9 HARLEY OWNERS GROUP

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1 Issue 9 HARLEY OWNERS GROUP ~*0308*~ In this issue: VOLUME 09 Sept In the Director s Seat New Members -.2 Riding the road with the Jesster -.3 Ride Recap Ride Recap Ride Recap Safety Officer Ride Recap Money Matter$ Palm Springs -..6 Events Calendar at a Glance.12 Officers and Contacts.12 Palm Springs -.7

2 Hi Everyone, I wanted to do something different this month for my article. I want to let you know about an event that has touched me and my family over the last few years - The St. Vincent de Paul escort ride. This year will be the 5th year that my family and I will participate. This event is where we the HOG chapter, escort limousines full of kids from St. Vincent de Paul (downtown) to La Jolla for a holiday celebration. Every year this event gets larger, both from the number of children and the members of SD HOG escorting the cars. This year it will be held on Tuesday, December 8th. Last year was by far the largest and most organized I have ever seen. We had over 50 bikes, 70 members, their families, and 11 limousines carrying 108 kids from St. Vincent de Paul. This year is promising to be as big if not bigger than last year. The first big fundraiser in support of this ride took place this last weekend with the overnighter to Palm Springs. Last year we raised enough money to buy toys so that every kid received at least one toy at the party, and in many cases, two toys. We still had enough toys to make a second trip to St. Vincent de Paul so that they could pass them out for Christmas morning. St. Vincent de Paul has an area set up where the donated toys are stored until Christmas morning. Each child staying at St. Vincent s makes out a wish list. Their parents go to where the toys are stored and pick out a couple toys so that Christmas morning they have something from Santa. Last year Leslie and I brought the extra toys back to St. Vincent de Paul after the party and while I was walking through the complex I saw a couple of kids that were playing with the toys they received earlier at the party. These kids were so happy telling their parent(s) all about the evening. It really touched my heart to see the smiles that we helped put on their faces. There are a lot of people that help make this a successful event, from the limo company that transport the kids, La Jolla Cove Suites that hosts the party, the Swinging Friar and Padre Squad this is just to name a few. Then there is US! We show up on these big Harley Davidson motorcycles bringing toys for the kids. Of all the charities that we support as a group this one has touched me the most. These kids do not have much and they are so grateful when we show up giving as we do. I know that this year has been tough and a lot of us are struggling to make ends meet but please give what you can and if that means giving your time then you will be rewarded for that with their smiles.. Mark your calendar on December 8th at 4 pm. We will meet at the dealership, ride as a group downtown to St. Vincent de Paul and then escort the limos to La Jolla.. Check out the pictures on the website from last year s ride. In the true spirit of the holidays this is one event that you will want to participate See you all on the road, let s ride and have fun, Art 2002 Ultra Heather 2009 Deluxe Michelle 2009 Dyna Low Kerry 2009 Fat Boy Julian 2004 Dyna Low Garry 2006 Ultra Rick 2007 Night Train State Contractor Lic. # ilymup@aol.com z6430 chandler Dr. San Diego, CA Phone/Fax: Pager: Residential-Commercial Tenant Improvement Fan & Fixture Install. Service Upgrades 24 Hr. Emergency Service Robert Chavez, Owner 2

