by Craig O. Olsen
Originally Published in the IAMC Newsletter, May 2015
As an adventure motorcycle club, we are IAMC indebted to Ed Hiatt for founding IAMC and serving as its president from 2009 to January 2014, and to Ed’s family (Terry, Heath and Heather) for their significant contributions and support since its inception in 2009. At our annual IAMC meeting held on January 31 of this year, we elected new club officers. This article will provide an opportunity for you to learn a little more about the officers of our club.
Dan Driscoll is currently serving as president of our club. Originally from Idaho, Dan grew up in Caldwell and has lived in the Treasure Valley his entire life. Dan looks forward to all dual sport rides and can say that he has never had a bad one. He a?ended College of Idaho and Boise State University. For the past thirty years he has worked with the Xerox CorporaVon, the first twelve years as a repair technician and the rest as a printing systems analyst.
Dan married his high school sweetheart, Suzette, 31 years ago this summer. They have been blessed with two beautiful daughters. Dan began riding motorcycles late in 2007 when he purchased a 1993 KLR. As he tells the story, he told Suzette that if she brought home another dog, then was going to buy an airplane! Well, when she did just that, he was not ready to buy an airplane, but was not going to let an opportunity like that get away, so he bought his first motorcycle. Always wanting to ride in the dirt, but not much for the thought of loading a bike onto a trailer and then driving to the
hills, he decided to by either a KLR or DR on the recommendation of others. He found the KLR to be an awesome fit, and he has never looked back
Currently, Dan owns a 2010 KTM 690, which is about 100 pounds lighter and puts out 30 more horsepower than the KLR. The KTM suspension is amazing as well. It puts a real grin on your face.
Dan’s favorite ride so far was last year with Ron Schinnerer – six days and 1,300 miles that included two epic trails, the Magruder Corridor and the Lolo Motorway, all in the same trip. Dan looks forward to all dual sport rides and can say that he has never had a bad one.
As president of our club, Dan would love to have our club be recognized as the premier dual sport club in the premier dual sporing state of Idaho. Dan feels that we are all indebted to Ed Hiatt and his family for the great work they have done getting our club organized and to where it is today. In Dan’s words: “We have a great foundation to build upon, and we all have helped to get it to where it is. The success of this club hinges on all of us. The more we put into it, the more we will get out of it. We are all about getting to know each other and sharing our love of being on 2 wheels and enjoying the land that was created for us. Let’s ride!”
Craig Olsen has served as vice president of IAMC since 2009 and newsletter editor since 2010. Born and raised in southeastern Idaho, I returned to Idaho in 1988 after stents at Brigham Young University, University of Utah, Duke, and Harvard. Lenna (my wife) also grew up in southeastern Idaho. We have been married 42 years and raised four children, two boys and two girls, three of whom live in Boise. We now have five grandchildren that are most enjoyable.
I first rode motorcycles in high school when I “borrowed” a 1965 Honda CB450 from my employer on a few occasions. Though I took a long hiatus from riding, I have always enjoyed motorcycles. I purchased my first one, a 1993 Harley Davidson Electra Glide in 1997. I love riding it in the twisty mountain roads, but I found myself frequently slowing down whenever I passed a Forest Service road. I would look at it longingly, wondering where it went. In 2007 I purchased my first dual sport bike that would allow me to answer that question – a KTM 990. I have put 58,000 miles on it in seven years. In 2009 I acquired a 2003 Suzuki DRZ400E to ride the more technical off road stuff. Most recently, I traded the KTM in for a 2015 Triumph Tiger 800 XCx. It is so much smoother and quieter than the KTM. So far I am enjoying it very much. As a reVred thoracic surgeon, I now have more Time to devote to my favorite avocation of riding.
I have a hard Time selecting a favorite dual sport ride, but there are a few that do stand out: Idaho Centennial Trail (south to north) in 2009, Inuvic trip in the Northwest Territories of Canada in 2010, Continental Divide Trail in 2011, and the Nevada Pony Express Trail in 2013. I look forward to completing the Utah and Wyoming portions of the Pony Express Trail this year in addition to the many fun Challenge site rides coming up this year.
In addition to supporting the past and current IAMC president, as vice president I have been and continue to be primarily responsible for our club newsletter. Writing and editing the newsletter articles is enjoyable, but most of all the accompanying research is very educational and interesting, and has helped me learn a lot about motorcycles and dual sport riding that I would otherwise not know. I am most appreciative to our club members who respond to invitations to write an article for the newsletter. My intention is for the newsletters to become a repository of useful information for club members on a variety of topics relating to dual sport riding.
