Today, with 13 more BMWs in his garage, Dave is still riding at the age of 69, and has accumulated more than one million miles on his motorcycles.

On Wednesday, July 14 and Thursday, July 15, the million-mile motorcyclist will be honored by fellow BMW riders and BMW of North America, Inc. at the 1999 BMW Motorcycle Owners of America International Rally in Rhinebeck, NY. The event, held at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, is the 27th annual rally held by the 30,000-member BMW MOA, a nonprofit organization of BMW owners with members worldwide.

In recognition of his achievement, Mr. Swisher will receive a Million Mile Award from BMW of North America, Inc., as well as a jacket from Morton's BMW, his local BMW motorcycle retailer, commemorating last year's popular exhibition at New York's Guggenheim Museum, "The Art of the Motorcycle."

"Dave represents many BMW motorcycle riders, for whom the best day spent is one riding a motorcycle," observed Edward Robinson, Vice President of BMW's Motorcycle Group. "Our bikes have always appealed to the adventurous, and, if you know the type of riding Dave has done, he certainly fits that description."

Robinson noted that while this is the first time BMW has been made aware of a rider who has reached one million miles, it will not be the last. "Each mile ridden speaks to the special dedication our riders have towards BMW motorcycles and further demonstrates the reliability of our products when the allegiance of man and machine are in harmony," commented Robinson. Dave rode his first BMW motorcycle, a green R 75/5 to the first BMW MOA National Rally in Morgan Hill, California.

Over the next ten years, he purchased eight more BMW twins, three R90/6s and five R 100s, all but two from Morton's BMW in Spotsylvania, Virginia. "On those nine twins," Dave says, "I rode a total of 508,540 miles. I bought my first K bike in 1986, a K 100 RT. Since then, I have owned two K 100 RTs and two K 1100 LTs. Of these bikes I am still riding a 1991 K 100 RT and a 1995 K 1100 LT. The '91 has more than 270,00 miles and it is still running strong. With these bikes, I finished out my million miles."

Many of these miles were ridden with Dave's friend Jack the Ripper, including a trip to Alaska. Dave has also made 30 round trips coast to coast in the U.S., a trip through five countries in Europe and through the Alps, four trips to Mexico, five shore-to-shore trips across Canada, trips to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and many rallies throughout North America. According to Dave, many people ask, "'why do you ride BMWs?' My answer is because I know when I climb on my BMW that I can go anywhere I want to go. How many other machines could you find with that dependability and reliability? I've enjoyed every mile of the million and have met a lot of nice people."