As an adolescent mini-bike riding wannabe motorcyclist, I had dreams of someday writing for a motorcycle magazine like I read back then. Thanks to Ultimate Motorcycling Editor Don Williams and Ultimate Motorcycling Prez Arthur Coldwells, I’ve been able to do that for more than 12 years now. It’s hard to thank those guys enough for the opportunity.
It turns out that Don and I have a lot in common, even though we’ve never actually met in person. Each of us has spent 50+ years behind bars; handlebars, that is. We even started out on similar bikes; each of us having owned one of Honda’s ’70s 360cc parallel twins back in the day. Unlike Don, who knows how to move on, I still have one of those Honda 360s in my shed!
Editor’s Note: This month, we are celebrating Ultimate Motorcycling‘s 20th anniversary. We will be publishing reflections from members of the Ultimate Motorcycling staff and team. Ultimate Motorcycling Associate Editor Gary Ilminen recounts his renowned career in moto-journalism.
My career with Ultimate Motorcycling began with an e-mail contact with Don in January 2012. I pitched him my review of a tiny book called The I-95 Reader, and it appeared in the June/July 2012 print edition.
It was a very minor literary appearance, to be sure. However, as it turned out, it led to other things, including UM’s unique Rider’s Library. As near as I can tell, Ultimate Motorcycling is the only motorcycle magazine online or otherwise that, with 215 reviews, offers such comprehensive coverage of motorcycle literature.
When I did that review, I had already been a freelance, part-time writer and photographer since the 1970s as a stringer for various newspapers and doing election coverage for the Associated Press. I’d also had articles published on healthcare and about motorcycles and riding gear with RideApart, Rider, Motorcycle Classics, Used Bike Guide (U.K.), Backroads, Classic Bike Guide (U.K.), RoadBike, Vintage Motorcycles, Bike Bandit, and I even had a column in Motorcycle Monthly (U.K.). But, it was with Ultimate Motorcycling that I found my writer’s home.
I have to give Don, Arthur, and then-Online Editor Ron Lieback a lot of credit for giving me a lot of latitude in topics and approaches in my writing. My work on the U.S. DOT’s antiquated and ineffective regulation of motorcycle helmets is a good example. Not all publications embrace confronting issues that can create controversy, particularly with any kind of authority or agency. I started the coverage of helmet standards and quality back in 2013, and they have been supportive all the way. But that’s serious stuff.
The vast majority of my work with the Ultimate Motorcycling crew has been fun, rewarding, and memorable. Having the opportunity to review brand new riding gear such as helmets, jackets, pants, gloves, shoes, tools, accessories, books, and even new, pre-release motorcycle models at really cool places and then write about it is literally that kid’s dream come true!
In 2014, there was a trip to San Diego for a first-ride review of the new Triumph Thunderbird LT and Commander models. In 2015, closer to home, I drove the radical Polaris Slingshot up in Minnesota. In 2023, I rode the new Indian Sport Chief down in the Texas Hill Country outside of Austin.
I sure hope, at some point, I get to meet in person the great folks that make Ultimate Motorcycling what it is. Thanks to all for the chance to be a part of it and to go along for the ride!
Congratulations to my colleagues at Ultimate Motorcycling for 20 years of all the best on two wheels!