Publishing the newsletter every other month was very Time consuming and became quite onerous when I could not find club members willing to write an article. Now that it is only published three Times yearly (every four months), it is much more manageable. I sVll encourage club members to write articles for the newsletter. It is just as important for us to hear from new members with little riding experience as it is for us to hear from seasoned veterans. If you feel too inexperienced in writing, please do not hesitate. I will edit the article (as needed) and help you turn it into a polished piece.
I encourage all club members to participate more – sign up for and post your own rides on the events calendar, publish your ride reports (whether it is your ride or someone else’s ride in which you participate), upload your photos to the image gallery and tracks of your favorite rides to the route library, all on our club website. Of course, do not hesitate to submit an article for publication in our newsletter – you don’t have to wait to be asked.
Doug Patchin serves as the secretary/treasurer for our club. Born in Hemet, California, Doug has lived in Quincy, Pasadena, Sonora, and San Francisco, California. After graduating from the University of Washington with a BS in environmental health (public health), Doug and his wife, Pamela, moved to Idaho in 1978. In 1980 they moved to Salt Lake City and then to San Francisco in 1982 before moving back to Idaho in 1989. Doug owns two businesses and has been self employed since 1990. He and Pamela have been married for forty years and have three children, two sons and a daughter.
Doug first started riding motorcycles in high school, but quit when he went to college. He started riding again in 1980 when he and his
father took annual road trips unVl 1989 when Doug moved to Boise. At that Time, Doug sold his motorcycle and did not start riding again unVl 2003 when his daughter wanted to start riding motocross. Doug road dirt bikes with her, and then got a road bike again in 2005. By 2008 he decided that dual sport riding would be the best of both worlds for him.
Currently, Doug owns a 2006 Suzuki DRZ400E, a 2001 BMW 1150GS, and a 2013 Triumph Tiger 800XC. The BMW is in the process of being sold.
A very memorable ride for Doug was his four week ride to Canada and Alaska in 2013. The scenery, and distance from home, and the remoteness of the Yukon and Alaska stands out in his memory. Doug enjoys any and all dual sport rides, and he looks forward to the continuation of the Pony Express ride in Utah and Wyoming, having completed the Nevada portion of it a few years ago.
Doug’s vision for IAMC is that it will become the “go to” club in Idaho for dual sport riding information and knowledge. To members of the club Doug invites all to get involved as much as possible in club events and rides. Post your rides to meet new members. Doug joined IAMC four years ago to meet like-minded riders, and he has met some great people in our club.
Dax Mickleson is IAMC’s “I.T.” officer, managing the technical aspects of our website, motoidaho.org. Dax grew up in southern Idaho and northern Utah, but has spent most of his Time in Boise. In Idaho he has lived in Grace, Twin Falls, Boise, Kimberly, and Jerome; and in Utah he has lived in Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden.
Dax works for Cisco Systems as a New Product IntroducVon demo creator. In his words, “Basically, I play in a computer lab all day long.” With a high school education Dax has obtained several industry certificatons throughout his career. Dax is married and has three children
Just after graduating from high school, Dax rode a dirt bike while working a summer job. It was several years later before he got on a motorcycle again, and he has owned and ridden one for the last 17 years. Dax has always considered himself an “adventure rider.” Even his first bike, a 1976 BMW R100T, he treated like it was a GS. Currently, Dax rides a 2014 BMW R1200 GSA that he loves. Again in his words, “The shaft drive applies torque fully and instantaneously. The balance and stability makes even an amateur like me look like I know what I’m doing. Besides, I like my techie gadgets – cruise control, ABS, heated grips, electronic suspension adjustment…”
Dax does not have a specific favorite dual sport ride that he has done. He has been on a lot of great solo rides and some awesome group rides. Any ride in which he does not wreck (and even then some of those rides are sVll great) is his favorite ride. He is happy to be out on the road with the wind in his hair.
Dax’s job as our club website administrator is not an easy one. In his words, “I try to muddle my way through the issues that are present regarding the website. I’m by no means a professional web administrator, but I’ve been able to whitile through the issues presented to me so far.” When asked what he wanted to accomplish as our website administrator, he replied, “I’d like to get a full backup of the
website and update the plug-ins and code to a more modern version of software. To make administration of memberships and dues, I’d like to automate some processes that are currently quite tedious.”
