So, who are these Canyon Chasers anyway?

The whole CanyonChasers thing started out humbly enough as a group of friends who enjoyed riding more than attending expensive college courses, particularly on warm spring days. In the early days of 1994 Dave (which is me) and Danny started out as the original two. Soon Kris joined the ranks, followed closely by Loretta and the CanyonChasers concept was born. As a team we worked out so well together that I married Kris and Danny eventually married Loretta. A few years later, the group grew again when Eric and Dawn joined the corps and the six of us have been around the longest. In 2003 we picked up our most recent core member, Mike, who brought a MacGyver like approach to fixing and "improving" everything in his reach. Of course, there is no way we could mention every one who rides with us from time to time, but below is the list of the core members - those who've been around the longest.

The website was my idea and thus, my responsibility. I manage the photos, come up with the story ideas and write almost all of them, design the t-shirts, do the product reviews and all that other jazz. So if you ask a question or have a comment about the site, its most likely going to come by me. I started riding when I was a wee lad, sitting on the gas tank of my dads XT360 Enduro and eventually sneaking off on it when he was away at work. I got my first street motorcycle at the age of 18 and haven't stopped riding since. Kris and I became MSF instructors in 2000 and I went on to help teach the Freddy Spencer approved, Advanced Rider Training Courses at Miller Motorsports Park. I also helped develop and teach the Sport-Touring Advanced Rider Training (ST-ART) courses, also at Miller Motorsports Park. My list of bikes include a 1983 Yamaha XZ550 Vision, a 1971 Triumphy Bonneville, a 1991 Yamaha FZR600, 1987 Suzuki Intruder 1400, 1989 Honda CB-1 400F, 2000 Suzuki TL1000S, 1991 Honda ST1100, 1988 Honda Hawk GT, 2001 Trimph 955i Speed Triple, a 2001 SV650S Track Bike and a 2006 Ducati 1000DS Multistrada. Email Dave

What can I say about Kris that hasn't already been said, over and over again throughout this site. Kris, was the third to join the group and one of the finest riders I've ever had the pleasure to ride with. Mostly because she rides so smoothly and efficiently in a way that most people never learn. Because of her background in Technical Instruction I have also learned a lot from her on how to teach an motorcycle riding courses and many of the technical explanations on this site. One of my favorite things about Kris, besides not only is she a looker, is that there is no greater feeling than enjoying a thrilling series of great corners at a great pace, looking into my mirror and seeing her right behind, enjoying the exact same thing as I am at the same level of proficiency. In short, I love my wife dearly and am proud and thrilled that we share something as fun and exciting as motorcycles. Her list of bikes include a 1993 GS500E, a Suzuki Intruder 800, Honda VTR1000 Superhawk, Ducati M900 Monster, Kawasaki Z1000 and a Zuma 50cc scooter.

Sometimes referred to on this site as Mikey; Mike is actually the newest of the Canyon Chasers, and he has proven himself worthy not only by attitude, but by actions. For one, he is responsible for the web site functionality, and he tackled and adjusted the valves on his t595 Daytona in a dark storage closet (I don't know how he got the bike in that closet) with four sockets, six allen wrenches and a hammer. Definitely impressive! He also flaunts his youthfulness by constantly reminding us that he can eat anything he wants, stay up late, drink too much and still have more energy than the rest of us. But just you wait Mike, in five or six years, you'll be over 30 too! His list of bikes include a 1998 Triumph Daytona/Frankentriple, a 2001 Bandit 600, an SV650 Track Bike and a 2006 Triumph 1050 Speed Triple. Email Mike

Easily the most mechanical of the group, Eric's love of restoring old Honda CB's is shadowed only by his love of mocha latte's. He is not only responsible for resurrecting a CB360 and a stunning CB550k, but his current projects include a complete restoration of a fantastic 1971 Moto-Guzzi Ambassador and a CB450, soon to be transformed from a tame UJM (universal japanese motorcycle) into a vintage cafe-racer/track bike. His Honda 919 is his daily-rider allowing the other bikes in his stable to only be brought out on special occasions, which we all think is great, because any time he's riding one of his restoration projects we all get ignored by the flocks of people who surround him. Eric is also no longer allowed to ride his vintage bikes with us because its just plain embarrassing to have a 25-year old, 35-horsepower motorcycle, doggedly on the heels of our 100+ horsepower modern motorcycles everywhere we go. His list of bikes owned include a CB360, a CB550K, A CB450, A 1971 Moto-Guzzi Ambassador and his Honda 919. Email Eric

