We are saddened to report the passing of a good friend of SoCal AMCA and a personal friend of mine and many in our club - Dan Peterson. He was an avid collector, rider and mechanic of antique motorcycles. He learned from some of the best as attested by his brother, Dave Peterson. Dave sent this message on the passing of his brother:


"I returned from a weekend of dirt bike riding and the Sierras today and got some bad news. My brother Dan died this morning of a heart attack; they think from a severe kidney stone attack. I was thinking of a lot as I was riding with my buddies and telling them how Dan taught me so much about how to ride motorcycles. He won two amateur championships and was a great rider following my father's footsteps. While my father and Bill Brownell were both professional racers in their day and hold champion records, this gave us all a pack to enjoy growing up together. Dan raced for Bill and my Dad on Bill's AMA sectioned track and enjoyed many years with his motorcycle collections and rides with my father and other retired racers for many years. He now has joined his close friend Bill in the other life and I will miss them dearly. He was 59 in lived in Kalispell, Mt."


Dan will be missed by many. His smiles were abundant and his laugh infectious. His knowledge of mechanics was incredible and he was always there to help. Dan owned two NAPA stores: one in Orland, California and the other in Bigfork, Montana. Dan was an annual attendee of the Borrego Springs Winter Road Run and at times, the Death Valley Run. Dan was a member of numerous AMCA chapters. SoCal condolence go out to his family and friends. In addition to his brother, he leaves behind his mother and father; his wife, daughter and son; and two sisters. Dan's funeral services will be held tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Easthaven Baptist Church in Kalispell, Mt.