APRIL, 2016 Newsletter

Transcription

1 GWRRA Region B NY District - Chapter D: "There are no wrong turns, only D tours!" APRIL, 2016 Newsletter CHAPTER D OFFICERS & STAFF CD: Bill & Lisa Nickal wnickal@twcny.rr.com ACD: TBD TREASURER: Bill Downey billrpa@aol.com MEC: Trish Thayer pthayer27@gmail.com RIDER ED.: Rick Reardon redwing91.rr@gmail.com COY 2016: Bill & Julie Spencer TECH. DIR.: TBD CHAPTER D COMMITTEES Newsletter: B & J Spencer Advertising: Henry Jedra Sunshine: Bob & Chris Makai Patches & Pins: Laurie O Brien Webmaster: Pam Pearson NY DISTRICT OFFICERS DD: Steve & Katy Nutting gwrraddny@gmail.com ADD: Sean & Dawn Hayes gwrranyadd@gmail.com ADD: Gary & Donna Cork Dgcorkny@aol.com DIST. TREAS: Eileen Guile gwrra.b.rt@hotmail.com Apr 13 Apr 16 Apr 27 Apr 28 May 11 May 15 May 22 Website: goldwing.chapterdny?fref=ts IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES Monthly Euclid 6PM (DInner) followed by 7PM Tech O Brien s home, 10AM; Apr 17 is Rain Date Dinner Brenda s, Port 6:30PM Meet & Greet with Chapter Vienna Bar & 6PM (dinner) & 7PM meeting Monthly Euclid 6PM (DInner) followed by 7PM ARC Class -details TBA PLP/Picnic - details TBA May 25 Dinner Tassone 6:30PM May 28 Fort Drum Memorial Day Weekend Ride DASH-FOR-CASH pts as of 4/1/16

2 . to our Chapter Director... Time to Start Planning Get those Two-Wheels Out Hello everyone, Lisa and I hope you all had a nice winter s nap, because now it is warming up outside and its time to get that Gold Wing out of storage and ride! In the past few weeks we have had a great deal of rain (washing all the dirt and salt away) and with the rain comes cleaner highways! I spotted my first street sweeper traveling ever so slowly along the side of the village streets, picking up all the dirt left from the winter sanders. The rain kept the dust in check for the sweeper to do its dirty work. With our Wings coming out of hibernation, and, our clocks springing forward to give us more daylight in the evening, it allows us more time to travel the highways once again on two wheels. For Chapter D this also means our calendar getting full of events! With each newsletter ed, posted on the web site, snail mailed, a list of upcoming events for one or two months will be listed. Bill and Julie Spencer carefully review the events to make sure they are correct. If you are looking for somewhere to ride or to have dinner, checking our newsletter or website is a great place to start. If you are like Lisa and I planning a week, two weeks or a month in advance can be a challenge. Some like to keep a paper calendar, while others (like me) prefer putting everything in their smart phone. Whatever method you prefer, it can sometimes be a challenge to decide between so many great events and rides, as well as, family events. Lisa and I try to get scheduled events out to the Chapter as soon as possible. If there is an event or a ride you are interested in, please let us know so we can gather the information and see how it will fit in to our chapter calendar. The gathering each month is a good place to bring up new or old events/rides you would like to participate in and have the Chapter participate in. During each gathering Lisa and I leave a space in our agenda called For the Good of the Order. This is a great time to discuss upcoming events/rides and to add additional events/rides. Lisa and I are always looking for volunteers to lead a ride. So dust off the riding gear, fire up those bikes, check the Chapter Calendar and start planning for another exciting ride season! Ride Safe and Ride often! Stay Safe, Ride Safe Bill and Lisa Nickal Chapter Director NY D

