A flamboyant former State Senator isn't ready to ride off into the sunset just yet. Dave Zien of Chippewa Falls has been out of the limelight since Democrat Pat Kreitlow defeated him in November 2006. He'll get press time this weekend as he rides into Wisconsin and logs his one-millionth mile on his Harley Davidson.
We talked with Zien this week. The 59-year-old was in Florida, trying to outrun some storms as he traveled 1,400 miles to Wisconsin. He expects to turn his odometer to 1,000,000 when he enters a Harley dealership in New Berlin
Zien was famous for crisscrossing his senate district – and the entire state – on his Harley. It got him some bad press when journalists discovered he was reimbursed tens-of-thousands of dollars for the mileage, even though motorcycles use far less fuel than cars. But, it was – and is – his trademark. Zien sounds interested in getting back into politics. He says people ask him about it all the time, but he's still unsure if he'll ever run for office again.