I remain the same guy, just older and adjusted to a comfortable life alone.
Activities, Hobbies, and Personal Life
My activities and hobbies outside of my profession include:
- Volunteer community leader: I am a leader in my community and am involved in several non-profit groups serving homeowners and residents in the county where I live, and in my state.
- Volunteer paramedic: I renewed my license and serve my community as a volunteer to fill in where and when needed.
- Photography: I have developed more skill in photography, mostly of landscapes. I travel a lot for photographic adventures. Some of my work is displayed on galleries on this website.
- Motorcycling: I sold my Harley-Davidson motorcycle and for health reasons, have stopped riding.
- Helping others: frequently help out elderly family and neighbors in a nearby retirement community.
- Politics: I participate by engaging elected officials on issues about which I care, but since 2010, I no longer actively work on political campaigns.
- Gardening/landscaping: keeping up the grounds of my wooded landscape.
- Cooking: I love to bake and cook, Italian being a specialty. I eat out only when I travel.
- Website building: if you have explored my website, you're seeing my work.
- Travel: My travel these days is limited to the U.S. and Canada. I have traveled to six continents, 56 countries, every state, territory, and commonwealth of the U.S., as well as every province and territory of Canada.
- Construction: I am a skilled carpenter and have an electrician's license. I have remodeled older homes, built 1/3 of the house that I live in (subbed the rest), finished the basement of my house, built decks, and a three-season room addition.
Q. Why don't you use your real name on this website or on postings on the Internet?
A. "Booted Harleydude" has been around since this website began in 2005, so that moniker remains my screen name on some platforms such as BLUF.com and recon.com. The name I go by for current communications is "Rick."
Q. Where do you hang out?
A. I am pretty much a home-body, and do not go out (except that I attend meetings in my community from time to time.) I am a very early-to-bed, early-to-rise guy, so that also precludes visits to bars and other nightspots, especially during the week.
Q. What activities do you do when you are wearing Cowboy Boots?
A. Going about daily life. Note: I do not dance.
Q. What activities do you do when you are wearing Motorcycle Boots?
A. Going about daily life.
Q. You have a huge collection of Dress Shoes. When do you wear them since you are retired?
A. Great question! I wear them at home with suits, just because I like how suits feel on my body. I like how they look and feel on my feet.
Q. What do you do in Work boots?
A. I own and wear several pairs of work boots when I do construction or mow my lawn.
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My Boot an Leather Life
Q. Are you a Cowboy, Bootman, Leatherman, or a Bear?
A. Does it have to be "either/or"? I do not identify with any particular gay subculture. I have a few characteristics of these subcultures, but that's more by serendipity than by design.
Q. What to you compose the qualities of a Leatherman?
A. This is different for different men. For me, I wear my biker leathers for real, regularly. I do not pose in leather for a once-a-year event. I wear my leather around home and around my community during fall, winter, and spring.
Q. Do you mentor other Bootmen and emerging Leathermen?
A. I'm happy to give advice on request, such as my Complete Guide to Biker Leathers or my Complete Guide to Leather Gear. I will answer legitimate questions by email. Send me a message. I won't bite. I've "been there, done that" and perhaps I can share some of my experience to help you.
Q. Do you wear uniforms?
A. I wear a uniform for my volunteer job, but do not wear fetish uniforms any more and offer to sell my fetish uniform attire.
Q. Do the red stripes on your fetish breeches, chaps, and leather shirts reflect the flag you fly as a leatherman?
A. No. I really just like the color combination of red and black with leather. According to "The Gay Hanky Code," red means "fist fucker," I am definitely not into that.
Q. Do you attend events like Mid-Atlantic Leather, or International Mr. Leather, or Bear Conventions, club runs, or things like that?
A. My husband and I attended several MAL events and IML once. I did not enjoy these events for various reasons: I am not a night person. I am not interested in meeting other guys for sex as many attendees of these events are. I have moved on or outgrown going to these events and do not plan to attend any more.
Q. Do you get into BDSM (bondage, discipline, flogging, etc.)?
A. No. I do not enjoy activities like that. I understand others do -- just not me.
Q. Do you have any latex, lycra, or spandex gear?
A. Nope. Definitely not for me.
Q. Do you phone other men who provide their number and ask for a call?
A. No. Demanding a call without knowing the person is annoying. I delete those messages.
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Boots
Q. Have you worn boots with a suit to weddings, funerals, and other formal occassions?
A. I was booted in a tux as Best Man in my brother's formal wedding, and I've even attended receptions at embassies and the White House in my dress Cowboy Boots. (These days, though, I usually wear dress shoes with my suits.)
Q. Do people ever say anything about your wearing boots so frequently?
A. No. Boots on my feet are expected, but they also see me in dress shoes and don't say anything. It really doesn't matter.
