Riding with the Gov.

That's me, the safety geek, on the left, then Commissioner Donahue and then Gov. Mitch.


Most of the 10,000 motorcycle miles I hope to ride this year will go by in a blur.
But not the 37 miles I rode last Friday from Crawfordsville to Putnamville. That's because I was in pretty good company.
I was invited to ride along with Gov. Mitch Daniels and Department of Correction Commissioner J. David Donahue on a leg of their roundabout journey from Indianapolis to Terre Haute.
Friday's forecast was mostly warm and sunny and Daniels had to be in Terre Haute Friday evening for the opening ceremonies of the 2007 Special Olympics Indiana Summer Games. So Daniels did what any motorcyclist would do when faced with an opportunity to mix business with pleasure – he went the long way and did it on two wheels.
He picked a route that included Crawfordsville, Greencastle, Putnamville, Rockville and finally Terre Haute. The route made it possible for Donahue to give the governor a look at a new program at the Putnamville Correctional Facility.
Daniels' staff discovered the opening luncheon of Wabash College's Big Bash Reunion Weekend was set for Friday at the Allen Athletics & Recreation Center, so Daniels and Donahue dropped in for lunch.
That's where I found them, their bikes parked at the curb just outside the building's south doors. Daniels rides a 2004 Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider with a custom paint job that features the torch and stars from the state flag on the gas tank. Behind it stood Donahue's black 2007 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic.
Daniels came out a few minutes later, sporting a new Wabash baseball cap that looked like a good fit with his black Harley-Davidson T-shirt from – appropriately enough – Brandt's Harley shop in Wabash. Flamed Oakley sunglasses, jeans and Harley over-the-ankle boots completed the outfit, making him look like any other Harley guy out for a day ride.
“I started riding motorcycles when I was 20 or 21,” he said, recalling his first motorcycle was a 90cc Suzuki trail bike.
He said his wife Cheri doesn't share his love of riding, recalling with a grin that “she pretended to enjoy it until we were married.”
He always rides with a helmet. “You wear a helmet if you're going to live with Cheri Daniels,” he quipped. He owns several and chose a dark blue open-face model for Friday's jaunt. Daniels realizes he has a responsibility to set a good example, and that includes wearing a helmet while riding with the Patriot Guard Riders in the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade, even though they were only creeping along.
He likes the Harley's distinctively loud rumble, leading Donahue to observe with a smile that he has to start his much quieter V-Star before Daniels fires up the Harley just to be sure the Yamaha is running.
Donahue wore a black open-face helmet, blue denim shirt, and dark slacks over boots.
I felt a bit overdressed with my full-face helmet, jacket and gloves, but they didn't seem to mind.
Since the state of Indiana has a vested interest in keeping its governor safe, Daniels rides behind a State Police motorcycle escort. This day it was Master Trooper Rob Hawkins and Trooper Lenny Stepp.
“This is the first time we've been assigned to ride with the governor and I hope it's not the last,” Hawkins said, adding it's a welcome change from patrolling interstate highways.
Hawkins and Stepp, riding side-by-side on 2007 Harley-Davidson Electra Glides, led the way out of the parking lot and east on Jennison Street with Daniels, Donahue and me riding in staggered formation.
We turned south on Washington Street and headed out of town. Passing the new Wal-Mart, we came to the place where southbound U.S. 231 narrows from two lanes to one and I noticed an electrical contractor's panel truck rushing to pass us on the right.
I chuckled when the driver slowed momentarily, discovering he was about to speed past two mounted State Troopers and doubtless never guessing he was passing the governor of Indiana. At the last second, he punched it and surged ahead. Hawkins and Stepp remained focused on their escort mission and let him go.
They set a pace between 55 and 60 mph and we settled into the ride. I taught the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's beginning rider course for 10 years, so I tend to critique other riders, looking for mistakes and bad habits. As I studied Daniels from the back, I concluded I was following a competent rider. He keeps his knees close to the gas tank, gets his feet up and onto the pegs quickly when accelerating from a stop, turns his head to look through turns, doesn't brake in turns, cancels his turn signals promptly and looks relaxed and comfortable on his bike. And he executed a nice little countersteer when we came upon a shredded tire carcass in the road. As a motorcyclist, Daniels is the real deal – not a poser or a biker-wannabe.
As governor, Daniels has proven himself a friend to motorcycling in Indiana. He's a regular participant in motorcycle events, which included leading Sunday's 14th Annual Miracle Ride to benefit Riley Hospital for Children. (His bike has a special Riley Hospital license plate with the number 1.) And he contracted with ABATE of Indiana, a rider rights organization that runs rider training programs statewide, to take over the Bureau of Motor Vehicles' motorcycle skills testing program.
Almost before I knew it, we were past the Putnam County Courthouse and its V-1 buzz bomb in downtown Greencastle and minutes later we were waved through the gates at the Putnamville Correctional Facility.
We visited its farming operations, pallet shop, computer recycling shop and ended the visit at stables housing the new Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation program. The program opened in May and so far is home to six retired racehorses. A total of 50 horses eventually will be housed at the farm where offenders learn to care for horses.
Thunder rumbled from darkening clouds in the west as we wrapped up the tour and Daniels regretfully gave up the rest of the day's ride and had the bikes loaded onto trailers.
“I have a deal with the State Police,” he said. “They let me ride and I don't make them ride in the rain or at night.”
Does he ever sneak out for a ride without an escort?
“I like to get away once in awhile,” he said, “but not very often and I'm always careful because I know these guys (the State Police) would be in trouble if anything happened to the bike or to me.”