With our first issue must come introductions to the staff. Instead of introducing you to all of the crew at one time, I decided to pick one person a month and tell you all the dirt, fun facts and a good story about them. So, I had to choose, who would be my first victim? Then it hit me, Duval, of course! Who better to make fun of than the most comical character in the P&OM stable. The only question left is which story to tell.

     Duval decided he wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle. Being the only one without a bike, and being left behind more often than not, was getting to be a real hassle. So Duval managed to find a good learner bike: a mid-seventies 175 Enduro (built for a 5'1 girl, Duval is 6'plus.)

     Even getting the bike to the garage was a pain in the ass. Nobody had a truck; so we did what anyone would do, put it in a minivan. It worked and the bike made it home.

     It turns out that the bike sat for a long time. It needed the carbs cleaned, the tank drained and cleaned, and all those little things that matter so much. I told them: I can get it running, but someone else will have to make it run right. So we now have a beginner rider on a bike that isn't running good.

     Duval got on the bike and just him sitting on it was laughable. His assignment was to get the bike down the driveway and back up in one piece. Pudge, The Old Man and I take Duval out and give him a few pointers. The bike kept stalling so we told him to give it more gas and let the clutch out slowly and he should be fine. "Should be" were the key words.

     That tachometer must have been showing 9000 RPM's when he dumped the clutch, and stood it up. As soon as he landed the first wheelie, he dropped the clutch and stood it up again. He went within inches of driving off the concrete ledge, somehow put it back on two wheels, and rode away like nothing ever happened. I don't know about Duval, but Pudge, The Old Man and I all s#%t our pants.

     In hind sight a conversation we had one night at the bar comes to mind. Pudge and I were telling him things that might happen on a bike and what to do if they do happen. The most ironic was Pudge that saying if you let the clutch out to fast you may pop a wheelie. Duval's response: "I'm gonna pop a wheelie..... I'm gonna die!"

     So the next time you run into Duval, be sure to ask him about his infamous double wheelie.