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Motorcycles run -- actually, they race -- through Mark’s family. His dad Pete brought modern British bikes and the sport of “road racing” to the California highways back in the 1950s and ‘60s. His dealership, Honda of Marin, eventually became Marin Motorsports.

So, Mark grew up wrenching on old, “classic” bikes and ended up working in sales, parts and service departments in San Francisco Bay Area dealerships for over 20 years. He moved his family to the small town of Williams in the Applegate Valley in 2005 and came to D&S earlier this summer, looking for a place to use his skills.

We liked his ideas about how to make customers feel special -- even when their bikes are in the Harley hospital. And we warned him that between travelers and regular customers planning long-distance trips and the unveiling of the 2007 models in August, there’s nothing quite like a Harley-Davidson service department in summer. Mark jumped right in, kept a smile all day everyday, learned the Harley-Davidson vocabulary and even tried growing a beard for a bit.

“I like the challenge,” he says. "The job is kind of like a cross between bartending and air-traffic control. And I like the enthusiasm Harley customers bring into the dealership. I’m having fun.”