Nobody Has More Fun Than G!

Transcription

1 G O L D W I N G ROAD RIDERS ASSOCI A T I O N C H A P T E R NH- G THE LAKES REGION WINGS January 2014 Our 26 th Year Changes Well where do we start.. After 25 years in existence, Chapter G will start out its 26 th year as, The Lakes Region Wings. (Check out Dawn s and my back patch rockers at the next gathering.) Chapter G has been a definite presence in the Lakes Region over the past quarter century, and it s time that we take that spot of recognition. Over the past few years, there has been some stagnation as to the growth of Chapter G. No one has been willing to come forward to step up and have fun, yes fun, as the Chapter G Directors over the past year to the point that the Chapter was going to close. In order to cure this phenomenon, we need to get new members. The main thing that we need to do to insure that everyone has fun is to provide the Chapter Director with a Staff. I have been involved in GWRRA in one form or another the entire 30 years that I have been a member, and the reason Dawn and I have fun is that we get involved. At my very first Chapter A Gathering in Concord NH, I volunteered to do the Chapter Newsletter and did so for many years. That was my start and then other jobs came and went and I helped out where I was needed. So far, new Chapter G member Beryl Reid has volunteered to be the Chapter G Treasurer. Along with her husband Bob, they make a fantastic addition to the Chapter G Family. Bob & Kaye Hamel have graciously agreed to handle the Chapter Store again which this year will have available Rockers, Patches, and Clothing. We have a New Chapter Logo with an updated 1800 Goldwing to be applied to Shirts, Hats, and Jackets. Also jumping in to take the reins as Member Enhancement Coordinators are Meri & Lea Hirtle. Chapter G needs an Assistant Chapter Director immediately, as well as Chapter Educator, Chapter Ride Coordinator, Chapter Activities Coordinator (to help with the planning of the Mall Show and other Chapter Fun d Raisers), Chapter Photographer, and Chapter Trainer. The more hands we have, the lighter the work. The January Chapter Gathering will be held on January 12 th at The Family Tree Restaurant, 927 Laconia Road, (Route 3) Tilton, N.H. just before the Mosquito Bridge going towards Laconia. Breakfast anytime after 8AM. Meeting starts at 9AM Sharp. We can get by missing a few of these positions for a During the riding season, a planned ride will little while, but not all of them. If anyone would like to follow the Chapter Gathering. jump in and start having fun, please call me at 603- (continued to Page 3)

2 Page 2 National, Regional & N.H. DISTRICT STAFF Abel Gallardo, GWRRA President abel@gwrra.org ext. 224 Ray & Sandy Garris, Executive Director of GWRRA director@gwrra.org Tom & Renee Washuk, Region B Directors regionbdirectors.tom.renee@gmail.com Bob & Julie A Hearn, 2013/2014 Reg. B Couple of the Year rahearn914@aol.com Ed & Denise Heath, N.H. District Directors gw rranhdd@msn.com Pat Thibaudeau, N.H. Asst. District Director thibfrog@hotmail.com Mike Goldsmith, N.H. District Educator mikenhg@metrocast.net NH Chapter G STAFF Chapter Directors, Mike & Dawn Vaillancourt mvonmywi@msn.com Assistant Chapter Director, Please Volunteer Beryl Reid, Chapter Treasurer bobnberyl@metrocast.net Meri & Lea Hirtle, Memb. Enhancement Coordinators Bob & Kaye Hamel, Chapter Store Keepers rhamel2@myfairpoint.net Chapter Educator, Please Volunteer Chapter Ride Coordinator, Please Volunteer Chapter Photographer, Please Volunteer Chapter Trainer, Please Volunteer Chapter Activities Coordinator, Please Volunteer 2014 Chapter Couple of the Year, tbd. Mike Vaillancourt, Newsletter Editor & Webmaster mvonmywi@msn.com New Hampshire Chapter Directors A Concord/Manchester David & Bonnie Bolster gwrra.nh.a@gmail.com G Laconia/Lakes Region Mike & Dawn Vaillancourt mvonmywi@msn.com E- Keene/Monadnock Region Ron & Suzie Black

