on.

Biker Bond: He believes the generosity he’s encountered is a result of the camaraderie that exists between motorcycling enthusiasts across the globe. When he’s not meeting new bikers at events, he says it’s common to come across friendly biker conversation at every pit stop along the way because “there’s a real bond with bikers. It’s not really formal or stated. It’s understood.”