Once in a great while, an individual connects with an audience. News anchor Walter Cronkite was often called “the most trusted man in America.” Vin Scully was the “voice of baseball.” For legions of motorsports fanatics, our next guest’s encyclopedic knowledge and booming baritone cemented their connection with all manner of two- and four-wheel competition.

In his youth, Dave Despain aspired to race motorcycles but admits he lacked the necessary courage and talent, never mind he stood head and shoulders above his two-wheel heroes. Despain called flat-track and road-racing events before accepting broader-reaching auto-racing assignments and later hosting his own TV shows, among them “WindTunnel with Dave Despain.”

Despain is a motorcyclist to his core. Studio work in the can, he would often ride one of his bikes countless miles to a distant destination to fulfill his public-address duties. Even off the clock, Despain found himself on the seat of a motorcycle, frequently his trusted Kawasaki KLR650, which he ultimately rode to Alaska, a trip that he discusses in detail on this episode of “Driven To Ride.”