3 Tsk, Tsk, Such a Shame Do you know the feeling of let down when someone you have respect for, falls from grace before your very eyes? I recently suffered this type of trauma. Allow me to set the scene. It was a beautiful sunny and hot day. I was doing the thing that I love the most, riding my Harley with some of my best friends. In fact it was sort of a celebration. We were all riding along the coast in celebration of three of our members upcoming weddings. Since I was one of the three lucky guys, it was especially meaningful to me. There were at least twenty of us enjoying the ride, the scenery and each other. And then it happened. Have you ever witnessed or been involved in an impromptu race? If so, you know the feeling of anticipation and excitement. Throw in a measure of danger that you are about to race on a city street and could get caught or (GOD forbid) something could go wrong. And then it is ON! The thrill of the speed, the machine between your legs pulsing with power, hitting the gears with precision, wind blasting your face, your ears ringing with the song blasting out of your after market exhaust, every nerve in your body seems to be vibrating. Back to the ride. Warren and I were sweeping the group. Mostly because we enjoy riding side by side. We are also able to wait a little at each intersection and practice high speed take offs. Sort of like racing, but we were doing it just for fun, not to win. So, the group was going through the City of Encinitas along the coast. Pretty impressive to see a group of twenty Harleys rumbling through town. There are lots of intersections, so there was a lot of rumbling as we all accelerated through those intersections. At one particular intersection, our group was in the number one lane as we approached the stop. In the lane to our right a person on a VESPA sped by and got to the stop at the same time as the lead riders in our group. You guessed it. The race was ON! From the back of the pack, I could hear the roar of the revving engines as the two riders in the lead were challenging the Vespa rider to race. The intersection was controlled by a stop sign, so it didn t take long for the bikes to ready, set, go. Those two riders were Scott B. and Chris K. I don t know which of them issued the challenge, but there was more than just one engine revving in challenge, several in fact. Given the circumstances, I can see how one might get caught up in the excitement. When they took off, the rest of the group held back for just little, but not much, because we were all in the moment of the race. I heard the song of those loud after market exhausts, the ripping sound of spinning tires on the pavement. I could also hear a high pitched whine that I assumed was emanating from the stock exhaust of the Vespa. Or, maybe it was the whirring of the chain drive on the Vespa. Not sure. It was probably a little more than a quarter of a mile to the next intersection which was controlled by a signal light. The light was red for our lane of travel. As I approached the intersection and came to a stop, I saw the Vespa making a right hand turn from the cross street onto the street that we were on. Apparently, the driver of the Vespa had made it to the intersection, made a right turn and then an immediate U turn and finally a right turn in front of our group. The only way he could have done that was to have completely smoked all those Harleys. That was the day that I saw someone that I had a great deal of respect for fall from grace. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a shame to carry the burden of having been bested by a VESPA. Now I realize that every race has a winner and a loser, but losing to a girl on a VESPA is beyond redemption. Twill be a long road back, Scott! Jesster, Asst. Director SDHOG 3

4 Part 3: Guidelines for Passenger Mounting and Dismounting your Motorcycle Safely This is the third and final article on this series of Guidelines for carrying a passenger on your motorcycle. Part 1 in the July newsletter covered legal considerations, operator preparation and motorcycle preparation. Part 2 in the August newsletter included information on passenger preparation and general safety conditions. Drivers need to be experienced in the motorcycle operations and have the proper motorcycle equipment installed on their motorcycle. This includes passenger seat, foot pegs/floorboards, back rests etc. The driver should have a safety oriented attitude before taking on the added responsibility of carrying a passenger. Passengers should rarely, if ever, be allowed to mount or dismount the motorcycle without the driver sitting on and stabilizing the bike. Children should never be allowed to climb on a motorcycle unattended. Hot engines, exhaust parts and unstable kickstands can quickly ruin the moment. Driver should mount the motorcycle first and stand up with both feet planted firmly on a level debris free surface. Make sure both passenger pegs and floorboards are in the down position. Start the engine in neutral, raise the kickstand to the up position. Firmly grip both handgrips and with the front tire in the straight line position compress the front brake lever to keep your bike from rolling. Driver should stand with both thighs compressing the nose of the seat or tail of the gas tank for stability. Now is the perfect time to communicate with your passenger that you are ready for them to mount up. Driver can now raise or square up the shoulders as passenger places their hands on them for balance. Passenger should now position their left foot on the left passenger peg /floorboard and swing their right leg over the seat or thru if there is a passenger back rest or sissy bar. Passenger can now place their right foot on their right peg/floorboard and gracefully sit down. Driver can now sit down, double check for balance and readiness of passenger and then ride off. When the passenger is ready to dismount please communicate with the driver before doing so and reverse the above steps. Drivers please remember to stand and brace the bike with your legs, compress the front brake and be prepared for the passenger s weight to shift. With a little practice passenger mounting and dismounting procedure can become smooth, comfortable and safe for both driver and passenger. Safety is no Accident Stay alert & Ride Safe John J Safety Officer Congrat s to Chris K. For receiving the Safe Riders Award. 4

