Awe, Thanks guys. I am honored. I'll shave this bio to the bone so as to not bore y'all ...plus this Ride for Cambodia I'm currently on has got us running around pretty much.
I was born at an early age....hey, this is my 15 minutes, gotta milk it. One Christmas I got a tricycle... I remember always wondering just how far I could push my comfort zone. Two houses over? AROUND THE BLOCK?.... Fast Forward (FF) to FASCINATION with the two wheelers where I attempted to ride one without training wheels at about five years old.
STRUGGLING to get rolling without falling, My big brother, Frank, said let me help you. He pushed me down a hill really hard and fast. Not ready for that I immediately went into a "tank slapper".... that I recovered from and I been riding two wheels ever since. In my eighteenth year I was a bicycle messenger in Manhattan. DJ was my handle. I really enjoyed that job but could make more
money if I could do the airport runs with a motorcycle. Got a Honda SL 350 but never did an airport delivery cuz I got a real job instead. I was left with a pure love for the machines without having to do it for a living. For the few of you who are still reading, the best part is coming. But I understand if ya have ta go.
FF to 1990's I was experiencing a generalized lust for a really long ride, maybe Alaska, but I just never knuckled down to the planning stage One day in 1997 I was enjoying a little ride on my GPZ 550 and met a guy in a pizzeria who insisted on speaking to me about the bike. If appearances were an indication of character I was justified in my reluctance to engage at first. Turns out,
he had an amazing story not only of his life but of riding Harley's all over the country. He promised me I would "have so much fun" and that I gotta do the trip. That conversation was one of those pivotal junctions that people talk about all the time. I declared to myself that a giant ride would occur in one year or I'll die trying.
FF Dumont BMW dealership in NJ where I was sizing up bikes for the task. A "elderly" fellow, Leo came over to me while I was mounted on a GS 1100 and struck up a conversation about, guess what, motorcycles. This charming man has been riding since he was 16 and was 81 when I met him, still riding. When he learned my mission he said he has just the bike for the job and indicated toward a 96
ST1100 in a tight pack of other bikes. It didn't appear to match the image I had of a long distance machine but I decided to go to his house to take a look only because I wanted to hang around with this guy. He was so interesting with his many stories. He opened his shed doors to reveal two bikes, one a PC 800 and the other a mint condition 93 ST1100 with 13K miles. At this point I have to say
I again felt as if I had undergone another life changing experience. No exaggeration, I felt a charge of electricity go up my spine when I saw that bike. Might of had something to do with that color, but I was married to it at first sight. I had no choice but to own it, ride it, love her. Then Leo mentioned the great owners club which back in '97 was the ST-Riders Email list run by Don Feyma. I was all-in
with an STOC # 678, a great LD machine and a new friend in Leo, and what turned out to be a great group of riding buddies in ST-Riders "The List" and eventually ST-Owners. Since owning ST's I ran up about 240K miles on two of them and I could write for weeks on those trips. Leo is still riding at 96 years old and I annually accompany him to his award ceremony at Americade each June in the
Adirondacks. I always give him credit for bringing me to this great club and other groups of LD riders. But lets not forget the Harley guy at the pizzaria. ....and all here who give the ride a deeper meaning
with the irreplaceable friendships that seem to bloom without much effort.
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STOC # 5079
