Chapter L s Toad Tales

Transcription

1 Go ld Wing Roa d Rid ers, A sso cia tio n Sou th C entral Region H A rka nsas District Chapter L s Toad Tales Toad Team Directors/MEC- Sam & Belinda Lister (501) b43houston@hotmail.com Assistant Directors Lon Little & Helen Bozeman (501) /(813) Rider Educator/Newsletter Editor Sam & Belinda Lister (501) b43houston@hotmail.com Webmaster/Treasurer Charlie & Debbie Wirges (501) cwrges@swbell.net Ride Coordinator-David Dickerson (501) Sunshine Girl Linda Harris (501) Harold Wilson-Historian Hello Fellow Toads: My this month is going fast. We had a great time last month at the St. Patrick s Day parade in Little Rock. There were several riders from the GWRRA family that came out despite the weather. Chapter AR-L had for its showing Harold Wilson, Lon Little, Helen Bozeman, Bud Danner, Sam & Belinda Lister, with Frank and Linda Harris taking pictures. We have a couple of things going on this month that are listed below. 4 th Maintenance day 10 th Dinner ride Cadron Creek Fish House 16 th -18 th Region H Rally, Marshal Texas No monthly meeting on the 18th. 24 th Dinner ride New China in Russellville, Ar May: 30-2 nd Texas Rally Inside this Issue: Birthdays & Anni. 2 Dinner Ride 3 Parade Time 4,5 District Directors Corner 6 By the Book 7 & 8 Region H Rally 9-13 Toad Suck Rally 14 AR. District Rally 15 More events will be listed in next months news letter. Our monthly meeting will be canceled because of the Region Rally. We will get back with everyone to discuss our rally coming up in May. Also remember that rally shirts are going to be ordered the week of April 20 th If you have not put your order in and want a shirt please call Belinda and let her know. We also need volunteers for the games and all of us to collect prizes for the rally. I hope you have a great month and we hope to see you at each of these events or the ones that you can make. Happy Trails Sam & Belinda Bert s Corner 16 Riders Education Corner 17 Chapter L on the Go Calendar 20 Check us out at

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6 Page 6 Chapter L s Toad Tales Conway, AR. Welcome from Your District Directors Johnny and Mildred Glasscock Arkansas District Directors

7 Page 7 Chapter L s Toad Tales Conway, AR. By the Book By the Book articles are intended to help familiarize GWRRA Volunteer Leaders and Members with the policies, procedures, and information contained in the GWRRA Officer s Handbook (OHB). A copy of the Officer s Handbook can be found at the following Internet website: oconnect/officerhandbook.html Please feel free to reprint these articles in Region, District, or Chapter newsletters.

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16 Page 16 Chapter L s Toad Tales Conway, AR. Hello, My name is Bert, I am the loving mascot for Chapter AR-L. My friend Telly decided it was time to retire and asked me to step into some pretty big shoes. Man what fun I have had so far riding in the St. Patrick's Day Parade with Chapter L on the back seat of Mr. Bud Danner s trike,( I hope Miss Jan will be okay with that). Then going to the chapter s dinner ride. As you can see the ladies just love me. Some of them even helped me with my drink and food. I hope you can follow my travels as I write them each month in my very own page. Can you believe that I have my own page. Well, keep hopping along and we will see you next time. Bert the Toad.

17 Page 17 Chapter L s Toad Tales Conway, AR. Riding and Dealing with Cross-Winds -- An exercise in counter-steering By David Dirig Cross winds -- man they used to really scare me! Dori and I would be riding along and it would get gusty -- we'd slow down and ride it out -- weaving in our lane (mostly) and slowing down if it got too windy. That was no good -- traffic comes up behind us, we're not stable -- it just wasn't safe all around. I'm sure a number of people have felt the same. What do you do? Wait until the wind stops? If you're going cross-country, this isn't an option. If you wait for the wind to die down or for it to stop raining, you'll never make it out of California, let alone make it across the US! We had to come up with a solution before our big trip last summer or we'd never make it across the Southwestern states. Riding in cross winds is simply another exercise in counter-steering. Slowing down never helped; it made a difference psychologically, but the wind still blows you all over the road. What we needed to do was find a way to counter the wind effects on the line the bike tracks down the road so as to maintain a straight line regardless of speed and wind direction. You can't 'lean' quick enough to make up for a gusting 20 mph wind, but you can push on the handlebars that quick. Counter-steering was the answer. We tooled across Oklahoma (ya know 'where the winds blow') with not a moment's hesitation. I think we spent more time in that state at a 45 degree angle then we did straight up. I wanted to make sure the tires weren't worn on one side once we got to St. Louis. It was quite exciting at times; pulling a trailer, passing an 18-wheeler highway speeds with a stiff and gusting right to left cross wind. I got a kick out of seeing Dori all canted over behind me on her GL1100. Quite a sight! When the wind blows from the side, counter steer into it. In the same way that you push left to go left, if you have a cross wind from the left, you want to push on the left bar and counter-steer into the wind to maintain a straight line. This is not a sudden extreme 'push-push' as counter-steering to avoid an obstacle, but a continuous pressure on the handlebar that the wind is blowing from. This will lean you into the wind to counter the wind's push and maintain your straight line down the road. When the wind blows harder, it takes a little more pressure on the bar on the side that the wind is coming from. One key point is to worry about the path you're taking down the road, not the angle that the bike is at. Just let the bike lean and only worry about the path you're taking down the road and the amount of pressure on the handlebars to maintain that path. If the wind is gusty or you come under an underpass or pass an 18- wheeler on the lee side, that pressure will have to change with the wind conditions, so stay alert. With a little practice, you'll be sailing that bike down the road like the best of them. Its not easy riding in a gusty cross wind, but it is not impossibly difficult either. It is simply a matter of knowledge, education, and experience. (what part of motorcycling is not?! ;-) So the next time the winds pick up, try a little countersteering before you get off the gas and/or call it a day. For more information on riding in the wind, check out Motorcycle Consumer News, May 1999, Page 39. Feel free to contact Dori and I if you have further questions; remember the only bad question is the one that goes un-asked. As always, Ride Safe and COAST (Concentrate On A Safe Trip)

18 Page 18 Chapter L s Toad Tales Conway, AR. Bert and Sam waiting to get in Dinner ride to the Golden Coral in Conway. Looks like Chapter K came out to join in the fun with us.

19 Page 19 Chapter L s Toad Tales Conway, AR. Sorry Buster no prize this time wrong color ball.. The groups all here. Frank Cahill got the Dumb Duck this month. The Dailey's stopped by for a evening with the chapter Great to see Vicki and Robert up and around. Some of our chapter members having a great time

20 Page 20 Toad Tales Conway, AR We meet every 3rd Saturday in the Month at Smitty s BBQ. 740 Harkrider Ave, Conway, AR We eat at 5pm and meet at 6pm. Chapter L is now on Facebook