5 Hey All, I don t have a lot to talk about this month however I do want to mention is that we are now selling our Christmas Party tickets. Get them early! We will be selling 250 tickets, they will be sold on a first come first serve basis and once they are gone that is it! This year s party will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Mission Valley. I have attended the last five Holiday s parties and every one has been a good time. We are looking for volunteers to help with various tasks (decorating, getting raffle prizes, etc.) to make this party as successful as the ones in the past. If you are interested in volunteering, contact me on the website under contact treasurer. Financially our chapter is doing great. The balance in the bank at this time is $ This will help us have a great party and be able to help our charities during the holiday season. I know you all must be thinking with these 100 degree temperatures how could I be talking about the holidays. It will be here before you know it so why not plan ahead. Thank you, Val HOG Christmas party tickets now available Wynola Pizza ride This past Sunday, John led a small group out on Sunday while a lot of our chapter members were soaking up the sun in Palm Desert. 18 of us enjoyed a nice winding roll through Wildcat Canyon Road with an eventual stop for lunch at Pizza Express in Wynola. The food was good, aside from pizza, there were burgers, salads, and BBQ. An added bonus was that we had the air conditioned dining room in the back all to ourselves. Mitch did an excellent job when leading the tail when it got separated from the rest of the pack, Larry W. took over as sweep for the lead group without incident. This was our first time to visit Pizza Express as a group and 18 people was just about the perfect group size. A group of 60 may have had people waiting in line for a while. All in all it was a beautiful day, a nice moderate ride, and some good food. Coffee 5

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7 PALM SPRINGS POOL PARTY Palm Springs or Bust! What a fun filled overnight trip we had! Thank you Kimberly for find us such a wonderful hotel at a great price! ABIG thank you also to Gene for leading the ride. And yet another BIG thank you to everyone for bringing a gift card for our upcoming Holiday Toy Drive for St Vincent De Paul's. REMEMBER you can still give a gift card to LOH to help support our charity even if you weren't able to make the overnight trip. The ride there was warm and we had a nice stop at Cafe 371 for lunch. The ride down the hill into Palm Springs went from warm to HOT! We all were so glad when we arrived at the hotel. After a quick stop to our rooms to change, most of us met up pool side. There were cabanas, lounge chairs, table and chairs to sit at but most of us went directly into the pool. There were two bachelorette groups which provided plenty of entertainment, but I won t go into details (this is a family newsletter) but I'm sure you can imagine or just ask someone who was there. The water was cool, the drinks colder and we all just hung out getting to know our fellow HOG members into the early evening. At 7pm we headed up to room 2200 for pizza (provided by LOH) and games. The pizza tasted extra good and the room was full. Here again it was so nice to be able to spend the time talking with everyone. After pizza the group split up with some taking a ride down to the main drag in Palm Springs to enjoy the night s cool 80's temperature and shop. Others watched football and played Left, Right Center, a fun dice game. A nice side benefit to from those playing LRC was that part of the winnings were donated to LOH - adding another $24 to our Holiday Toy Drive charity. Thank you winners! Later after the games a few of us headed out to the big pool and Jacuzzi to finish the evening off until the pool closed. The next morning we met just before 10 am to walk over to Ricks for a very good breakfast buffet arranged by Kimberly. After breakfast the group split with some taking off towards home going the long way through Idyllwild. The rest of us headed back to the pool for one last dip or to our rooms to relax or watch football. We meet at the bikes at 12:30 to head back home on the freeway. We encounter quite a bit of wind on the 111 but the rest of the way was nice with not too much traffic. We stopped for one last break and to say our good byes in Temecula. It was pleasantly cooler in Temecula, compared to the 105 we had just left. It was another great overnight trip that was enjoyed by all. Its time to start planning the next overnight trip and we welcome all destination suggestions. Keep your eyes on the calendar. Karen and Jennifer 7

