DOM Desert Riders

I've wanted to put this post out for quite some time now. This post brings together two of my favorite pastimes, neither of which I am able to do often enough. I love to ride in the Mojave Desert on my quad; preferably with the club I’m associated with – D.O.M. A more recent favorite pastime is blogging, and as you might have noticed I named my blog after the D.O.M. club. I actually enjoy reading blogs more than writing them. You see, I’m not very creative, and I sure as hell don’t have a lot to say. Oh, I complain a lot – just ask my wife and kids. But I don’t have a lot of interesting things to talk about in a blog.

So back in March when I set up my blog – inspired by Bean’s blog, I wanted to meld this new pastime of mine with the thing I like to do the best. I thought I would be posting more stuff about the club, but then I thought I would be posting more stuff, period. I’ve posted a few things about the D.O.M. club, but I’ve never given the history. So below is the history of the club as researched by yours truly. It took several interviews and hours of reading old newsletter, but from the feedback I got after previously publishing it elsewhere – it’s pretty accurate.

In the beginning (sometime in 1972) seven men began riding together in Hi-Vista, California. Their names are:
Neil Anderson, Bill Christian, Harry Essres, Rusty Foy, Gary Sherrod, Jim Sherrod, and Bob Stander. These guys called themselves the Dirty Old Men. Within a year or so, the First Annual Field Meet was held in 1973.

I found an early newsletter quote that described the club: “A club founded for family orientated fun with motorcycle riding involved.”

Here are some fun facts:

The Annual Field Meet was held on Memorial Day Weekend for
the first time in 1990, and continues to be to the present time.

The club's abbreviated name is Dirty Old Men, but is more commonly referred to as D.O.M. The club's full name is Dirty Old Men - Bench Racing, Motorcycle bending, and Beer Drinking Association

The club logo / sticker (pictured below) is a man standing by a motorcycle, and was modeled after early member John Saniger:

At the Annual, the club awards two perpetual trophys named for former members: Harry Essres - which goes to the men’s high points winner; and Dirk Harbor - which goes to the boy's high points winner. The latter is named after Dirk Harbor, who was a member many years ago. Dirk loved riding motorcycles, but tragically passed away from cancer when he was still a boy. I never met Dirk; I joined the club long after his passing, but only know of him from the trophy presentation in his name at the Annual. If you want to read my earlier posts about the Annual click here and here.

Many years ago the club named a lifetime King: Forrest Ely. I never met Mr. Ely, he was no longer attending rides by the time I joined in 1996.

The club has an anthem, for which the words were written by Tom Chadwick, and is sung to the tune of Margaritaville. I have never heard anyone sing this song, although I found a set of words (lyrics) for it. On the topic of singing - it's been a tradition for years to sing "She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain" on the last night of the Annual. This song is lead by Fred Weir every year.

I don't know when the tradition of King & Queen began, but the members (a couple, typically husband & wife) responsible for organizing club rides, publishing the newsletter, and keeping the club treasury is known as the King & Queen. What I did find out is that many years ago a 5-year minimum membership was required before a couple could be named King & Queen. This has since changed, as there is no minimum time period.

Here are the names of the Kings & Queens as far back as I was able to research:
1984-85 – Richie & Charlotte Cortez
1985-86 – Forrest & Jean Ely
1986-87 – Forrest & Jean Ely
1987-88 – Jon & Celia Anderson
1988-89 – Joel & Carla Gerke
1989-90 – Kurt & Patty Schiller
1990-91 – Mike & Mary Ellen Harrison
1991-92 – Cole & Rene Woldridge
1992-93 – Larry & Barbara Robertson
1993-94 – Ray & Diana See
1994-95 – Joe & Diana Perez (1st time)
1995-96 – Bob & Joanne Robinson
1996-97 – Joe & Diana Perez (2nd time)
1997 is the club's 25th anniversary
1997-98 – Joe & Diana Perez (3rd time)
1998-99 – Joe & Diana Perez (4th time)
‘99-2000 – Joe & Diana Perez (5th time)
2000-01 – Billy & Gaye Aten
2001-02 – Ron & Cindy Nipstad
2002-03 – Dan & Laura Aguirre (1st time) Yes, that's me and my wife.
2003-04 - Dan & Laura Aguirre (2nd time) Yes, that's us again.
2004-05 - Kenny & Casey Ingram (1st time)
2005-06 - Kenny & Casey Ingram (2nd time)
2006-07 - Dan & Leslie McGhee (Current King & Queen)

So there you have it - history and tidbits of information regarding the D.O.M. club. I'll post something prior to our next ride, which is scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend. We will be going to my favorite ride location: Charlie's Place, which is just off Trona Rd. SE of Ridgecrest, CA.