Chapter Z Region E Missouri District Jeffco Wings of Arnold

Transcription

1 May Newsletter Chapter Z Region E Missouri District Jeffco Wings of Arnold Gold Wing Road Riders Association FUN SAFETY KNOWLEDGE 2015 BLESSING OF THE BIKES Chapter Directors John & Cindy Ruegge Asst. Chapter Directors...Paul & Cheryl Engelman Rider Educators.. Mike & Barb Bayuk Treasurers.Ed & Marsha Bechler Membership Enhancement Division. Dave & Lisa Arnold Motorist Awareness Division.Vernon & Pat Watts Chapter Hosts....Mike & Donna Sullivan Chapter Historian Paul & Cheryl Engelman Sponsor Relations.Cindy Stewart Ride Coordinator... Dave Ruegge Assistant Ride Coordinator...Tom Braun Technical Coordinator..KZ Zigaitis Newsletter Editor KZ & Carla Zigaitis Webmaster..Tom Stewart Meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at the Ponderosa on Jeffco & Richardson Rd. Dinner is at 6 pm the meeting starts at 7 pm. Everyone Is Welcome! Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 1

2 Your Chapter Z Staff Chapter Directors John & Cindy Ruegge jhr5374@sbcglobal.net Assistant Chapter Directors Chapter Historian MO District Couple of the Year Paul & Cheryl Engelman engelman5@sbcglobal.net Rider Ed Mike & Barb Bayuk gmbayuk@yahoo.com Treasurers Ed & Marsha Bechler moztreasurer@gmail.com Membership Enhancement Coord. Chapter Z Couple of the Year Dave & Lisa Arnold lisavolleyball13@gmail.com Motorist Awareness Division Vernon & Pat Watts vwatts@foamsupplies.com pjw6755@yahoo.com Ride Coordinator Dave Ruegge greenthing110@aol.com Asst. Ride Coordinator Tom Braun tbrn314@gmail.com Chapter Hosts Mike & Donna Sullivan ms1ds1@aol.com Webmaster Tom Stewart Sponsor Relations Cindy Stewart tcstew1800@sbcglobal.net Newsletter Editors Technical Coordinator KZ & Carla Zigaitis kzzigaitis@gmail.com Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 2

3 May is here already? They say time goes by quickly when you get older, but I think time goes by quickly when you are having FUN! Speaking of having fun, if you have not had the chance to have some good clean fun, come on out to one of the Chapter Z events in the month of May. The month of May is also Motorist Awareness Month. Our Mad Coordinators, Vern and Pat Watts, have been planning our Chapter Z Windshield Wash. They have put a lot of work into this project, so let s have a good showing of support for Vern and Pat, along with making other motorist aware that we are out there on motorcycles. On May 17th we will head to Illinois for the Niehaus Appreciation Days. After the festivities of Niehaus Days we will head over for the chicken dinner given by the Prairietown Fire Department. Please do not forget about the Chapter Z Mystery Ride, that is always a great ride and lots of fun. We are planning our trip to Branson for the Missouri District Rally and we hope you are doing the same. We have always enjoyed going to Branson and spending a few days with good friends from home and making new friends. This year, once again Chapter Z is in charge of the Light Show/ Parade and we will need everyone s help in making this a successful event. If you plan on going to Branson, please remember all the hard work that our Missouri District Team has put into the planning and organization of this rally. If you should see a District member, and I am sure you will, please let them know how much you are enjoying yourself and give them a big thank you. We would like to wish all the mothers a Happy Mother s Day!!! John and Cindy Ruegge Chapter Z Directors Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 3

4 The weather has been getting warmer, therefore we have had more activity on our wings over the last month. On April 11th, we had our annual maintenance day with 20 members present several of which worked on their bikes, one even washed his. We enjoyed a great lunch with deer chili made by Dave Ruegge, sub sandwiches and some great desserts. Thanks to Mike and Barb Bayuk for hosting all of us. On April 12th, we started off the morning with 9 members and 6 bikes for a breakfast ride to the Country Cafe in Festus, we then took a scenic route to the Ride for Kids kick-off meeting at Mungenast Classic Automobiles and Motorcycle Museum, where Chapter Z had 15 members in attendance. We ended the day with dinner at Hodak's. On April 14th we had 5 members attend Chapter I's RFK fund-raiser at Culver's in Cape Girardeau. On April 18th we had 12 members attend the Blessing of the Bikes at Twin City Honda, then we all went to Niehaus for a 40th Anniversary Gold Wing Party. We ended the month with our fund-raiser for RFK at Texas Roadhouse where we had approx 60 family and friends of Chapter Z attend including members from Missouri Chapter I and W2 and Illinois O. Thanks to all who attended and supported the RFK. Paul and Cheryl Engelman Chapter Z Assistant Directors Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 4