8 Bulls BBQ

9 My HOG Friends, As you probably already know, I have accepted the position as Training Officer. I take the responsibilities of this position very seriously. My goal is to have the safest rides with the most well trained Road Captains leading them. We just completed the classroom portion of the Road Captain training for our five newest Road Captain prospects; Aaron B., Matt K., Larry W. Frank G., and Cindy K. (Coffeemate). When you see them, please congratulate them on their successful completion of the classroom portion and wish them luck with the evaluation phase. Please give them the same respect and courtesy that you would any Road Captain. I want you all to know that my concern for this chapter does not stop with training Road Captains however, If anyone would like the opportunity to improve their individual and group riding skills, please contact me. All of the Active Road Captains have agreed to assist in a Mentorship Program for those riders who wish to get a little more riding time in between Sundays. We want you all to have fun and be safe whenever you ride and the best way to achieve this may by practicing with an experienced rider and trained Road Captain. If you are interested in the Mentorship Program or enrolling in future Road Captain training classes, please contact me at road.captain2@sandiegohog.com Thank you and ride safe, Coffee Congrat s to Mitch and Raoul for making Road Captain. If you have questions about our Rider s Edge course (s) or enrollment Please be sure to contact us. 9 Phone: Address: (619) paula@sandiegoharley.com 2400 Kettner Boulevard San Diego, CA 92101

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12 On the Calendar Oct. 1-4th Las Vegas Bike Fest 4th Rainbow Oaks Café 7-12th California HOG State Rally 10th Welcome Ride 11th TBA 18th Mothers Kitchen, Palomar Mt. 25th TBA LYNNAE BOWEN Independent Senior Sales Director Cell New Moisturizing Tinted Lip Balm Sunscreen SPF 15 Buy 1 get 1 Free! Nov. 7th 8th 15th 22nd 29th Welcome Ride TBA TBA Scrabble Run Chapter Event Ride St. Vincent De Paul Shopping Sunshine Vacation Pro ~An agency of t he YTB Travel Netw ork Online Travel Site Dec. 5th Welcome Ride 8th Saint Vincent De Paul 12th Biggs toy store invasion 12 th HOLIDAY MISSION VALLEY MARRIOTT Kimberly Foss Sunshi nev acat ionpro@y ahoo.co m Every Saturday: Free BBQ lunch at the Kearny Mesa dealership Saturdays 12pm - 2pm! SDHOG: SD HOG members only (and a guest) HOG: Open to National HOG members only OPEN: Open to all riders Primary Officers Director: Warren S. Director.0308@sandiegohog.com Assistant Director: Jesse D. Assistant.Director@sandiegohog.com Secretary: Chris C. Secretary.0308@sandiegohog.com Treasurer: Val K. Treasurer.0308@sandiegohog.com Secondary Officers Activities: OPEN Activities.0308@sandiegohog.com Activities 2: Chris K. Activities2.0308@sandiegohog.com Editor: Scott B. Editor.0308@sandiegohog.com Head Road Captain: Dan K. Road.Captain@sandiegohog.com Safety Officer: John J. Safety.0308@sandiegohog.com Training Officer: Coffee K. Road.Captain2@sandiegohog.com Membership: OPEN Membership.0308@sandiegohog.com Historian: Robert M. Historian.0308@sandiegohog.com Ladies of Harley: Karen S. Loh.0308@sandiegohog.com Ladies of Harley2: Jennifer D. Loh2.0308@sandiegohog.com Long-Distance Coordinator: Kimberly F. LDC.0308@sandiegohog.com Merchandise: Chris C. Merchandise.0308@sandiegohog.com Head Photographer: OPEN Photographer.0308@sandiegohog.com Webmaster: Casey B. Webmaster.0308@sandiegohog.com Photographer-At-Large: Randy C. N/A Road Captains Brent D. Chris K. Dan K. Gene L. Jesse D. John J. Keith K, Larry H. Mitch S. Raoul O. Robert M. Rod S. Scott B. Warren S. Staff Photographers Lynnae B. Cindy K. Chris K. Christine D. Brad S. Collin F. Heather C. Activities Staff Chris K. Kimberly F. The Chapter is looking for additional Staff Photographers. If you d like to volunteer, contact Scott, Editor 12 Sept. 2009