Episode 11
Dennis Noyes
When Hank Snow took “I’ve Been Everywhere” to number one on the country-music charts, Dennis Noyes was writing for a daily newspaper in Venezuela. South America is a long way from central Illinois, where Noyes was born and raised. His father wrote for the “Stars And Stripes” and his mother was a linguistics professor at Purdue University, so words have always been and remain integral to Dennis’ existence.
Noyes ultimately landed in Spain, where he became a motorcycle road tester for Solo Moto and Motociclismo magazines, as well as a national championship-winning racer. For years, Dennis traveled the world reporting on the biggest names in Grand Prix road racing. Noyes’ youngest son, Kenny, followed in his father’s wheel tracks, making his world championship debut in 2010 and winning the Spanish national title in 2014.
Today, Noyes is retired and living with his wife, Heidi, in California’s Anza-Borrego Desert. He still kicks up dust on two wheels, namely a John Bloor-era Triumph Thruxton with a pair of Mikuni round-slide carburetors replacing the modern electronic fuel injection styled to look like traditional mixers. Noyes recently published his first novel, “Yonders, Illinois.”