The Career of Careers

The Career of Careers

UP FRONT

MARK HOYER

THERE ARE CERTAIN CONSTANTS IN LIFE that we not only come to rely on but that we ultimately take for granted. Things so damn reliable, repeatable and there that you hardly realize they are fundamental to your world view. Like gravity. Air. Sunrise and sunset. The tides.

At CW, one of those natural forces has been Paul Dean. He was named editor in 1984 and has been with us ever since, setting his stamp on the product from Day One until now in a way no other person associated with the magazine ever has, aside from Joe Parkhurst.

Which is part of what makes it so hard to believe that after 40 years in publishing, 29 of those with CW, Paul Dean isn’t going to show up at our office anymore. And I’m not trying to be cute in stating it that way; it’s just that I hesitate to call it “retirement” because there is no version of that word that can possibly be applicable to whatever is next for him.

As far as I can tell, his “prime” has been nearly all of his working life. Stories from his early years of riding farther, working longer, winning races and cheating death still circulate. And even now, at 71, he rides harder than most of us and applies a thoroughness and understanding to the big picture that no one can match.

But what does Paul say when you ask what he thinks after this

“I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in this industry, to have worked with so many good, talented people, to do all the things I’ve done,” he shared with me recently. “If you love motorcycles and words, there is no other legitimate job that could be any better.”

So, while it is impossible to fit a lifetime of enthusiastic living and big adventures into a single page, here we go anyway. These are just some highlights from Paul’s life and career that I’ve been fortunate enough to learn about or to share in:

• Aircraft mechanic in the Army

• Tried out for the Pittsburgh Steelers—and didn’t get cut!

• Raced stock cars and sprint cars

• Raced dirt track

• Raced motocross

• Raced superbikes (that’s him testing Kevin Schwantz’s Suzuki GSX-R750 in 1988)

• Worked for legendary racer/car dealer Don Yenko in trade for parts for his own racing efforts

• Invented dirt (okay, maybe he was just there to witness it...)

• Got a job at a motorcycle dealership as a mechanic after leaving the army

• Became service manager, then general manager

• Was a principal at another dealership

• Worked at importer/manufacturer OSSA/Yankee Motors (yes, he wrote the service manual)

• FIM World Speed Record Holder— twice!

• Sprint-car team owner

• Sprint-car mechanic

• Sprint-car race-team class A semitruck driver

• Is the original mythbuster

• Inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001

• Member of the AMA Competition Congress • Chairman of the AMA Board of Trustees and served on AMA Pro Racing’s Board of Directors

• Has never missed our annual CW Trek dual-sport ride since his first attendance in 1985

• Was instrumental in the success of every one of those 28 Treks

• Once remarked about salad, “That’s what food eats...”

• Editor-in-Chief of two major U.S. motorcycle magazines, Cycle Guide and CW, VP and editorial director for CW and Cycle

• Dan Gurney came to his retirement luncheon

• After a street ride with three-time Grand Prix champ Freddie Spencer in which the whole group barely cheated death, Freddie said, “Man, that Paul Dean can ridel”

There is so much more, and the man is still working people half his age under the table and dropping them on group rides. In fact, after the typical escalation on a superbike-comparison street ride about five years ago, I followed Paul into a corner and watched his 2008 ZX-14R leave two black lines, one from the front tire, the other from the rear, which is when 1 decided to check up, even though I was on a significantly lighter, betterhandling Honda CBR1000RR. It wasn’t the first time he’d done that to another rider, and it certainly wasn’t the last.

On the office side of his professional work, Paul rarely misses a deadline and writes some of the cleanest, clearest copy any editor can ever get. Everything he was involved in got better.

A big benefit for me and the editors that have come before is Paul’s vast experience and perspective on the industry. Truth, accuracy and fairness are at the core of everything he does, and his experience allows him to see important implications where many others would not.

For my part, Paul has been a huge help and provided so much key guidance for me at Cycle World, from my first day on the job in 1999 up until the very writing of this column.

I honestly feel that the entire motorcycle industry, and particularly motorcycle journalism, owes him a huge thank you for elevating the quality and integrity of the field.

We’re lucky that he still likes to write and to ride, so he’ll continue to contribute to Service and test bikes for us.

Retirement may try to catch up to Paul Dean, but as soon as it hits the first twisty bit, retirement won’t stand a chance.