GrayRider by rk custom

Question: I would think that everyone here would agree that you have a great sense of humor. Who do you attribute your wit with humor to?

Answer: Jonathan Winters and Allen Ludden. I come from a humorous family.

Question: If you had to have one hero, who would it be?

Answer: Jesus Christ.

Question: This is a personal question, so answer as much of it as you feel comfortable with. You are a family man there is no doubt about that. Tell us a little about your wife and kids.

Answer: I married my childhood sweetheart when we were 17. We have 3 children (Son Diesel and two daughters) and 10 grandchildren. My son, sons in law and daughter ride also.

Question: What career did you choose and for what reason?

Answer: I began life as a third generation pipefitter/welder/plumber, have had several businesses including; motorcycle shop, plumbing businesses, real estate rentals, equipment rentals, flea market, non-profit charitable gaming, administrative consulting and used car lot. I've been the principal of a church school a missionary and am currently the pastor of a church with a TV and radio ministry. I'm also a professional musician and published columnist.

Question: You have been riding for a long time. Could you give us a time line of your life on a motorcycle, what type of bikes you have owned and which was/is your favorite?

Answer: My mother took me for my first ride on the tank of my uncle's motorcycle when I was about 3 years old. Through childhood, I rode anything and everything anyone would let me. I hung around the older guys with motorcycles like Harleys, British bikes and Indians. My first bike was a new 1973 *****. I bought a new Sportster in 1974 and have probably owned about 15 motorcycles. Many briefly, when I owned and operated my shop in 1981. I didn't own one for a few years, but still rode friend's bikes.

Question: Who was the person or what thing most influenced you to start riding Harley-Davidson Motorcycles?

Answer: When I was a kid, we lived in a trailer park and a couple of older guys had Sportsters, which they raced. I hung around them a lot and went for rides whenever they'd take me. Being mechanically inclined, I've always considered the design of the Harley to be timeless. It's simplicity has kept it on the road for decades after foreign bikes have been retired to junk yards.


Question: There are many different reasons to rate a ride as the “best”. Tell us about your favorite bike trip and what makes it the “best”.

Answer: I've been on a lot of great trips throughout the years,..Recently, I really enjoyed the KC Doofapalooza last year, and the trip to Eureka Springs, AK with some guys from another board, and a trip to MS with the same guys the year before. Meeting people from these sites has been very rewarding and I've appreciated making real friends from cyber acquaintances. But probably the best one, was one with my son and OldMick a couple of years ago to the Dragon. We rode through the part of KY that I'm from and it was great to share a ride down home with him that I'd taken many times before by myself. I had ridden him down there on a '75 Electra Glide when he was about 10. Memory making event, I rode him there then rode with him there, when he was grown.

Question: Out in the real world, we hear it and deal with it but it seems to be more prevalent online. What are your thoughts on this whole bike, RUB and poser argument?

Answer: I try to avoid those conversations unless it presents an opportunity for humor. I know who and what I am, and feel no need to define or label myself for anyone. I can remember the days when riding a Harley caused one to be scorned by the general public and law enforcement, but with all the new riders today, it's become more acceptable. I try to take people as a whole without allowing any one trait to characterize them. We're all posers to one degree or another, whether we ride a motorcycle or not. We're all vain in some area.

I learned a long time ago, that there really is no “Brotherhood” of bikers. I believe in brotherhood, but just because someone rides a particular brand of motorcycle doesn’t necessarily make them my brother.
Over the years, I’ve ridden and hung out with a lot of bad and nasty characters. I’ve had more than one run-in with 1%er’s and have been approached to patch a time or two,..and I think most of these guys that try to define themselves as some imagined “biker,” wouldn’t know a biker if one of them crammed a greasy primary chain up their ass.

Question: I think we all know that you had a lot to do with concept of the Doof Clenas Motorcycle Collective. What thought process brought about the idea and did you think it would take off and be what it is today?

Answer: Mega was the first one to call Steve on the typo and wouldn't let it go. Some of the rest of us jumped in for the fun and the DCMC kind of took a preliminary form. After a few days, I suggested to Dave and Mike that the three of us play along for a week or so, then pull all the DC stuff out of our posts, avatars and sigs and then pretend to know nothing about it. Mike liked the idea but Dave said that we would deprive future generations of Doofiness if we didn't take it as far as we could, so I said, "Okey doke" and started the Roll Call thread. When some of the people on the board took exception to the Doofs, we began to see that we might have to have our own site, at some point. This board was sitting on standby and waiting for months before we ever launched it. Had the pressure not have reached a boiling point over there, we would never had started this site, even though we'd already set the works in motion. This board is literally, "Plan B." I have been amazed to see how far it's come.

Question: Lastly, where would you like to see this organization (I use that word loosely) in 5 years?

Answer: Well, we have certainly evolved into something real. And I think that if we maintain the attitude we've had all along, don't ever take ourselves too seriously, the DC could be a major motorcycle club in the nation. After all, there's a lot of Doofs out there.