5 REDUCING THE RISK Mike and Barb Bayuk Chapter Z Educators Interesting Intersections How many of you have pushed a yellow light? If you truthfully have not, you've at least seen some one else do it. You've probably even seen people run lights that are already red (but, of course, you've never done that yourself.) There are few consequences if only one vehicle is doing this and every one else is playing by the rules. But what if two, or more, drivers decide to push it? Everyone seems in such a hurry today. People have become slaves to their schedules. Drivers have become so impatient. They HAVE to be somewhere minutes before they left to get there. (Perhaps we need more doctors driving because they have patients.) All of this makes intersections extremely interesting because we never know how someone is going to act. The perils of riding through an intersection are many. We must be aware of the guy pushing the light from our left or right. We have to be careful that we don't push a light as someone else jumps their green light. We might even do it right, stopping as the light turns yellow, only to get run over by the vehicle behind us planning to follow us through. Sometimes we can time the light just right as we approach it so we don't have to stop at all. Imagine a truck in the left lane waiting for the light as we move to the open right lane trying to time the light so we can keep moving when it turns green. Of course, while we are alongside the truck watching the light turn yellow then red the other way we can't see the car pushing the light from our left. Intersections require special precautions because it seems like everyone expects the other driver to yield if they are forceful enough. After all, they are in a hurry. They also require special precautions because a crash impacts more than just us. Crashes impact the ones we love as well. They're they ones who worry and have to deal with the extra load while we heal, if we can. There are many dangers we face when we ride and many of them are lurking at intersections. We must keep our wits about us and avoid situations that obstruct our field of view as we enter the corner. We must expect the unexpected from the other drivers as they rush to their destinations, oblivious of us are anything else except their own priorities. And we must make sure our own impatience doesn't lead us to push the envelope and take needless chances at intersections. Intersections are interesting. It's fun to observe what people will do at them. But we must observe what they do and not get caught by it. AS ALWAYS RIDE OFTEN, RIDE HARD BUT MOST OF ALL RIDE SMART! Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 5

6 Our Motto... Share the Road! Our Mission... To Facilitate A Reduction In Motorcycle Crashes With Other Motor Vehicles. The weather is getting better and we are seeing more and more bikes out on the roads. Unfortunately early in this season we have heard reports of several motorcycle accidents on the news with several deaths reported. We can't stress it enough to practice with your bike when you start out this season go to a parking lot and run your bike through some turns and braking, etc. Get the feel of it again and get comfortable with your ride. Our chapter will be holding a MAD event on Saturday May 16th At the Fast Lane gas station by highway 44 from 10am-12noon. We will be washing some windows and talking to the customers about car and motorcycle safety. We have some handouts to give out and signs to display. It's a great way to remind people to look twice and save a life. Hope you can come out and help us spread the word. And as always dear friends ride smart and be safe. Vernon and Pat Watts Chapter Z Motorcycle Awareness Division Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 6

7 Fund-Raiser Dinner Ride Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 7

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9 ANNUAL MAINTENANCE DAY Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 9

10 BLESSING OF THE BIKES May the Angels of our brothers and sisters who have gone before us guard our travels Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 10

11 KICKOFF MEETING Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 11

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14 May 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Z Meeting Nikki Koehler Niehaus Appreciation Days (End) W2 Meeting Memorial Day Bill/Fran Tasche I Meeting Z Dinner Ride Barb Bayuk Dave/ Linda Ruegge P Meeting Niehaus Appreciation Days (Start) 22 Ron/Teresa Minner Shannon Evans Ken Klouzek 16 MAD Windshield Wash Z Mystery Ride Gina Nessel Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 14

15 2015 Calendar of Activities May 4 May 16 May 17 May 19 May 30 June 1 June 4-6 June 14 June 16 June 20 June 23 June 28 July 6 August 6-8 September 2-5 September September 26 October 10 Chapter Z Meeting / Arnold, MO MAD Event, Windshield Wash / Valley Park, MO Niehaus Customer Appreciation Days / Litchfield, IL Chapter Z Dinner Ride - TBD Chapter Z Annual Mystery Ride / Where, Who knows? Chapter Z Meeting / Arnold, MO Missouri District Rally / Branson, MO Giant City State Park Picnic Ride / Makanda, IL Chapter Z Dinner Ride - TBD Wings at the Drive In / Belleville, IL Ride For Kids Fundraiser - Culver s / Arnold, MO Papa Vito s Pizza Ride / Belleville, IL Chapter Z Meeting / Arnold, MO Region E Rally / Green Bay, WI Wing Ding / Huntsville, AL Switchback to Arkansas / Marble Falls, AR 2nd Annual Tri-Z Ride / Effingham, IL Chapter Z s Fall Festival / Arnold, MO Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 15

16 Thanks to all of our Sponsors! Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 16

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20 APPRECIATION DAYS 29 MAY 15-17, 2015 Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge 20