Ride Oklahoma Contact Info

5825 Tulakes Avenue
Hangar 18
Bethany, OK 73008

405-709-3000

James Pratt - Editor/Publisher/Photograher

405-641-3830

James started riding motorcycles in 1978. While he began with street bikes, including a Yamaha XS-650 Special and a Honda CB-750 Supersport, by 1980 he discovered dirt bikes and has been riding both off road and street ever since. He and his wife Kay were married in 1980 and both have been riding motorcycles since that time. When their kids Emily and Adam were born, naturally they were on dirt bikes by age 2. Emily is now the graphic designer for Ride Oklahoma while son Adam is a full time college student and works in parts at Performance Cycle in Bethany.

"I love all types of motorcycles. If it has two wheels I like to ride it, including my mountain bike. A bad day on any motorcycle is better than a good day in a car. I enjoy riding sport bikes, cruisers, dirt bikes, touring bikes, you name it. Probably my favorite is exploring out of the way places on my dual sport bike, but I love the feel and sound of a Harley Davidson Road King on the Talimena Drive just as much as I like the scream of a sport bike at Hallett or the bark of a 4-stroke dirt bike at Crossbar Ranch."

James is also a professional photographer, with images published in Cycle World, Motorcyclist, Ironworks, Rider and other motorcycling publications. He has done advertising work for BMW Motorcycles, Brass Ball Bobbers, Metropolitan Choppers and other bike manufacturers.

"I started Ride Oklahoma Magazine because the local motorcycling publications at the time seemed to focus only on "bikers". I have lots of very good friends who are hard core bikers and I like riding American V-Twin's like anyone else, but I felt there was so much more to the sport of motorcycling that wasn't being covered. I wanted to create a high quality publication that covered youth dirt bikes, women riders, sport bikes, long distance touring, just all types of riding."

"It seemes many publications are just an excuse to sell and distribute advertising. Our goal is to tell interesting stories and provide meaningful content to our readers, both in the magazine and on our web site. Our readers seem to appreciate quality writing and photography and are very loyal. We love our advertisers and want to help them out whenever possible, but I feel very strongly it all starts wth producing a quality product - quality writing, quality layout, interesting stories and world class photography."

"My favorite part is telling stories about the people and places in Oklahoma that make up the motorcycling industry. There are so many interesting people who ride motorcycles. I want to introduce these unique, interesting people to other riders and hopefully help build a stronger motorcycling community."

"For me, bringing Ride Oklahoma Magazine to our readers is a passion."

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Emily Murray - Creative Director

405-206-7322

Emily is the Creative Director for Ride Oklahoma Magazine. She is the designer who creates the stunning graphics and layout in both the magazine and on the Ride Oklahoma web site. A graduate of the Art Institute of Dallas and daughter of James & Kay Pratt, Emily has been riding motorcycles since she was 2 years old. She now rides a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and a custom Tombo Racing designed scooter.

"I really enjoy working on the magazine with my Dad. As the Creative Director for Ride Oklahoma, I focus mainly on the quality of the design. I believe that by using interesting photos and eye-catching layouts, our readers get a better overall experience with our magazine. Studies have shown that well-designed publications, whether small or large, continue to increase their audience more every year. It's my goal to produce a beautiful piece of printed material that will be passed around and talked about by our readers."

"I also have a history filled with motorcycles. As a kid, riding dirtbikes with my family and brother was my favorite pasttime. I remember spending the weekends at Draper Lake with our parents. I also remember throwing the "mega-fit" of the century the first time I had to wear motorcycle boots (hey, I was like 8). I grew up with an adventurous lifestyle where motorcycles took up more room in the garage than cars did. It seems only fitting, now, that I am fortunate enough to work full time on the magazine with my Dad. "

In addition to working full time at Ride Oklahoma, Emily is one of the original Co-Founders and current Coach of the Red Dirt Rebellion Rollergirls, Oklahoma's only banked track roller dreby league. Her fans know her as "Suzi Uzi," a rough-and-tumble skater with lightning speed and bone-crushing hits.

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Bill Dragoo - Senior Writer

Bill Dragoo has been riding motorcycles in Oklahoma since 1965. Starting on the motocross tracks of central Oklahoma, Bill now owns a Harley Davidson Dyna Sport, a Kawasaki dirt bike, a BMW F800GS dual sport touring bike and his latest addition, a venerable KLR-650.

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Susan Dragoo - Senior Writer/Photographer

Susan Dragoo grew up on the back of a motorcycle until she finally got tall enough to ride one by herself. Riding the neighbor kids' mopeds and mini-bikes were the name of the game for awhile, though Susan eventually had a Kawasaki Trail Boss and Yamaha Mini-Enduro to ride. Many decades passed between those young teenage years and the time she started riding as an adult. Repeating a familiar pattern, she rode on the back of Bill's Harley until deciding she needed her own bike. "Our first date, in the fall of 2003, we rode his Harley down to the drag racess at Thunder Valley. I was hooked and the rest is history."

A year later, she bought a Triumph Bonneville, then added a Harley Sportster to the stable. Late in 2006, Susan and Bill bought trail bikes . . . her Yamaha XT 225 and his infamous Kawasaki KLX "Squidflipper" and got involved in the dual sport scene. A Kawasaki Super Sherpa has now replaced the XT 225 and Susan's "road bike" is a BMW F650GS.

Susan started writing at a young age as well, working in the newspaper and public relations field before and after getting her degree in Telecommunications/Journalism at the University of Tulsa. Since then, she has worked in healthcare and earned graduate degrees in Management and Biostatistics, authoring several articles for healthcare journals.

Running, hiking, photography, and travel are among Susan's other interests, many of which she and Bill share with the five sons they have between them. "One of the best things about the dual sport motorcycling scene is getting to travel and meet so many great people," said Susan. "We have made, and continue to make, new friends all over the country and they truly bless our lives."

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Carole Hanks - Advertising Manager

Carole grew up on horses rather than motorcycles.