Dax would like to see our club become more member-driven. By that he means that more members actively participate in setting up rides and help find our next year’s Challenge sites. Dax feels this club will only succeed if its members take ownership and build it to make it what they want it to be. Even members who are novice riders (of which he considers himself to be one) or new to Idaho can contribute greatly. “When was the last Time you posted a ride on the site?” is the question Dax poses to club members.
Sam Stone serves as our “ride” officer, a somewhat ambiguous title for facilitating and promoting rides. Sam was born in Great Falls, Montana. Sam’s father was in the military and served in the Korean Conflict, so most of his memories are of military bases from Germany to Texas, Louisiana, Georgia – never living in one place for more than three years. Sam continued the vagabond life style when he went into the military, and served in Asia as well. Sam’s military career brought him through Idaho in 1984 in which he fell in love with the state and vowed to stay. He did leave a few Times only to return and eventually retire from the service to raise his daughter, along with the help of Min, his wife of 34 years, in a solid family environment. Sam’s daughter is currently in her third year of dental school at UCLA.
Aside from numerous military professional schools and certifications, which had little application for him in the civilian world, Sam reinvented himself by receiving an undergraduate degree in marketing management from BSU, and spent 15 years in operaVons, logistics and creating training curriculum as a defense contractor manager for the military. Now retired, Sam has traveled almost 100,000 miles so far via two wheels.
Sam’s first experimentation on two wheels was in 1965 when he cut grass all summer to purchase a Metropolitan 125cc (looks like a Vespa) for $50. His real interest in motorcycles was sparked in 1973 in real earnest in 1973 while in Germany in the military. As told in his words: “A guy in my company rolled up one day with a brand new BMW 75/5 he rode all over Europe. I had a German friend who would loan me a 1950’s single cylinder BMW; I don’t really remember much except I was hooked. Returning to the States, I bought a 1975 Harley Sportster off the show room floor and rode it 2,000 miles to my new duty assignment. I have been riding something ever since.”
When it comes to dual sport, Sam says that he rode his Sporster down dirt roads to see what was there, having to pick the bike up many Times. He eventually sold the Sporster and bought something more dirt manageable, and then got hooked on Hare hound and Enduro’s in the late 70s.
Sam’s current rides include a 2007 KTM 990, a 2006 Triumph Tiger, and a 2004 Suzuki DRZ400. Each is unique with its own personality, and to pick a favorite is like asking someone which is their favorite child. That said someTimes, as with your kids, you think, “Can I just start over?”
While all his rides, at the Time of their execution, are his “favorite,” his most epic was Mexico. Sam did a masterful three part write-up of this ride for the IAMC Newsletter beginning with the April 2012, Issue 2. Two rides that Sam looks forward to are a continuation of the Pony Express/Oregon Trail ride and the Montana ghost towns ride.
Sam is an excellent ambassador for dual sport riding and a ride sponsor and promoter for our club as everyone who has been on one of his rides well knows. As Sam says, “We live in a wonderful part of America, wrought with the history of deeds good and bad. Dual sporting fills a void between the ATV clubs and trail riders; they trailer to and from and we ride there and back. I would like to see a return to active partisanship involvement. Perhaps some project or cause we all can join forces on sharing between the club’s information, history, and back country secrets. Honestly, I have tried to walk away from the club several Times, but I continually keep being drawn back. I can’t put a finger on any single reason, but I know it is a great concept that will not let go. The organization has brought so many like-minded folks to the preverbal table. I have seen strong friendships develop, probably for life. I have seen and heard so many folks who have lived here for an extended Time or been born here who have exclaimed after a certain club event: ‘I didn’t know that was here’ or ‘Oh, how wonderful, etc.’ We are a loose confederation held together by this common love of the Northwest, two wheels, travel, and camaraderie. IAMC is our catalyst. We are each a cog, and it takes many cogs to make the machine funcVon. Please participate, create, and share.”
Ken Hunter is currently our club liaison with our sponsors and club public relations person. Ken grew up in Cicero, New York, a small town near Syracuse. In 1972 he and CJ, his wife, were driving through Idaho headed to the Oregon coast. They never made it to Oregon! Ken and CJ raised three children who are all married and living in Idaho.
Ken graduated from Syracuse University Business School and spent most of his working life in small business, mainly in the potato industry. His best job was the three years he spent the administrator of a ChrisVan school.
