Gary Ilminen has been a motorcyclist since 1974 and started his freelance writing and photography career in 1976 as a part-time government reporter for local newspapers. He has been published in a number of motorcycle magazines, general interest and healthcare related magazines and is the Associate Online Editor for Ultimate Motorcycling magazine and a contributor to RideApart.com. He is a Registered Nurse with degrees in nursing and mechanical design from Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, MI. He also is a proud graduate (Class of 1973) of the Hurley Joint School District in Hurley, WI. He has become something of a student of motorcycle design over the years and has owned 26 motorcycles since 1974 and currently owns eleven bikes, including both of the bikes ridden in competition at Bonneville. He lives in Lone Rock, WI. Gary is the author of the Consumer Guide to Long-term Care, published by the University of Wisconsin Press.