ON THE ROAD AGAIN WITH DAVE ZIEN
Friday, April 3rd, 2009 -- 11:41 AM
Say what you will about State Sen. Pat Kreitlow, but, you?d have to admit, he?s not as flamboyant as the man he replaced.Dave Zien has been out of the limelight since Kreitlow defeated him in November 2006.
He?ll get press time this weekend as he rides into Wisconsin and logs his one-millionth mile on his Harley Davidson, that he calls "Suzanna a-lay-Sha-luck a lay ya."
"It's Indian for peace, tranquility... it's a long story," Zien says, "My first motorcycle name was 'Hanky Panky' in 1966. It was a 250 Yamaha."
We talked with Zien this week. The 59-year-old was in Florida, trying to outrun some storms as he traveled 1,400 miles to Wisconsin. He expects to turn his odometer to 1,000,000 when he enters a Harley dealership in New Berlin.
"It's the wind and the freedom, the individuality, you're one with the environment. It's exhilarating, it's exalting, it's inspiring," Zien says in a typical flourish.
Of course, Zien was famous for crisscrossing his senate district?and the entire state?on his Harley. It got him some bad press when journalists discovered he was reimbursed tens-of-thousands of dollars for the mileage, even though motorcycles use far less fuel than cars.
But, it was his trademark.
"To this day, when people see my motorcycle somewhere, they stop and want to talk," he explains, "It's been just a real good tool."
Zien sounds interested in getting back into politics. He says people ask him about it all the time, but he?s still unsure if he?ll ever run for office.
"It's up to the Good Lord."
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.