3 Page 3 (Continued from Page 1) and we ll get together and talk about how you too can start having fun. Another thing that we are going to do this coming riding season is to have fun with our Sister GWRRA Chapters here in New Hampshire. I can remember years ago going to another Chapters Gathering just for the fun of it, or even getting together on a multi-chapter bowling night at Fun Spot up at the Weirs. You will see the beginnings of our 2014 Chapter G Ride Schedule later on in this newsletter. That is only the foundation. We need to build upon that schedule to including the Chapter Going to the New England States Rally XIII in Sturbridge MA and maybe an overnight ride or two before the snow flies this Fall. Our paramount priority or Mission Statement is to follow the GWRRA Motto which is Friends for Fun, Safety, and Knowledge. My predecessors have done a terrific job on keeping things safe, and giving you the knowledge that we all need to become better riders. We need to work hard on the Friends part. To help us get more friends, I have been in touch with the Belknap Mall and opened a dialogue with them concerning having an indoor Mall Show and Recruiting Booth in the Spring. They thought it was a wonderful idea. I will be meeting with Mall management on Friday January 10 th to finalize the date for the show. It will probably be a Sunday sometime in late April. More in next month s newsletter. I want to issue a challenge to all of Chapter G. We need new members and we need them now. The person that recruits the most new members by the end of the 2014 riding season and gets them to participate with Chapter G will get their membership fee paid to GWRRA for the next two years. It doesn t stop there, however. When those new members come to their first Chapter G Gathering, they need to be made to feel that they are really appreciated and that we want them to ride with us. Remember, they don t have to be owners of Gold Wings, Valkyries, or F6B s, they just have to have any motorcycle and be willing to be Friends for Fun, Safety, & Knowledge. We ve seen it time and time again, after they see all those Gold Wings, they end up seeing the light and before you know it, they show up on a nice Gold Wing. Lastly, we are instituting a new Chapter Motto We want everyone to know that Chapter G is the Group to Ride with in the Lakes Region. These newsletters will be on display at HK Powersports in Laconia and Venco Wings in Loudon so that Riders can pick up a free copy and maybe contact us and come to a Chapter Gathering and check us out. This is not Dawn s and My Chapter, it belongs to all of us. It s worth keeping, and we all can have a lot of fun by participating in it. We welcome any ideas that you have and remember, the more you take part, the more fun you ll have. See you all at the Family Tree on the 12 th. Mike & Dawn Vaillancourt Chapter G Directors mvonmywi@msn.com Sincere Thank You!

4 Page 4 I would like to thank Mike and Dawn Vaillancourt for stepping up to take over the reins as Chapter Directors for NH-G. Both Mike and Dawn have a wealth of knowledge involving GWRRA and I know they will have exciting ideas for the chapter. I ask all Chapter G members to extend a hand to help Mike and Dawn out. Whether it is something as simple as an idea for a dine-out, a ride, or willing to take on one of the positions of the Chapter, Mike and Dawn can t do everything by themselves and with everyone s help, it will make the Chapter bigger, stronger, and better than it has ever been. I am looking forward to an exciting year for Chapter G in Ed Heath NH District Director This article will be a recap each month of the previous Chapter Gathering. If anyone takes pictures at the Chapter Gatherings they would be much appreciated so they can be used in this article each month. Member Wanted or For Sale This part of the newsletter is for Chapter Members to sell any Gold Wing Related items, or are looking for Gold Wing Related Items. All requests will be run for 90 days and then removed unless told to continue or have been notified that the item is sold. Business Card Listings Starting next month, any active Chapter Member that has their own business may have their business card reproduced in the newsletter at no charge each month. Please get me your business cards to be put in next month s issue.

