RCMP Constable Mat Clarabut points to the pin affixed firmly to the front of his uniform vest.

On a dark blue background, two gold-coloured maple leaves stand out.

One is for himself and the other is for his father, marking two generations of RCMP officers from one family.

That鈥檚 fairly rare but rarer still is that both father and son have the same vocation within the RCMP.

鈥淢y dad was captain of the RCMP motorcycle team back in his day,鈥� Clarabut says of his father, Mike Clarabut, who retired with the rank of Staff Sergeant.

And now Clarabut is also a motorcycle officer, the first-ever posting of its kind with the RCMP鈥檚 highway patrol section based out of the Terrace detachment.

It鈥檚 a position that takes him from Haida Gwaii east to 亚洲天堂 Lake, south to Kitimat and north to Atlin.

鈥淭he first shift was July 8,鈥� said Clarabut of his first venture out with his Harley Davidson 2005 Road King that鈥檚 especially fitted out for police duties.

Although to new to his current role, Clarabut is not new to Terrace or the RCMP.

鈥淚 call Terrace my hometown. I鈥檝e been here since I was 14-15,鈥� said Clarabut with the exception of time away for various reasons. That included a three-year stint in Kitimat before transferring to Terrace eight years ago.

He鈥檚 always had an interest in motorcycles, so the prospect of being a second generation motorcycle officer in his family came naturally one morning when his work email lit up with news applications were being taken for the highway patrol in Terrace.

鈥淚鈥檝e been a motorcycle rider all my life 鈥� motorbikes, dirtbikes 鈥� that鈥檚 my passion and now there was a chance for that in the highway patrol, to follow in my dad鈥檚 footsteps,鈥� said Clarabut.

He applied, was accepted and then found himself at the start of a rigorous two-week training course being held in Kelowna the home base of the RCMP鈥檚 motorcycle training program in B.C.

鈥淚 can say it was one of the hardest things I have ever done 鈥� physically and mentally,鈥� said Clarabut.

鈥淚 thought I knew everything about motorcycles. I thought I was a competent rider. But after two days it was like, 鈥榊ou think you鈥檙e a competent rider?鈥欌��

It鈥檚 not just riding 鈥� a police motorcycle has emergency lights, electronics, radios and radar just as a police vehicle has.

鈥淭his was a completely different way of riding, a different perspective 鈥� and you have to multi-task, paying attention to safety, to others, stopping and pulling people over.鈥�

Training included learning how to weave around traffic cones at slower speeds, not the easiest manuever considering each motorcycle can weigh in the neighbourhood of 800 pounds.

To keep up the skill level and for any new developments, Clarabut will have to recertify every year.

With the training program completed in June and his first shift in early July, Clarabut has been making his presence known throughout the region. He鈥檚 already been in Prince Rupert and has done a tour of Haida Gwaii.

And because Clarabut is an experienced officer first in Kitimat and then in Terrace, he鈥檚 well aware of local driving conditions.

鈥淥h, yes. The Alcan 500, LNG Raceway,鈥� he responds when asked about the driving habits on Hwy37 South of Terrace-to-Kitimat commuters.

Motorcycles give RCMP officers an edge that a patrol vehicle cannot by being able to manuever quickly in tight situations and being able to get to locations that might be impassable to patrol vehicles.

As much as a vehicle for enforcement, police motorcycles fulfill a role in public education and being proactive instead of reactive as a visible presence on roads and highways, said Clarabut.

Still, not all drivers may get that message.

鈥淚 have drivers tell me, 鈥榳here did you come from? I never even saw you behind me鈥�,鈥� Clarabut notes.