Hello, my name is George Barker.  On my Interests page you will find that I love to ride my motorcycle.  I guess it comes from my youth.  My family never traveled very far from home.  Dad said "It all looked the same to me.  So, why go to different places to see what you can see right here?"  I had not been more than 200 miles from home, or flew in an airplane until my senior year in college!  For the first 15 years out of college I concentrated on working and building a business.  Then a higher power intervened and I discovered motorcycles.  Well, I took off running and perhaps I overcompensated.

My current ride is a 2004 Goldwing that is black.  I purchased it from a gentleman in Indianapolis, Indiana.  While visiting a website for Goldwing motorcycles, www.gl1800riders.com, we crossed paths and one thing led to another until a deal was struck.  I have not regretted it one bit.  Even though it was nearing the end of the riding season, I still managed about 3,000 miles before the cold and snow helped me put the bike to sleep.

Up until September 2005, my motorcycle was a 1992 Kawasaki Voyager XII with the colors of black and teal.  Back in 2000, my neighbor was looking to sell the bike as he was going to buy a Gold Wing.  Well, the year before I had given up trap shooting in search of a different hobby and I was ready for a new challenge.  Up to that point in my life, I had only ridden on a motorcycle once or twice, never put my hands on the handlebars once.  My parents talked about all the horrors of motorcycling, so I grew up with the fear that riding a motorcycle will kill you.  But, I was up for a challenge this time so I bought the bike, got my temps, took the MSF course and never looked back.  I quickly became addicted to touring and have not put on less than 10,000 miles in any year since.  A typical year sees me visiting more than 20 states during the riding season.  Over the past few years I have been fortunate enough to visit 45 of the 48 lower states, plus Canada and Mexico.  A few years ago I also joined the Wisconsin Badgerland Voyager Association, and after a couple years, volunteered to write the newsletter.  The Gadget Boy articles were a way to put into print some of the neat stuff I tried for the bike.

I went to college at Michigan Technological University (MTU) and graduated in 1984 with a BS in Civil Engineering.   I own two companies with my brother Alex.  One is River Valley Testing Corp (www.rvtcorp.com) in Neenah, Wisconsin and we provide quality management on construction sites.  You know, make sure the quality of the materials is up to what's expected, and if it is not, then find ways to make it acceptable.  Occasionally, bad things still happen and there is a failure.  Another part of my job is forensic investigations of construction materials failures.  Please visit the company website by clicking the link above.  The other company is Quality Management Services, Inc.  This company is leading the integration of Continuous Quality Improvement principles into the construction industry.  It is a one-of-kind company with the vision of changing the face of construction forever.  Visit our website at www.qmservicesinc.com.  Well, I guess there is a third company, RVT Quality Systems, Inc.  It is the holding company (parent) for the other two "sister" companies.  You know, liability limiting maneuvers that the lawyers advise taking.