5 Page 5 Welcome to GWRRA Chapter Rider Education Until Chapter G gets a Chapter Rider Educator, my friend and Former Region F Educator and now Chapter CO-Q Educator, Howie Peterson, has graciously allowed me to publish his monthly articles in the Chapter NH-G Newsletter. Editor THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED This month I am going to dwell not so much on rider education as I will on a philosophy of sorts about motorcycling. As the holidays are upon us, I thought a little break from the usual norm of exhorting the membership about rider safety would be in order. So, here goes! After contemplating the recent trip, dang time flies, the Hoppners and we completed this past summer, along with my usual runs around Southwest Colorado I have come a conclusion. Namely, where we ride, more than we why we ride. Our trip consisted of mostly super slab riding for the majority of the mileage, with breaks of two lane scattered along the way. In going over my riding logs (I keep a log of each ride past the city limits) and factoring the around town mileages, the 12K plus mileage for this year is just about evenly divided between Interstate and two lane highways. Now don t get me wrong folks, I just plain enjoy being on a motorcycle to somewhere, but I believe the majority of us enjoy the two lane roadway a lot more than the Interstates. And the appeal of the narrower, and curvier the road, the better the enjoyment. Am I right? One of the best highways on our North East excursion was taking Highway 50 through West Virginia. This particular highway was somewhat narrow, but with a ton of curves and hills which lent an appeal to the biker in us swooshing through the corners, gearing up, gearing down, and just plain old fashion motorcycle riding through great scenery. As much fun as I was having on the Trike, I still pined a bit for the Strom to blast through the country side on two wheels leaning and swooping. Which brings me back to the title of this article as to where we choose to ride? Back home in Colorado, we are blessed with a plethora of great highways to ride, and some of the most beautiful scenery found anywhere. Pondering over my maps which I highlight of roads I have ridden, I find a lot of interesting miles yet to be ridden in the future. There are highways I have driven for hire, or for other reasons that I think to myself this would be fun on the motorcycle. Just for instance, there is the highway from Lake City, through Creede, and on down into the South Eastern part of Colorado that looks great; and then how about over Loveland pass, or up Pikes Peak? Haven t been to Rangely yet, or even up into North Eastern Colorado into Estes Park and Wyoming. Each of these locations has some highways that just plain speak to a motorcyclist s heart, and seem to keep calling the inner riding spirit within. What makes many of these highways unique is the lack of traffic encountered while riding through locations such as these mentioned above, or closer to home such as over McClure pass into Carbondale, the Gateway loop Highway 141, Hotchkiss and then over Black Mesa, Grand Mesa plus many more choices. No, I am not slighting Red Mountain Pass, or over Lizard Head in the least, just listing highways wherein encountering a car is rare during the whole context of the ride. Highways with little or no traffic allows the motorcyclist, staying within safety parameters, the opportunity to ride within their abilities through the corners, over the hills

6 Page 6 without the constant slowing for those vehicles white knuckling over the mountain. I find it also allows me to focus more directly on the roadway, setting up the corners for a smooth transition in and out of the corner. The feeling of executing a perfect apex run is something we all strive for, and especially when it involves setting up for succeeding corners as the rider continues through the landscape. Another large factor in two lane highways is that of scenery! Have you ever noticed how much more is seen at lower speeds? While the Interstate is great for getting from point A to point B in the shortest time possible, one might notice a couple of significant factors. First, the faster we travel the more work the ride becomes and the less time that can be spent on sightseeing. Secondly, most Interstate routes are not placed in the more scenic locations either as the point of A to point B rational is to place the route over the least forbidding country side. Two lane routes allow us the opportunity to move more sedately and give us a better chance to see the real country side as we travel. Where does that highway go is one of my most often expressed thoughts when traveling over some route while riding. Of course the maps or GPS give us an overview, but cannot give us the intimate details of what is really there within all the squiggly lines on the map. While I realize I will not ride all those map lines in my life time, I am going to trace out as many as is possible during the remainder of my riding life. And for us, who ride from horizon to horizon exploring the world on motorcycles, just think of the tales we can tell when time and age places us in that care facility when it becomes necessary. As each birthday comes along I realize more and more that we don t get old from riding; not riding is just one more step to the rocking chair. So ride on my friends, ride on! And get out those maps and start looking at where you have yet to roll down the highway on, making plans for the New Year to come. I am engaged in this prior planning process already, so much so, that I can feel the wind, smell the landscape, and hear the rubber singing on the pavement. The best of the Holidays to all of you, and as always, RIDE WITH PRIDE AND CONFIDENCE. Ace H. (Howie) Peterson Chapter CO-Q Educator educator@gwrracoloradochapterq.org Birthdays & Anniversaries Happy Birthday and Anniversary to all those listed below. Birthdays Anniversaries Under Construction Don t have the list yet. Chapter G Wishes You All The Best! Remember, We can t post your Birthdays and Anniversaries if we don t know the dates. Let us know.

7 Page Chapter G Ride Schedule (Tenative Work in Progress. Subject to Change) January 12 February 8 March 9 April 13 April? May 11 June 2-7 June 8. at the Vaillancourts in Canterbury on Saturday Evening. This is a pot luck event. Plenty of Parking. There should be some videos and a Rider Ed Presentation. This event is in lieu of the Gathering Sunday Feb 9 th. To get there, turn east at the 106 Beanstalk in Loudon, go exactly 1 1/2 miles, house on Right. Yellow ranch with a 2 car garage underneath. Just go in through the garage and come on upstairs. Mall Show, Belknap Mall, Laconia N.H. More info to follow. Americade, Lake George, NY June Laconia Bike Week July 2-5 July 13 July Wing Ding 36, Madison, WI GWRRA New England Districts Rally 13, Sturbridge, MA August 7-10 GWRRA NJ/NY Bi-State Convention, Mt. Olive, NJ August 10 Sept. 14 October 18 November 9 Early Dec. Chapter Christmas Gathering Dinner Let s Ride! And Have Fun!!!!!!

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