Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: TOMB on February 21, 2016, 04:13:02 PM
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With regret I'm writing with permission of Mikes brother.
Mike has a major health issue and is now in the Bridgeport Connecticut hospital doing the best he can . His family is in charge of his needs and doing what is needed on a day to day basis.
Mike and I have taken may rides together and now those will be the memories I cherish the most that identify his and my Guzzi memory's.
So as Mike prepares to take his final Guzzi ride I know that his old friends /new friends / and friends not yet made here will also cherish their memory's of our close friend.
I will post here further details as Mikes family allows.
Tom Bailey
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My thoughts with you both.
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I can't express how much this saddens me. Mike is one of a kind and an all around good guy. Entertaining to spend time with is one way I remember Mike.
Mike when he got the bike I bought from over that way:
(http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t103/cougarelim/ZOOMZOOMBILKEPICKUP008.jpg) (http://s158.photobucket.com/user/cougarelim/media/ZOOMZOOMBILKEPICKUP008.jpg.html)
John Henry
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Never met Mike , wish I had . Best to him and his family .
Dusty
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Sorry to hear this. I really like Mike. Enjoyed his company at several of the WV rallies. Good guy for sure.
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Very sad news. I always liked seeing Mike, always had a good story to tell and a wealth of Guzzi knowledge.
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Tom, can you please let Mike's family, and Mike, know that we're thinking of him.
ZZ
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Sad to hear this. The man rode hard.
Rich A
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Sorry to read this. Here's a photo of Mike with.... if memory is correct, long distance award for the Black Hills Rally 10 yrs or so ago.
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/juturtle/IronMike.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/juturtle/media/IronMike.jpg.html)
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yep- Iron Mike was a true gem. Been a few years since I seen him. Will never forget him ! Very sad news :bow:
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Very sad to hear about Iron Mike. He was one of the first Guzzi gents I had the pleasure of meeting at Marcus Dairy. Mike always had a smile on his face, lots of good stories and plenty of great advice for someone (me) new to the Guzzi world.
My best to Mike and his family.
Steve
Oxford, CT
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That is sad to hear. Iron Mike and Tom helped me out of a huge mess a few years back when I was cut off on a ramp to I95 and mangled up my bike and myself. Messed up ankle and a fair amount of deep road rash. Iron Mike and Tom met up with me at the hotel the following morning with crutches and a trailer. Mike hauled my bike to his place and Tom took me to the Hartford airport so I could rent a car one way to home (chicago area) so I could return in my van to fetch my bike from Mike. I won't forget their kindness.
I wish the best for Mike. I hope his fate is as painless as possible.
JB
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I'm the one that gave him the name Iron Mike as he won long distance award many, many times at the Italy, Texas rally. Then randy Teftt started coming and beat Mike out. What does Iron Mike say? About time someone else got the award! That is the kind of rider he was.
I was disappointed that he didn't make it to the National in NH.
Can someone get a phione # or address so I can contact him.
Tex
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I ride my new to me leaking from every seal Convert, to Marcus Dairy...
"Pervert, eh?", says Mike. Now he notices there is an oil patch the size of a dinner plate under the bike...
"Yeah, they do that...bring it to my garage and we'll fix that..."
I haven't stopped the bike. I'm flat footed, idling...i haven't said a word yet..this is the first guy I met in the Guzzi world
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So sorry to hear this, spent many hours talking with Mike at Itlee. Always looked forward to seeing him, Great Guy.
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I think I'm honking pretty good on my way into breakfast Sun AM...long left hand bend, off camber, pumping the Vert as hard as she'll go...Mike blasts past me, waving, like I was standing still...
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Randy Tefft introduced me to Mike at the Bucky Bush WV rally some dozen odd years ago.
Mike sat down with me at a picnic table for an MGNOC Profiles interview.
If you're a friend of Mike's and a member of the MGNOC, open up April 2006 Newsletter.
You'll learn Mike's life story.
-Gary Jenkins
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Very sorry to hear of this.
Dean
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Sad news Mike passed on this morning about 5:00am . He passed away in his sleep He lived well and the memories we cherish will be great ones.
As information is available l'll post.it here
Tom Bailey
TOMB
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Thanks, Tom
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Sorry to read this, may he rest in peace.
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I only talked to him a few times,briefly, but I too will miss him. Rest in peace
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Another good one gone. Sad to hear this news.
ZZ
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DAMN!
Tex
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He will be remembered and missed by many, RIP Mike.
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Well, Damn.
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(http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb175/sjc56/Bean%202014/mike2.jpg)
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Years back I remember driving by Marcus Dairy during a biblical rain storm. There was one bike under the awning that Sunday morning. A well ridden Guzzi. I pulled in to the lot and went in to say hello to Mike. My wife just shook her head.
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I can't tell you what that Steve Cote photograph from the IMOC Rally means to me...Lynn, too.
Steven Rossi
East Haddam, CT
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n(http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t103/cougarelim/Ken%20John%20Mike_zpsjiyrhiuv.jpg) (http://s158.photobucket.com/user/cougarelim/media/Ken%20John%20Mike_zpsjiyrhiuv.jpg.html)
L to R: Ken, myself, and Mike.
John Henry
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Mike will be missed. He was always a pleasure to talk to at all the events I've met over the years.
Tom
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Truth be told, he wasn't just a Guzzi guy. He was one of the Guzzi greats, who blessed us with his presence...