3 . Guest Contributor.David & Deb Hartley Mom s Flags - The story of the flags David Hartley has always taken great pride in flying the American Flag. When he began in GWRRA back in 1988, he flew cloth flags on his Gold Wing, but they wore rather quickly. Mom in the meantime learned how to make various items with plastic canvas and yarn. So, many years ago Mom made her first flag. The flag flies beautifully on the antenna of motorcycles. Soon friends would ask Mom to make one for them. Then, David asked Mom to make the antenna flags for our chapter. She gladly did this. Mom attends some of the chapter s social events, so she knew many of our members. Next, the bright idea!! David asked for flags to pass out at other motorcycle events he attended. Mom agreed and went into production on a regular basis. A tradition was born!! Several years and hundreds of flags later, the next tradition began. Mom is not able to travel as she has in the past. We developed a card to pass out with the flags asking for an to Mom letting her know where the flag lives. We have been all over this country and have given out many more hundreds of flags for free! We have never accepted or wanted money for the flags. We just take great pleasure in sharing the flags with others and spreading some joy. At GWRRA events and other motorcycle rallies across the country, people have approached David asking if he was the flag man and could they have a flag after seeing one on a friend s bike. Mom gets s from wonderful motorcyclists and it truly makes her day. Some are short notes, others go into great detail describing their travels, and some send pictures. A few write several times a year and others write regularly pretending to be the flag telling of their weekly travels. Mom has had s from throughout the United States. She loves them all. Mom keeps the s and rereads them often. Mom has also received thank you cards because she has made a few flags for GWRRA chapters that were just starting up in other states. We are told that one flag went to their friend in Hawaii. How cool is that!! Others have requested some flags to pass out while they are traveling and continuing to spread the joy. She remains very busy making flags so there are enough for our travels throughout this country. We enjoy passing out the flags from New York to California. We meet many people who enjoy motorcycling and with pleasure Mom to make her day. It is often fun when we run into someone who already has one of our flags. We can see that it has remained on their motorcycle flying proudly. We ran into one such person at Americade, He was from Rochester and told us the story of receiving the flag the year before and that he still had Mom s card not realizing we were the ones who gave out the flag. What fun, we all laughed and shared the joy! He ed Mom recently requesting some flags to hand out. Mom sent them to him with pleasure. The tradition continues with pride!! The plastic canvas and yarn flags are ready to be shared when motorcycling and traveling begins this spring. We look forward to continuing to spread the joy!! David and Deb Hartley GWRRA Chapter D-NY members

4 Along Lake Ontario Webster Memorial along Route 104 Two volunteer firefighters were ambushed here on New Year s Eve.

5 . to our Chapter Educator. Looking forward to the first ride?? Well, this winter has been light on snow and cold, but the DPW crews have been heavy on the salt & sand. Is anyone looking forward to the first ride? I see a lot of head nods out there, but, there are some who have been out already - I'm one of them :) My first ride doesn't start until there has been at least 2 good rains to get all the junk off the roads, like sand and salt. This year we got the heavy rain, but then the DPW crews put sand & salt down because they anticipated the temps going down at night. So the slate gets wiped clean and we wait for the rain again to clean the roads. You can ride earlier, but with all the hazards out there, it's not worth taking a spill while trying to put your foot down as it slides on sand or the little pieces of salt. On the first ride or the "Maiden Voyage" of the season, you need to be very cautious when coming to a stop. Head and eyes up, handle bars squared up, feet on the pegs and apply the rear brake gently. As you come to a stop, put your left foot down keeping it squared to the bike (helps prevent your foot from slipping out). Once stopped, you can put your right foot down to help stabilize the bike. Do a mirror check, then proceed with caution looking in the direction you want to go. If you need to turn and there is sand in the road, look for a bare spot on the road surface where you can execute the turn. You should be able to locate this bare surface using your peripheral vision. If you must turn onto sand or loose stone, start with your bars squared, then make minor adjustments in the direction of the turn and keep the speed slow until you get away from the hazard, then roll on the throttle. "Cagers" are not looking for bikes this early in the season, so be cautious. Remember the first thing we need to do before the first ride is to do a full TCLOCS to make sure everything on the bike is good to go, your bike will appreciate it. Another thing that we can do to help us get rid of the cob webs we have accumulated over the winter is to take a PLP. (Parking Lot Practice) session. Chapter D is having a PLP in May at Green Lakes State Park. Contact your Chapter Educator for more info on this or other PLP events. Officially it's spring and it's staying light out longer. Both are good things :) Remember that we have to put on that extra layer cause its still cool while riding and put the rain gear back in your bike. You will thank yourself when rain showers pop up while riding. Ride Safe, Ride Smart Rick & Pam, Chapter Educators NY-D

6 . to our Chapter MEC... This is my 6th year representing Chapter D as your Membership Enhancement Coordinator, (MEC). I will be stepping down at the end of this year and am hoping someone will take over the position. I will be glad to help you with the position should you decide to be the Chapter's MEC next year! Just give me a call: or drop me an pthayer27@gmail.com. We have roughly 8 months that we can work together to make the transition as smooth as possible. The MEC is usually the first person the NEW member gets to talk with. I have enjoyed speaking with new members and encouraging them to visit our Chapter, meet our members and take part in our dinner rides and many other events. You feel a sense of pride when a stranger you first spoke with becomes a member of your Chapter family, as well as your friend. And isn't that what it's all about? "Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge"! And on that note, here are the links which can be passed along to folks who may have shown interest in becoming a member of our GWRRA family: Free Trial Membership Chapter D Webpage Trish Thayer Chapter NY-D MEC Some days I feel like I'm only 1 mood swing away from getting my own padded room with the "hug yourself" jacket.

7 . to our Chapter Birthdays and Anniversaries... BIRTHDAYS Apr 1 Chris Makai Apr 2 Mike Goldsworthy Apr 2 Dick Lawton Apr 10 David Hartley Apr 10 Pat Peters Apr 20 Deb Hartley ANNIVERSARIES Apr 11 David & Deb Hartley Apr 20 Mike & Sharon Jedra

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