2017 02 v18 n10 the riders mag for web

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est Government pension and use a mobility scooter for transportation. I met him a few years before I took over The Mag and he helped me out with computer issues, sound equipment problems for the show and shines that I was running as Critter Country back then. When this whole Magazine Publishing thing reared its head I said I needed help if I was going to be able to pull it off as I knew a little about the programs needed to properly produce The Mag. The little I knew about the programs was what the programs were called and that I didn’t possess the knowledge to run them or the inclination to be locked away in an office working on them all the time! This was however right up his alley and the good part is when I told him that I couldn’t pay much, he said that’s OK I don’t need to be paid! Unbeknownst to me, he had promised Godzilla that he would help and try to prevent me from having another stroke as she didn’t want me to take over the Damned Magazine in the first place and has never forgiven JR for dumping it on me! Al came on board and found a real sense of purpose again and threw himself into it to the point where it was almost an obsession. He lets me do what I do for the Mag and it seems to be working! About four or five years ago I was delivering Mags and visiting with another very good friend of mine from Beaverton, Gerry Hurren, and I spotted this unusual looking three wheeled yellow scooter among all the other odds an sods, lawn mowers, bicycles, motorcycles and other such treasures that adorn his driveway and drive shed and asked about it. “You want it?” he asked. I told him I was just curious because it might be something that I could fix up for Al and asked if he wanted to sell it. Next thing I know he’d dropped it off in my driveway left me a message that it was free to me. I moved it around the back of my shop where it just sat getting dirtier and cluttering the place up for the next bunch of years. This is where John from Motorcycle Enhancements come back into the picture! I have always been very impressed with John and his abilities since I first met him at The National Motorcycle Show in Toronto and heard about his involvement with a brilliant young inventor by the name of Ben Gulak in the development of an unusual prototype motorcycle called the Uno. My Daughter Charlene (Godzooki) even rode it around the show! This was before Ben went on Dragons Den and scored a deal for $1,250,000.00 worth of Venture capital. Last Spring I took some pictures of the ugly yellow scoot-

er and sent them to John, told him the story and asked if this would be a project that he would be willing to take on. His response was “Get it here and Let’s Play!” Scott and I loaded it up and dropped it off and I just left it up to John be creative and get it done. I sent some $ for new batteries and such but hadn’t seen it completed until he presented it to Al on the Saturday night. We weren’t sure if it would be finished in time as they had some unexpected electrical problems occur. That night Al and I were sitting in the beer garden with Mike and Teresa from Hogtown in Lucan (Home to the World Famous Baconfest!) and a few other friends when Scott tracked me down and whispered to me that the scooter was now at Motorcycle Enhancements booth and was being kept under wraps. I needed a little subterfuge and enlisted Teresa’s help and she and Mike took Al outside for a smoke until I called Al and told him that we had huge problems back inside and he should meet me in the Beer Garden. The ruse worked and we got him back to do the presentation. As an added touch I grabbed one of the pretty, scantily clad young ladies who was wandering by at the time and set her on his lap for a photo-op. Al seemed incredibly surprized by the whole thing and seemed to love it. He convinced Teresa to hop on the back and the two of them roared off to explore the show on AL’s new and unique set of wheels. Thanks Al for all you do and have done for me, The Riders Mag and all of our customers who like Motorcycle Enhancements recognize all the extra things that you do for them and appreciate it! I was very impressed with all of the hard work John and

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