Steven Rossi
East Haddam, CT
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(http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb175/sjc56/Bean%202014/mike2.jpg)
I didn't know Mike,but this is one of the coolest Guzzi pics I have ever seen. Godspeed,Mike...you have the respect of your peers. Well done.
Terry
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One Sunday am it's near freezing, and drizzling, so I drive my car to breakfast at Marcus....Mike pulls in with ice sickles hanging off the front fairing...
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A couple CT guzzi guys spend the weekend riding near Middlebury, VT...Mike gets up at o-dark thirty, rides Bridgeport, CT to middle VT, three or four hours,.so that....he can ride with us back to CT on Sunday morning, for the heck of it..
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Sorry to hear of his passing. He was one of a kind. Mike and I shared an interesting ride at the WV rally once. We walked a couple miles to a store to get supplies. On the way back a school bus stopped, the driver knew.we.were.there for.the rally and offered us a ride back. We got a.good laugh from the crowd when we pulled in the lot,.. in the (appropriate for us) short bus.
Can anyone say how old Mike was?
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My warmest and deepest condolences to Mike's family and friends.
I never met the man, but from what I have read, he was a true Guzzi-ist. A man among men.
May he have eternal peace.
Tom
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Sorry to hear of his passing. He was one of a kind. Mike and I shared an interesting ride at the WV rally once. We walked a couple miles to a store to get supplies. On the way back a school bus stopped, the driver knew.we.were.there for.the rally and offered us a ride back. We got a.good laugh from the crowd when we pulled in the lot,.. in the (appropriate for us) short bus.
Can anyone say how old Mike was?
That was a moment in Guzzi history that will never be forgotten. What a sight THAT was.
I believe Mike was in his mid 60's.
John Henry
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I met Iron Mike a couple times in the `90s when in the South & S. Dakota Guzzi National. He was a character. I had bought a Convert. w/a chrome roll on centerstand I had no use for so I sold it to Mike. He said he was going to make copies of it and sell them. Now I wish I had that CS since I have another Convert. :cry: Mike was the real deal. :thumb:
Yes, it's interesting how so many of us Guzzisti come from different backgrounds but you rarely know what it is unless it somehow comes up in a conversation. It's like we all want to be incognito for awhile, escape from our normal life, unless we're retired and it is our new normal life.
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"Shaggy Mike," as I always called him, was among the reasons I became a Guzzi guy.
I got to know Mike when I moved to Connecticut in the middle 90's. I used to come to Marcus Dairy nearly every Sunday, and Mike was ALWAYS there on two wheels. There were days where Mike's wine-red Cal III and my Honda were the only bikes under the eaves. And on the days that I relented and took the truck, Mike's Guzzi was still there. I had tremendous respect for Mike, Alan, Tom, and the entire Guzzi crew. I was in my twenties, they were in their forties, and they looked like the motorcycle men I wanted to become when I grew up.
When I got my own Guzzi, I was welcomed by Mike and his friends. A year later, I sold the SPNT and bought a California EV that I still have. Several times, Mike helped me keep that bike roadworthy when I couldn't afford dealership prices. Every time we talked, I learned something.
Mike is still a role model to me for his humility, determination, generosity, and especially his ceaseless riding. I will miss his crazy laugh and his stories too amazing not to be true.
Ride on, Shaggy Mike!
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Obituary for Michael F. Duphiney
Michael F. Duphiney, age 65, of Bridgeport, passed away Tuesday, February 23, 2016 in Bridgeport Hospital. Mike was born June 27, 1950 in Waterbury, son of Frederick and Rolande (Cote) Duphiney and had been a Bridgeport resident most of his life.
He was a United States Navy Veteran of the Vietnam War and worked for NAPA Auto Parts. He also was a part time carpenter, welder and jack of all trades. He was always fixing or building something for some one.
Known by his biker friends… as "Iron Mike," his passion in life was riding his Guzzi Motorcycle all over the United States and had on many occasions won the "Iron Butt" award for "Furthest Rider" when he rode from Connecticut to Italy, Texas where the Guzzi Conventions were held.
Survivors, in addition to his parents, include his brother Jimmy Duphiney and his wife Virginia of Monroe; sister, Claudette Howard and her husband Andy of Oxford; brother Bill and his wife Patty of Stratford; longtime companion, Drucinda Moshier; best friend Tom Bailey and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be announced.
To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Michael F. Duphiney please visit our Tribute Store. http://wrmcdonaldfuneralhome.tributecenteronline.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=784242#/obituaryInfo Main St. Stratford Ct
Brother address
William Duphiney, 94 Kings College Pl, Stratford, CT 06615.
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Mike's parents address is :
Mr & Mrs. Fred J. Duphiney, 1460 Elm Street, Unit 327, Stratford, CT 06615
They will have a memorial service later in the year..probably when it is a lot warmer up there.
TOMB
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Tom, thank you for the link.
John Henry
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For years I had been stopping by Marcus Dairy on my BMW and rarely got into conversations with other BMW riders. I bought my first Guzzi in 2002. When I pulled into Marcus Dairy, I hadn't shut the engine down before Mike and Tom were waving me over to their table. That's the way it is with group. One morning I was speeding down the highway to Marcus Dairy at an illegal speed when Mike casually cruises by me holding a cup of coffee in his left hand, with a big smile on his face. A great guy and a wealth of Guzzi information. He will be missed.
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Thanks, TomB