For a brief Time in 1971 Ken had a Honda 100, his first motorcycle. Ken blames Tim Bernard for getting him into dual sport riding about eleven years ago. Ken borrowed a bike for that ride, and the day after he got back from the ride, he bought his own bike. Currently, Ken rides three bikes: A VStrom 650 (In his words, “a poor man’s BMW that is good on the highway as well as on dirt roads.”), a DRZ400 for more technical dual sport riding, and a WR250R for fun.
The favorite dual sport ride for Ken was the TAT that included great vistas, great riding, and great people that he met along the way. Ken looks forward to this year to a lot of days riding where he can enjoy the fellowship of the riders with whom he rides.
Ken’s vision for IAMC is the same as Ed Hiatt’s, our club founder who started IAMC – a place where like-minded riders can come together and enjoy the fellowship of each other while riding some of the best country in the world. To the members of IAMC Ken says, “Let’s Ride!”
Michael Hardy is responsible for promoting this year’s Challenge and coordinating creaVtion of challenge sites for future years. Born in Jerome, Idaho, Mike moved with his family to Missouri for a couple of years, then to Nyssa when he was three years old. Soon thereafter his mother married his step-father, and they moved to Parma, Idaho. He grew up in Parma, and graduated from Parma High School (Go Panthers!). Following graduation from high school, he lived in Caldwell for a couple years, then Clarkfork, Idaho, then off to the Sea?le area for a couple of years, and finally back to Canyon County in 1996.
After graduation from high school, he met his ex-wife and started a family, and never went to college. He worked as a Sawyer, furniture builder, roofer, cheesemaker, and as best os remover. He picked up a part Time job at the Idaho Press Tribune in 1999 and there learned how to operate a printing press. He is now the lead press operator on the day shift.
Mike comes from a big family with six siblings and many nieces and nephews strewn all over the USA. He and Stacy, his current wife, have four children, ages 10, 12, 17, and 25, with in his words, “one cute little monkey who is almost old enough to start calling me grandpa!”
While growing up, one of Mike’s childhood friends was from a farming family that had several dirt bikes for their children to ride from field to field. Mike would spend the night in order to get up early to change hand irrigation lines so that they could spend the hot afternoons riding, exploring, and goofing off. When Mike was thirteen, a neighbor had a 1967 Honda Trail 90 that he had put together from the parts of several bikes and was selling for $100. Mike’s step-father couldn’t refuse, and it became Mike’s first motorcycle.
As a youngster, Mike rode dirt bikes all over the roads, ditch banks, and fields with absolutely no gear, and he never went trail riding. It wasn’t unVl 2007 that Mike discovered true dual sport riding when he bought his KLR. He had not been on a motorcycle in fifteen years and had missed it. The KLR fits the bill for his commute to Boise and got good gas mileage. Mike loves his KLR, finds it to be as reliable as a motorcycle can be, and knows it’s weakness, strengths, and idiosyncrasies, having taken almost every nut and bolt on it apart. Mike says,“After having put 60,000 miles on it, I have found it is always willing to go wherever I am willing to take it. I do occasionally swing a leg over my wife’s TW200. It’s great in the sand and easy to pick up.”
Mike has had so many good dual sport rides, it is hard to pick a favorite, but riding to the Steens and the Alford dry lake bed with Ed Torrey and Ron Schinnerer sticks out in his mind along with the Wallowa Adventure Jamboree with Sam Stone and several of the Boise crew, despite getting completely soaked on both of these rides. In Mike’s words: “Spectacular scenery, good company, and just being out there far away from home all played a part, but perhaps it was the overcoming of adversity and the elements that made them so satisfying.”
With responsibility for promoting the IAMC Challenge, Mike is working to get the Challenge bandanas delivered on Time and to find some excellent Challenge sites for the future. Mike would like to see the club grow to match our growing population. He sees local riders all the Time and has no idea who they are. When he talks with many of them, he learns that they have never heard of IAMC. According to Mike, “We should be the go to guys, the guys who know where to do and how to get there. We need to be more visible in the riding community and to be seen as a valuable resource for anyone who wants to ride a dual sport.”
“The club is a member driven entity and needs member participation to survive! We are all here for each other, so don’t be shy to join in or post up a ride. We have riders of every experience level and type of bike. The only way to find like-minded individuals is to join in. Just make sure that when you join a ride or post up an invitation, that everyone is aware of the difficulty level and knows what to expect. Stay safe and have fun!”