I grew up hearing tales from my stepfather of his youth and the Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle he once owned, and of his cousin "Dave Matson" who raced at Bonneville each year. (note: In 1988 Dave drove his 1698 cc, 1954/'55 twin engine Vincent to a record speed of 225.643 mph, and then took the fairing off and set another record on his naked bike at 210.357mph !!!)

In 1980, when I was still 17 years old and we were living in Brussels, Belgium, my stepfather gave me a small used Suzuki Trail Bike to get around. ... 27 years, two Suzuki Trail Bikes and two Kawasaki Dual-Sports later, I was tired of disposable Japanese bikes and invested in an almost new 2003 BMW R1150GS Adventure.

I served in the US Army from 1985-2009, and as a Soldier I took both the Army Motorcycle Operators Course and the MSF Motorcycle Safety Course in 1987. Military requirements for riding a motorcycle on Post instilled a life long habit of rider safety. Upon my retirement, I became a member of the AMA, the BMWMOA and the BMWRA, and I became very actively involved with the BMWMOAL. Now in my 31st year as a motorcyclist, I am running an average of 15,000 miles a year on my bike, and I am thoroughly enjoying every single one of them!