Dave Preston: Remembering the good times

In lieu of Dave’s recent passing, we thought it might be fun to share some of the good times had over the years from our perspective at Sound RIDER!

I met Dave in the early 2000s when he started his job as a marketing and events manger at Cycle Barn in Lynnwood. He maintained a busy schedule shuttling duties between the metric store and Harley side of the building.

One of the annual events he created included the Resolution Ride, which was held on New Year’s morning – weather permitting – and would encompass roads in King and Snohomish County ending with lunch at Denny’s in North Bend, or the Greek spot in Granite Falls.

Then there was the ABTOR ride. Anywhere but the Oyster Run! Held on the same Sunday as the Oyster Run each September, the route was often out on the Kitsap Peninsula. Many members of the Cycle Barn Sportbike club were much happier doing this ride than going to the Oyster Run. And some will never forget that one sneaky turn near Dewatto…

Back around the 90s, Dave had written a book for his son, Will, about riding motorcycles. He and Jim Boltz came to me and asked me to publish it under our Mixed Media publishing compant, but first I had the pleasure of recovering the content from 3.5” floppy drives. And I did. A comical photo session ensued with pictures of Dave posing for some of the chapters' contents. The funniest was the ‘how to wash a motorcycle’ with Dave strategically holding a hose between his legs, spraying down a bike.

Around 2005, Dave asked if I would hand the digital rights of the book over to him so he could publish a Kindle version himself. I did and Dave was off and running as a top selling motorsports author on Kindle.

Dave was a regular contributor to Sound RIDER! for eight years, turning in an article every month without missing a beat. You never knew what was coming. Might be some well thought out wisdom, might be a gift list for the holidays, or a look back through his riding years. Always well written – that you could count on.

Anyone who knew Dave was well aware of his catty humor. It never shined better than when he and Harvey Gilkerson would trade lines back and forth during the live auction held each year at the Rally in the Gorge. The banter between the two was much anticipated in those early days of the rally and a lot of money was raised for the Gorge Kids Explorer Fund. For every dollar raised, a hundred laughs were heard.

Throughout the early 2000s Dave was a good ambassador for the sport and continued to keep a small circle of friends together even later. His humor, organizational skills, and willingness to support the community and charities along the way will be his legacy from our point of view.

Tom Mehren/Fall 2024