Q. What would you would wear if you took visitors on a walking tour of Washington, DC?
A. I would likely wear comfortable hikers if I know I have to walk a lot.
Q. What do you wear when you do work around the house?
A. I own and wear various pairs of work boots.
Q. Do your feet get tired?
A. Sometimes... in boots or shoes made more for show than for comfort. I sometimes change boots or shoes several times day, depending on where I am going, what I will be doing, and the method of transportation I choose to use (4-wheeled vehicle, walking, or getting a ride with someone else.) Good quality socks also help a lot!
Q. What are your favorite boots?
A. I have no specific favorite boots. I wear most of my cowboy boots and motorcycle boots in my collection often.
Q. I do not see any rubber boots or rubber gear in your collection. Why not?
A. Rubber boots or gear do not do anything for me except make me sweat. I do not like that feeling, so I do not have any. Just not for me.
Q. Do you have any women's boots?
A. No. I am a masculine man. The boots in my collection are my own and for me to wear. I do not find women's boots interesting at all.
Q. Do you prefer lace-up or pull-on boots?
A. Generally, I prefer pull-on boots because I do not have much patience with the time required to lace boots properly. Since I didn't learn how to tie shoes until I was 13, that was another reason why I wore boots since about age 10... no tying required!
Q. Do you wear boots without socks?
A. I always wear socks. I can't stand the feeling of sweaty feet. Plus, my boots go on and come off so much more easily when I'm wearing socks.
Q. I do not see any crotch-high boots in your collection. Why not?
A. I once had a pair of 32" Wesco Big Boss Boots, but gave them away to a friend. I find boots above the knee to be hot and impractical. Personally, I do not like them (on me; this isn't about other guys.)
Q. When you Cowboy Up, do you wear jeans inside or outside of your boots?
A. Jeans over the boots. In American culture, jeans are very rarely worn inside traditional cowboy boots (though it is common to wear jeans inside tall buckaroo boots).
Q. What style of jeans do you wear?
A. As of 2021 or so, I prefer to wear Levi blue denim jeans with hemmed tapered legs so you can see the boots well.
Q. You didn't mention wearing Wesco boots.
A. That's right. I do not wear Wesco boots any more. They are uncomfortable, hot, inflexible, and are too heavy.
Q. What are your oldest boots that you still wear?
A. I still have about a dozen pairs of my Frye Boots from high school days; however, I can't wear them any more. I guess my oldest boots I wear are beat-up cowboy boots of some sort. I've got many of 'em.
Q. What are your newest boots?
A. When I get new boots, I mention them on my What's New Page on this website when I have pics of them.
Q. What boots have you been most disappointed with?
A. Boots that won't stop squeaking, or whose size says one thing but become something else. I do not like boots that have man-made shaft material. It feels like it is plastic, is hot, and sometimes has loose threads or material that causes something inside the shaft to rub on a part of my calf, causing sores. Crappy manufacturing processes are frequent for boots made in China, so I avoid them.
Q. What have you done in your boots?
A. Mostly walk in them and ride horses or iron horses while wearing them.
Q. What boots are most sexy to you?
A. Tall black Dehners. I have quite the Dehner Boot fetish.
Q. Have you worn boots 24/7?
A. I've tried, but I have this problem with sweaty extremeties, and when my feet sweat, the discomfort I feel keeps me awake. I can't sleep while wearing boots.
Q. Would you like to wear boots 24/7?
A. No.
Q. Were boots a factor in your early years as you were identifying as Gay?
A. Not directly, though related. I have a boot fetish and enjoy sex while wearing or cumming on my boots. In particular, tall black patrol boots always get me hard and get a lot of attention.
Q. What boots do you have your eye on?
A. Tall Black Motorcycle Cop Boots on real bike cops in uniform always catch my eye. And I do not pass up noticing guys in cowboy boots, either. (Especially if the guy is in tight denim jeans!)
Q. What boots would you like to get that you do not already have?
A. I've gotten pretty much everything I have wanted and will wear.
Q. What's the most you have paid for a pair of boots?
A. $700.00 for Custom Wesco Roughout Harness Boots that I regretted buying and sold them several years later.
Q. Other than gifts, what's the least you have paid for a pair of boots?
A. About $40 from an eBay auction. About $100 for a new pair from a store or internet site featuring a sale.
Q. What turns you on about boots?
A. How they look (mostly) as well as how they feel on my legs.
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Dress Shoes
Q. Do you wear shoes?
A. Yes, since 2017 I developed a dress shoe fetish and have expanded my footwear collection to include a lot of nice-looking dress shoes. I especially like oxfords which compose the majority of my dress shoe collection. While I have dozens of shoes made by Allen Edmonds, I also like stylish classic oxfords from Barker English Shoes and Paul Evans, which to me are quite attractive. I significantly expanded my dress shoe collection during 2021 (and onward) with shoes made in Colombia, England, Italy, Spain, and the USA. I continue to explore the world of men's dress shoes and am trying out different brands made around the world (except for China.)
