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"\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;P&gt;Travis Preston is one of our sport\\u2019s most comedic personalities. If you know Travis on a personal level than you also must know that it requires &lt;I&gt;one cool cat&lt;\\/I&gt; to deal with his shenanigans on a day-to-day basis. Now in his fourth year as the man behind the wrench of Presto\\u2019s race bike, Shawn Ulikowski has learned to master the fine arts of tuning &lt;I&gt;and&lt;\\/I&gt; baby-sitting. With one Supercross title under their belts, Shawny and TP are looking to double that total in 2004 with another 125cc SX title. Here\\u2019s a peek into the life and mind of another of our sport\\u2019s nice guys&amp;#8230;&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;P&gt;Okay Shawn, let\\u2019s get down to business: Most of the fans know Travis as the funny guy on the podium. Knowing him on a more personal level, how would you best describe him? &lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/B&gt;&lt;P&gt;He\\u2019s actually just quiet and keepsto himself most of the time. He works really hard on his riding and training, and doesn\\u2019t really hang out with anybody. He\\u2019ll pretend like he\\u2019s going to hang out with you, make plans with you, and then blow you out. (laughs)&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;P&gt;We\\u2019ve heard through the rumor mill that you and Travis are the cheapest guys in the world. Does that cheapskate pay you enough?&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/B&gt;&lt;P&gt;(Laughs) He actually does a pretty good job of holding up his end of the deal, but yeah, he\\u2019s pretty cheap. I get about one lunch a year out of that guy. It typically takes him a month or two to pay me because he\\u2019s trying to collect that half a percent interest off my money. (Laughs) He\\u2019s got something set up that he contributes to every month, and supposedly by the age of 35 he\\u2019ll have a million dollars. We\\u2019ll see how that goes.&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;P&gt;Travis tells us that you\\u2019ve made a bad habit out of buying new things, and then selling them off shortly thereafter. What\\u2019s up with that?&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/B&gt;&lt;P&gt;(Laughs) Yeah, I\\u2019ve been doing that a lot lately. I guess I just feel like if I am not getting enough use out of something, or if I am not getting my money\\u2019s worth, I sell it. I actually just bought a CRF250 though. I\\u2019ve ridden it a few times already and it\\u2019s really good! I definitely don\\u2019t plan on selling that! Oh, and also my Intense bicycles. I don\\u2019t plan on selling those either.&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;P&gt;Funny you bring up the mountain bikes. Travis mentioned that you have a very intimate relationship with those things. Care to explain?&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/B&gt;&lt;P&gt;(Laughs) Intimate huh? Yeah, I got into mountain biking pretty hard a couple years back. I met some people from Intense and they hooked me up with some bikes. I try to ride everyday, or whenever possible, but when the season comes around it\\u2019s a little harder. I really love to ride though.&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;P&gt;How\\u2019s the mechanical transition been for you with Travis switching over from the two-stroke 125 to the four-stroke 250?&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/B&gt;&lt;P&gt;It\\u2019s actually been pretty smooth. Last season, when Travis was hurt, I helped out the Honda guys with Windham and Ramsey\\u2019s practice bike motors. Plus, we already had a little bit of experience from when Travis rode the CRF450 in some of the east coast rounds last year. To tell you the truth, I actually like working on the four-stroke a little bit better because it\\u2019s a whole new learning curve. &lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;P&gt;Speaking of working on the bike\\u2026What\\u2019s the one tool that you can\\u2019t live without when you\\u2019re wrenchin\\u2019?&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/B&gt;&lt;P&gt;Hmmm\\u2026 That\\u2019s a good one. I\\u2019d have to say my custom, ground down, 32mm Cornwell wrench for the headset. I love that thing!&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;P&gt;Is it true that your latest pre-race ritual is knocking Travis\\u2019 race bike off of the stand?&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/B&gt;&lt;P&gt;(Laughs) You know, I am just trying to get the bike the best that it can possibly be for my dearest Travis, and if that did happen to allegedly occur, I am sure it was simply that the wind came up just the right way and blew it off of the stand. (laughs)&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;P&gt;And finally Shawn\\u2026 What\\u2019s your prediction  for the 2004 season?&lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/B&gt;&lt;P&gt;Well, our whole team\\u2019s looking good, and I know Travis is working hard, so I think he\\u2019s got a great shot at another title. It\\u2019ll be a good year!    &lt;\\/P&gt;&lt;\\/FONT&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://motocross.transworld.net/features/spanner-shawn-ulikowski/>