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Dave Ganansky
A couple friends at work had bikes. A new COO, Paul Baird, joined the company, who rode a BMW K1200LT. We put together a three day ride through Torrey, Capitol Reef & Southern Utah. I was concerned because the Magna only had a 100 mile range. The week before the ride, Paul & I were on a business trip and flew into Salt Lake City the Wednesday afternoon before the trip. Since there wasn’t enough time to return to the office, Paul suggested stopping by Salt Lake BMW. I had never ridden a touring bike, but I was intrigued by the BMW brochure that had the tag-line: “When the distance between States isn’t far enough”. The bait was set. I wanted to rent a bike for the weekend to see how I felt on a large bike. The salesperson and previous owner, Ted, said they didn’t rent bikes. They had just taken a 2 year old R1100RT in on trade. He said I could purchase the bike, take it for the weekend and if I did not like it they would buy it back, at the same price, when I returned. Ted had me hook line and sinker - I was sold. I cannot imagine a better way to see the west than on two wheels. In the eleven years we have lived in Utah, I have been lucky enough to ride the Rockies and Sierras from Mexico to the Arctic. If you are reading this, I am probably preaching to the choir. But, I cannot imagine a more beautiful place to live, work and play than Utah. BMW had the perfect slogan to reel me in. When I get on a bike, the distance between states really is not far enough. …Dave
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Growing up in Chicago, from the time I was fifteen, I always had small Enduros (125s – 350s). Primarily, I rode around the neighborhood, to school and work. It wasn’t until my wife and I moved out west, that I began motorcycle touring. In 1997, we moved to Utah. Within a year I purchased my first road bike - a Honda Magna. I hadn’t been on a bike in nearly 15 years and I wanted something easy, for day rides around the area. I rode East Canyon, Mirror Lake Highway and a long ride was Monte Cristo Highway to Evanston Wyoming. I had no concept of distance riding.