Q. Do you wear a suit and tie?
A. Hell yeah! I like the look (jacket, shirt, necktie, tailored suit pants, and shoes) and how a well-fitted suit feels and goes with my large dress shoe collection. I own and wear several tailored men's suits, ties, shirts, slacks -- "the works." I have a suit fetish and enjoy it.
Q. What do you like about dressing up, especially since you are retired and don't have to?
A. I like the look of a dress shirt, tie, slacks, and nice-looking dress shoes, especially with a suit. Men's dresswear these days is comfortable, lightweight, and easy to wear all day. When I go grocery shopping in a suit, I've attracted the attention of other guys who compliment the shoes (they always look at the shoes), then strike up a conversation. Haven't gone home with anyone and likely will not.
Q. Do you have and wear a leather suit?
A. Yes, I have put together several all-leather suits (dress leather shirt, leather tie, leather blazer, dress leather pants, black leather gloves and Muir cap) that I wear with my dress shoes. All the leather gear that assembles dress leather suits are on my gear fetish page. Check it out!
Q. What is your favorite style of dress shoes?
A. Oxfords! I enjoy classic wingtips, cap toe, and brogued oxford shoes. I have a few other styles, but oxfords turn my crank.
Q. What are your most expensive pair of dress shoes?
A. Carmina formal black cap toes.
Q. What are the sexiest pairs of dress shoes you own?
A. The shoes that appeal to be most are shiny black shoes, especially wingtips. Man, they are hot! They give me a hard on every time I wear them, especially with a suit.
Q. How many shoes do you have?
A. Like my boot collection, my dress shoe collection continues to grow. The count is on my dress shoe index page.
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Smoking
Q. Do you smoke cigarettes?
A. Yes. I prefer Marlboro 100s.
Q. Didn't you quit?
A. I never really quit smoking. I just hid it for a while because my late husband didn't like it. When I smoked, I smoked outside and not around him.
Q. Why do we see you smoking now?
A. I thought, "f'kit, why hide it?" I smoke... and returned my smoking page to this website in 2022.
Q. Do you smoke cigars?
A. Seldom. While the smell of cigs doesn't bother me, the smell of cigars does, so I choose not to smoke cigars, but won't refuse one if offered to me.
Q. How much do you smoke?
A. It varies, but about a pack a day.
Q. Do you smoke in your home?
A. Sometimes.
Q. Do you chain smoke?
A. Seldom. Some days when I haven't finished smoking a full pack (being a pack-a-day smoker), I may chain the remaining cigs in that pack. Sometimes I chain smoke when I smoke-and-stroke too.
Q. What do you like to wear when smoking?
A. I have three associated fetishes: 1. Leather -- I smoke a LOT while wearing leather and smoke-strokin'. 2. Suits -- a man smoking in a suit is hot! 3. Cowboy denim and boots -- that's how it began.
Q. What do you mean, "how it began?"
A. When I was a kid, I spent my summers on a horse ranch in Oklahoma. All of the working cowboys smoked Marlboros. When I was 14 years old, one of the cowboys who was about 6 years older offered me a Marlboro and I liked it. He continued to give me smokes that summer. By the time I returned back East for school, I was hooked. Smoking was allowed in high school if you had a note from a parent. I got one, and thus... I smoked since then. Full story of when and how I started smoking is here.
Q. Have you smoke-swapped with another guy?
A. Yes, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. I do not want to do that again.
Q. What is your sexual fantasy about smoking?
A. I enjoy smoking while wearing my Muir Cap, tight leather gloves and smoke-strokin'. I have unloaded lots of cum on my boots and shoes while smoking. That's not a fantasy -- that's reality.
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Meeting Other Men
Q. Since you are single, are you interested in meeting other men?
A. I dated someone for a while in 2022, but it didn't work out. What I learned from that experience is that I am okay being single, and am not interested in dating another guy. It's tough being an older, experienced, man. Other men my age come with some relationship history that complicates things. I am up for meeting a guy socially for lunch, dinner, coffee or a smoke, but that is about it.
Q. What about younger men?
A. No; I am not interested in dating or sex with a guy who is significantly younger than me. I am not a "trainer" or "master" in that way. It is just not who I am.
Q. Would you like to have sex with another guy?
A. As I said above, I dated another guy in 2022. We had sex, but it wasn't good for either of us. 'nuf said. Answer to this question is, no.
Q. Do you host visitors?
A. No. Not interested.
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If you have questions or comments, drop me a line.
→ Site Index →
Visit my blog, "BHD's Musings"
Cowboy Boots
Work Boots
Motorcycle Boots
Dress Boots
Dress Shoes
Active Motorcycle Gear
Retired Motorcycle Gear
Fetish Leather Gear
Smoking