Picto Diary - 21 to 25 May 2026 - Pizza at Granny's. Our Five Grands Click to teach Gma
Out and about on the Duc.
Flaming Gorge loop. Above: Manila, UT. 21 May 2026.
Out and about on the 'Wing.
Image: Left to right: Bishop (Ducati V4 Multistrada), Commodore (Sling Shot), Saluki (BMW R1150 GS) and The Actuary (Lexis sedan).
Old former Park City Motorcycle Club riders, regretting having skipped the 360-mile, counterclockwise, round trip Flaming Gorge Loop ride last year, reinstated the ride this year. We've done this May ride a dozen times over the last fifteen years.
Twenty-five years ago, when we riders were fifty/sixty somethings, there was quite a motorcycle community in Park City. Park City Motorcycle Club (PCMC) thrived with day and overnight motorcycle outings that included twenty-five or more riders. PCMC had speakers at dinner nights such as Greg Frazier, author and world motorcycle adventurer. PCMC members were heavily involved in setting up and hosting, in Park City, a sanctioned American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) event in 1999. In 2026, the PCMC has long since disbanded and us now old geezer former PCMC members are down to a miniscule rump group of three to five.
"Are you sure you want to go?" said TIMDT. "The forecast is for rain and wind." "I've looked at the Weather Channel forecast," I replied. "It shows partly sunny in eastern Utah, where we are headed."
Besides, are we men or are we mice? A little weather shouldn't inhibit what has become a traditional, annual motorcycle ride. what?
In fact, the ride turned out to be a facsimile of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride." After picking up UT SR 44, leaving US 191, at 8000 feet of elevation. It started to sprinkle. Things only got worse. For fifteen minutes of riding, starting halfway between the start of UT SR 44 and Manila, we rode under conditions of low visibility, whipping winds, heavy rain and for a few minutes, snow. Ambient temperatures descended from fifty-five degrees to thirty-two degrees.
On the 55 MPH speed limit twisty segment through rough weather, the Duc was maxing out at 30 mph. Still, I wasn't terribly worried. I was riding carefully. The road was on a descent to 6200 feet elevation in Manila. I knew the sleet/snow would shortly turn to rain, and hopefully, the disconcerting squall disturbance would dissipate. And so, after fifteen minutes of rough weather, it did. I felt badly that we weren't able to stop at the Sheep Creek lookout over Flaming Gorge Reservoir as is our normal practice.
A true touring motorcyclist says, after riding through a severe a weather event, "big deal." But I have to admit that it was pretty risky riding weather.
Later, over a cheeseburger at Browning's, in Manila, we riders recalled other weather events on past rides of the Flaming Gorge Loop. One year, just as we reached Manila, we quickly jumped off our bikes, rushed into Browning's, barely missing a 'cats and dogs' downpour that lasted over thirty minutes. Timing is everything!
On the windy, but not rainy, ride back to Park City from Manila, I recalled other non PCMC rain events forever seared into my memory:
Riding down, east bound, the flank of Mt. Rainier direction Yakama. Very serious rainfall, though sans gusts, for thirty-five miles. BMW K1200 LT.
Riding from Atlanta, GA to Highland, NC. All day moderate rain. BMW R1200 GS.
Riding fast, NB, on the Tohoku Expressway towards Tokyo, at 10:00 PM through the tail end of a typhoon with up to 50 MPH gusts. 20 miles of riding under such conditions. The freeway was empty of vehicles but for us six or eight motorcycle riders. Suzuki naked, high HP muscle bike.
Riding off the Mogollan Rim from Flagstaff, AZ, 7K foot elevation, to Sedona, descent down Rock Creek Canyon. Snow at the top of the rim turning to light rain five miles on at 6K foot elevation. BMW K1200RS.
Riding EB from Arvaikhjeer, Mongolia to Ulan Bator Mongolia. 100 miles of light rain, protected only by a couple of sweatshirts and an outer plastic garbage bag. My motorcycle jacket had been stolen the previous night. BMW Funduro.
Riding in May, EB I-80 from Truckee in falling, but not accumulating, snow. After five miles, snow turned to medium rain fall through to Reno, where I stopped for the night. Ducati Multistrada.
Riding in May, ten miles on OR SR 150 EB at 6500 feet in heavy, accumulating, but wet, snow. By the time three inches of snow had accumulated on the road, OR SR 150 started a descent down the Doherty Rim to 4400 feet of elevation, where snow changed to a light, wind-free rain. BMW F800GS.
Riding from the Azerbaijani border, NB, along the Caspian Sea, to Derbent, Dagastan, Russia. The single worst downpour I have ever experienced hovered over Derbent as we rode into town. Derbent's hilly, cobblestoned streets had turned into spillways with six-inch-deep, rushing water. BMW R1200GS.
Riding in Switzerland, in late September, in the dark, in snowfall, SB over Julier Pass, later descending to St. Moritz. Snow turned to rain on the descent.
Because of the whipping winds, snow and low visibility, the 21 May 2026 Flaming Gorge ride prompting this write-up actually had worse riding conditions than any of the above cited rides. Happily, the most adverse conditions only lasted for fifteen minutes.
Us geezer remnants of the PCMC are looking forward to next year's ride in the iffy, iffy month of May.
Above: Browning's Restaurant. Manila, UT. 21 May 2026.
Out and about on the Duc.
Above: Iron Canyon, Park City, UT. 22 May 2026.
Sunset rainbow reflection on parking sign.
Above: Quito, Ecuador, circa 1981.
Nostalgia pic. Brother Dee and Shana with Roxanne and Sam.
