Egg Ride Inventor Bob Duchesne Remembers the Ride’s Beginnings … 36 Years Ago

Q106.5 Egg Ride was Saturday. Another successful year, and thanks to you, Pine Tree Camp raised more money than ever. The camp kids and their families appreciate your generosity.

Before the 36th Egg Ride, I had a nice chat with Bob Duchesne. The guy who started the Egg Ride for Q106.5. He didn’t go on the first egg ride, and there were no eggs involved. One of the Q106.5 staffers did the Ride-In, eggless.

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But in year two, the eggs became part of the ride. And all these years later are still what make the ride stand out. When we explain to someone who is unaware of the ride what it entails we still to this year hear

“You do what with eggs?”

I asked Bob what he was thinking when he came up with the idea:

"You know radio promotions. We try to attach a promotion to an event so we can help the event and we get noticed for doing it."

Bob was the first guy on Q106.5 and at the time was the only local DJ on the station, the other guys were delivering via satellite from outside the market.

He came to Q106.5 after a successful run in Washington D.C. at a major country station there. Prior to D.C., Bob had started his radio career with WTVL in Waterville.

All that after he majored in Government at Colby College.

Bob spent 17 years on the Morning Show and in management positions before deciding to retire from radio.

And Pine Tree Camp and the fundraising efforts via the Egg Ride were not the only community events and radio promotions and charities that Bob became involved with while at Q106.5

So he left Q106.5 and decided to put his college major to use.

Bob Duchesne served six terms in the Maine House of Representatives.

Time to retire from government and spend more time in the woods ‘Birding’.

And then Governor Mills nominated Bob to serve on the board of the Board of Environmental Protection.

So he’s still a busy man.

But he's ot too busy that he isn’t starting to check off items on his bucket list. Like an upcoming trip to Alaska.

When I asked him if he still gets up early, like radio morning guys do, he replied

“Yes, I get up by 6 a.m. but the difference now is I get to bed earlier.”

I asked him about a common radio person’s dream. The Anxiety Dream. In the dream, the radio person is in the studio and nothing is going right. There are no songs ready to play. You totally lose your train of thought and have no idea what you are saying, or suppose to be saying, or the equipment won’t work.

Bob laughed as he said

“All these years later I still have the dream where I can’t get the song to play. But in the dream, I tell myself it is just a dream, and it’s no longer my problem. I don’t care if the record won’t play”

Bob is still a fun-loving, happy guy and it’s always great to catch up with him.

And please note that the offer was made to have him come into the radio station and co-host the Q106.5 Morning Show. Hopefully, Eastern Maine gets to hear his infectious laugh once again soon on Q106.5.