Rampart Rider is a blog presented by a group of off road, on road and dual sport riders. We are based in the nirvana of US motorcycling .... Colorado. We hope you enjoy, comment upon and pass on our information. Motorcycling is our interest, our avocation and our passion. Be sure to click on "Older Posts" to access additional content. Watch this site for dual sport events, new products and reviews... and keep in touch...

About Dan


About Me:

I purchased my first motorcycle in the late 1960s…a small used Honda of some kind.  I got out of motorcycling for a while in the late 1970s while in college and during my early work career and marriage and kids.  I slid in and out of motorcycle possession for several years – Hondas, Harleys, Kawasakis.   At the time I was a law enforcement officer in Larimer County Colorado and took an offer to move to a law enforcement position in the Denver metro area.
In concert with the new job we moved to the mountains southwest of Denver.  In 1985 I left full time law enforcement to start my CPA practice.
 
Eventually I scraped up enough money to purchase a Harley-Davidson Springer.  I traded for an SVO Road King, then moved up to a 2005 H-D SVO black and purple Ultra Classic that I still own.  During this Harley Davidson love fest, I spent two years at 14 + track days with Mike Pettiford of Go-4-It  Racing Schools (www.go4itservices.com/) in Denver on my Ducati 999.  Later, in a different venue, I attended training with a friend, Jack Arnold, a police motorcycle instructor.  I had joined the Blue Knights Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club where I had met Jack.  He had recently retired from the Littleton Police Department in Littleton CO.  I worked with him one summer on my Harley skills. 

I seriously got back into the game in the 1990s.  I rode the 999 and my Ducati ST4S for a few years until I acquired an interest in dual sport riding.  I sold the ST4S and purchased a BMW 1150 GS.  I met Dr. Greg Frazier, the noted author (search for him on Amazon.com) and world motorcycle traveler while riding my GS in Copper Mountain, CO.  Greg and I became friends.  I joined his Big Dog Motorcycle Adventure group for the annual Big Dog Ride in early August of each year on my 1150 GS and later on the 1200 model.  (Go to www.horizonsunlimited.com/bigdog/ for information.)  My most recent Big Dog Ride was on the then new BMW X-Country.

I sold the 1150 GS and upgraded to the new 1200 GS for my later off-road travels.  At the same time I acquired a few Honda dirt bikes to ride on our ranch trails.
I went through a litany of purchases and trades.  My evening rides after work up the canyon west of our home are usually on my Ducati Hypermotard S or a performance chipped and custom painted Kawasaki ZX14… or my wife, Mary, and I will ride dirt bikes on our ranch. 

My most recent acquisitions are a BMW RT Authority model to replace my old RT and a 2012 KTM Adventure 990 to replace the 1200 GS.  I do miss the GS and may purchase the latest iteration….not that I will sell the great KTM!

I am a member of the Blue Knights Motorcycle Club, the Big Dog Adventure Riders, the Castle Pines Motorcycle Club ( http://castlepinesmc.com ) and now a loosely knit group of dual sport riders associated with the RawHyde Adventure Motorcycling (http://www.rawhyde-offroad.com ).

I have learned much from every one of the above-mentioned motorcycles, groups and riders.  I hope to learn much more from future rides.

Go to www.RampartTraining.com for more on my biography.

No comments:

Post a Comment