The Librarian! She actually has her masters degree in Librarianism (or something like that). Before Dawn, I didn't even know librarians went to special schools, which, if you ask Dawn, is a major problem with the modern librarian system. Another thing that I didn't know about librarians is that many of them are notoriously wild and there are many personal librarian homepages dedicated to prove this, which really helps to explain Dawn and her draw to motorcycles. Incidentally, her CanyonChasers nickname is "Batgirl" because Batgirl not only rode a purple motorcycle during her crime fighting escapades (we suspect that Dawn is expecting Eric to paint the Guzzi Batgirl purple for her), but during the day, Batgirl posed as a mild mannered librarian! Dawn spends her pillion miles reading the bible (no kidding) or photographing the experience. A good majority of the travel photo's on this site come from her cameras. Her list of bikes includes a 1990 Hawk GT and she officially owns the Moto-Guzzi Ambassader. Email Dawn

Danny and I met when he purchased a Yamaha Seca II within a few weeks of me purchasing a 1991 FZR600. Excited about our new toys we began riding all over hell's half acre. He eventually switched to riding a unique and eccentric Yamaha TDM 850, and eventually earned the nickname "Chewy". Mostly because the condition of his TDM closely resembled the Millennium Falcon; in regards to running condition and by being very well used, featuring more scuffs, scratches and stories of adventure than 90% of all Adventure Tourers on the road today (just ask him how many miles duct tape lasts when patching a thread-bare rear motorcycle tire for a good example of this). Danny is, also, so hungry for adventure that it is not uncommon to not hear from him in months, then suddenly learn that he is on the other side of the country, or the other side of the world. I also think that it is safe to say that given the opportunity Danny would happily drop everything at a moments notice with no planning whatsoever to circumnavigate the globe with his lovely wife and children in tow. Danny and his lovely bride Loretta haven't ridden with us much since Danny took a job in New Zealand. His list of bikes owned include a Yamaha Seca II, A TDM850 and a V-Strom 1000. Email Danny

Being the better half of Danny is no short order for anybody, let alone the 5'1" Loretta. And although she does not ride her own bike (it's hard to find a bike to fit when you are so short that you have to reach up to tie your own shoes) she has, nevertheless, logged more miles as pillion on the back of Danny's Seca II and TDM that she has clearly earned the moniker of co-rider. Partnering with someone as spontaneous as Danny requires some special skills, to which we will all greatly commend Loretta, otherwise Danny would probably never settle down.

Dale came around sometime in 2000 and started riding with us in 2001 when he quite literally found us worthy. Dale manages Utah's rider education programs (Utah Rider Ed) and has made it one of the most succesful rider education programs in the nation. He knows more about rider education than most and it's reflected in his top-notch riding ability during sport touring activites and track activities. He got bit by the moto bug at a young age but it wasn't until a tour of duty in England got him riding an old Kawasaki LTD. Since then he's managed to organize quite the collection of rare and special motorcycles, a list too long to put on here.

How confusing to have two Mikes on one site. We actually met Mike when he happened to take an Experienced Rider Course that I was teaching. At first he scared the daylights out of me, because he knew who I was and all about the bike I was riding. Then, during class, he would tell all of my riding stories for me. Turns out he was a huge fan of the site, he also turned out to be one fine rider. As he started riding with us we learned more and more about Mike - such as his grasp of American Foreign Policy, his knowlege of how to kill a man using only his pinky finger and a stick of gum, his strange dissaperances for months at a time and a career so boring nobody would ask any further questions making for a perfect cover story. We suspect he is a black-ops, covert operator, and as such we cannot show you his actual photograph. Mike has never confirmed nor denied any of our acusations. His list of bikes include a Honda CB-1 400F, a Bandit 600, Honda VFR800, Kawasaki Z1000, V-Strom 1000 and Triumph Tiger 1050.

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