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Chris K. Geek Bio

NICKNAME: "CK"
RIDING SINCE: 2008
BIKES: Honda '07 VFR 800A (ABS. Ann Ed.), ‘07 Honda VFR800 (R.I.P.), ‘06 Honda 919, ‘05 Suzuki GS 500F
RIDING STYLE: Commuter, Valleyrunner, Sport-Touring
FAVORITE QUESTION: "I'm thinking about buying [insert product here], do you know anything about motorcycles?"

About Chris:
A Delaware native, Chris spent a good portion of his adolescence trying to figure out how to get out of Delaware. After a few years in Philadelphia, receiving his Masters of Music Theory from Temple University, Chris decided there is no better place to be than Delaware after all and recently returned to the ‘First State.’ He and his wife Candice enjoy the more relaxed pace of North Wilmington, with the allure and excitement of city only a short drive away.

Chris is a year-rounder who rides as much as possible (excluding ice) and especially enjoys some great twisty roads like are found in Delaware County and the Tri-State area (PA/DE/MD). Chris and Candice occasionally take the “Viffer Swiffer” (2007 Honda VFR800) for long weekends up and down the east coast, having traveled from Maine down to the Blueridge Mountains with plenty of ground covered in-between. While not a camper, he does specialize in cramming the most amount of gear onto his VFR for long trips. He’s an expert on the practicality and functionality of gear and its protective features.

“As a commuter, you must constantly prepare for your next crash. An observant rider can avoid most incidents and can usually crash less than an equally observant driver, however, if riding is part of your daily routine, crashing will be a part of your life at some point. The longer I ride, the more stringent I am with myself to wear the right protection all the time. My first two accidents were rather minor, but both were on days that I neglected to wear gear. These days were exceptions to my usual routine, but somehow I played the statistics in the wrong direction. Even though the mishaps were minor (low-sides at low speeds), I will always carry physical scars from these incidents.  The days that you talk yourself out of putting on safety apparel are always the days you end up needing it.” -- CK

In his alter ego, Chris is a church musician who plays both pipe organ and piano for traditional and contemporary genre Sunday services. He is also a free-lance musician for weddings, funerals and other musical productions in the DE Valley. Chris also enjoys hyper-miling his VW Jetta TDi and regularly gets 600 miles to the tank! One day soon he will join the 700 club. In a previous life, Chris modded his 2003 Mini Cooper S to the extreme. Sporting 13.5 seconds to the quarter mile, this matchbox car was a local legend in its day. His next bike would be a Honda Crossrunner, if only they imported them into the US!

Favorite part of being on TeamZilla?:  “If I have to pick just one reason, I guess I have to say it's the mesh of diversity and common ground.  There are so many different people here, from so many different walks of life, yet we all share a common goal around motorcycles and our passion to help, educate, and serve people.  Usually when you stick a bunch of dissimilar people together and tell them to focus on the same task, it results in a lot of friction.  Instead, even though there are people here with vastly different tastes, philosophies, and fashions than me, I can't say that there is a single person I wouldn't mind hanging out with after work.”

Related: www.careerthoughts.com/chris-kraus

Current Gear:
Helmet:

  • Arai Signet-Q Racer Helmet

3-Season Cold:

Summer:

  • Dainese New Drake Air Textile Pants
  • Dainese TRQ Race Out Air Boots
  • Dainese Shotgun Jacket
  • REV’IT! Comet Gloves
  • REV'IT! Tour Summer Socks
  • TCX Jupiter 2 GTX Boots

Past Gear:

*Indicates crash experience in these items