I had been talking to Keith Mashburn about the possibility of doing some presentations at their annual event but got voted down.  I understand about keeping it a trailblazer only event although I was still disappointed.   I had related to him about meeting Dan Gurney at the Catalina Grand Prix and that he was on my list but I missed him at his office a while back, when he told me that Mr. Gurney would be at the event.  I asked if he saw any problem with me getting his recognition to him at the bike show outside of the meeting to which he said no it would be OK.  Coool.

  I knew several of my recipients would be there one of which, John R, was getting inducted into their Hall of Fame.  It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.  I had been in touch with Chuck Daly and Preston Petty to get time of arrival coordinated.  I loaded up my DKW and off to the event.  I arrived early to get my bike into the show.  Some of the bikes were in amazing condition.  There were all of the legendary bikes as well as several I had never heard of.  Chuck caught up with me first and we checked out all of the bikes several times.  He knew the owner of a 4 square Ariel that fired right up sounding way cool!!!

  I asked Keith if Mr. Gurney had arrived but not yet.  An odd looking motorcycle rolled by and when we went to check it out it turned out to be a design prototype by Dan Gurney called the Alligator.  I knew he would not be far behind so I went and got his plaque.  When he arrived he was swarmed by the masses so I waited patiently for a lull.  I introduced myself and explained about meeting him at Catalina and the award.  He remembered me and I presented his recognition standing behind his motorcycle.  Chuck took the picture with his cell phone to document the occasion.  We then found Preston and talked for a while.  His dry sense of humor and his wit insure laughter every time.  He got into a conversation with another computer head and they were comparing notes on how much they made per minute at the dawn of 3 D computer modeling.  It was a staggering number.  Later he told me that someone was producing his fenders again and they should be available soon!

  The Trailblazers put on quite an event banquet.  I was blown away by the number of people involved and their commitment to the motorcycle industry.  Everyone at the event ate and breathed motorcycles.  The stories about the bikes in the show and the racing over the years were endless.  It was all very captivating.  Chuck and I sat at Ted Lapadakis’ table where we talked DKW’s and old events racing.

After a great meal and the awards I loaded up my Deek and headed for home with a great sense of accomplishment thinking I will be back next year for this amazing event!!