Above: Nostalgia pic. Left to right: Chic Spiridon, John ??, Frank Catterson, Steve Taylor and Rana Talwar. 1983.
Likely at one of CSG APMEA Division Executive Ed Harshfield's budget reviews in Hong Kong. At this time, Ed reported to Charlie Long, Consumer Overseas Group Head. Shortly after this image was taken, Dick Kovacevich replaced Charlie.
Chic was Business Manager, CSG, Philippines. He replaced Pete Bellows in early 1992. From 1979 to 1982 I was COO of FNCB Finance, Manila, working for Sonny Vistan, CEO of FNCB Finance, and simultaneously for first Pete, then Chic, CSG Philippines Business Managers. I don't want to get too far out over my skis, but I believe Chic died in NYC in the mid-to-late '80s, resulting from a choking incident in a New York City restaurant. Both Pete Bellows and Chic Spiridon were great bosses, though they were as different from one another as chalk and cheese. Pete was analytically astute and maintained a professional demeanor. He was a great counsellor to Sonny and me as we worked to set FNCB finance right (another story for another time). Chic was smart too, but his style was more collaborative than "boss-like." In this pic I have recently transferred to Tokyo as CEO of CCKK and CSG Business Manager for Japan.
John ??? (For the life of me I can't remember John's last name). At this time John was the CSG Business Manager for Taiwan. Shortly after this image was taken John was replaced by Tom McKeon.
Frank Catterson, here, has been the CSG Business Manager for Australia for almost four years. I worked for Frank as co-Dealer Group North Division head, alongside John Rumble at Citicorp Australia (***) for about three months prior to leaving Australia for the Philippines. Frank was a highly regarded credit professional and manager. I know Ed Harshfield thought highly of Frank. I didn't work for Frank long enough to bond; I had been in OZ for over four and a half years and was focused on securing my next job. I do remember, though, that Frank and Uta were great entertainers in their Sydney home. Frank had a practice of retiring from his parties at 10:00 PM leaving Uta to skillfully and graciously carry the gathering on into the early hours of the next day. Frank passed away on November 4, 2007, at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was 75 years old at the time of his death.
In 1983, Rana Talwar was the CSG Business Manager for Singapore. He and his team developed the very successful Citigold branding, which was brought to the US Citi consumer bank in the '90s. Here's a Copilot search blurb on Rana:
Rana Talwar — Trailblazing Indian Banker
Rana Talwar (full name: Gurvirendra Singh Talwar) was a pioneering Indian banker, widely recognised as the first Indian to head a global bank — Standard Chartered Plc — and the first Asian to lead an FTSE 25 company Business Today+1 . He passed away on January 27, 2024, at the age of 76 Business Today.
Early Career and Citibank
Born in 1948 in India, Talwar studied economics at St Stephen’s College, Delhi and attended Lawrence School, Sanawar Business Standard. He began his career at Citibank India in 1969, quickly rising to lead its retail businesses across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, and North America Hindustan Times+1. He was among the earliest Indians to operate internationally at Citi, introducing and successfully implementing a range of mutual funds in Singapore. This became a model for cross-selling financial products—a practice later adopted globally as the ‘success transfer’ model.
In 2016, Rana hosted some former Citi India travelers and residents at his beautiful New Delhi home:
Above: (front) Rana Talwar, Jerry Rao. Chita Gauba (behind Rana). Left to right: Steve Taylor, Mehli Mistri, Mike Callen, Margaret Taylor, Royina Grewal, Vickie Callen, Saker Mistri, Mandira Gauba. Talwar residence. New Delhi, India. 18 January 2016.
Note: I was on the short list for the Standard and Chartered COO job that Rana took. I flew over to London for interviews in early 1995.
*** Ed Harshfield deserves a lot of credit for his "two in a box" organization for the auto dealer finance business at Citicorp Australia set up in 1978. When Ed assumed division-level oversight for Citicorp Australia in 1978, he determined that the ideal executive didn't exist to run the old IAC (now Citicorp Australia) dealer business. He had some local holdovers from IAC who understood the sales side and oversaw the dealer relationships and some Citi personnel who may have had good executive potential but lacked business knowledge. So, he set up Dealer Group, North, with John Rumble and myself as co-Division Executives and Dealer Group South, headed by Tom McKeon and Barry Coops. Of course, at thirty-three years of age, I felt I could handle a Division by myself. After all, from 1975 to 1976, Glenn Moreno ran the entire Citi Australian operation while only thirty-two years old. What's this about "corporate property?" Back to "two in a box. In hindsight, a more mature me sees it as a brilliant solution for handling the complexities of the old IAC dealer business. Ed Harshfield was a smart business man and a great mentor to me for six years before he left Citi around 1984.
From my Picto Diary, 11 November 2022 (Veteran's Day). 25 May 2026 (Memorial Day).
USS Appling. WWII
Facebook post by my son Jake today. Billy Gene is TIMDT'S dad. Billy Gene was a career soldier and retired from the Air Force as a member of the Air Force rifle team. A Veterans Day salute to my grandfather, Billy Gene Dickerson, who, then in the US Navy, served on the USS Appling during WWII. On the Appling, he saw action at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines and later at Okinawa. Thanks to all who have served!
Above: Mom and Dad headstone. Provo Cemetery. 25 May 2026. Memorial Day.
Reflecting I thought neither Mom nor Dad saw 9/11 or the advent of AI. I wondered, what will I miss twenty years after my passing?
Above: Brother Dee's headstone. Provo Cemetery. 25 May 2026. Memorial Day.
Dee and Shana were highly successful in life's most important endeavor: raising a successful family.
Addendum:
Margaret still hasn't lost any of her loveliness
Joe,
Sydney, OZ