Psycho Buzzard

January 25, 2019

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To Read The Full Article, Go To www.cyclesource.com

Article and Photos By: Chris Callen

Originally Published In The July 2018 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

Ken Clark is the kind of man that you only wish you could be. A determined man, who as it turns out, is singlehandedly making a difference in the world. Although his efforts garnish him no large six figure salary, nor do they get him an invitation to dinner with the president. Although, I’m sure once you have read his story, you will think that they should. In true Cycle Source fashion, this is supposed to be a story about this man’s bike, but hey, it’s a bad ass Pan Shovel, dual plug heads, bitchin side car and a paint job done by one of the true masters; Casey from the Paint Chop. It took best of show at our bike show in Johnstown’s Thunder in the Valley last year and other than that, great bike should about cover it. Ken on the other hand, is an amazing story. When he retired a while back he found himself in need of something to do so unlike the usual fly fishing or craft beer sampling that many retired people turn to, Ken went to Kenya…. Yeah, Kenya. He took a bunch of money that he had raised for medicine, made some friends over there which lead to the distribution of the life savings drugs with the help of local doctors.

After a few of these trips Ken started to realize that in these remote tribal locations they were merely treating symptoms of diseases that were coming from unclean water. So, Ken switched his modus operandi to raising money for water filtration systems in these far-reaching lands. At first, he was smuggling them into Kenya but he got caught once and they were really not happy with him because he was bringing in American made systems. Apparently, they had a big problem with the underground activity. No big deal for our man Ken, he simply found African manufacturers who ended up making the systems for less money and he was back in the business of clean water. To date, Ken and his contributors are responsible for 909 water filters in some 187 villages in the Rift Valley and Eastern Kenya, 236 rain water barrels and has even lent his hand to the same when Hurricane Maria hit Dominica and Puerto Rico. Truly making a difference in the world, the way that we all wish we could. I can’t tell you how good it was for us to hear his story and if you would like to join Ken’s cause please visit www. cleanwaterkenya.com and give them some love. $20 bucks goes a long way in a place that people need clean water, so do what you can to keep Ken in the game.

As for the rest of the info on the bike, Ken and his wife Judy do a lot of riding together so despite arthritis in his lower back and hips he wanted an old school bike they could tool around on. He figured going with an Indian Inder sidecar made for smaller bikes would be a neat way to get form and function on the same page. He went to the guys at American Classic Motors for the Bobber and McClains Jam Cycle for the sidecar and laid out a plan and his dream became a reality. Since they have completed it, he has a Ural they also ride and says that the Ural is a much better fit so they are selling the shovel, could be yours for a mere $20k!