Trail Rider Magazine

June 2026 25 Bob and his BMW GS Bob and his BMW GS Bob and Nephew Joe Warner at MAX BMW Bob and Nephew Joe Warner at MAX BMW Bob was amused by the rou ne. "Far out!" was his usual response, and that only encouraged me to repeat it at other events. Bob also asked me to test-ride a few new motor- cycles and share my impressions. As a rela vely new rider, I was fla ered by his confidence in me. By then my DT-1 had been replaced by an OSSA Pioneer, so Bob thought it would be use- ful to have me compare it with the then-new OSSA SDR. He sent Don Norris and me to Yankee Motors, where we met John Taylor, toured the factory, and trailered home the gleaming white bike. Along with comments from a few more experienced NETRA riders, Bob published a full page of my impressions in TR Magazine. Next came a new Can-Am 175, which I loved and told Bob so. How lucky I was that he asked me to ride it. He later told me I could buy the bike at a very reasonable price. Regre ably, I didn't. The third machine I tested was a Rokon, which I could hardly wait to return to Bob. Between the arm-wrenching pull starter, the touchy front disc brake that dumped me when I grabbed it while pretending to flat-track, and the delayed front- wheel li that sent me skidding along a branch and into a tree on a single-track trail, it was not a happy experience. I think Bob got a kick out of it, though I don't remember whether he ever used my comments in a TR ar cle. Bob asked if I would be interested in becoming more involved in NETRA. Before long, I was the Massachuse s trail chief and a member of the board of trustees. He also supported me and a few local riding friends as we founded NETRA's Minute- man Trail Riders chapter. A er his early years of racing, helping found NESC and NETRA, involvement in the ISDT, years of publishing two motorcycling magazines, and eventually selling Trail Rider Magazine, Bob le the motorcycle world cold turkey. By 1990, I had largely stepped away from trail riding as well, and we lost touch. In 2001, my wife encouraged me to get another motorcycle, and before long, I had a new Kawasaki KLR 650. As Bob later said, it rekindled an ember that soon became a conflagra on. Next came a couple of OSSA SDRs, a 1150 GS BMW, and a bunch of other old bikes. I contacted my old Minuteman Trail Riders friends for a reunion and decided Bob Hicks would make the perfect guest of honor. He agreed and arrived with boxes of memorabilia from the old days. Without realizing it, I had rekindled Bob's motorcycling embers too, se ng him on his own reunion with a vital part of his life. We then learned of plans for the Leroy Winters 7 th Annual ISDT Reunion Ride in the Berkshires in 2003, celebra ng the 30 th anniversary of the 1973 ISDT. The Pathfinders MC led the effort, and Bob was recruited as a consultant. I got to tag along and help however I could. We met with the Pathfinders, worked on trail maintenance, planned routes, and helped organize the banquet. On our own, Bob and I also produced a 64-page souvenir book and a documentary video about the event.

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